H. P. S. Ahluwalia

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- Mrs. Harbans Kaur
AwardsPadma Bhushan
Padma Shri
Arjuna Award
Military career
Allegiance India
Service / branch Indian Army
Years of service1958-1968
RankMajor
Service numberIC-11112[1]
Battles / warsIndo-Pakistani War of 1965

Major 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] 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 Captain M S 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.[4][5][6][7][8][9] During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, he suffered a bullet injury to his spine which resulted in his confinement to a wheelchair. He was the Chairman of Indian Spinal Injuries Centre. He has written thirteen books and has also produced an award-winning serial, Beyond Himalaya, which has been telecast all over the world on Discovery and National Geographic channels.[10]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference commission was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Sikh Achievers. 2008. ISBN 9788170103653.
  3. ^ "H.P.S. Ahluwalia -". www.everesthistory.com.
  4. ^ "First successful Indian Expedition of 1965-". www.istampgallery.com. 22 January 2015.
  5. ^ "First successful Indian Expedition of 1965-". www.thebetterindia.com. 17 June 2015.
  6. ^ "First successful Indian Expedition of 1965-". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021.
  7. ^ Kohli, M. S. (December 2000). Nine Atop Everest-First successful Indian Expedition of 1965-. ISBN 9788173871115.
  8. ^ "The first Indians on Everest-First successful Indian Expedition of 1965-". www.livemint.com. 16 May 2015.
  9. ^ "The first Indians on Everest-First successful Indian Expedition of 1965-". www.himalayanclub.org.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).