In A First, Former Sainik School Classmates Rise to Lead Indian Army and Navy

For the first time in the history of the Indian military, two former classmates, Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi and Admiral Dinesh Tripathi, are set to lead the Indian Army and Navy respectively.

“For the first time in Indian Military history, Chiefs of Navy and Army hail from the same school. This rare honour of nurturing two prodigious students, who would go on to lead their respective Services 50 years later, goes to Sainik School, Rewa in Madhya Pradesh,” Defence Ministry Spokesperson A Bharat Bhushan Babu said in a post on ‘X’.

Both officers hail from Sainik School Rewa in Madhya Pradesh, where they studied together in the early 1970s from class 5th-A, news agency ANI reported. Despite pursuing different military paths, their close bond persisted since their school days, reflected even in their similar roll numbers—931 for Lt. Gen. Dwivedi and 938 for Admiral Tripathi.

The appointments of Lt. Gen. Dwivedi and Admiral Tripathi coincidentally occurred within two months of each other. Admiral Tripathi assumed command of the Indian Navy on May 1, while Lt. Gen. Dwivedi is slated to assume his new role imminently.

Having served extensively as the Northern Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Dwivedi brings significant experience from the military operations along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. Born on July 1, 1964, he was commissioned into the Jammu & Kashmir Rifles of the Indian Army on December 15, 1984, marking a distinguished career path from his early days at Sainik School Rewa.