H. P. S. Ahluwalia

H. P. S Ahluwalia
H. P. S Ahluwalia
Born	November 6, 1936 (age 88); Sialkot, Punjab, India
Alma mater	St. George's College, Mussoorie, India
Years active	1995
Board member of	Chairman, Indian Spinal Injuries Centre
Spouse	Mrs. Bholi Ahluwalia
Children	Daughter- Sugandh Ahluwalia
Parent(s)	Father- Mr. Sarjit Singh; Mother- Mrs. Harbans Kaur
Awards	Padma Bhushan; Padma Shri; Arjuna Award

Major H.P.S. Ahluwalia is an Indian mountaineer. During his career of 45 years, he has made contributions in the fields of adventure, sports, environment, disability and social work.
Following his advanced training at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling, he climbed extensively in Sikkim, Nepal and later he climbed Mount Everest on 29 May 1965. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, he suffered a bullet injury which resulted in his confinement to a wheelchair. Presently, he is the Chairman of Indian Spinal Injuries Centre.
He has written thirteen books which includes his autobiography “Higher than Everest”, which ran into several editions and languages. Eternal Himalaya, Ladakh- The Hermit Kingdom, Climbing Everest, Faces of Everest, Himalaya, Everest where Snow Never Melts, Nubra- A Forbidden Valley and the book titled “Tracing Marco Polo’s Journey of the Silk Route” was recently released. He has also produced an award-wining serial, ‘Beyond Himalaya’, which has been telecast all over the world on Discovery and National Geographic channels.

Early life

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Ahluwalia in his youth

Hari Pal Singh Ahluwalia was born and brought up in Shimla along with his two sisters and two younger brothers. His father was employed as a Civil Engineer in the Central Public Works Department.

Education

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Major HPS Ahluwalia with Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru

For his academic career he went to St. Joseph's Academy and St. George's College, Mussoorie. There, he discovered his interest in photography and rock climbing. Along with graduation, his interest in rock-climbing increased. Some of the places where Ahluwalia did his rock climbing are Garhwal, Sikkim, Nepal, Ladakh, and of course Mount Everest.

Army

After completing his graduation Ahluwalia joined the Indian Army as an officer. Along with time most of the people changed and so do their hobbies and interests. But Ahluwalia's love for mountaineering never went in tandem with his professional life.

Mountaineering career

Major Ahluwalia has also been the President of Indian Mountaineering Foundation and Delhi Mountaineering Association. He was also the Chairman of Special Ability Trust (created to assist young achievers with disabilities with fellowships and scholarships), Youth Exploring Society (with its chapter in Ireland, West Germany and Italy), Rehabilitation Council of India (a Statutory Body under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment), Chairman of Planning Committee of Persons with Disability of 12-year plan and Chairman of the Committee of Drafting Country Report.

Expeditions and adventures

After treatment at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, he continued to pursue his love for adventure by organizing pioneering events such as the first Ski Expedition to Mt. Trisul, the first Trans-Himalaya Motor Expedition (1983), and the Central Asia Cultural Expedition (1994) following the Silk & Marco Polo’s Route through Uzbekistan, Kirghistan, Kazaghistan entering China in Asian City of Kashgar, Yarkhand and returned via Tibet and Khathmandu.

Professional career

Realizing the needs of persons with spinal injury, Ahluwalia, with the support of his friends, set up the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre (ISIC) in Vasant Kunj, New Delhi, India in 1993. Today, ISIC is a landmark healthcare institute at par with the best in the world. ISIC provide comprehensive medical care of the highest international standards and conduct some of the most advanced surgeries performed anywhere in the world. ISIC have revolutionized the diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of patients with spinal cord injuries. The philosophy of ISIC is to reach into the lives of new spinal injured patients, both urban and rural, and bring a new dimension into their lives. ISIC believes that successful rehabilitation involves not only the body, but also the mind and spirit. As a part of the spinal centre it also has an Institute of Rehabilitation Sciences which offer Master Degree courses like MPT Sports, MPT Neurology, MPT Musculo-Skeletal, MPT Cardio-Pulmonary, MOT Neurology and is also the first institute in the country to start Masters in Prosthetics and Orthotics.^[1]

Positions

Chairman – Indian Spinal Injuries Centre.
Chairman - Planning Committee of Persons with Disability of 12 five year plan and Chairman of the committee of drafting country report.
Former President - Indian Mountaineering Foundation.
Former President - Delhi Mountaineering Association.
Former Chairman - Special Ability Trust (created to assist young achiever with disabilities with *fellowships and scholarships).
Former Chairman - Youth Exploring Society (with its chapter in Ireland, West Germany and Italy).
Former Chairman - Rehabilitation Council of India (a statutory body under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment).

Member - Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust.
Member - Planning Commission – Steering committee of the Social Welfare and other special groups.
Member - National Consultation on National Policy for PwD.
Member - CII Core Group on Disability.
Member - National Finance and Revenue Committee constituted by Ministry of Finance.
Member – CBR (Community Based Rehabilitation), in collaboration with AISPO-ITALY.
Member - International Spinal Cord Society.
Member - Patron, Spinal Cord Society, India.

Quotes by Major HPS Ahluwalia

Scaling Mount Everest and setting up ISIC have taught me a powerful truth

Life is all about conquering the other summit – the Summit of the Mind.

As I look back at life, it is nothing but power of the mind that matters the most. Each man carries within himself his own mountain, with its own cliffs, crevasses – fearful, sheer, unfathomed, which he must climb to attain a fuller knowledge of himself. The physical act of climbing a mountain has a kinship with the ascent of that inward spiritual mountain which every man has to climb sometime or the other.

My life has been a long journey of extreme ups and downs...of hope and despair and of aspirations and achievements. Every experience has taught me a valuable lesson and helped me shape my philosophy of life.

I attribute the success of our institute to 3 main factors; first of all, the inspiration from Mount Everest to always reach for the highest; secondly, the extraordinary dedication and hard work of our exemplary team of medical specialists and all our staff, who continue to help us maintain the highest standards; and thirdly, the strength and courage I see every day, in the eyes of our patients – some of whom have traveled half way across the world. They are life’s real heroes – people who continue to teach us, that there is no such thing as disability. The only barriers are those that exist in the mind.

The teachings of Guru Nanak, a guiding principle, I have based my life on “Mann Neeva, Matt Uchchi...bow down and be humble but allow your thinking to be of the highest order.

Books and publications

Higher than Everest

Foreword by Late Smt. Indira Gandhi

Although I was born on one of the flattest Plains of the world, I have always regarded myself as a child of the mountains. Not merely because that is where my ancestors belonged, but because I feel more at home there and they seem to fulfill an emotional need, if I may borrow Justice G. D. Khosla’s phrase.
It is difficult to pinpoint the reason underlying any emotion. What do I see in the mountains-beauty of landscape, purity of air, solitude or the greater challenge to one’s endurance and resourcefulness? Perhaps all these and something more. On the plains one is surrounded by the works of man and consequently full of the importance of human beings. The heights give another perspective-man is but an insignificant speck, dwarfed by the giant forces of nature.
Whatever the reason, I love all mountains. What fun it is to run up and down the hills. How soothing to the eye is the cool green of the higher, forest-clothed ones, heady with scents of pine and a myriad other trees and plants, where one must make one’s own path. No less attractive are the many and changing hues of the barren rocked, so stark and strong looking. And, of course, there are the majestic snow-covered peaks, glistening gold and silver in the sunshine or coyly veiled with wisps of cloud. I never cease to be astonished and delighted at the sight of wild flowers in the high mountains, their tiny colorful heads peering out of unlikely nooks and crevices, tenaciously defying the most inhospitable elements.
Major Ahluwalia has the distinction of belonging to a select band of men-the few who have stood atop the highest peak in the world-Mount Everest. He has distinguished himself equally on the field of battle in deference of our country. Courage has many faces. The manner in which Major Ahluwalia faced his long and dreary treatment and convalescence called for the same sort of grit and perseverance.
Major Ahluwalia now shares with us the hardships and the plain, the exhilaration of success and the understandable periods od depression. To his other accomplishments he adds that of authorships. I especially enjoyed his description of the Everest expedition.

Indira Gandhi

The Everest Within

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Introduction by Ruskin Bond

Adventure! This was something we all craved when we were young. Back in the 1950s, when H.P.S. Ahluwalia and I were boys living in the Doon valley, there was no TV, no Video, no Internet. No one had fast cars; we hadn’t heard of drugs; and our notions of love were purely romantic. The only way in which you could get a real “high” was through physical adventure-climbing mountains, sailing the high seas, exploring unknown territory.

Haripal, Somi, Dipi, Daljit and I were all good friends and companions, who looked to the hills around us for pleasure and excitement. None of us then has any ambitions to conquer mountain peaks, but when H.P. (Haripal) joined the Indian Army, he soon found himself a member of various mountain expeditions, for he was an excellent photographer and usually took all the pictures on these expeditions. When I heard that he’s climbed Everest, I was delighted but not surprised; I knew he’s always had it in him to go to the very top. He has conquered other Everests too-including the Physical disability that he has lived with for many years. Here, too, his outward-looking personality has resulted in his setting up the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre in New Delhi, ehere many benefit from the latest treatments and rehabilitation programmes. In a word full of Challenges, H.P.’s story is an inspiring saga of courage and dedication. His book deserves to be read by parents, teachers and children throughout the country.

Ruskin Bond, March 5, 2001

Eternal Himalaya

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This publication of Eternal Himalaya is unique in its own way, having been printed in a style prevalent almost two centuries ago. It has tried to bring out the antique flavor of the publications of that period. I have tried chiefly to put together in the limited space available to me the mythology, geology, geography and history of Himalaya together with the accounts of the various explorations of the distinguished travelers and explorers of yore, laying stress on the hand account of a distinguished explorer, Lieut. George Francis White of the 31st Regiment. Lieut. White was one of the first Europeans to have visited the Himalayan region during 1825. His account is extremely fascinating. But alas, it has become rare now. That is why it has been reproduced in this book so that the present day reader can have a feel of the romantic travels of the bygone days. It will also help ensure that those pioneering explorers will not be totally forgotten by us.

Beyond the Himalayas

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This book is a visual account of a diverse, adventurous trip through cities as exotic as Bukhara, Samarkand, Andhijan, Xian, Yarkand, Kashgar, Lhasa, lush oasis’ like Hotan and Turfan, the grand Gobi and Taklamakan deserts, ancient monuments and mosques, winding up finally at the monasteries in the magnificent Himalayas

Everest- Where the Snow never melts

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Everest where Snow Never Melts, “There is another summit. It is within yourself. It is in your own mind. Each man carries within himself his own mountain peak. He must climb it....”

Hermit Kingdom Ladakh

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It was during one of my early visits to Ladakh that the idea of writing this book was born,. The idea took firmer roots when I found that there was little authentic material on the “Central Asian Diamond”- that still glows and glitters like snow-clad mountains, rustic beauty and its rich ancient culture had compelled me to go deeper into the mystery of its history, tradition and heritage. Attempts to get to its history became an extremely difficult task, especially as I was told that many records had been either burnt or stolen in the numerous invasions that took place in this region.

Ladakh Nubra The Forbidden Valley

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While writing this book I visited Ladakh a number of times. Each trip was a new experience for me as I discovered a new facet of this region. The area is so vast that to do full justice to its land and its people one would have to spend a much longer time there, may be even a few years. However, my last visit was to the Nubra valley. Nubra means garden or green valley. It lives up to its name as one can find numerous orchards of apples and apricots. An innovation in this region is the miniature water-wheels which ceaselessly turn the prayer drum.

The valley is totally unspoilt, being aloof and unaffected by the modern life. The average life span of the people here is much higher than elsewhere. What a memorable experiences it was to be in this valley which is still forbidden to the tourists. As rightly described by the travelers of yore, this is one of the most beautiful valleys of the world.

Tracing Marco Polo's Journey

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One day, I will explore this region,’ decided Major H.P Ahluwalia, .S. as he stood on the summit of Mount Everest on 29 May 1965. For him, ‘It was a moment of complete joy. It was freezing, perhaps thirty degrees below zero, but suddenly the wind dropped and I thought this was a special gift from mother goddess.’ This was when his dream project—to explore the Tibetan plateau and the mysterious land of Central Asia beyond- was born.

Tracing Marco Polo’s Journey: The Silk Route takes the reader on a fascinating adventure, following Major Ahluwalia and his team members through the exciting expedition of 1994. It is a vivid account of a diverse, adventurous trip through cities as exotic as Bukhara, Samarkand, Andhijan, Xian, Yarkand, Kashgar and Lhasa; lush oases such as Hotan and Turfan; the grand Gobi and Taklamakan Deserts; ancient monuments and mosques; winding up finally at the monasteries in the magnificent Himalayas. It is a first-hand account of a two-month trip marked with both, challenges and fun. The accompanying photographs bring the story alive.

Awards

National Awards

Arjuna Award-1965

Padma Shri-1966

Padma Bhushan-2002

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Tenzing Norgay National Adventure award for lifetime Achievement-29 Aug 2009

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National Award for the Welfare of People with Disabilities-3 Dec 1998

*Order of the Khalsa (Nishan-e- Khalsa) Tercentenary of the Birth of Khalsa

International Awards

FRGS - Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (United Kingdom)
Fellowship conferred for significant contribution to studies and literature written on Environment and Adventure