Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

Saurabh Singh Shekhawat, KC, SC, SM, VSM is an

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four ...

officer of the 21 Para (SF) and an avid mountaineer. He is one of Indian Army's most decorated officers, with one war-time gallantry award and two peace-time gallantry awards to his name.

Early life

Shekhawat was born in a Hindu

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

Family on 18 October 1970 in

Alwar Alwar (Pronunciation: �lʋəɾ is a city located in India's National Capital Region and the administrative headquarters of Alwar District in the state of Rajasthan. It is located 150 km south of Delhi and 150 km north of Jaipur. At ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

. His Father's name is J.S. Shekhawat and his mother's name is Sreddha.

Career

Military career Shekhawat was commissioned in the Indian Army as a Second Lieutenant from Indian Military Academy , Dehradun on 11 June 1994 and was promoted lieutenant on 11 June 1996 and captain on 11 June 1999 and major on 11 June 2004. He was promoted lieutenant-colonel on 11 June 2007 and to colonel on 6 January 2010 (seniority from 1 January). He was promoted to the rank of Brigadier in March 2020. Mountaineering Career Shekhawat has ascended

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow ...

three times in 2001, 2003 and 2005. He has also climbed

Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and abo ...

, the highest peak in Africa, and

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and i ...

, the highest peak in the Alps and Western Europe. In October 2009 he led the joint Indo-Kazakh team to scale the Kazakhstan peak of Marble Wall peak in Kazakhstan He has climbed 14 peaks in the world till date. On 23rd June,2022, a 55 men

expedition team, led by Shekhawat, successfully scaled the climb to Shahi Kangri.

Controversies

Victimization claim

In 2017, Shekhawat filed a complaint to the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

accusing two former army chiefs, Gen. Bikram Singh and Gen.

Dalbir Singh General Dalbir Singh Suhag, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC (born 28 December 1954) is the former Indian High Commissioner to Seychelles and a former Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army. He was the 25th Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) of the ...

, and a senior serving officer, Lt. Gen. Abhay Krishna of victimizing him. Shekhawat claimed he was denied promotion because of lackluster reviews in annual confidential reports given to him as retaliation.{{cite news , title='Victimised' decorated officer Colonel Saurabh Shekhawat gets promoted after years of wait , url=https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2020/03/14/victimised-decorated-officer-colonel-saurabh-shekhawat-gets-promoted-after-years-of-wait.html , work=The Week , date=March 14, 2020 Shekhawat claimed the trigger for the victimization was his report made officially to the Army about a

dacoity Dacoity is a term used for "banditry" in the Indian subcontinent. The spelling is the anglicised version of the Hindi word ''daaku''; "dacoit" is a colloquial Indian English word with this meaning and it appears in the ''Glossary of Colloquial ...

Jorhat Jorhat ( ) is one of the important cities and a growing urban centre in the state of Assam in India. Etymology Jorhat ("jor" means twin and "hat" means market) means two hats or mandis - "Masorhaat" and "Sowkihat" which existed on the opposite ...

of a private citizen's residence involving personnel of the 3 Corps Counter Intelligence and Surveillance Unit in December 2011.{{cite news , title=Jorhat robbery case echo: Colonel claims victimisation , url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/jorhat-robbery-case-echo-colonel-claims-victimisation-4753821/ , work=Indian Express , date=July 17, 2011 At the time of the robbery, Gen. Dalbir Singh was then Corps Commander of 3 Corps and Lt. Gen. Abhay Krishna was then Shekhawat's brigadier general staff (operations). Shekhawat claimed Krihsna acted on Gen. Dalbir Singh's behalf to give him poor performance reviews. When Gen. Bikram Singh became Army Chief, the Discipline and Vigilance Ban imposed on Gen. Dalbir Singh by the previous Army Chief for inaction over the robbery was lifted and Gen. Dalbir Singh was further promoted. Shekhawat also alleged that Gen. Dalbir Singh tried to harm his career by preventing him from taking the Higher Command Course, a qualification for promotion. But since the weightage for the course selection took into account medals and field service, he qualified for the course to the alleged chagrin of Gen. Dalbir Singh. Shekhawat speculated that Gen. Dalbir Singh in reaction was able to get weightage of medals and field service removed from consideration for higher command courses from 2014 onwards.

Dispute with The Week

On March 14, 2020, the current affairs magazine

The Week ''The Week'' is a weekly news magazine with editions in the United Kingdom and United States. The British publication was founded in 1995 and the American edition in 2001. An Australian edition was published from 2008 to 2012. A children's edi ...

published a story on Shekhawat titled ‘ decorated Colonel Saurabh Singh Shekhawat promoted after years of wait’ regarding the claims by Shekhawat of victimization at the hands of senior officers. Shekhawat in response wrote a letter to The Week claiming the story was inaccurate and said such stories "hurt the sentiment" of soldiers who serve and create doubts in the minds of the general public about the Army. The reporter Pradip R. Sagar provided a rebuttal by pointing out the story was not meant to "cast aspersions" on the Army but highlight accusations made against top Army brass.{{cite news , title=Army officer seeks apology over article; THE WEEK responds , url=https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2020/08/03/army-officer-seeks-apology-over-article-the-week-responds.html , work=The Week , date=August 3, 2020

Awards

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Kirti Chakra The Kirti Chakra is an Indian military decoration awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the field of battle. It may be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel, including posthumous awards. It is the ''pe ...

Shaurya Chakra The Shaurya Chakra is an Indian military decoration awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice while not engaged in direct action with the enemy. It may be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel, sometimes posthumousl ...

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Sena Medal The Sena Medal is awarded to members of the Indian army, of all ranks, "for such individual acts of exceptional devotion to duty or courage as have special significance for the Army." Awards may be made posthumously and a bar is authorized for s ...

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Vishisht Seva Medal The Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) is a decoration of the Indian Armed Forces. It is awarded to recognize "distinguished service of a high order" to all ranks of the Indian Armed Forces. From 1980, the Yudh Seva Medal was introduced to recognize exc ...

, style="text-align: center;" , Samanya Seva Medal , - , style="text-align: center;" ,

Operation Vijay Star The Operation Vijay Star is a service medal for recognition of Armed Forces personnel and civilians who participated in combat operations during Operation Vijay in 1999. Those personnel who were mobilised but did not serve in the conflict zone wer ...

, style="text-align: center;" , Special Service Medal , style="text-align: center;" , Siachen Glacier Medal , style="text-align: center;" , Operation Vijay Medal , - , style="text-align: center;" ,

Operation Parakram Medal Operations Parakram Medal is a military award of India. It was awarded in recognition of the services of Armed Forces personnel and civilians in Operation Parakram. All ranks of the Indian Armed Forces including Territorial Army, Auxiliary and Re ...

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Sainya Seva Medal The Sainya Seva Medal is a medal of the Indian Armed Forces. The medal is awarded in recognition of non-operational service under conditions of hardship and severe climate in specified areas. History The Sainya Seva Medal was instituted on 26 Jan ...

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Videsh Seva Medal The Videsh Seva Medal is a service medal of the Indian Armed Forces. It is presented to all ranks of the three services for services rendered outside India. It was instituted on 26 January 1960. It can also be awarded posthumously. History The Vid ...

, style="text-align: center;" , 75th Independence Anniversary Medal , - , style="text-align: center;" ,

50th Anniversary of Independence Medal 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typical humans have five digits on e ...

, style="text-align: center;" , 20 Years Long Service Medal , style="text-align: center;" , 9 Years Long Service Medal , style="text-align: center;" ,

MONUSCO The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUSCO, an acronym based on its French name , is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which was estab ...

Shekhawat has been awarded the

, the

, Sena Medal (Gallantry),{{Cite web , url=http://www.timesnow.tv/Tribute-to-men-who-fight-for-the-nation---Part-2/videoshow/4381299.cms , title=Tribute to men who fight for the nation - Part 2-Heroes-Weekend Shows -TIMESNOW.tv - Latest Breaking News, Big News Stories, News Videos , access-date=15 March 2016 , archive-date=21 March 2016 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160321190553/http://www.timesnow.tv/Tribute-to-men-who-fight-for-the-nation---Part-2/videoshow/4381299.cms , url-status=dead

and the Samanya Seva Medal amongst other medals for anti-terrorist operations, mountaineering and distinguished service. Shekhawat in a letter to Army headquarters in 2017 referred to himself as the "highest decorated serving officer in the army with an unblemished operational profile."{{cite news , title=Indian Army's top officer claims of 'systematic victimisation' by ex-Army chiefs: report , url=https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india-indian-army-s-top-officer-claims-of-systematic-victimisation-by-ex-army-chiefs-report-391514 , work=India TV , date=July 16, 2017

Personal life

Shekhawat is married to Renuka Shekhawat, a professor of Sanskrit at Rajasthan University.{{Cite web, title=Indian Women- Acing the ageing …Like never before!, url=http://www.aradhanamishra.com/indian-women-acing-the-ageing-like-never-before/, url-status=live

References

{{Reflist {{Indian mountaineers {{DEFAULTSORT:Shekhawat, Saurabh Singh Living people Indian Army officers People from Alwar Rajasthani people Indian mountain climbers Para Commandos Indian summiters of Mount Everest Military personnel from Rajasthan Recipients of the Shaurya Chakra Recipients of the Kirti Chakra 1971 births Recipients of the Sena Medal Recipients of the Vishisht Seva Medal