STATE TIMES NEWS
NEW DELHI: A courageous warrior with “strategic brilliance” and a “master of high-altitude warfare” who led multiple historic campaigns into the Tibet region is how senior army officers and military historians described the legacy of General Zorawar Singh on Friday.
It was also announced on the occasion that a “chair of excellence” has been established in his honour at Delhi-based think-tank Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS).
The “chair of excellence” has been established by Jammu and Kashmir Rifles regiment.
Jammu and Kashmir Rifles regiment and CLAWS hosted a symposium on the legendary military general’s life and legacy at Manekshaw Centre at Delhi Cantonment.
The event got underway with a keynote address by Colonel of the Regiment of Jammu and Kashmir Rifles & Ladakh Scouts, Lieutenant General M P Singh, followed by presentations by a panel of speakers.
Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi attended the event as a chief guest.
Lieutenant General Singh in his keynote address said that General Zorawar’s rise was “purely merit based”.
He was a “military genius” who is known for his ability to conduct “high-altitude warfares”, the officer said.
General Zorawar’s saga is of courage and “strategic brilliance”, he added.
The military experts, who addressed the gathering, described his campaigns in Tibet in the 19th century as one of the most “audacious and ambitious” military campaigns in history.
General Zorawar was a “master of high-altitude warfare” was the refrain at the symposium.
The military general was born in 1786 in Kehlur in Bilaspur, which falls in today’s Himachal Pradesh.
His campaigns in Tibet took place in the first half of the 19th century.
CLAWS Director General, Lieutenant General Dushyant Singh (retd.), spoke about the establishment of the “chair of excellence”.
He described General Zorawar as an “astute strategist” who was driven by an “unwavering will to achieve victory at any cost”.
A highlight of the symposium was General Dwivedi unveiling of two books, one being — ‘The Warrior Gurkha’ on the life and legacy of Param Vir Chakra awardee, Lieutenant Colonel Dhan Singh Thapa, written by his daughter Madhulika Thapa.
Lieutenant Colonel Thapa was from the first battalion of Eight Gorkha Rifles (now 3rd Battalion the Mechanised Infantry Regiment), an Army official said.
‘A Kashmir Knight and the Last 50 Years of the Princely State of J&K’ authored by Lieutenant General Ghanshyam Singh Katoch (retd.) was also released on the occasion.
These literary works add depth to the understanding of India’s military history and the enduring heritage of the Indian Army, officials said.
Lieutenant General Katoch (retd), who will head the new chair at CLAWS, later during an interactive session with the audience, said, “This chair has been set for a year and work will take place on bringing out a book on General Zorawar which is planned to be released next year.”
In addition, General Dwivedi felicitated the winners of the Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw Essay Competition 2024, which was earlier organised by CLAWS under the theme ‘India’s National Security and Emerging Challenges’.
Later in an interaction with PTI, Madhulika Thapa said her book is a tribute to a national hero and her father.
Her 90-year-old mother also attended the book launch event.
“I wrote this book as a tribute to my father but also talk about those soldiers, who lost their lives in October 1962. They sacrificed their lives for us, for the country. So, I also wanted to pay homage to them,” she told PTI on the sidelines of the symposium.
“Through this book, I pay tribute to his bravery that he displayed on the battlefield and this work is also for the gen X people to know such persons who exhibited courage and bravery in that era,” she said.
The book is based on oral accounts shared by my mother and other family members, archival news clips in possession of my sister, among other other sources, Thapa said.
“My father received the PVC in 1963 for his action during the Sino-India War 1962,” she added.