The war hero who urges you to Know Your Army
Gen Tej Kaul. The man with the illustrious real life story. A readymade hero for filmmakers, who usually take great pains to imagine and create one. In Kaul, they have found a man who has created a history by living their story of dreams.
The man, Maj Gen TK Kaul, as a young army school pass-out, was incidentally commissioned in the legendary Kumaon Regiment in 1968. For the background, he was born, brought up, and schooled at the centre of Srinagar’s Kashmir valley. As if born to guard and serve his country, and take up huge responsibilities, his natural course was to get enrolled at Chennai’s Officers Training Academy.
If you don’t know much about the Kumaon Regiment, it has existed and has grown over two centuries. It originated in the late 17th century and was the Nizam of Hyederabad’s contingent. Over eight generations of valiant Indian Armymen have been part of it making it one of the most distinguished regiment. Several battles — Jammu and Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Siachen — which went into history as the operations of great consequence, after independence, were fought valiantly by this regiment’s battalions.
The most remembered feat of this regiment is the one performed during the 1971 war against Pakistan, as this war helped Bangladesh attain freedom. Later, operation BlueStar, ordered by the then prime minister, brought laurels to this regiment, including two Ashok Chakras. Yet another battle, the operation Pawan, is remembered as mark of Kumaon Regiment’s admirable performance.
Coming back to Gen Tej Kaul, he is among the rare servicemen, who have won an astonishing number of accolades during his 40 long years of career in the Indian Army. He is the Chennai Officers Training Academy’s first such pass-out who has received the nation’s highest honor, the Param Vishisht Seva Medal. He also got the Ati Vishisht and Vishisht Seva Medals. Another proud achievement is a Commendation Card from the General Officer Commanding in Chief — Northern Command for distinguished services of the most exceptional order. He was given the Saraswati Award by Kailash Math, Maharashtra in 2006 January, for social service.
Maj Gen TK Kaul has great faith in the mental excellence, physical strength, and character that is achieved by providing the right training and education. He proved his philosophy by assuming roles of various degrees during his life.
Already a commissioned officer, he went on taking higher education even after finishing his education in the prestigious National Defense College and then theArmy War College. Later he also went to the Defense Services Staff College of Wellington.
His total qualification includes:
- An MSc (Military Science and Management) from Madras University
- An M Phil (Management and Military Science) from Indore University
- And an MBA in Management
Besides strategy building, the most important training an army officer receives, his interests and knowledge maps vast subjects like business, science, and management. This wide knowledge, coupled with extensive travel for management seminars across the world, made Maj Gen Tej Kaul an all round personality. He represented India for years at several international delegations. Various forums all over India regularly invite him to address Human Resource seminars.
Gen Tej Kaul held the most coveted posts while he was a part of the armed forces. And those posts were:
- Deputy Director General Military Intelligence — Foreign Division
- Assistant Military Secretary
- Instructor Military Intelligence Training
The Infantry Brigades of two states — Jammu & Kashmir and Mumbai Sub Area — have been under his command for some time.
Forty years of service not just made him a tough military man, but Gen Tej Kaulcame to be known as a man respected for his sincerity and diligent work. His last official appointment was General Officer Commanding — Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Goa. However, during operations, the area included Rajasthan and many Union Territories. When he was serving his last tenure, Maj Gen TK Kaul got to closely interact with the people of Mahrashtra. He was especially attached to Mumbai.
The tireless and tough military man of action, after retirement from the armed forces, began his second innings in the form of the innovative Know Your Armycampaign. Media reports speak loudly and gloriously about the Know Your Army program. The aim was to offer civilians a peep into the armed forces’ lives. People go about their lives happily, oblivious to the tough situations that our soldiers are facing day-in and day out while safeguarding the frontiers and territories of the nation from the enemy.
This program, conceptualized and brought to life by Maj Gen Tej Kaul, showcases through a display exhibition, the Indian Army’s real might. This is done by putting on display all the assortment of weapon systems Indian defense has, as well as the weapons captured from terrorists during various operations. Through this, the army expected to educate the youth and the common man by colorfully narrating them the aspects of the army life and its strengths. The program sought to instill confidence into the people of the country by bridging the gap between the civilian and the army man.
The first show of this program was organized at Shivaji Park in Mumbai. It was an instant hit and was then organized at many other places across the state. Looking at the amazing response it was getting and the enormous number of youths it was influencing, the Indian Army adopted it formally and held regular shows at Nagpur, Pune, and Nasik.
The Government of Maharashtra needed an experienced disaster strategist for the Maharashtra State Disaster Management Advisory Board. Maj Gen Tej Kaulwas a readymade disaster management expert it got to seek advice from. The government immediately took him on the advisory board. Later, he also held the positions as the Director on Board of Su-Raj Diamonds & Jewellery Ltd and the OTC Exchange of India (OTCEI). OTCEI, under his guidance, closely studied US’s NASDAQ market and brought in several novel ideas to the Indian capital markets.
At present, Gen Tej Kaul is the Chairman of Tricolour Advisory Services Pvt. Ltd, which has several other services too. Among them too, he holds a position of the Managing Director of Tricolor Consultants Pvt. Ltd, the Director of Tricolor Risk and Security Solutions Pvt. Ltd, and the Director of Tricolor Hospitality Pvt. Ltd.
The umbrella organization Tricolour Advisory Services, which carries the mark of national pride, the Tricolor, in its name has been successfully placing and guiding candidates, especially ex-servicemen, into suitable jobs and services across the industry. Its sister concern, the Tricolor Risk and Security Solutions, by virtue of its leader’s profound experience and expertise in the subject, has been successfully serving renowned organizations, one of which is the well-known Sai Baba Sansthan of Shirdi.
The man remained busy all his life. He is still busy. But he never let his professional pursuits sideline his love for philanthropy. His heart goes to the Indian Army that, he says, made him what he is today. It was his way of paying back to the army when he agreed to take the vice presidency of India Pakistan Soldiers Initiative for Peace (IPSI).
The already loaded Gen Tej Kaul has happily taken up the responsibility of becoming the trustee of Sneh Bandhan, an organization that has been constituted to help ex-servicemen and their families. At the same time, he also has the energy to work hand in hand with Kashyap Social Foundation and Citizens Council for a Better Tomorrow.
Officially, he has retired, but by heart Maj Gen TK Kaul is still the soldier with the highest commitment.