The Doon Citizens Council will honour lt Gen (Retd) Anil Chait with the Pride of Nation Award at a special function to be held on December 28, according to its president Raj Kanwar.
Governor Dr Aziz Qureshi will be the chief guest. Kanwar said that the General had led from the front and coordinated the rescue and relief operation in Uttarakhand called ‘OP SURYA HOPE’ under which the armed forces evacuated over one lakh stranded pilgrims from inaccessible areas in a planned and organised manner.
Relentless pursuit of safeguarding the locals of the area and the tourists through display of highest level of leadership by the lt General personally and by his soldiers resulted in his Army justly earning the sobriquet - ‘The Soldiers of God’. In an outstanding military career spanning 41 years, lt Gen Anil Chait had won many an accolade and was held in high esteem both by his peers and the men he has had the privilege to command. It was thus no wonder that he had attained the highest rank of a Commander-in-Chief of a Field Army and Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff.
He was exceptionally adept at practising the art and science of warfare, and was known and respected as a conceptualiser, creator and implementer par excellence of military strategy at the apex level. Eminent movie and theatre stalwart Dehradun’s own ‘blue-eyed Sahib’ Tom Alter will be given the prestigious Pride of Uttarakhand Award. Two others luminaries, Deputy Inspector General of Police Sanjay Gunjyal and a local newspaper’s editor Satish Sharma will also be presented with this Award.
Two eminent ladies, Gunmeet Bindra and Anupma Khanna will be presented the coveted Pride of Doon Awards for outstanding contribution in their respective fields of endeavour, it is learnt.