Rookmangud Katawal
|
General Rookmangud Katawal |
|
|---|---|
| Born |
December 12, 1948 Okhaldhunga District |
| Allegiance |
 Nepal
|
| Service/branch | Nepali Army |
| Years of service | 1969-2009 |
| Rank | General |
| Commands held | Shree Kalidhoj Battalion (1976-1977) United Nation Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) (1988) Shree Pashupati Prashad Battalion (1990-1993) Commandant of the Royal Nepalese Military Academy (1993) Adjutant General (AG) of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) (1999) |
| Awards | Birendra Prajatantra Bhaskar Class II Gorkha Dakshin Bahu |
| Relations | Uma Katawal (wife) |
General Rookmangud Katawal is a former Nepalese Army General, who served as the Chief of Army Staff of the Nepal Army from September 10, 2006 to August, 2009. General Katawal had come into controversy after the then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) had unilaterally decided to "relieve" Katawal of his duties on May 3, 2009
General Rookmangud Katawal was born in Okhaldhunga District, in the mountainous Eastern Region of Nepal, on December 12, 1948 to Mr and Mrs. Khadgadhoj Katawal. After "impressing" the then King Mahendra by reciting a poem of the National Poet Madhav Prasad Ghimire during the monarch's official visit to the Eastern Development Region, Katawal was then personally brought to Kathmandu at the age of 8 years and looked after under King Mahendra's direction. After residing at the then COAS General Toran Shumsher's residence for about 15 days along with Late King Mahendra's other 'adopted sons', at the age of 10 years, he was enrolled at the Pharping Boarding School, which was affiliated to the Tribhuwan University. After completing the 5th grade, he got a double promotion to the 7th grade due to his impressive academics. However, upon being involved in a protest against the 'corporal punishment' given by the school's authorities to the students, Katawal, along with several other students were 'kicked out' of the Pharping Boarding High School. Later, after being enrolled in another school with the help of the same teacher who had played a dominant rule in Katawal's removal from Pharping, he completed his high school and gave his SLC Examination from the same school.
Commissioned into Shree Shreenath Battalion (Infantry) of the then Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) on December 20, 1969 after graduating from the Indian National Defense Academy, Katawal holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Tribhuwan University, and a master's degree in National Defense from the Qaeda Azam University,Pakistan. Gen. Katawal was the Distinguished International Honour Graduate of the US Special Forces Course and earned the coveted Gideon in the US Ranger Course. He is also a graduate of the Army Command and Staff College, Camberley, UK, the Senior Command Course, India and the National Defense College, Pakistan. He has held commands and staff billets at virtually every level. In 1973, he served as an instructor at the Royal Nepalese Army School. In the same year, he donned the blue beret to serve in the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) in the Suez Canal area.
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