Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee


The Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, was the position of hierarchy in the Indian Armed Forces, roughly based on the British Chiefs of Staff Committee. The senior-most Chief of Staff was appointed to serve as a Chairman until he retired. The last Chairman was the Chief of the Army Staff General Bipin Rawat. The position ceased to exists with the creation of the Chief of Defence Staff.

History

The Chiefs of Staff Committee was established on 15 August 1947 upon Indian independence, and was conceived as the "supreme professional body" to advise the Minister of Defence and the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs on all military-related matters. The Chairman of the Committee was the senior-most of the three Commanders-in-Chief of the three armed forces. General Sir Robert Lockhart was the first chairman, with General K.M. Cariappa appointed the first Indian chairman on 14 October 1951.
Following the end of the Kargil war, Kargil Review Committee found there was a lack of communication between the service branches, and therefore suggested to create the position of Chief of Defence Staff. This was however rejected by many members of the military, arguing that only great or imperial powers engaging in power projection needed that amount of integration. A compromise was reached with the office of the CoSC. The Chairman was responsible for inter-service synergy. However, as the chairman, CoSC only served as Primus inter pares to the other Chiefs of Staff, he did not wield any power. The Chairman was assisted by the Integrated Defence Staff.
Talks concerning the creation of a Chief of Defence Staff position continued for over a decade, along with a suggestion the position of chairman be made permanent, with a renewable two year term. Both of these suggestions were rejected by the Indian Air Force. In December 2018, however, the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee Admiral Sunil Lanba stated the heads of the three services had "finally agreed on a permanent chief of staff committee," and the matter had been sent to the Defence Ministry for consideration.
On Independence Day 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the government's decision to replace the post of Chairman, COSC with a permanent Chief of Defence Staff, who would be senior to each service chief and who would deal with India’s national security with a comprehensive approach, acting as a single-point military adviser to the prime minister and defence minister.

List of Chairmen

Gallery