Colonel

Ajay Kothiyal

KC, SC, VSM
Born (1969-02-26) 26 February 1969
Tehri, Uttarakhand, India
AllegianceIndia
Service/branchIndian Army
Years of service1992–2018
RankColonel
Service numberIC-51821X[1]
UnitThe Garhwal Rifles
Commands held4th Battalion/Nuranang Battalion; 10th Battalion, of The Garhwal Rifles
Battles/warsKargil War
Awards Kirti Chakra
Shaurya Chakra
Vishisht Seva Medal
Spouse(s)Unmarried
RelationsInspector General (Retd.) Satyasaran Kothiyal (father); Late. Sushila Kothiyal (mother)
Other workPrincipal of Nehru Institute of Mountaineering;[2] Founder of Youth Foundation Uttarakhand, India[3]
WebsiteYouth Foundation Uttarakhand

Colonel Ajay Kothiyal, KC, SC, VSM (Retd) is an Indian politician and a former officer of the Indian Army . He is a BJP leader, earlier he was leader of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and was the CM Candidate for 2022 Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly elections. Kothiyal lost the election to BJP candidate in Gangotri Assembly constituency. In May 2022, he resigned from AAP and joined BJP.[4]

He is also a mountaineer and philanthropist, and was the principal of Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM), Uttarakhand.[5][6]

He was the head of Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi when the institute was given the task of rescue and rehabilitation around the Kedarnath temple, after its destruction by a flash flood in 2013. Kothiyal is unmarried. His non-profit trust, "Youth Foundation" trains young boys and girls from Uttarakhand to join the Indian Army.[7] He was given the Uttarakhand Ratna award in 2016 for his contribution to uplift and provide employment to youth of Uttarakhand.[8]

Early life

Kothiyal was born on 26 February 1969, as the eldest son of Inspector General (Retd.) Satyasaran Kothiyal, Border Security Force and Sushila Kothiyal. His alma mater include St. Joseph's Academy, Dehradun, Brightlands School, Kendriya Vidyalaya Dehradun, D.A.V.Post Graduate College Dehradun and Indian Military Academy.[5][9]

Military service

After completing his graduation, he cleared the CDS exam and joined the Fourth Battalion of Garhwal Rifles Regiment as Second Lieutenant in 1992. In 1994, Colonel Kothiyal started training in 'basic mountain warfare' from High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS).

Colonel Kothiyal (then Major) was part of the first team of the Indian Army that successfully summited the Mount Everest in 2001, under the leadership of Brigadier Krishan Kumar AVSM.

On 12 May 2003, Indian Army had carried out its first surgical strike in Pulwama district under the leadership of Major Kothiyal. He was wounded in the operation, in which seven terrorists were neutralized. He was awarded Kirti Chakra.[10] He still has two bullets inside his body.[11]

In 2011, he decided to scale the eighth highest peak in the world, Mt. Manaslu. No Indian had ever successfully climbed this mountain. Fighting harsh weather and inhospitable conditions, his team unfurled the Indian Flag at the peak of Manaslu on 9 May 2011. He was awarded "Vishisht Seva Medal".[12]

The President, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil receiving the flags from Col. Ajay Kothiyal on Indian Army Women Everest Expedition Team, during the Flag in Ceremony, in New Delhi on 3 July 2012

In 2012, Colonel Kothiyal led a team of seven female officers from Indian army and successfully scaled the world's highest peak for the second time. Mrs Pratibha Singh Patil, President of India at that time, awarded him Shaurya Chakra.[13]

In 2013, Kedarnath temple, India's pilgrimage shrine was hit by natural disaster in which many lost lives. Colonel Kothiyal and his team were among the first to reach the affected area. He was given the responsibility of search and rescue operations. Under his supervision, Kedarnath was rebuilt and restored to its pristine form. He is credited with taking charge of the restoration process of Kedarpuri the shrine area at Kedarnath, at an elevation of more than 11,000 feet supervising more than 1000 workers who worked hard in harsh sub zero climate.[14][15]

In the same year, he also started a nonprofit trust called Youth Foundation to help the rural youth in Garhwal region to join the Indian Military and Para Military Services. The Foundation also helps in providing medical facilities to the poor people in Garhwal region.[16]

Social work

While working in Kedarnath, Colonel Kothiyal had recruited a few young men from nearby villages to assist him. He observed that the youth of Garhwal wanted to join the Indian Army but lacked proper training to do so. To bridge the gap, Colonel Kothiyal started a training program for such people. He self-funded the cause. The first batch had only 11 trainees, and the Army recruited all of them. In 2013, 28 out of the 30 youths he had trained were recruited in the Garhwal Rifles.[17] This success drew huge number of youth to seek his guidance and training. As a result, in 2015 he registered "Youth Foundation" as a charitable not-for-profit trust.[18]

In 2018, Colonel Kothiyal took voluntary retirement from army to focus on social work through Youth Foundation.[19]

Political career

He joined the Aam Aadmi Party on 19 April 2021. He was the Chief Ministerial candidate from Aam Aadmi Party in 2022 Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly election. He contested from Gangotri Assembly constituency of Uttarakhand and came third with the BJP candidate winning the seat.[20] He left the Aam Aadmi Party on 18 May 2022.[21]

Six days later on 24 May, 2022 he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party while describing it as a "course correction".[22]

Military decorations

Kirti Chakra Shaurya Chakra Vishisht Seva Medal Wound Medal
Special Service Medal Operation Vijay Star Siachen Glacier Medal Operation Vijay Medal
Operation Parakram Medal Sainya Seva Medal High Altitude Service Medal Videsh Seva Medal
50th Anniversary of Independence Medal 20 Years Long Service Medal 9 Years Long Service Medal UN Interim Force in Lebanon Medal

Awards

See also

References

  1. ↑ "63rd Republic Day: The gallantry award winners : IC-51821X COLONEL AJAY KOTHIYAL, KIRTI CHAKRA, SHAURYA CHAKRA, GARHWAL RIFLES". rediff.com. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  2. ↑ "Principal Colonel Ajay Kothiyal, KC, SC, VSM". NIM. NIM. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  3. ↑ "TEAM & GOVERNING BODY Founded by Colonel Ajay Kothiyal KC, SC, VSM on 13 Jul 2013". Youth Foundation. Youth Foundation. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  4. ↑ "AAP CM face in Uttarakhand polls Colonel Ajay Kothiyal joins BJP". The Hindu. 24 May 2022. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Colonel Ajay Kothiyal Kirti Chakra, Shaurya Chakra, Visisht Seva Medal". Youth Foundation. Youth Foundation. Archived from the original on 8 November 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  6. ↑ "Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi". NIM Uttarkashi. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  7. ↑ "Meet Col Ajay Kothiyal Who Has Trained Over 1900 Youth For Indian Army". The Logical Indian. 12 July 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  8. 1 2 "नरेंद्र सिंह नेगी और कर्नल अजय कोठियाल को उत्तराखंड रत्न". Amar Ujala. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  9. ↑ "Heroic deeds of an Army officer". The Tribune. Tribune News Service. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  10. ↑ "h2". sainiksamachar.nic.in. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  11. ↑ Staff Reporter (18 August 2021). "Ajay Kothiyal is AAP's CM face in Uttarakhand, says Kejriwal". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  12. ↑ KK, Sruthijith (1 July 2013). "Uttarakhand floods: 120 courageous people saved 6500 pilgrims". The Economic Times. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  13. ↑ "Ajay Kothiyal | Gallantry Awards". gallantryawards.gov.in. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  14. ↑ Singh, Prithviraj (18 August 2021). "Ajay Kothiyal, the retired Army Colonel behind Kedarpuri & AAP's CM face in Uttarakhand". ThePrint. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  15. ↑ Upadhyay, Kavita (21 December 2014). "In snow-covered Kedarnath, restoration gathers pace". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  16. ↑ "The Colonel who dares the hills". The Tribune Trust. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  17. ↑ "Col Ajay Kothiyal, Credited With Rebuilding Kedarnath & Training Youth for Forces, is AAP's Uttarakhand Face". News18. 17 August 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  18. ↑ "This Colonel Helped Rehabilitate Uttarakhand After The 2013 Floods & Trained Over 2000 Youngsters To Join The Army". thelogicalindian.com. thelogicalindian.com. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  19. ↑ "सेना में रहकर कई कीर्तिमान स्थापित करने वाले कर्नल कोठियाल का सेवानिवृत्ति का आवेदन स्वीकार". Amar Ujala. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  20. ↑ राणा, पंकज (18 November 2021). "Uttarakhand Election 2022: गंगोत्री से चुनाव लड़ेंगे कर्नल अजय कोठियाल, यहां समझिए समीकरण". www.abplive.com (in Hindi). Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  21. ↑ "Arvind Kejriwal Picks Ex-Serviceman as AAP's CM face for Uttarakhand Assembly Polls". thewire.in. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  22. ↑ "AAP's Uttarakhand CM face Col Ajay Kothiyal joins BJP, calls it 'mid-course correction'". The Indian Express. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  23. ↑ "Winners:Col. Ajay Kothiyal". indiatvnews.com. indiatvnews.com. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
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