Granting an audience yesterday
to the Chief of Army Staff of the Indian army, General
Ved Prakash Malik, His Majesty the King expressed his satisfaction
with the close
cooperation between the Indian army and the Royal Bhutan Army.
His Majesty also
expressed his happiness with the warm friendship and understanding
between Bhutan
and India, a special relationship which had been strengthened
through the course of
history.
His Majesty added that General
Malik, who was a good friend, had greatly contributed
towards further strengthening Indo-Bhutan friendship and cooperation
in the course of
his long association with Bhutan.
His Majesty the King and Their
Majesties the Queens hosted a lunch at the
Dechenchholing Palace for General and Mrs. (Dr.) Ranjana Malik
who are on a
four-day visit to the kingdom.
General Malik met with the Chief
Operations Officer of the Royal Bhutan Army,
Goongloen Lam Dorji, the officers of the RBA and RBG, and senior
government
officials. He also visited the IMTRAT training centre in Haa.
Goongloen Lam Dorji told Kuensel
that General Malik's goodwill visit to Bhutan had
greatly strengthened the long standing cooperation between the
two armies. He said
he was confident that the close understanding between the Indian
army and the RBA
would continue to grow stronger with the increased interaction
among their leaders
and officers.
A veteran of more than 40 years
of distinguished service during which he held many
important and sensitive posts, General Malik has been highly commended
for his
leadership of the Indian army, according to an army press release.
"Seldom, during peace, has
any Chief had to deal with problems of such enormous
magnitude as General Malik," stated the press release. "He
has been the guiding
force behind the counter insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir
and the
Northeast. The resounding success of the Indian army in 'OP VIJAY'
speaks volumes
of the leadership that General Malik has provided to the Indian
army."
Born on November 1, 1939, General
Malik was commissioned into the Sikh Light
Infantry (SIKH LI) from the Indian Military Academy in June, 1959.
His early career
included active field service in Mizoram and NEFA and command
of the Sikh LI in the
Lohit Walong sector. He commanded an infantry brigade in the Jammu
and Kashmir
sector and a Mountain Division deployed in active counter insurgency
operations in
Nagaland and Manipur. He moved the division to Jammu and Kashmir
for operations
in the Kashmir valley.
As a Lieutenant General he commanded
a corps with operational responsibility over a
significant sector of the Indo-Pakistan border in Punjab. At the
same time he
successfully guided anti-militancy operations in the state.
General Malik has held several
sensitive appointments in command staff and as an
instructor.
He has served as the Joint Planning
Staff of the Cabinet secretariat (Military Wing),
Deputy Director General of Military Operations at Army Headquarters,
and as
Additional Director General, Operational Logistics, in headquarters
where he
contributed significantly to refine and modify Logistics Support
System for the Western
Sector. He has also been an Instructor in the Senior Command Wing,
College of
Combat, Mhow, and commandant of the Defence Service Staff College,
Wellington.
General Malik took over as General
Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern
Command, in July, 1995. He became Vice Chief of the Army Staff
in September,
1996, and took over as Chief of the Army Staff on October 1, 1997.
General Malik was awarded the
Ati Vishist Seva Medal in 1986, and the Param
Vishist Seva Medal in 1996 for his distinguished services. He
was conferred with the
honorary rank of General of the Royal Nepal Army by His Majesty
the King of Nepal in
November, 1997. He is also the recipient of the Person of Excellence,
1999, by the
Atur Foundation, Pune.
