Our Correspondent
IMPHAL, NOVEMBER 13
General Officer Commanding 16 Corps Lieutenant General Konsam Himalay Singh who is the first army officer from the North East region to be promoted as Lieutenant General paid a visit to Sainik School, Imphal today and addressed the cadets.
General Himalay was commissioned in the 2 Rajput battalion in 1978 and commanded 27 Rajput when it was based in Siachen.
A specialist in Jammu and Kashmir operations after having done five stints there, the officer was awarded the Yudh Sewa Medal for his unit’s gallant actions during the Kargil war in 1999.
An alumnus of the Sainik School in Goalpara, Assam while addressing the cadets, stressed on the importance of character development along with robust mental and physical development.
He also laid emphasis on conquering one’s own fears in life with perseverance and hard work. Giving his own example, he said that in his earlier days, he was terrified of heights and to conquer this fear, he joined mountaineering expeditions in army, which lead to him to overcome his fears as well as climbing many peaks successfully including Kedarnath Dome in 1980 and Kanchenjunga in 1987.
Keeping the address more interactive, he took up questions from the cadets and some very interesting facets of his life surfaced. If a person like me from such a humble place can rise to this level, then every one of the cadets present can do too, he felt. Before concluding his speech, a cadet had made a remark that “it was really a surreal experience to get such a senior officer from our own land amongst us”.
The General also thanked the principal, staff and cadets of Sainik School, Imphal and wished them good luck for future endeavors.
