H. P. S. Ahluwalia: Difference between revisions

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[[Major]] '''Hari Pal Singh Ahluwalia''' (6 November 1936 – 14 January 2022) was an Indian mountaineer, author, social worker and retired Indian Army officer. During his career he made contributions in the fields of adventure, sports, environment, disability and social work.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://www.everesthistory.com/climbers/ahluwalia.htm |title=  H.P.S. Ahluwalia -|website=www.everesthistory.com}}</ref> 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 [[Harish Chandra Singh Rawat|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 Everest Expedition 1965|Indian Expedition to Everest]] which put 9 mountaineers on top, a record which lasted 17 years, and was led by [[Mohan Singh Kohli|Captain M S Kohli]]. He along with [[Avtar Singh Cheema]], [[Nawang Gombu]] Sherpa, [[Sonam Gyatso (mountaineer)|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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.istampgallery.com/indian-mount-everest-expedition/|title=First successful Indian Expedition of 1965-|website=www.istampgallery.com|date=22 January 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thebetterindia.com/25939/did-you-know-that-50-years-ago-9-indians-held-a-record-for-climbing-mount-everest/|title=First successful Indian Expedition of 1965-|website=www.thebetterindia.com|date=17 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjF7ZzEJPhg |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211219/UjF7ZzEJPhg |archive-date=19 December 2021 |url-status=live|title=First successful Indian Expedition of 1965-|website=www.youtube.com}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KHkwqaXLmooC|title= Nine Atop Everest-First successful Indian Expedition of 1965-|isbn= 9788173871115|last1= Kohli|first1= M. S.|date= December 2000}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web| url=https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/ZDIwIHEyFLl1y3lVvqtQ5J/The-first-Indians-on-Everest.html|title= The first Indians on Everest-First successful Indian Expedition of 1965-|website= www.livemint.com|date= 16 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web| url=https://www.himalayanclub.org/hj/26/2/nine-atop-everest/|title= The first Indians on Everest-First successful Indian Expedition of 1965-|website= www.himalayanclub.org}}</ref>  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.<ref name=":0" />

After treatment at [[Stoke Mandeville Hospital]] in England, he continued to pursue his love of adventure by organising pioneering events such as the first Ski Expedition to [[Mount Trisul]], the first Trans-Himalaya Motor Expedition (1983),{{citation needed|date=November 2014}} and the Central Asia Cultural Expedition (1994){{citation needed|date=November 2014}} following the Silk & [[Marco Polo]]'s Route through [[Uzbekistan]], [[Kyrgyzstan]], [[Kazakhstan]], entering China in the Asian City of [[Kashgar]], Yarkhand and returned via Tibet and [[Kathmandu]].

Realizing the needs of persons with [[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. His experiences have appeared in school books. He met many great achievers such as  [[Indira Gandhi]], [[APJ Abdul Kalam]] et cetera.

|colspan="4"|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=IND_Padma_Bhushan_BAR.png|width=106}} [[File:IND Padma Shri BAR.png|105px]] [[File:Wound Medal-India.svg|105px]]

*[[Padma Bhushan]]-2002<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110413/bathinda.htm#4|title=Everest conqueror cautions against perils of professional climbing|date=13 April 2011|work=[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]]|access-date=16 September 2014}}</ref>