Military Digest: In a first, an Army Chief from Jammu and Kashmir Rifles as Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi set to take charge

When Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi assumes the role of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) on June 30, he will be the first officer from the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles (JAKRIF) to hold that position. This is significant for the erstwhile princely state, and now a Union Territory, of Jammu and Kashmir because the regiment has a direct lineage with the former royal house of the Dogra rulers of Jammu and Kashmir. The office of COAS has been held by Generals belonging to various regiments, most of which draw their lineage to the pre-partition era. However, JAKRIF was a state force…