Vishwa Nath Sharma (1930 – 2026)
Written and published by the SouleMap editorial team. Published July 31, 2026. This tribute was not created by the family. Are you a family member? Claim this memorial.
In loving memory of Vishwa Nath Sharma. Born June 4, 1930. Passed away July 31, 2026. Final resting place: New Delhi, India.
Their Story
General Vishwa Nath Sharma, PVSM, AVSM, ADC, was the 14th Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army, serving between 1988 and 1990. He was the first Indian Chief of Army Staff to have begun his career in the post-Independence Indian Army. Born in London on June 4, 1930, General Sharma pursued his education at Sherwood College in Nainital, before joining the Prince of Wales' Royal Indian Military College at Dehradun. He joined the fifth Regular Course at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, and was commissioned on 4 June 1950 into the 16th Light Cavalry. General Sharma led the Indian Army through a period of turbulence marked by the insurgency in Punjab and the deployment of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka. The family hailed from Kangra district in present-day Himachal Pradesh. He was the younger brother of the late Major Som Nath Sharma, recipient of Independent India's first posthumous Param Vir Chakra, and also Lieutenant General Surindra Nath Sharma, formerly Engineer in Chief of the Indian Army. He was the first recipient of the Rajputana Rifles Gold Medal for tactics and leadership at the Indian Military Academy.
Sources
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