Compiled by Tanya Jain@

This Occasional Paper documents the inaugural Lt Gen PS Bhagat Memorial Lecture, instituted by the Bombay Sappers at USI, and reflects on the life, character and strategic thought of Lt Gen Premindra Singh Bhagat, PVSM, VC. It combines biographical excerpts with key portions of the special address by the Chief of the Army Staff, Gen Manoj Pande, and the keynote lecture by former COAS Gen VP Malik. The volume traces Gen Bhagat’s journey from a young Royal Bombay Sapper and Victoria Cross awardee in East Africa during the Second World War to his roles as DMI, Chief of Staff Eastern Command, GOC-in-C Central and Northern Commands, and later Chairman, Damodar Valley Corporation. Particular attention is given to his work on the Henderson Brooks–Bhagat Report, his early appreciation of the China challenge, his writings Forging the Shield, The Shield and the Sword, and Wielding of Authority in Emerging Countries, and his enduring influence on leadership, jointness and higher defence management. The paper preserves both the institutional memory of a soldier-scholar and the strategic insights that continue to speak to contemporary military modernisation and civil–military relations.