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The Indian Military Heritage Festival

The Indian Military Heritage Festival is the flagship annual event organized by the USI of India through its Center for Military History and Conflict Studies (CMHCS) with the aim of increasing public awareness of India’s military traditions and strategic priorities. The first annual IMHF was held on 21-22 October 2023 at the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi, drawing overwhelming public response and extensive media coverage. Featuring multiple high-profile panel discussions, exhibition kiosks, and cultural programs, the event was inaugurated by Shri Rajnath Singh, the Hon’ble Defence Minister of India and received delegations from all branches of India’s armed forces. The second annual IMHF is set to be hosted at New Delhi on 08-09 November 2024. The Festival aims to create an international platform to further military engagement & diplomacy by creating communication channels on the lines of the Raisina Dialogue.

"Powerful Voices, Insightful Perspectives"

Admiral Arun Prakash, PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM (Retd)

Admiral Arun Prakash, PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM (Retd), India’s 20th Naval Chief and Chairman Chiefs of Staff, is a distinguished aviator with over 2500 flying hours across fighters, patrol aircraft, and helicopters. Over his 40-year career, he commanded a carrier-borne fighter squadron, a naval air station, and four warships, including the aircraft carrier INS Viraat.
In flag rank, he led the Eastern Fleet, Andaman & Nicobar Joint Command, Western Naval Command, and the National Defence Academy. He also headed the navy’s Aviation and Personnel Branches and served as Vice Chief of Naval Staff. Under his leadership, the navy advanced in doctrine, strategy, transformation, and maritime cooperation.
A graduate of the IAF Test Pilots School, Defence Services Staff College, and US Naval War College, he was awarded the Vir Chakra for his role in the 1971 War. Post-retirement, he served on the National Security Advisory Board, chaired the National Maritime Foundation, and contributed to national security reform committees. He now lives in Goa, writing and speaking on strategic and security matters.

Air Marshal Anil Chopra, PVSM, AVSM, VM, VSM (Retd)

A fighter pilot, Qualified Flying Instructor, test pilot, and a pioneer of Mirage-2000 fleet, who has commanded a Mirage 2000 Squadron and the Flight Test Centre, Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE) of the Indian Air Force (IAF). He has been the Team Leader of MiG 21 Bison Upgrade project in Russia for over four years. He has commanded operational air bases in both Western and Eastern sectors. He was head of IAF in J&K, and head of operational Inspections of the IAF. Retired as Air Officer in-charge Personnel. He has been a member of the Armed Forces Tribunal, Lucknow Bench, and member of the Executive Council of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). He is former Director General Centre for Air Power Studies. An Avid writer, who has more than 950 articles published in various magazines, newspapers, web portals, and books. He has authored or edited 9 books.
He is often invited for TV debates on both English and Hindi news channels as defence analyst. He is also on Seminar and university lecture circuit. Currently he is “Strategic Adviser Aerospace, with Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM).

Air Marshal Vikram Singh, PVSM, AVSM, VSM (Retd)

Air Mshl Vikram Singh is a former fighter pilot from the IAF. He initially flew the MiG 21 bis and Mirage 2000. As a Test Pilot he carried out initial technology demonstration test flights on the Prototype LCA Tejas aircraft. In his 40 year career he flew over 35 different types and tenanted several command and staff appointments. His interests range from classic war birds, aviation art, one of his air combat paintings being used as a postage stamp, and aviation history. He has written extensively for the internet and published his first book, “Spitfires in the Sun” in 2014. His next book “Because of this’ is a three lakh word, almost forensic study of the 1971 Indo-Pak Air War is just out.

Amarjit Singh Dulat

Amarjit Singh Dulat is a former head of the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), India's external intelligence agency. After retirement, he was appointed adviser on Kashmir in the Prime Minister's Office and served there from January 2001 to May 2004. During this time, he accumulated a vast reservoir of goodwill with Kashmiris of all shades. As Jane's Intelligence Digest put it in 2001, ‘Well known for his social skills, Dulat preferred dialogue to clandestine maneouvres.' In his heyday, Dulat was referred to as ‘Mr Kashmir'.
Dulat was born in Sialkot, Punjab, in December 1940. After India's partition, his father Justice Shamsher Singh Dulat relocated his family to Delhi. After schooling in Delhi, Simla and Chandigarh, Dulat joined the Indian Police Service (IPS) in 1965, and then the Intelligence Bureau (IB) in 1969, where he served for almost thirty years. At the IB he headed the Kashmir Group during the turbulent 1990s till he joined and headed the R&AW.
He is the author of Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years (2015; co-authored with Aditya Sinha), The Spy Chronicles: R&AW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace (2018; co-authored with Lieutenant General Asad Durrani and Aditya Sinha) and A Life in the Shadows (2022).

Ambassador Ajay Bisaria, IFS (Retd)

Ajay Bisaria is a corporate strategic advisor and a Distinguished Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation. In a career spanning 35 years in the Indian Foreign Service,

Ajay Bisaria is a corporate strategic advisor and a Distinguished Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation. In a career spanning 35 years in the Indian Foreign Service, he dealt with some of India’s key economic and security relationships. He served as Indian High Commissioner to Canada (2020-2022) and was the last Indian HC to Pakistan (2017-2020). He has also been India’s ambassador to Poland & Lithuania (2015-2017). He has earlier been posted at the World Bank in Washington DC and in embassies in Berlin and Moscow. He has served in various capacities in the Government of India, including in the Prime Minister’s Office, where he was a key aide to Prime Minister Vajpayee (1999-2004). He has a BA in Economics from St Stephen’s College, Delhi, an MBA from IIM Calcutta and a Masters in public policy from Princeton University. He writes extensively on geopolitics and particularly on Pakistan. His first book, Anger Management, on the troubled diplomatic relationship between India and Pakistan, was released in January 2024, to critical and popular acclaim.

Ambassador Asoke Mukerji, IFS (Retd)

Ambassador Asoke Mukerji’s diplomatic career spans 37 years, from 1978-2015. As India’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United

Ambassador Asoke Mukerji’s diplomatic career spans 37 years, from 1978-2015. As India’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York (2013-2015) he oversaw India’s negotiations on Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development, focusing on prioritising the use of technology for achieving the SDGs. He represented India in the intergovernmental negotiations that recommended a text-based outcome for UN Security Council Reforms in September 2015.
Ambassador Mukerji chaired a multi-stakeholder working group under India’s National Security Council Secretariat to recommend cyber norms for India (2017-2018). He has addressed audiences at seminars and conferences in India and abroad, including the Global Conferences on Cyber Space at London (2011) and New Delhi (2017). He lectures regularly on multilateral issues to Indian and foreign diplomats at India’s Foreign Service Institute.
Ambassador Mukerji has published articles and book chapters in Indian and foreign publications on India’s foreign policy, as well as several books. He obtained a BA (Honours) and MA degree from St Stephen’s College, University of Delhi. In July 2018, he was awarded a Doctor of Civil Law (honoris causa) degree by the University of East Anglia (UK) for his contributions to diplomacy.

Ambassador Navtej Singh Sarna, IFS (Retd)

A professional diplomat for nearly four decades, Sarna was India’s Ambassador to the United States, High Commissioner to the UK and Ambassador to Israel.

A professional diplomat for nearly four decades, Sarna was India’s Ambassador to the United States, High Commissioner to the UK and Ambassador to Israel. He has also served as Secretary to the Government of India and as the Foreign Office Spokesperson. His earlier diplomatic assignments were in Moscow, Warsaw, Thimphu, Tehran, Geneva and Washington DC. Ambassador Sarna is an Advisory Member of the Board of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, Advisory Board member of the Kautilya School of Public Policy and an Independent Member of the National Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority.

Ambassador Shyam Saran, IFS (Retd)

Amb Shyam Saran is a former Foreign Secretary of India and has served as Chairman of India’s National Security Advisory Board. In 2015 he was the Telstra Distinguished International Fellow at the Lowy Institute.
Saran is a career diplomat, having joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1970. He has served in several capitals of the world, including Beijing, Tokyo, and Geneva. He has been India’s Ambassador to Myanmar, Indonesia, and Nepal, and High Commissioner to Mauritius. In the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi, he headed the Economic Division and the Multilateral Economic Division and also headed the East Asia Division which handles relations with China and Japan. As a Joint Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office in 1991/92, he advised the Prime Minister on foreign policy, nuclear and defence-related issues.
After a career spanning 34 years in the Indian Foreign Service, he was appointed India’s Foreign Secretary in 2004 and held that position until his retirement from service in September 2006. Subsequent to his retirement, Saran was appointed Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Indo–US civil nuclear issues and later as Special Envoy and Chief Negotiator on Climate Change. During his last two assignments, Ambassador Saran served as the Prime Minister’s personal representative, or “Sherpa”, at the Gleneagles and St Petersburg G8+G5 summits, and was present at the Toyako and L’Aquila Summits as an advisor on Climate Change issues. He also attended the Pittsburg G20 summit as a member of the Indian delegation.
In 2011 Saran was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the President of India for his contribution to Civil Service. The Padma Bhushan is the third highest national award in the country. He holds a postgraduate degree in Economics. He speaks Hindi, English, and Chinese, and is conversant in French.

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