Lt. Gen. Shokin Chauhan (Retd.)

Lt. Gen. Shokin Chauhan, was selected to assume the coveted appointment as the Chairman of the Cease Fire Monitoring Group in August 2018, post retirement from the army in March 2018. Earlier, the General was the Director General of Assam Rifles, India’s oldest and largest Para Military Force.

As the Chairman, Cease Fire Monitoring Group, the general was chartered to ensure that the multifarious insurgent groups engaged in insurgency in the North East over the last 70 years, follow laid down ground rules and ensure that peace prevails within the North East of India. During this period, he re-invigorated the peace process and was able to bring in the NSCN (K), an insurgent group that had broken its cease fire with the Government of India in 2015, back into the peace process. Further, he successfully negotiated an extension of the lapsed Cease Fire with all the Naga insurgent groups.

Lt Gen Shokin Chauhan is an alumnus of St Columba’s High School, New Delhi, the National Defence Academy, Defence Services Staff College, the Army War College and the prestigious National Defence College. The General was commissioned into the Indian Army (11 Gorkha Rifles) in December 1979. Prior to his appointment as the DGAR, the General had commanded 1 Corps, Indian Army’s oldest and largest Strike Corps, the 8 Mountain Division in Western Ladakh, and 70 Mountain Brigade both in Shopian in south Kashmir and in Eastern Ladakh. In 1984, the general as a young officer, led a detachment of Ski Troopers on the Siachen Glacier. The General also has vast experience in the conduct of Counter Terrorist operations both in the Kashmir Valley and the North East, both at the tactical and Strategic level.

The General is an outstanding Scholar General, with proven track record. He was awarded a PhD from the Panjab University, Chandigarh for his thesis ‘India- Nepal Strategic Relations in the 21^st Century, which was highly acclaimed by the university. He has vast experience at Apex level having served in both the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Home in fields of Defence, Counter Insurgency, Counter Terrorism and Border Guarding and Human Resource Management. He also has vast experience in Military diplomacy since he was the Defence Attaché in the Indian Embassy in Nepal for three and half years (2004- 07). In addition, he has vast experience in peace keeping operations, perspective planning and capability building at the apex level. The general represented India as well as led a large number of Indian Military delegations to various international military forums like the United States Pacific Command, Hawaii, Israel, Italy, South Africa, Botswana, China, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal.

He regularly contributes articles/columns in various scholarly magazines and is an acclaimed important voice on India’s strategic Neighbourhood. He is a constant invitee and participant/ speaker at Seminars and leadership forums internationally and well as in important strategic institutions  including the IDSA, the National Defence College, the Defence Services Staff College, the Army War College, the Officers Training Academy, the Armoured Corps Centre and School, the Military Intelligence School, United Service Institute, the FICCI, the India Foundation, Chanakya Institute, the National Security Guard and a host of other important Strategic Forums.

The General has been awarded five Presidential awards to include the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM), the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM), the Yudh Seva Medal (YSM), the Sena Medal (SM) and the Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) for distinguished service and outstanding leadership and gallantry in both operations and distinguished service in India & abroad.

The General is at present working on a comprehensive book on the “Strategic Relations between India and Nepal”.