A Tricolour Revolution, built on exposing Pakistan and winning the trust of Kashmiris. With the Army’s support, Kashmiris hoisted the Indian Tricolour at Lal Chowk, Hari Parbat, 90 government buildings in Srinagar and all 10 district courts, and protested against the killing of innocent citizens by Pakistani terrorists. Women of Kashmir stitched and sold 16,000 Tricolours for Har Ghar Tiranga. The bloodless peace that followed brought record tourist footfall.
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Lal Chowk, Dal, Haer (Hari) Parbat, 90 government buildings in Srinagar and all 10 district courts.
Northern Army Commander’s Citation to HQ Srinagar Sub Area
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First & only INOX, Badami Bagh Cantt, Srinagar
I was posted at the High Commission of India in Islamabad on the day Article 370 was abrogated. I marked it by cutting a cake iced with “Article 370” and hosting the entire staff to dinner. On returning to India in October 2019, I told General Bipin Rawat, then Chief of Army Staff, that I wanted to start winning peace in Kashmir immediately. He asked me to complete the National Defence College course first and then deploy. On my promotion to Major General in August 2020, I wrote to him, now as Chief of Defence Staff, with a copy of my NDC thesis on defeating externally sponsored non-violent political defiance in Kashmir. I asked him to review my Kashmir strategy and post me straight after the course. He and General M.M. Naravane, then Chief of Army Staff, agreed. I landed in Srinagar in December 2020 as Srinagar Sub Area Commander.
The real challenge was structural: I had to win peace through a logistics and administrative organisation, not a combat one. I began with organisational change, building teams capable of delivering peace to a population that had waited decades for it, and then issued a detailed set of strategic and influence directives. Lieutenant General B.S. Raju’s support for our first people-friendly campaign, the “Red to Blue” convoy initiative, became an early proof point: red flags and rigid soldiers, a daily irritant to citizens, gave way to blue flags and visibly friendlier troops. Trust started compounding from there.
On 26 January 2021, local corporators independently began installing Tricolours along Gupkar Road and Dal Boulevard, starting outside my official residence at 5 Gupkar Road. That grassroots moment became a five-year war-gamed vision: a Tricolour atop the Clock Tower at Lal Chowk, raised by Kashmiris themselves. We took the tower in stages: lights on 15 August 2021, a temporary flag on 26 January 2022, a permanent one on 15 August 2022, and, after the tower was rebuilt, a permanent flag on 15 August 2024.
Alongside it, the Aakhir Kab Tak candlelight protests against the killing of civilians by Pakistani terrorists became our most resonant campaign. They spread across the Valley and were movingly repurposed in December 2021 as vigils honouring General Rawat after his death.
The entire campaign ran on a fraction of the cost of conventional development spending, which had already failed to achieve the same shift. In total, we deployed just ₹6 crore of the Army’s Sadbhavana Fund across the tenure, against J&K’s civil development outlay of over ₹40,000 crore a year, to engineer a shift in sentiment that decades of far larger development spending alone had not produced.
The work drew real opposition, including Pakistani graffiti outside our official residence, a hostile magazine feature, and a terrorist suicide attack on my former unit in Rajouri in August 2022. All were signs that the strategy was landing exactly where it was meant to.
Four years after I left, the campaigns still run on their own: the 100-foot Tricolour at Haer (Hari) Parbat, public national-anthem singing, fashion shows, yoga events and the Dal floating village. Lal Chowk, once a flashpoint, is now one of India’s most popular selfie spots. J&K drew 1.88 crore tourists in 2022, and a local #MadeInKashmirTricolour campaign grew into the national #HarGharTiranga movement. On 15 January 2023, HQ Srinagar Sub Area became the first logistics formation HQ in Army history to win a Unit Appreciation (from the Northern Army Commander). One Infantry Territorial Unit won the Army Chief’s Unit Award for the bloodless capture of “Lal Chowk, Srinagar”. My efforts were not awarded.
We did not just win a bloodless peace in Kashmir. We started pulling a thread that, followed far enough, begins to unravel the story Pakistan has told about the Valley for over seventy years.
Respected Sir,
I honestly do not have enough words to express my gratitude for the support, guidance and commitment that you and your entire team extended to the Dal Dwellers and to the preservation of Dal Lake.
What you gave us was not simply financial assistance or a development project. You gave us a seed of hope. With your vision, dedication and the efforts of your team, that small seed has grown into a beautiful garden whose fragrance is being felt across our community and, in many ways, across Kashmir.
Your work demonstrated that the development of Dal Lake and the welfare of its people must go hand in hand.
The changes we witnessed were not limited to the appearance of our villages. There was a deeper environmental and social transformation. Greater attention was given to cleanliness, removal of unwanted floating biomass and weeds, improvement of the lake environment, community participation, livelihood opportunities and the creation of awareness among Dal Dwellers about the importance of protecting this priceless natural heritage.
For us, Dal Lake is not merely a tourist destination. It is our home, our livelihood, our identity and an integral part of Kashmir’s heritage. Generations of Dal Dwellers have lived alongside these waters, and therefore protecting Dal Lake means protecting the future of our families and our community.
Your intervention helped demonstrate that environmental conservation can also become a means of community empowerment. When local people are involved in protecting their surroundings and are given opportunities to earn a dignified livelihood, conservation becomes a shared responsibility rather than merely a government programme.
The improvements we witnessed gave many Dal Dwellers a renewed sense of pride in their homes and their lake. They reminded us that even communities living in difficult circumstances can become partners in protecting the environment when they receive the right guidance, resources and encouragement.
Sir, your contribution will remain an important chapter in the history of Dal Lake and its communities. The infrastructure may change with time, but the awareness, confidence and hope created among the Dal Dwellers can continue from one generation to another.
We also remember and deeply appreciate the entire team that worked alongside you. Development of this nature is never the work of one individual alone. It is the result of teamwork, commitment, field-level engagement and genuine concern for the people.
We all miss you, Sir, and we also miss your dedicated team.
Your work has shown us what can happen when service to the nation is combined with compassion for people and respect for the environment.
If similar initiatives of community development, environmental conservation, youth empowerment and livelihood generation are taken forward in different parts of Kashmir, they can create a stronger connection between communities and the institutions serving them. Such efforts can contribute to a more peaceful, prosperous and environmentally sustainable Kashmir.
I say these words from my heart, because I know that no words can truly measure the value of what you and your team have done for the Dal Dwellers and Dal Lake.
On behalf of the Dal Dwellers, and with deep respect and gratitude, I thank you, Sir, for giving us not merely assistance but hope, dignity, opportunity and a vision for a better future.
May your contribution continue to inspire others to serve our communities and protect Kashmir’s precious natural heritage.
Thank you, Sir. 🙏
Jai Hind.
Dear Sir,
It has been a privilege to work alongside you and contribute to various initiatives in Jammu & Kashmir, particularly the historic Tiranga hoisting at the Clock Tower (Ghanta Ghar), Lal Chowk, Srinagar, on 26 January 2022. The occasion remains a memorable milestone, symbolising patriotism, national unity, and hope for peace and progress in the region.
Our collaborative efforts extended beyond this historic occasion and included initiatives such as the Har Ghar Tiranga Yatra, the Aakhir Kab Tak campaign raising our voice against the killings of innocent civilians and non-local residents, and various public outreach activities aimed at promoting peace, harmony, and national integration.
I also value our association with cultural and youth-oriented initiatives, including fashion shows, sports events, musical programmes, and book launches, which provided platforms for young people, artists, writers, and members of civil society to express themselves positively and contribute to a constructive social environment.
Equally important were the efforts to counter terrorism, radicalisation, and extremism through public awareness, constructive engagement, and initiatives promoting peace, unity, and social responsibility. These activities demonstrated the importance of collaboration between the civil administration, security forces, and civil society in addressing challenges and building public confidence.
Throughout our engagement, I appreciated the spirit of coordination, professionalism, mutual trust, and dedication to the larger goal of peace, stability, and development in Jammu & Kashmir. Working together on these initiatives reinforced my belief that sustained public engagement, cultural expression, youth participation, and community outreach can play a meaningful role in strengthening the social fabric of our society.
I sincerely value having been associated with these efforts and remain appreciative of the cooperation and support extended during our work together. The experience, particularly the historic occasion of 26 January 2022, will always remain significant to me.
With sincere regards and best wishes
As Corps Commander of the Chinar Corps through 2021–2022, I had a front-row seat to what Sanjay built in Kashmir. He raised the 100-foot Tricolour at Haer Parbat on 15 August 2021, then helped Kashmiris themselves claim Lal Chowk on 26 January 2022 — two symbols no one thought could change. He turned ‘Aao Kashmir’ into a homecoming, the Dal Floating Village into a template, and reimagined 10,000 veterans as COVID Warriors when the Valley needed hope most. We even wrote ‘Kashmiri Hoshiyar’ together for Infantry Day, later Shaurya Diwas. Few officers pair that much vision with that much delivery.
