Nagpur: Indian Army Chief Manoj Mukund Naravane will be superannuated on April 30. Lieutenant General Manoj Chandrashekhar Pande will be replacing him. Apparently, the announcement of Manoj Pande's name as the country's next Army Chief has sent Nagpur residents into a tizzy of sorts.
Reactions have now started pouring in from Nagpur residents and Pande's friends after his elevation to the Army chief's post. Pande's childhood friend Dilip Athale reminiscing about him said, "Manoj excelled in sports from an early age. He was popular as the notorious one among us, but he has always excelled at whatever he put his hands on." Athale further says that he is happy that his friend has been elevated to the highest rank in the Army and sure that he will excel in the responsibility bestowed upon him.
Manoj Pande had his schooling from Kendriya Vidyalaya, in the Vayusena Nagar, Nagpur. Highlighting how he had been keen about the affairs since a young age, Athale said, 'knowing as much as he knew about the army -- and especially the Ladakh and Indo-China border issues -- all of us knew he will make it big. We are all happy about his achievements though we aren't surprised.'
After the completion of Class 10, he joined the National Defense Academy, Pune in 1978. At the age of 20, Manoj was commissioned in the Army. His father was a psychiatrist and his mother was associated with All India Radio. Manoj's father Dr. Chandrasekhar Pandey was earlier working at the Department of Psychiatry at Nagpur University. After retirement, he stays in Nagpur. Sanket Pande, younger brother of Lieutenant General Manoj Pande, retired from the Indian Army as a Colonel. Manoj Pande's son and daughter-in-law are both pilots in the Indian Army. His wife Dr. Archana Salpekar is a gold medalist from Government Dental College, Nagpur.
