Major General Rajpal Punia

Some Lesser Known Facts About Major General Rajpal Punia

• Major General Rajpal Punia studied at Sainik School Chittorgarh and was only 10 years old when he decided to join the Indian Army.

• He later passed the NDA entrance exam in 1980 and got selected.

• On 9 June 1984, he was commissioned in the Armoured Division, Hisar and commanded the same division 33 years later in 2017.

• In 2017, he made headlines for controlling the agitation by supporters of Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

• In 1978, while studying in school, he was rejected to lead the Republic Day Parade, but in 2018, he was posted in the HQ Delhi Area and as the Parade Second in Command, he led the Republic Day Parade.

• He made headlines during a United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Sierra Leone when the rebels surrounded him and 233 soldiers. They did not agree to a truce for 75 days and attacked the rebels and walked out of the jungle with only 1 casualty.

• When was was posted in Arunachal pardesh, he commanded the the oldest brigade of the Indian Army along the Line of Actual Control (LOC) along China.

• He has also attended the National Defence College course in Thailand and the United Nations Senior Mission Leaders course in Japan.

• He later wrote a book titled Operation Khukri, co-authored by his daughter Damini Punia, which was released in 2021. He also wrote another book titled A Soldier Speaks: Dil Se in 2022.

• In May 2025, Indian actor Randeep Hooda purchased the rights to his book. Rumours were that a film would be made, and Rajpal Punia would help the makers.

• He is a pet lover and has a dog named Noddy.