Management
Board of Management
The CAFHR functions under a Board of Management that consists of the following persons:
- Maj Gen Ian Cardozo, AVSM, SM (Retd) – Chairman
- Air Mash SP Wagle, VM – DCIDS (DOT) – Member
- Lt Gen JS Sandhu, AVSM – COS – ARTRAC – Member
- Maj Gen Virendra Vats, SM, VSM, ACIDS (T&P) – Member
- Maj Gen HS Sahi, YSM,SM, ADG, MO (A) – Member
- Rear Adm KM Ramakrishnan, VSM, ACNC (CSNCO) – Member
- AVM Makarand Ranade, AVSM, VM, ACAS Ops (Space) – Member
- Cmde AP Shaji Kutty, Cmde (NT) – Member
- Lt Cdr Ankush Banerjee, OIC, Naval History Division – Member
- Wg Cdr Pallavi Ponnappa, MPR (History) , IAF History Cell – Member
- Vice Adm Shekhar Sinha, PVSM, AVSM, NM & Bar (Retd) – Member
- Air Mshl SG Inamdar, PVSM, AVSM (Retd) – Member
- Amb Asoke Mukerji, IFS (Retd) – Member
- Maj Gen Bal Krishan Sharma, AVSM, SM & Bar (Retd), Director USI – Member
- Sqn Ldr RTS Chhina, MBE (Retd), Secretary USI CMHCS – Member Secretary
Research Team
Squadron Leader RTS Chhina (Retd)
Squadron Leader Rana TS Chhina is the Secretary and Editor of CAFHR. He served in the Indian Air Force as a helicopter pilot. He is a recipient of the prestigious Macgregor Medal for best military reconnaissance in 1986, and had the distinction of carrying out the highest landing in the world by a medium-lift class of helicopter, at the time. He is currently Secretary and Editor of the United Service Institution of India Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research and Vice President of the Indian Military Historical Society, UK.
Squadron Leader Chhina’s main field of interest is colonial Indian military history. The author of a number of books, he is a member of the joint USI-MEA Steering Committee responsible for coordinating national commemoration of India’s participation in the First World War in connection with the centenary of the conflict. He is also a member of the IAF Aerospace Museum Apex Steering Committee and the Government of India’s Archival Advisory Board. He was appointed an Honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire by the Govt of UK in 2016. In 2017 he was awarded Belgium’s highest honour, the Order of Leopold, for contributing to Indo-Belgium ties through his work on the history of the Indian Army in Flanders during World War I.
Shefali Oberoi
Shefali Oberoi is a Research Assistant at the Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a minor in Journalism from Amity University, Haryana. She has prior experience in the service sector as part of community- building and human resource teams. She has also worked in the social sector with the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Association. Her research interests include Indian colonial history and preservation of archives.
Adil Rana Chhina
Adil Rana Chhina did his MA in War, Media and Society from the University of Kent, UK. He has previously worked for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) as a historical researcher to highlight the role of the Indian Army in the two world wars. He specifically examined the commemoration of Indian war dead by the CWGC. He was actively involved in the ‘India and the Great War’ centenary commemoration project launched jointly by the USI and the Ministry of External Affairs. His research interests include the colonial Indian Armed Forces, and Allied and Japanese psychological warfare during the Second World War. He is a Senior Research Associate with the USI Centre for Military History and Conflict Studies.
Past Researchers
Aaliya Khan
Aaliya Khan is an Associate Research Fellow at the Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research. She holds a master’s degree in Economics and an M Phil in West Asian Studies from Jamia Millia Islamia. Previously, she has worked in different media and publishing organisations including The Milli Gazette and Pharos Media and Publishing. Her research interests include conflict and peace, and cultural studies.
Bhanushali Ghalot
Bhanushali Gahlot works as a Senior Research Assistant at the Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research. She joined the Centre in 2014 and has been part of the organising team of the joint USI- Ministry of External Affairs, Govt of India ‘India and the Great War’ project that seeks to highlight India’s role in the Great War during the worldwide centenary commemoration of the conflict. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in History (hons.) from Delhi University. Previously she has briefly worked with Sahapedia – An open online resource on Arts, Cultures and Heritage of India, other Ministry of External Affairs projects and the national newspaper the ‘Statesman’. Her research interests include oral and visual narratives, preservation and archiving, and the social history of colonial India.
Nusrat Ansari
Nusrat Ansari was a Research Assistant at the Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research of United Service Institution of India, New Delhi. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in History (hons.) from Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi. Previously, she worked extensively with organization in the social sector, dealing with issues like community bonding, displacement, preservation of culture, and protection of natural heritage. Her research interests include the history of colonial era, particularly the Mutiny of 1857 and the Partition of India, preservation of achieves and first-hand accounts, and photo documentaries.
Apoorva Heroor
Apoorva Heroor is a Research Assistant at the Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Mysore and a Master’s degree in South Asian Studies from Pondicherry University. Previously she has worked at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore as a research intern. Her research interests include colonial history, Western and Indian Political Thought, and South Asian politics.
