Lieutenant General Baggavalli Somashekar Raju, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, YSM (born 19 October 1963) is a retired general officer of the Indian Army. He last served as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief South Western Command. He earlier served as the 44th Vice Chief of the Army Staff and as the Director General Military Operations (DGMO).
He had been the 49th Commander of the XV Corps (Chinar Corps) from 1 March 2020 to 17 March 2021, assuming the post from Lieutenant General KJS Dhillon. Before taking over the charge of the Chinar Corps, he served as the Director General of Staff Duties. He is also the Colonel of the Jat Regiment since 1 February 2021 after taking over from Lieutenant General S K Saini, the Vice Chief of the Army Staff.
He was appointed as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff on 29 April, 2022. He took charge on 1 May 2022 succeeding General Manoj Pande (then Lt General) on his elevation.
Early life and education
Raju was born in Davanagere district, in a Lingayat family which traces its origin to Baggavalli village near Ajjampura in Chikmagalur district. Raju is an alumnus of Sainik School, Bijapur, and the National Defence Academy, Pune.
He is a graduate of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and the Royal College of Defence Studies, United Kingdom. He also attended the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California where he completed his Masters program in Counter Terrorism.
He is married to Shakunthala Raju, also from Karnataka, and the couple have a son and daughter.
Career
Raju was commissioned in December 1984 in the 11th battalion, the Jat Regiment (11 Jat). He later commanded 15th Battalion, the Jat Regiment (15 JAT). He has served as an Directing Staff at the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and at the Army War College, Mhow. In staff appointments, he has served as the brigade major of an infantry brigade and as the Colonel Military Secretary (Legal) at Army HQ.
After being promoted to the rank of brigadier, he was appointed commander of the Uri Brigade in August 2011. He commanded the brigade till 30 December 2012. He subsequently served as the Brigadier General Staff (BGS) at HQ XVI Corps and as the Deputy Director General Military Operations (DDGMO) and Director General Staff Duties at Army HQ.
General officer
The General Officer served as Commandant, Indian Military Training Team in Bhutan prior to assuming command of XV Corps. He has an incisive understanding of Jammu and Kashmir, as he has served in Kashmir for five tenures since 1984.
Victor Force Commander
Lt Gen B S Raju commanded the elite Counter Insurgency Force in troubled times from 28 March 2017 to 1 April 2018 post elimination of Burhan Wani, the poster boy of Hizbul Mujahideen. It was during this period only that a blooming footballer Majid Khan who had treaded the path of terrorism was given opportunity to return to mainstream and he had surrendered. As a Force Commander he oversaw the successful operation in which the killers of Lt Umar Fayaz were eliminated in South Kashmir
XV Corps Commander
He was the General Officer Commanding of the XV Corps, or 15 Corps, also known as Chinar Corps Indian Army, a Corps of the Indian Army which is presently located in Srinagar and responsible for military operations in the Kashmir Valley.
Human Approach Operation
While Commanding Counter Insurgency Force (Victor) in troubled time of 2017–2018, he built a reputation of a man giving respect to human values and had a deep sense of belonging with the locals. While taking over, he emphasised that "The Army is a friend of every civilian and that message has been conveyed aptly by my predecessor. My every attempt would be to continue this practice".
Facilitate Return of Local Terrorist from Path of Terrorism
Lt Gen B S Raju's key focus is to allow those who have picked up arms to surrender and join the mainstream. It has greatly helped the youth who have gone "astray" to come back & with recruitment fairly lowest in last decade has resulted in substantial reduction in number of terrorist operating in Kashmir. With people as the centre of gravity, all his efforts are being directed in that direction during his command of prestigious XV Corps of Indian Army. Lt Gen B S Raju had underlined numerous times that the army is working more on ensuring surrender rather than going for straight neutralisation.