Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Mohan Singh Kohli (born 11 December 1931), is an

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

officer and

mountaineer Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...

, who led the 1965 Indian Everest Expedition, which saw nine men reach the summit of

Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at its ...

, a world record for 17 years.

Early life

Born and raised in Haripur on the banks of the Indus in the

Karakoram The Karakoram () is a mountain range in the Kashmir region spanning the border of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwestern extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range is withi ...

mountains of the North West Frontier, Kohli witnessed the massacre of over 2,000 people during the

partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

. Beginning with Saser Kangri (25,170 ft) in 1956, he has participated in 20 major Himalayan expeditions, including India's first ascent of

Nanda Kot Nanda Kot ( Kumaoni-नन्दा कोट) is a mountain peak of the Himalaya range located in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand state in India. It lies in the Kumaon Himalaya, just outside the ring of peaks enclosing the Nanda Devi ...

and the maiden ascent of

Annapurna III Annapurna III () is a mountain in the Annapurna mountain range located in Nepal, and at tall, it is the 42nd highest mountain in the world and the third highest peak of the Annapurna mountain range ( Annapurna Fang is technically taller at , b ...

. In 1962, he spent three consecutive nights, including two without oxygen, on Everest at 27,650 feet during severe blizzards, joining a select group of climbers. During his tenure with the

, he incorporated adventure training. Over 15 years with the

Indo-Tibetan Border Police The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is a Central Armed Police Forces, central armed police force in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs (India), Ministry of Home Affairs. It is responsible for guarding Border guard, India’s border with ...

, he developed the force into a notable mountaineering organisation. Leading seven significant and sensitive missions under the guidance of officers B.N. Mullick and R.N. Kao, he worked with climbers and scientists from the US to install nuclear-powered listening devices on Indian Himalayan peaks to monitor Chinese missile capabilities. Upon joining Air-India in 1971, Kohli promoted ‘Trekking in the Himalayas’ globally, making over 1,000 presentations in more than 50 countries, including appearances on popular TV programmes such as ‘

To Tell the Truth ''To Tell the Truth'' is an American television panel show. Four celebrity panelists are presented with three contestants (the "team of challengers", each an individual or pair) and must identify which is the "central character" whose unusual ...

’ and ‘ David Frost Show’. On 3 December 1978, he flew over the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is the point in the Southern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True South Pole to distinguish ...

. To protect the Himalayas, he secured support from Sir

Edmund Hillary Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineering, mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa people, Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the Timeline of M ...

and other Himalayan figures, including Maurice Herzog, Sir

Chris Bonington Sir Christian John Storey Bonington, CVO, CBE, DL (born 6 August 1934) is a British mountaineer. His career has included nineteen expeditions to the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest. Early life and expeditions Bonington's father, ...

Reinhold Messner Reinhold Andreas Messner (; born 17 September 1944) is an Italian climber, explorer, and author from the German-speaking province of South Tyrol. He made the first solo ascent of Mount Everest and, along with Peter Habeler, the first ascent o ...

, and Junko Tabei, establishing the Himalayan Environment Trust on 14 October 1989. The trust has contributed to preserving this world heritage. In India, he also introduced Himalayan tourism, white-water rafting, aero-sports, luxury sea cruises, tourist charters to

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

, international conferences, and opened

Lakshadweep Lakshadweep () is a union territory of India. It is an archipelago of 36 islands divided into three island subgroups: the Amindivi Islands in the north, the Laccadive Islands (separated from Amindivi roughly by the 11th parallel north), and th ...

and the

Andaman Andaman may refer to: * Andaman Islands, an island group in the Bay of Bengal * Andaman Island, Penang, an artificial island in George Town, Penang * Andaman Sea, a sea of the eastern Indian Ocean * ''Andaman'' (1998 film), an Indian Kannada-lang ...

Islands to tourism. His 14-year tenure as Vice-President/President of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation was marked by many significant developments. Since retiring in 1990, he has focused on the development of youth through various adventure and outdoor leadership projects.

Affiliation

Kohli served as President of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation from 1989 to 1993. He co-founded the Himalayan Environment Trust in 1989.

Awards

He has received the following awards: #

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards given for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjun ...

Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM, ) is a military award of India given to recognize "distinguished service of an exceptional order" to all ranks of the armed forces. The award is a peacetime equivalent of Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal, which is a Wartime D ...

# IMF Gold Medal # Punjab Government's Nishan-e-Khalsa # Delhi Government's Most Distinguished Citizen of Delhi Award # Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 2007 in the lifetime achievement category He has also received several international recognitions.

1965 Everest expedition

Kohli is known for leading India's first successful Indian Everest Expedition in 1965. Nine climbers reached the summit, setting a world record that stood for 17 years. Upon the team's return from Nepal, the Prime Minister personally received them at the airport, a break from protocol. The entire team was awarded the Arjuna Award, and all eleven members received the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

. Former Prime Minister

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

praised the expedition: “''The record of Commander Kohli’s expedition will find special mention in history. It was a masterpiece of planning, organization, teamwork, individual effort and leadership.''” She also called it one of India's six major achievements after Independence. A full-length film on the expedition, with music by

Shankar Jaikishan Sankar or Shankar is a Sanskrit word meaning "beneficent" or "giver of bliss" and may refer to: People * Shankar (name) **Ravi Shankar, Indian sitarist and composer **Shankar (actor), Indian actor ** Shankar (Tamil militant), Tamil rebel ** Shan ...

, was released across India and abroad. The story of the achievement was widely covered in national newspapers and magazines. Kohli and some team members were honoured in cities like

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, and

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Tenzing Norgay Tenzing Norgay (; ''tendzin norgyé''; May 1914 – 9 May 1986), born Namgyal Wangdi, and also referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a Nepalese-Indian Sherpa mountaineer. On 29 May 1953, he and Edmund Hillary were the first confirmed to ...

accompanied Captain Kohli to several countries. In addition to the Everest expedition, Captain M.S. Kohli and Tenzing Norgay climbed several European peaks, piloted by Raymond Lambert. In India, the team was invited by Chief Ministers of various states and honoured at receptions. On 8 September 1965, Kohli addressed Members of Parliament in the Central Hall. The expedition sparked a significant increase in adventure clubs and mountaineering activities, leading to a resurgence in Indian mountaineering.

Books and magazines

''Incredible Himalayas'', Indus Publishing (2005)
* ''Mountains of India'', Indus Publishing (2004) * ''The Great Himalayan Climb'', Orient Paperbacks (2003) * ''Spies in the Snow, How CIA and the Indian Intelligence Lost a Nuclear Device in the Himalayas'' * ''Spies of Anil in the Himalayas: Secret Missions and Perilous Climbs'', University Press of Kansas (2003) * ''The Himalayas: Playground of the Gods: Trekking, Climbing, Adventure'' (2000) M.S. Kohli * ''Mountaineering in India'' (1989)

References

External links

Bio details on publisher's website

''The missing radioactive sensor'', Deccan Herald, April 25, 2004

''CIA nuclear device atop Himalayas'', Times of India, June 5, 2003
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kohli, Manmohan Singh Indian summiters of Mount Everest 1931 births Living people People from Haripur District Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in sports Recipients of the Arjuna Award Kirori Mal College alumni Recipients of the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award Recipients of Indian Mountaineering Foundation's Gold Medal Mountain climbers from Punjab, India