Leading the country’s highest gallantry award winners at the Republic Day celebrations in Delhi on January 26, 2023 was Maj Gen Cyrus Pithawalla (retd).
Asked why he is still called upon to participate in the parade every year, Pithawalla explains, "Param Vir Chakra (PVC) and Ashok Chakra (AC) awardees are invited to participate in all Republic Day parades as these are the highest awards for gallantry (PVC in wartime and AC in situations other than war). I received the AC on Rajpath (now renamed Kartavya Path) at the Republic Day parade of 1982. I have been attending the Republic Day parade every year since then, except when I was operationally committed or undertaking the Defence Staff College course or posted on foreign assignments (Cambodia in 1993 and the Congo in 2006). But the most memorable occasion and an honor for my battalion was in 1982 when I received the award. These awards are for life. At present there are only five living AC awardees of the Army.” He is, incidentally, the only officer in the armed forces to have received the AC and the Vishist Seva Medal (VSM) and to have reached the rank of major general.
In 1981, when he was deployed as Second Lieutenant in Manipur, he was tasked to lead a company column in a raid operation on a camp of the banned People’s Liberation Army (PLA). As a result of meticulous planning and bold execution, the officer led one of the most successful counterinsurgency operations in which they eliminated seven hardcore insurgents and captured two alive, including the PLA chief. Pithawalla received a bullet in his right shoulder during that operation but refused to be evacuated till the operation was successfully concluded. He was awarded the AC for displaying valor and leadership of the most extraordinary and outstanding kind.
Top and above l: Maj Gen Cyrus Pithawalla (retd) at the Republic Day parade; above r: publication on Pithawalla
A graphic booklet, Warrior, Courage Unleashed, was recently published by the Ministry of Defence in honor of Pithawalla’s exceptional leadership and courage.
"My wife Farida has been accompanying me for the parade. After the parade, we attend an at-home function in the evening with the President of India. It is a good occasion to meet friends and various dignitaries.”
The couple has settled down in Deolali, near Nasik. Their daughter Yasmin, a housewife, is married to Berjis Ginwalla and resides in Vadodara (Baroda). The Ginwallas have two children, Ayaan and Amaira. Pithawallas’ son Shahrukh, who works with Asian Paints in Bombay, is married to Sanaya (née Wadia) and they have a daughter, Nysha.
Born in 1957, Pithawalla retired in 2015 having completed 36 years of service. "After retirement I joined the Leslie Sawhny Training Centre at Deolali as its director. (Col Sawhny was married to J. R. D. Tata’s sister Rodabeh.) The Centre is a public charitable trust with its objects being the promotion of education and health care. We have three verticals — educational workshops, online programs and skill training. A lot of good work is being done for underprivileged women and youth from the backward areas in building up their capabilities…
"In my younger days I was a good athlete. Now I play golf and like reading and watching movies,” says the soldier.
Beyniaz Edulji