H. P. S. Ahluwalia

Major
H. P. S. Ahluwalia
Born(1936-11-06)6 November 1936
Sialkot, Punjab Province, British Raj (present-day Punjab, Pakistan)
Died14 January 2022(2022-01-14) (aged 85)
New Delhi, India
Alma materSt. George's College, Mussoorie
College of Military Engineering, Pune
Years active1995–2022
Board member ofEx Chairman, Indian Spinal Injuries Centre
SpouseBholi Ahluwalia
ChildrenOne
Parent(s)Father- Mr. Sarjit Singh
Mother- Harbans Kaur
AwardsPadma Bhushan
Padma Shri
Arjuna Award
Military career
Allegiance India
Branch Indian Army
Service years1958-1968
RankMajor
Service numberIC-11112[1]
ConflictsIndo-Pakistani War of 1965

Hari Pal Singh Ahluwalia (6 November 1936 – 14 January 2022) was an Indian mountaineer, author, social worker and Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS) officer.[2] During his career he made contributions in the fields of adventure, sports, environment, disability and social work.[3][4] He is one of six Indian men and the twenty first man in the world to climb Mount Everest. On 29 May 1965, 12 years to the day from the first ascent of Mount Everest, he made the summit with the fourth and final successful attempt of the 1965 Indian Everest Expedition along with H. C. S. Rawat and Phu Dorjee Sherpa. This was the first time three climbers stood on the summit together.

Following his advanced training at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling, he climbed extensively in Sikkim, Nepal. The 1965 Indian Army expedition was the first successful Indian Expedition to Everest which put 9 mountaineers on top, a record which lasted 17 years, and was led by Mohan Singh Kohli. He along with Avtar Singh Cheema, Nawang Gombu Sherpa, Sonam Gyatso, Sonam Wangyal, Chandra Prakash Vohra, Ang Kami Sherpa, Harish Chandra Singh Rawat and Phu Dorjee Sherpa summited the peak in 1965 and became the first Indians to successfully climb Mount Everest.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11] During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, he received a bullet injury to his spine, after which he used a wheelchair. He was the Chairman of Indian Spinal Injuries Centre. He has written thirteen books and has also produced a serial, Beyond Himalaya, which has been telecast internationally on Discovery and National Geographic channels.[12]

Early life

Hari Pal Singh Ahluwalia was born on 6 November 1936 and brought up in Shimla along with his two sisters and two younger brothers. His father was employed as a Civil Engineer in the Indian Central Public Works Department.

For his academic career he went to St Joseph's Academy, Dehradun and St. George's College, Mussoorie. There, he discovered his interest in photography and rock climbing. Along with graduation, his interest in rock-climbing increased. Some of the places where Ahluwalia did his rock climbing are Garhwal, Sikkim, Nepal, Ladakh, and of course Mount Everest. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Electrical and Mechanical engineering from the College of Military Engineering, Pune in 1964.[2]

Military career

After his graduation Ahluwalia joined the Indian Army as an officer, receiving a commission as a second lieutenant in the Army Electrical-Mechanical Engineering branch on 14 December 1958.[1] He was promoted to lieutenant on 14 December 1960 and to captain on 14 December 1964.[13][14] Seeing action during the 1965 war with Pakistan, he was wounded by a bullet in his spine, after which he used a wheelchair. He received an early discharge from the Army on 8 January 1968,[15] with the honorary rank of major.[16]

Expeditions

After treatment at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England, he organised the first Ski Expedition to Mount Trisul, the first Trans-Himalaya Motor Expedition (1983), and the Central Asia Cultural Expedition (1994).

Indian Spinal Injuries Centre

To treat spinal injuries, Ahluwalia, with the support of his friends, set up the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre (ISIC) in Vasant Kunj, New Delhi, India in 1993. He also served as an IOFS officer.

Personal life and death

Ahluwalia died in Delhi on 14 January 2022, at the age of 85.[17][12]

Bibliography

  • Higher than Everest
  • The Summit Within
  • Eternal Himalaya
  • Beyond the Himalayas
  • Everest- Where the Snow never melts
  • Hermit Kingdom Ladakh
  • Ladakh Nubra The Forbidden Valley
  • Tracing Marco Polo's Journey

Awards

Medal bar

Padma Bhushan Padma Shri Wound Medal
Samanya Seva Medal Samar Seva Star Raksha Medal 9 Years Long Service Medal

National Awards

International Awards

  • FRGS – Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (United Kingdom)
  • Fellowship conferred for significant contribution to studies and literature written on Environment and Adventure
  • CONDOR-DE-ORO – A high Argentinian honour given for overall contribution to adventure writing / participation in Adventure Sports.
  • Advisor/Consultant to the Argentina Everest Expedition
  • World Health Initiative for Peace Award, 29 July 2014
  • Ahluwalia with Dr APJ Abdul Kalam
  • Ahluwalia with Zail Singh
  • Ahluwalia with former Prime Minister of India - Rajiv Gandhi
  • Ahluwalia with former Prime Minister of India - Atal Bihari Vajpayee
  • Ahluwalia with former Prime Minister of India - Manmohan Singh.
  • Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi meets the members of Indian Everest Expedition 1965 on the occasion of Golden Jubilee of this on 20 May 2015
  • Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi meets the members of Indian Everest Expedition 1965 on the occasion of Golden Jubilee of this on 20 May 2015
  • 1965 Indian stamp dedicated to the 1965 Everest Expedition

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 12 September 1959. p. 226.
  2. ^ a b Sikh Achievers. Hemkunt Press. 2008. ISBN 9788170103653.
  3. ^ "H.P.S. Ahluwalia -". www.everesthistory.com.
  4. ^ "Virat Kohli Biography". Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  5. ^ "First successful Indian Expedition of 1965-". www.istampgallery.com. 22 January 2015.
  6. ^ "First successful Indian Expedition of 1965-". www.thebetterindia.com. 17 June 2015.
  7. ^ "Rohit Sharma Biography". Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  8. ^ "First successful Indian Expedition of 1965-". www.youtube.com. 21 May 2016. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021.
  9. ^ Kohli, M. S. (December 2000). Nine Atop Everest-First successful Indian Expedition of 1965-. Indus. ISBN 9788173871115.
  10. ^ "The first Indians on Everest-First successful Indian Expedition of 1965-". www.livemint.com. 16 May 2015.
  11. ^ "The first Indians on Everest-First successful Indian Expedition of 1965-". www.himalayanclub.org.
  12. ^ a b Sharma, Unnati (15 January 2022). "Remembering Major H.P.S Ahluwalia — mountaineer, army man, social worker... a fighter forever". ThePrint. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  13. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 21 January 1961. p. 20.
  14. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 20 March 1965. p. 146.
  15. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 3 March 1973. p. 295.
  16. ^ "Part II-Section 3". The Gazette of India. 15 September 1997. p. 5.
  17. ^ "Padma Shri recipient HPS Ahluwalia passes away at 85". Press Trust of India.
  18. ^ "Arjuna Award for The first Indians on Everest on 1965-". www.sportsauthorityofindia.nic.in. Archived from the original on 8 August 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  19. ^ "Padma Shree for The first Indians on Everest on 1965-". www.dashboard-padmaawards.gov.in. Archived from the original on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  20. ^ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  21. ^ "Everest conqueror cautions against perils of professional climbing". The Tribune. 13 April 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.