Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth, AVSM is a serving general officer of the Indian Army. He currently serves as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command.[2] He was previously tenanting the appointment of General Officer Commanding-in-Chief South Western Command.[3] He earlier held the appointment of General Officer commanding Delhi Area,[4] prior to that he was General Officer Commanding XXI Corps.[5]

Dhiraj Seth
General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command
Assumed office
1 July 2024
Chief of Army StaffUpendra Dwivedi
Preceded byAjai Kumar Singh
General Officer Commanding-in-Chief South Western Command
In office
1 November 2023 – 30 June 2024
Chief of Army StaffManoj Pande
Preceded byB. S. Raju
Succeeded byManjinder Singh
Military service
Allegiance India
Branch/service Indian Army
Years of service20 December 1986 – present
Rank Lieutenant General
Unit2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse)
Commands
Service numberIC-44044X [1]
Awards

Early life and education

edit

The general officer is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. He is also an alumnus of the Defence Services Staff College, where he was recognised as the best all-round student in his course, and attended the prestigious Defence Services Command and General Staff Course at the Collège interarmées de Défense in France in 2006.[6] He is also a graduate of the Higher Command Course at the Army War College, Mhow, and the National Defence College at New Delhi. The general has also qualified on the International Defence Acquisition Management Course at the Naval Postgraduate School in the United States.[7]

Military career

edit

The general officer was commissioned into the 2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse) on 20 December 1986 from the Indian Military Academy.[8] He was awarded the ‘Silver Centurion’ in the Young Officers Course, he stood first in the order of merit in several courses he attended, including the Junior Command Course. He has commanded the Skinner's Horse, 98 Armoured Brigade and was General Officer Commanding (GOC) of a Rashtriya Rifles force in Jammu & Kashmir. He has served as brigade major of an independent armoured brigade, as Assistant Military Secretary in the Military Secretary Branch and as Brigadier General Staff (Operations) of the South Western Command.[9] Gen Seth also served as an instructor and assistant adjutant at the National Defence Academy (NDA), and as an instructor at the School of Armoured Warfare, Ahmednagar. In 1995–1996, he served with the United Nations Angola Verification Mission III as operations officer.[9]

He served as Director General (Discipline, Ceremonial and Welfare) at Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence (Army) in New Delhi before assuming the appointement of General Officer Commanding of XXI Corps on 31 July 2021.[5] He was subsequently appointed General Officer Commanding Delhi Area in August 2022.[4]

On 1 November 2023, Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth took over as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief South Western Command succeeding Lieutenant General B. S. Raju who superannuated on 31 October 2023.[10] On 1 July 2024, Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth took over as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command succeeding Lieutenant General Ajai Kumar Singh who superannuated on 30 June 2024 after four decades of service to the nation.[11]

Personal life

edit

Gen Seth is a son of Lieutenant General Krishna Mohan Seth (Retd.), who retired as the Adjutant-General of the Indian Army in 1997, and who also commanded XXI Strike Corps from October 1992 to October 1994 and III Corps from October 1994 to October 1995. Following his retirement from the Army, he successively served as Governor of Tripura from 2000 to 2003, and as Governor of Chhattisgarh from 2003 to 2007.[5]

Awards and decorations

edit

For his exemplary service and devotion to duty the general officer was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2022.[12]

       
       
       
Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Samanya Seva Medal Special Service Medal Sainya Seva Medal
High Altitude Medal Videsh Seva Medal 75th Independence Anniversary Medal 50th Independence Anniversary Medal
30 Years Long Service Medal 20 Years Long Service Medal 9 Years Long Service Medal UNAVEM III

Dates of rank

edit
Insignia Rank Component Date of rank
  Second Lieutenant Indian Army 20 December 1986[8]
  Lieutenant Indian Army 20 December 1988[13]
  Captain Indian Army 20 December 1991[14]
  Major Indian Army 20 December 1997[15]
  Lieutenant-Colonel Indian Army 16 December 2004[16]
  Colonel Indian Army 1 May 2007[17]
  Brigadier Indian Army 24 May 2013 (acting)
9 September 2013 (substantive, with seniority from 24 June 2011)[18]
  Major General Indian Army 1 December 2018 (seniority from 1 February 2017)[19]
  Lieutenant-General Indian Army 2021

References

edit
  1. ^ "GALLANTRY AND DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARDS TO ARMY ON REPUBLIC DAY 2022" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India. 25 January 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth assumes command of Pune-based Southern Army". The Indian Express. 1 July 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  3. ^ "Lt General Dhiraj Seth takes over as South Western Army chief". Hindustan Times. 1 November 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth assumed the command of Delhi Area from Lt Gen Vijay Kumar Mishra". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  5. ^ a b c admin (31 July 2021). "Army General to Command Corps His Father Led Too". Bharat Shakti. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  6. ^ "Arrêté du 8 décembre 2006 portant attribution du brevet d'études militaires supérieures". Légifrance. Republic of France. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  7. ^ "Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth takes command of Sudarshan Chakra Corps". The Hitavada. 2 August 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 29 October 1988. p. 1588.
  9. ^ a b "Lt General Dhiraj Seth takes over as South Western Army chief". Hindustan Times. 1 November 2023. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  10. ^ PTI (1 November 2023). "Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth assumes charge of South Western Command". ThePrint. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  11. ^ "Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth assumed the command of the prestigious Southern Command of the Indian Army as the 51st Army Commander". X (formerly twitter). 1 July 2024.
  12. ^ "Honours and Awards : Republic Day 2022" (PDF). PIB. 25 January 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  13. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 8 September 1990. p. 1464.
  14. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 5 September 1992. p. 1568.
  15. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 18 April 1998. p. 567.
  16. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 6 August 2005. p. 1359.
  17. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 15 August 2009. p. 1388.
  18. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 15 August 2015. p. 2140.
  19. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 25 December 2021. p. 2963.
Military offices
Preceded by General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command
1 July 2024 - present
Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by General Officer Commanding-in-Chief South Western Command
1 November 2023 - 30 June 2024
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Vijay Kumar Mishra
General Officer Commanding Delhi Area
1 August 2022 – 31 October 2023
Succeeded by
Bhavnish Kumar
Preceded by
Atulya Solankey
General Officer Commanding XXI Corps
31 July 2021 – 31 July 2022
Succeeded by
Vipul Shinghal