| COLONELS OF THE REGIEMENT | | | Lieutenant General AK Chatterjee PVSM, VSM
 Born on 27 May 1932, Lieutenant General Ashoke Kumar Chatterjee PVSM, VSM was commissioned into 3 SIKH LI on 8 June 1952. He joined the army through the first NCC Course after graduating from Morris College, Nagpur. A keen sportsman, he captained his college and university teams in football and tennis and participated in athletics. At the Indian Military Academy he was awarded 'Blues' in Tennis and Football. After operational service in Nagaland, Goa and Ladakh he did the course at the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington. Posted for a while at Army Headquarters, he went with 1 SIKH LI to Gaza in 1966. He later commanded 5 SIKH LI.
After successful command of the battalion he was posted as General Staff Officer Grade 1 (Operations) at Headquarters Eastern Command. During the war he accompanied the Commander of the Joint Command of the Indian and Bangla Desh forces in the Eastern Theatre, to Dacca, to accept the surrender of the Pakistani forces on 16 December 1971. For his outstanding service in the planning and conduct of the operations, during the war, he was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal.
| Promoted as Brigadier in 1975, he commanded 59 Infantry Brigade in Nagaland. He became Colonel of the Regiment in September 1975, being the youngest Brigadier in the army to hold such a prestigious appointment. He then attended the course at the National Defence College, after which he was Brigadier General Staff, 1 Corps and then Commander of the Junior Command Wing at the College of Combat, Mhow. Promoted as Major General in September 1981 he commanded 25 Infantry Division.
| He was Commandant of the Infantry School, Mhow and Chief of Staff, 33 Corps before being promoted as Lieutenant General to be the Military Secretary at Army Headquarters. He raised 12 Corps in the deserts of Rajasthan before taking over as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Southern Command, at Pune. He was also the Overall Commander of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka and was involved in the operations to thwart the coup in the Maldives. During his service he accompanied high-level military delegations to Southeast Asia and Russia. He was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in January 1989.
| Lieutenant General AK Chatterjee retired from service in June 1990. He was Colonel of the Regiment for 15 years. Under his Colonelcy the regimental centre moved to Fatehgarh; Colours were presented to the regiment on 14 December 1981 by the President of India; five battalions were raised and 103 Infantry Battalion (Territorial Army) was brought into the regimental fold. He was instrumental in getting the present ceremonial dress approved; in introducing the 23rd Sikh Pioneers scroll as part of the regimental crest; and in getting the boy's hostel as well as the museum-cum-motivation hall constructed at the regimental centre. During his stewardship, the bond and strong relationship with our retired foreign officers was firmly forged. The SIKH LI and Sikh Pioneers Association in UK have now built close links with the Regiment.
| | After retirement, Lieutenant General Chatterjee has settled down at Auroville, near Pondicherry. He is busy teaching and carrying out educational administration. He takes active interest in animal welfare work and is on the Board of a number of animal charities in UK and India. In Auroville, he concentrates on unending education, value-based education and human unity. In this capacity, he is on the planning board of Pondicherry Central University. His love of the Regiment is abiding. |
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