By: Lt Col JS Sodhi (Retired), Editor, GSDN
Anyone who has interacted with General Dhiraj Seth, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, ADC right from his days as a cadet of the 69 NDA course in the Foxtrot Squadron of National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla in the 1980s, to the announcement of the General Officer being appointed as the 31st Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) of the Indian Army on June 18, 2026, was certain that the General Officer would be the Indian Army Chief one day.
As General Dhiraj Seth, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, ADC assumes the command of the 1.2 million strong Indian Army as its 31st COAS today, it is an appropriate reflection of the brilliant career that General Dhiraj Seth has had over the last 40 years in the olive greens that spans important command, staff and instructional appointments.
Commissioned on December 20, 1986 in 2 Lancers, an elite regiment of the Armoured Corps of the Indian Army, the General Officer went on to command Skinners Horse, another distinguished armoured regiment.
The COAS has topped every course that he has done in the Indian Army, notably being the Young Officers Course where he was awarded the Silver Centurion, the Instructor Course, the Junior Command Course and the Defence Services Staff College Course where he bagged the Scudder Medal, the French Staff & Command Course in Paris and the Anti-Terrorist Course in the US Pacific Command, Hawaii.
The Army Chief has commanded an Armoured Brigade, the Uniform Force deployed in counter-insurgency operations, and a Strike Corps, apart from being the General Officer Commanding, Delhi Area during which he commanded the Republic Day Parade.
General Dhiraj Seth has the distinction of having commanded two commands of the Indian Army – the South Western Command and the Southern Command, moving on to becoming the Vice Chief of the Army Staff, before assuming the command of the Indian Army as its 31st COAS today.
In the interview to the Global Strategic & Defence News, Lieutenant General (Lt Gen) Ashok Mehta, AVSM, VSM (Retired), who was the Squadron Commander in 2 Lancers when the then Second Lieutenant (2/Lt) Dhiraj Seth joined the regiment in December 1986 after commissioning, as Operation Brasstacks was ongoing, vividly recalls the evening when 2/Lt (later General) Dhiraj Seth reported to him being his first Squadron Commander.
Lt Gen Ashok Mehta states that he was impressed by the demeanour and soldierly bearing of 2/Lt (later General) Dhiraj Seth and the initial training to him in the regiment was under the guidance and supervision of Lt Gen Ashok Mehta, in which 2/Lt (later General) Dhiraj Seth excelled and earned a place of pride amongst the troops and officers of 2 Lancers. Lt Gen Ashok Mehta recounts that way back, he was sanguine that 2/Lt (later General) Dhiraj Seth would rise to the very top in the Indian Army.
Another Indian Army Veteran, Lt Gen PS Mehta, AVSM, VSM (Retired) of the Skinners Horse, while speaking to the Global Strategic & Defence News, fondly recounted the decades-long personal, social and professional association with General & Mrs Dhiraj Seth, the First Couple of the Indian Army, adding that the couple are par-excellence known for their humbleness and humility.
Lt Gen PS Mehta (Retired) remembered the COAS being his student in the coveted Higher Command Course in the Army War College, Mhow, recollecting Colonel (later General) Dhiraj Seth as a soft-spoken, well-mannered and exceptionally brilliant officer whose taking over as the COAS is an apt recognition of his brilliant career and the wonderful persona he espouses immensely well.
General Dhiraj Seth’s elevation as the 31st COAS of the Indian Army comes at a critical time when the regional geopolitical turbulence in South Asia is increasing and the next two years would see greater impetus to the ongoing transformations in the Indian Army to make it more technology-driven, networked and self-reliant force.
About the Author
Lt Col JS Sodhi (Retd) is the Founder-Editor, Global Strategic & Defence News and has authored the book “China’s War Clouds: The Great Chinese Checkmate”. He tweets at @JassiSodhi24
