Om Prakash Malhotra

General Om Prakash Malhotra PVSM (born August 6, 1922 in Srinagar, Kashmir), was the 13th Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army.

Military Career
Commissioned in the Regiment of Artillery in November 1941, he fought against the Japanese in the Second World War in Burma. He commanded artillery regiments across India between November 1950 and July 1961. He later served as an instructor at the Defense Services Staff College, Wellington, and was the Military and Naval Attaché at the Embassy of India in Moscow from 1962-1965. From August 1965 to January 1966, General Malhotra commanded an Artillery Brigade and then a Mountain Brigade in north-east India. He was promoted to Major General in September 1967 and commanded 36th Infantry Division in Saugor for two years. From September 1969 till May 1972 he was GOC, 4 Corps, in the Eastern Sector. Subsequently, he commanded XI Corps in Jullunder for two years and was later the GOC-in-C Southern Command located at Pune. In 1976, General Malhotra was awarded the Param Vishist Seva Medal for "service of the most exceptional order". He was Vice Chief of Army Staff before taking over as Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army on 31 May 1978 and serving in that post for three years.

Ambassador and Governor of Punjab
After retiring from the Indian Army on 31 May 1981 after 40 years of distinguished military service, General Malhotra served as the Ambassador of India to Indonesia from 1981-1984. During 1990-1991 General Malhotra was appointed the Governor of the Indian State of Punjab when militancy in that state was at its height. General Malhotra resigned from his post in protest when planned elections in the state were deferred by the national election commission without notice.

Personal Life
A keen sportsman, General Malhotra was for many years the President of the Equestrian Federation of India and the Founder President of the Asian Equestrian Federation. He has also been the President of the Delhi Golf Club, New Delhi.

General Malhotra is the Chairman of the Nehru Trust for the Indian Collections at the Victoria & Albert Museum, and has served as the President of India's largest NGO, the "National Association for the Blind" in New Delhi. He is currently the Chairperson of the National Association for the Blind Centre For Blind Women & Disability Studies. He is an active member of Kiwanis International in India. General Malhotra is also a patron of the All India Federation of The Deaf. He is also a Trustee of the Delhi Cheshire Home.

General Malhotra is presently the Chairman of two charitable trusts Shiksha, and Chikitsa. His son, Ajai Malhotra, is Ambassador of India to the Russian Federation since 2011.

Honours and Awards

 * In 1976, General OP Malhotra was awarded the Param Vishist Seva Medal for "service of the most exceptional order".
 * In 1994, the University of Jammu conferred the Degree of Doctor of Letters Honours Causa upon him.