Rajpal Punia

Major General Rajpal Punia, YSM, an alumnus of Sainik School, Chittorgarh, was selected for the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla at the age of sixteen. He was commissioned into the Indian Army on 9 June 1984 and joined 14 Mechanised Infantry (16 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles). General Punia was the orchestrator of Operation Khukri while commanding a company as part of a United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Sierra Leone. He commanded the oldest brigade of the Indian Army along the Line of Actual Control against the Chinese. He attended the National Defence College course in Thailand, and the United Nations Senior Mission Leaders course in Japan. He has the honour of commanding the prestigious Armoured Divison at Hisar. Under his command, he successfully controlled the Jat Agitation of 2017 and also vacated the Dera of Ram Rahim in Sirsa. He has had an illustrious career in the Indian Army spanning thirty-eight years.  He is a fine orator and has been penning down his military experiences since the very beginning of his career. He is the author of the book, Operation Khukri: The True Story behind the Indian Army's Most Successful Mission as Part of the United Nations, published by Penguin Random House India in 2021, which is soon to be made into a motion picture. He has also authored the book, A Soldier Speaks: Dil Se, published by Notion Press in 2022. The General Officer has numerous articles and research papers to his name.  

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