Saurabh Singh Shekhawat | |
---|---|
Born | Alwar, Rajasthan, India | 18 October 1970
Allegiance | India |
Service/ | Indian Army |
Years of service | June 1994 – present |
Rank | Brigadier |
Service number | IC - 52871 |
Unit | 21 Para (SF) 17 Maratha LI |
Commands held | 9 Para (SF) 21 Para (SF) |
Battles/wars | |
Awards | Kirti Chakra Shaurya Chakra Sena Medal (Gallantry) Vishisht Seva Medal |
Alma mater | Indian Military Academy |
Spouse(s) | Dr. Renuka Shekhawat |
Relations | Dr. Jaswant Singh Shekhawat (Father) Dr. Shraddha Chauhan (Mother) |
Brigadier Saurabh Singh Shekhawat, KC, SC, SM, VSM is an Indian Army officer of the 21 Para (SF) and an avid mountaineer. He is one of Indian Army's most decorated officers, with one war-time gallantry award and two peace-time gallantry awards to his name. [1] [2]
Shekhawat was born in a Hindu Rajput Family on 18 October 1970 in Alwar, Rajasthan. His Father's name is Dr Jaswant Singh Shekhawat and his mother's name is Dr Shraddha Chauhan, a DLit and PhD. [3]
Military career
Shekhawat was commissioned in the 17 battalion of the Maratha Light Infantry as a Second Lieutenant from Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, on 11 June 1994 and was promoted lieutenant on 11 June 1996 and captain on 11 June 1999 and major on 11 June 2004. [4] [5] [2] He was promoted lieutenant-colonel on 11 June 2007 and to colonel on 6 January 2010 (seniority from 1 January). [6] [7] He was promoted to the rank of Brigadier in March 2020. [8]
Mountaineering Career
Shekhawat has ascended Mount Everest three times in 2001, 2003 and 2005. He has also climbed Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa, and Mont Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps and Western Europe. [9] In October 2009 he led the joint Indo-Kazakh team to scale the Kazakhstan peak of Marble Wall peak in Kazakhstan [10] He has climbed 14 peaks in the world till date. On 23 June 2022, a 55 men Indian Army expedition team, led by Shekhawat, successfully scaled the climb to Shahi Kangri. [11]
In 2017, Shekhawat filed a complaint to the Ministry of Defence accusing two former army chiefs, Gen. Bikram Singh and Gen. Dalbir Singh, and a senior serving officer, Lt. Gen. Abhay Krishna of victimizing him. Shekhawat claimed he was denied promotion because of lackluster reviews in annual confidential reports given to him as retaliation. [12] Shekhawat claimed the trigger for the victimization was his report made officially to the Army about a dacoity in Jorhat of a private citizen's residence involving personnel of the 3 Corps Counter Intelligence and Surveillance Unit in December 2011. [13] [14] At the time of the robbery, Gen. Dalbir Singh was then Corps Commander of 3 Corps and Lt. Gen. Abhay Krishna was then Shekhawat's brigadier general staff (operations). Shekhawat claimed Krihsna acted on Gen. Dalbir Singh's behalf to give him poor performance reviews. [14] When Gen. Bikram Singh became Army Chief, the Discipline and Vigilance Ban imposed on Gen. Dalbir Singh by the previous Army Chief for inaction over the robbery was lifted and Gen. Dalbir Singh was further promoted. [14]
Shekhawat also alleged that Gen. Dalbir Singh tried to harm his career by preventing him from taking the Higher Command Course, a qualification for promotion. But since the weightage for the course selection took into account medals and field service, he qualified for the course to the alleged chagrin of Gen. Dalbir Singh. Shekhawat speculated that Gen. Dalbir Singh in reaction was able to get weightage of medals and field service removed from consideration for higher command courses from 2014 onwards. [14]
On 14 March 2020, the current affairs magazine The Week published a story on Shekhawat titled ‘ decorated Colonel Saurabh Singh Shekhawat promoted after years of wait’ regarding the claims by Shekhawat of victimization at the hands of senior officers. Shekhawat in response wrote a letter to The Week claiming the story was inaccurate and said such stories "hurt the sentiment" of soldiers who serve and create doubts in the minds of the general public about the Army. The reporter Pradip R. Sagar provided a rebuttal by pointing out the story was not meant to "cast aspersions" on the Army but highlight accusations made against top Army brass. [15]
Shekhawat has been awarded the Kirti Chakra, [9] [16] [17] the Shaurya Chakra, [18] Sena Medal (Gallantry), [19] Vishisht Seva Medal [20] and the Samanya Seva Medal [19] amongst other medals for anti-terrorist operations, mountaineering and distinguished service. [21] [22] [23] Shekhawat in a letter to Army headquarters in 2017 referred to himself as the "highest decorated serving officer in the army with an unblemished operational profile." [24]
Shekhawat is married to Dr Renuka Shekhawat, a professor of Sanskrit at Rajasthan University. [25]
The Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) is the second highest military decoration in India, after the Param Vir Chakra, and is awarded for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea or in the air. It replaced the British Distinguished Service Order (DSO). The medal may be awarded posthumously.
The Parachute Regiment is an airborne and special forces regiment of the Indian Army. It was raised in 1945 as part of the British Indian Army but was disbanded after World War II and was re-raised in 1952 as part of the Indian Army. Currently it consists of fifteen Special Forces, two Territorial Army and one Rashtriya Rifles battalions.
Shekhawat is a clan of Rajputs found mainly in Shekhawati region of Rajasthan. Shekhawats are descendants of Maharao Shekha of Amarsar. Shekhawat is the most prominent clan among Kachhwaha. The Shekhawati region was ruled by them for more than 500 years. Fought against mughals many time. Rao Sujjan Singh of Chhapoli fought mughal army with 300 men to save a temple.
The KirtiChakra is an Indian military decoration awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the field of battle. It may be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel, including posthumous awards. It is the peacetime equivalent of the Maha Vir Chakra. It is second in order of precedence of peacetime gallantry awards, comes after Ashoka Chakra and before Shaurya Chakra. Before 1967, the award was known as the Ashoka Chakra, Class II.
The Indian Army, the land component of the Indian Armed Forces, follows a certain hierarchy of rank designations and insignia derived from the erstwhile British Indian Army (BIA).
The Indian Military Academy (IMA) is one of the oldest military academies in India, and trains officers for the Indian Army. Located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, it was established in 1932 following a recommendation by a military committee set up under the chairmanship of General Sir Philip Chetwode. From a class of 40 male cadets in 1932, IMA now has a sanctioned capacity of 1,650. Cadets undergo a training course varying between 3 and 16 months depending on entry criteria. On completion of the course at IMA cadets are permanently commissioned into the army as Lieutenants.
The Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army. The regimental center is in Srinagar's Airport Complex at Awantipora with a winter setup near Jammu. Its regimental insignia consists of a pair of crossed rifles. The regiment mostly consists of volunteers from the state of Jammu & Kashmir and ethnic groups from the state. The Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry is considered to be one of the most decorated regiment of the Indian army having won 1 Param Veer Chakra and 3 Ashok Chakra. Naib Subedar Chuni Lal of the 8th battalion Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry is one of the most decorated personnel of the Indian Army.
General Arunkumar Shridhar VaidyaPVSM, MVC & Bar, AVSM, ADC was a General Officer in the Indian Army. He served as the 13th Chief of the Army Staff from 1983 to 1986. Following his retirement, he was assassinated by Harjinder Singh Jinda and Sukhdev Singh Sukha in August 1986. This was done in vengeance of Operation Blue Star which Vaidya commanded.
Admiral Vijai Singh Shekhawat, PVSM, AVSM, VrC, ADC is a former Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy. He was 15th Chief of Naval Staff and served as Navy Chief from September-30 1993 to September-30 1996. Admiral Shekhawat is a Patron of the General K.S. Thimayya Memorial Trust.
Lt. Gen. Hanut Singh Rathore, PVSM, MVC was an Indian General Officer. He was a recipient of India's second highest military decoration, the Maha Vir Chakra, for his role in the Battle of Basantar during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
Colonel Vasanth Venugopal, AC was an Indian Army officer. He was the commanding officer of the 9th battalion, Maratha Light Infantry. On 31 July 2007, he was killed in action while preventing heavily armed infiltrators from crossing the India-Pakistan border at Uri, Jammu and Kashmir. As a result he was posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra, India's highest military decoration for peacetime gallantry.
Lieutenant General Yogesh Kumar Joshi, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VrC, SM, ADC is a retired General Officer of the Indian Army. He was the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command, assuming office from Lt Gen Ranbir Singh on 1 February 2020. He last served as the Chief of staff of the Northern Command, assuming the office from Lt Gen SK Sharma. Previously, he was the commander of Leh based Fire & Fury Corps. As Army Commander he is credited with spearheading the Indian response to PLA's attempt to alter the status quo on Line of Actual Control (LAC) by use of force. He is the only war decorated Army Commander who has to his credit successes against both Indian adversaries China and Pakistan.
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Colonel Ajay Kothiyal, KC, SC, VSM (Retd) is an Indian politician and a former officer of the Indian Army. He is a BJP leader, earlier he was leader of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and was the CM Candidate for 2022 Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly elections. Kothiyal lost the election to BJP candidate in Gangotri Assembly constituency. In May 2022, he resigned from AAP and joined BJP.
Lieutenant General Prabodh Chandra Bhardwaj, PVSM, AVSM, VrC, SC, VSM is a former General Officer of the Indian Army. He last served as the Vice Chief of Army Staff, having assumed office on 1 October 2009 following the retirement of Lieutenant General Noble Thamburaj. He also served as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command. He is one of the most decorated officers of the Indian Army, with a war-time gallantry award and a peace-time gallantry award to his name.
Colonel Ranveer Singh Jamwal, SM, VSM** is an officer of the Indian Army and the first Indian to climb the Seven Summits along with Mount Everest three times. He is a veteran of more than 45 mountaineering expeditions. He presently holds two Asian records and three Indian Records in mountaineering.
Major General Harish Chandra Pathak, MVC, AVSM was an officer of the Indian Army, who belonged to the SikhLI Regiment. He was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra, India's second highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy, during Battle of Fatehpur, Indo-Pakistan War of 1971.
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