Lieutenant General Arvind Mahajan (retired) expresses pride in being part of a generation that was born into a free India. He has witnessed the nation’s remarkable evolution and played a role in shaping its transformation since independence.
Today, our professionals handle complex computer systems with ease. A quiet corner in the basement serves as his study, where a fading photograph from his days as a cadet at the National Defence Academy sits alongside a portrait of him in the uniform of a three-star general; the commissioning parchment issued by the President in the late 1960s displayed beside a photograph of him receiving a military honour from the Supreme Commander decades later. “It is not a study. “The conflict was fought in difficult terrain and harsh weather conditions. Overcoming that challenge required courage on the front lines, along with determined leadership, coordination, logistics and national resolve. Kargil demonstrated that when the country and its armed forces act with unity and determination, even the most difficult challenge can be overcome. The EME is a technical Corps that provides maintenance and repair service to fighting formations for a range of equipment used in warfare. “At the time we were commissioned, understanding the functioning of a radio set was an early challenge. And that is precisely how our nation too has evolved…from an importer of anything related to technology in its early days to a leading software developer. We now make complex missiles and gun systems and have demonstrated our capacity to reach the Moon and Mars. Each of these achievements gives immense joy to my generation.”
Published in 2007 during his tenure at the helm of the EME, the book chronicles the Corps’ role and contributions since Independence, from the 1947-48 Kashmir operations to the 1999 Kargil War.
I’d say it is a museum, a window into a life lived alongside a nation on the move,” says Mahajan, flipping through the pages of a book titled “Techno Warriors of the Indian Army: Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers in Operations. Serving during the Kargil War, he says, was among the most defining experiences of his military career.
