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The Indian Military Heritage Festival

The United Service Institution of India (USI), the oldest tri-service think tank of India working since 1870 is conducting the annual ‘Indian Military Heritage Festival’. The Festival is being planned to set a new benchmark in the domain of public engagement through interaction and dialogue while adhering to the goals for the development of our Armed Forces in the 21st century. The Festival will focus on India’s rich military heritage and traditions; Security & Strategy; and Atmanirbhar Bharat, in the defence and military domains.

"Powerful Voices, Insightful Perspectives"

Dr Aashique Ahmed Iqbal

Dr Aashique Ahmed Iqbal is a historian of modern South Asia. He is the author of The Aeroplane and the Making of Modern India (Oxford University Press 2023), which studies India’s transformation from colony to sovereign republic through the prism of aviation. He has also written articles on history for general audiences on a number of platforms including India Forum, EPW Engage, and Teacher Plus.
Aashique hails from the hill station of Ooty. He took his BA in History at Loyola College, Chennai. He received his MA and MPhil in Modern History at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and also holds a DPhil in History from the University of Oxford. He has received multiple scholarships including the Felix scholarship, the Royal Historical Society Marshall Fellowship, and the Maulana Azad National Fellowship.

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).

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 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. 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.

Ambassador TCA Raghavan, IFS (Retd)

T.C.A Raghavan retired from the Indian Foreign Service in December 2015 as Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan (2013-15). He had earlier served as Deputy High Commissioner in Pakistan (2003-2007) and High Commissioner to Singapore from 2009 to 2013.
During his last posting in New Delhi (2007-09) in the Ministry of External Affairs Dr Raghavan was Joint Secretary dealing with Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran. He has also served in Kuwait, the United Kingdom, and Bhutan. Posts earlier held in the Ministry of External Affairs include Director of the Office of the External Affairs Minister (2000-2003).
He was awarded a PhD by the Jawaharlal Nehru University in 1992 for his dissertation relating to the economic history of India.
His current interests are historical research, strategic analysis and the diplomatic and intellectual history of modern India. He writes, lectures and participates in discussions on issues relating to Indian and South Asian diplomatic history, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan and South East Asia.
He is the author of (i) Attendant Lords, Bairam Khan and Abdur Rahim- Courtiers and Poets in Mughal India, awarded the Mohammad Habib Memorial Prize by the Indian History Congress in December 2017. (ii) ‘The People Next Door- The Curious History of India’s relations with Pakistan’. (Harper Collins, 2017). His latest book is entitled "History Men: Jadunath Sarkar, G.S. Sardesai, Raghubir Sinh and their quest for India's Past" (2019).
He assumed charge as Director General, Indian Council of World Affairs on 24th July, 2018.

Ambreen Zaidi

Ambreen Zaidi, an esteemed Army wife, is a distinguished columnist and author. Her books, The Warrior Widows and Soldiering On- published in both English and Hindi, have garnered widespread acclaim.

Ambreen Zaidi, an esteemed Army wife, is a distinguished columnist and author. Her books, The Warrior Widows and Soldiering On- published in both English and Hindi, have garnered widespread acclaim. Notably, her work has received a letter of appreciation from the Honourable Defence Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh, who has also mentored her in various projects. As a columnist, Ambreen writes with boldness and clarity, addressing critical issues in leading national and international publications. Her notable contributions include the weekly columns ‘Olive Green’ and ‘Our Heroes’ for Hindustan Times, which she penned for two and three years, respectively. Additionally, she has been writing the column ‘Barracks & Beyond’ for The Times of India for over five years. On 21st August 2023, Ambreen was honored by the Honourable President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu, in recognition of her exemplary work. Committed to a noble cause, she is dedicated to supporting the families of soldiers who have been killed in action or disabled while serving the nation, ensuring they live with the utmost dignity and respect.

Air Vice Marshal Anil Golani (Retd)

A Qualified Flying Instructor and an Instrument Rating Instructor and Examiner, commissioned into the Fighter stream of the IAF in Dec 1982.

A Qualified Flying Instructor and an Instrument Rating Instructor and Examiner, commissioned into the Fighter stream of the IAF in Dec 1982. Fully Ops on the erstwhile Ajeet and Jaguar aircraft. Raised and commanded the first Harpy squadron of the Indian Air Force. He commanded an Air Defence Direction Centre and an operational base. One of the few to have served in senior ranks in both the Joint Services Commands of the country, Andaman & Nicobar Command as the Air Force Component Commander and Strategic Forces Command as the Chief Staff Officer (Air Vector).
The other joint services appointments include Air Officer Commanding Maritime Air Operations in Mumbai and Chief Instructor, Air Force, at Defence Services Staff College, Wellington. Superannuated from service in Nov 2019.
An avid writer and author, he has written a number of articles on air power, national security, strategy and integration of the Armed Forces. He has Co-edited two books ‘Air Power and Emerging Technologies’; 2022 and ‘Indian Air Force in its Centennial Decade’; 2023. He took over as Additional Director General CAPS on 07 May 2021.

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