H S Panag | |
|---|---|
Panag in 2018 | |
| Born | December 4, 1948 |
| Allegiance | |
| Service/ | |
| Years of service | 1969 - 2008 |
| Rank | |
| Unit | 18 Mech Inf |
| Commands held | Northern Army XXI Corps 31 Armoured Division 192 Mountain Brigade 43 Armoured Brigade 1 Mech Inf |
| Awards | |
| Relations | Gul Panag (Daughter) |
Harcharanjit Singh Panag, PVSM, AVSM is a retired Lieutenant General of the Indian Army. He is presently a defence analyst and commentator on strategic affairs. A proponent of use of robotics by Indian armed forces [1] he is very active on social media. [2]
Panag was born on 4 December 1948 in a Jatt Sikh family at Mahadian village, Fatehgarh Sahib district, in the Indian state of Punjab. His father, Colonel Shamsher Singh was a distinguished personality known for taking social initiatives in the field of development, education, ex-servicemen issues, gender equality and child rights. He was elected unopposed as the Sarpanch of his village for 20 years. [3] Panag has two children, a daughter and a son. His daughter , Gul Panag, is a Bollywood actress and social activist. His son , Sherbir Panag is the founder of the Law Offices of Panag & Babu, a boutique financial crime specialist law firm [4] . Sherbir is a top ranked lawyer for white collar crime in the Asia Pacific [5] and is a Senior Fellow at the Wharton School's Zicklin Centre for business ethics [6] . He has a sister, Ms. Gurdeepak Kaur who is a social activist and amateur Bullet rider who joined AAP. [7] His brother, also an army man, Major General Charanjit Singh Panag (retired) has various publications to his credit. [8]
Panag was commissioned into the 4th Battalion of the Sikh Regiment on 21 December 1969. [9] He subsequently served in the 5th Battalion of the 5th Gorkha Rifles (FF) and the 9th Battalion of the Mechanised Infantry Regiment, finally going on to command the 1st Battalion of the Mechanised Infantry. He is an alumnus of the prestigious National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, Army War College, Mhow and the National Defence College, New Delhi. He has authored several publications concerning Indian defence forces and national security.
Panag is experienced in both counter-insurgency and high-altitude operations. He also saw action in various wars and military operations. During his career he has served in various positions:
Panag also held the post of Additional Director General (Perspective Planning) at the Army HQ. [10] He is the only three-star general from mechanized infantry in India. [11] He retired as a lieutenant general on 31 December 2008. He was appointed an Administrative Member of the Armed Forces Tribunal, Chandigarh Bench in June 2009 after retiring from the army. An upright officer he initiated as many as 120 Courts of Inquiry on corruption charges, soon after he took charge of Northern Command in 2007, after which he was transferred to Central Command in early 2008. [12]
Panag made the 1st arrest of PoW even before the start of Bangladesh War when he arrested Flt. Lt Pervaiz Mehdi Qureshi who later became ACM of PAF. [13]
As Brigade Commander Panag in April 2000, oversaw a military operation on the Chorbat la sector to capture Point 5310 across LoC as well as another operation to capture 3 more features across the Yaldor sector. [14]
Panag along with Lt. Gen. Rustom K. Nanavatty devised a military operation codenamed 'Operation Kabaddi' in mid-2001 to capture 25-30 Pakistan army posts from Batalik in Ladakh to Chamb-Jaurian in Jammu sector on the LoC. The plan was to execute the operation in October 2001, but could not be carried out due to changed geopolitical scenarios after September 11 Attacks. [15]
Panag became a member of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in January 2014 after retiring from the Armed Forces Tribunal. He campaigned for his actress daughter, Gul Panag in the 2014 Lok Sabha election in Chandigarh which she lost to another actress Kiran Kher.
Panag won the following awards during his career: [16] [17]
Lieutenant General Mohammad Ahmed Zaki, PVSM, AVSM, VrC is a retired Indian Army general. He was born in a Hyderabadi family with a long history of service in the Nizam's Army. His father was a retired Brigadier in the Nizam's Cavalry forces.

The Sikh Light Infantry is a light infantry regiment of the Indian Army. The regiment is the successor unit to the 23rd, 32nd and 34th Royal Sikh Pioneers of the British Indian Army. The regiment recruits from the Sikh community of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana states of India. The versatility of the Sikh Light Infantry has seen the regiment conduct operations from conventional warfare on the Siachen Glacier, the highest battlefield in the world, to counter-terrorism. Units of the regiment have also been deployed as part of the United Nations Emergency Force. The regimental motto is "Deg Tegh Fateh", meaning "prosperity in peace and victory in war". The motto has great significance with the tenth Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh, with whom the Mazhabi community is very closely associated. The regiment's cap badge is a chakram or quoit, with a mounted kirpan. The insignia was designed to honour the Mazhabi community's Akali Nihang ancestry.
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General Bikram Singh, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC is a retired Indian army officer who served as the 25th Chief of Army Staff (COAS) of the Indian Army. Previously the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the army's Eastern Command, he succeeded General V. K. Singh as COAS on May 31, 2012. He retired on 31 July 2014. He is the second Sikh to be COAS, the first having been General J. J. Singh. He was also the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC) of the Indian armed forces.
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Lieutenant General Philip Campose, PVSM, AVSM & Bar, VSM was the Vice Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army and assumed office on 1 August 2014 succeeding General Dalbir Singh. He retired on 31 July 2015 and was succeeded by Lieutenant General Man Mohan Singh Rai.
Lieutenant General Kamal Jit Singh, PVSM, AVSM & Bar is a retired Indian Army officer and former general officer commanding-in-chief of Western Command. After retirement, he was conferred with Maharaja Ranjit Singh Chair of Excellence in Punjab University. and was appointed as Advisor to CM Haryana in November 2018. He graduated from the National Defence Academy, and attended various staff courses in training academies of the Indian Army throughout the country. Singh worked closely with UN Peacekeeping forces stationed in Angola and was commended by the chief and UN Force Commander during his tenure. He held several appointments as commanding officer and also staff appointments at the headquarters of the Indian Army. He has been twice awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal. In 2019, Singh was appointed as State Information Commissioner. Inducated into Chandigarh Advisory Council in Aug 2019.{http://chdpr.gov.in/dashboard/?q=node/80506}
Lieutenant General Devraj Anbu, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, ADC is a retired Indian Army general who served as Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS). He assumed office on 1 June 2018 following the retirement of Lt Gen Sarath Chand, and retired on 31 August 2019.
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Lieutenant General Surinder Singh, PVSM, AVSM & Bar, VSM is a retired officer of Indian Army who served as General Officer Commander-in-Chief (GOC-in-C), Western Command. He took office of the Chairman, Punjab Public Service Commission on 21 August 2019.
Lieutenant General Pattiarimal Mohamadali Hariz, PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC is the former General Officer-Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) Southern Command of the Indian Army and served in office from 1 September 2016 to 30 November 2017. He assumed the post from General Bipin Rawat and was succeeded by Dewan Rabindranath Soni.
General Manoj Mukund Naravane PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC is a Four Star general of the Indian Army and the 28th Chief of the Army Staff (COAS). He took over from General Bipin Rawat on 31 December 2019 after the latter completed his term as the COAS. Prior to his appointment as the COAS, the general has served as the 40th Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS) of the Indian Army, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of Eastern Command and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Army Training Command.
Lieutenant General Iqroop Singh Ghuman, PVSM, AVSM, ADC is the current General Officer-Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C), Central Command of the Indian Army. He took office on 2 October when Lt Gen Abhay Krishna retired.
Major General Cyrus Addie Pithawalla AC, VSM, is a retired General Officer of the Indian Army. He was awarded India's highest peacetime decoration for gallantry, the Ashok Chakra, in 1981, and by virtue of this is one of the most decorated flag officers in the history of the Indian Armed Forces.
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| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Lt Gen O P Nandrajog | General Officer-Commanding-in-Chief Central Command 2008–2008 | Succeeded by Lt Gen J K Mohanty |
| Preceded by Lt Gen Deepak Kapoor | General Officer-Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command 2006–2008 | Succeeded by Lt Gen P C Bhardwaj |