In a formal ceremony conducted at the Army War College (AWC) headquarters, Lt Gen Harjeet Singh Sahi passed on the Commandant’s baton to Lt Gen Ajay Chandpuria on Friday. The solemn ceremony was witnessed by senior officers, faculty & staff of the institution.
Lt Gen Sahi, who was Commandant of the premier institution of higher military learning since 19 Aug 24, was instrumental in incorporating several significant transformations in the spheres of operations, training, administration & infrastructure with the aim of aligning training & doctrine with contemporary operational dynamics; developing AWC as a hub for conception, ideation & validation of all envisaged changes in Indian Army’s warfighting philosophy & cultivating an intellectually stimulating environment for all round development of officers.
Significant milestones achieved under the General’s Officer’s guidance include contributions towards formulation of doctrines, strategies, compendiums & various other inputs & analyses on complex strategic challenges; institutionalising of niche concepts like Red Teaming & in-house innovations of techniques for analysis of operational plans; developing digital platforms to facilitate pre-course preparation, wargaming & structured assessment of student officers. Sustained, diligent & focused efforts for upgradation of course syllabi were undertaken to prepare student officers for successive levels of command. The participation of officers from Friendly Foreign Countries (FFC) in various courses increased significantly thereby reinforcing AWC as a regional institution of choice. Strategic Fusion Convergence Capsule, a landmark initiative, was introduced with the aim to bringing together representatives from the Ministry, Academia, Industry, Think Tanks, Central Armed Police Forces & FFC Officers for maximising cross-domain intellectual fusion. Similarly, participation of FFC Officers & media houses in Information Warfare courses reflected a deliberate effort to build institutional competence across multiple domains. The ‘Friends for Life Portal’, a tangible instrument of diplomacy & institutional soft power, was unveiled to foster continued linkages with FFC Officers graduating from the portals of AWC. As far as administration & infrastructure are concerned, a considerable number of projects including setting up of the state of the art ‘Kalkat Auditorium’, upgradation of lecture halls, creating training & adventure facilities at Berchha Watermanship Training Area, etc ensured improvements foundational to institutional morale.
During his tenure, AWC successfully conducted the inaugural edition of flagship tri service seminar ‘Ran Samwad’ in Aug 2025 & witnessed the visit of Shri Rajnath Singh, Hon’ble Raksha Mantri on two separate occasions. The conferring of the coveted ‘Chief of Army Staff Appreciation’ on AWC in Jan 2026 bears testimony to the astonishing progress made by the institution.
Lt Gen Ajay Chandpuria, who donned the mantle of leading Indian Army’s principal military training institution, is a distinguished alumnus of National Defence Academy & Indian Military Academy. He was commissioned into 16th Battalion of The DOGRA Regiment in June 1990 & in his illustrious career spanning over 36 years, the General Officer has tenanted several key command, staff & instructional appointments. His notable command assignments include command of an Infantry Battalion in Operation RHINO in the Eastern Theatre, Rashtriya Rifles Sector in Jammu & Kashmir, Dagger Division deployed along the Line of Control in the Kashmir Valley & the prestigious Vajra Corps along the Western Front. His key staff appointments include tenures in the Directorate General of Military Operations, Infantry Division deployed along the Line of Control & Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff. As far as his instructional appointments are concerned, the General Officer has been an Instructor & Assistant Adjutant at the Indian Military Academy, instructor at Headquarters Indian Military Training Team, Bhutan & Commander Higher Command Wing, Army War College.
With the depth of operational, staff & instructional experience at his disposal, Lt Gen Ajay Chandpuria’s focus would be to consolidate initiatives in the spheres of multi domain operations & integration of niche technologies into military training.
contact: drrajeshjauhri@gmail.com
Dr Rajesh Jauhri is a Journalist with an experience of over 25 years in Indian and foreign media, a Social Scientist, an Ac-complished Author, a Political & Strategic Analyst, a Marksman (Rifle & Pistol), an Orator, a Thinker and an Educationist. He holds a Ph.D. degree on “Impact of colonial heritage on Indian police”. He runs an NGO dedicated to the social and eco-nomic uplift of tribal communities in MP and two decades back, he established a school in a village of Indore district, providing education and moral values to children belonging to underprivileged and minority families. Has received multiple awards in various fields.
