Dreams that took years, and the persistence behind them.
For Lage Raho to became our attitude, we started small, by making it our greeting, “Lage Raho 18”. The team cap followed.
In 2009, Lt Gen Rajinder Singh, my former GOC Kilo Force, made me present my transformation of 18 Rashtriya Rifles to 60 officers in Bhopal. One of them saw a book in it.
The book was written to share knowledge. It is a true account of the transformation of 18 Rashtriya Rifles and with it, 60,000 people of Lolab, North Kashmir, 2006-2008
As I was a serving Army officer then, I had to leave out a large number of details. Hence, a second edition is planned for 2027. The promotion of the book was self-managed in true Lage Raho style.
I had waited for 14 years to deliver bloodless peace to Kashmiris. Only a ‘Lage Raho Attitude’ could have kept me on course.
Late General Bipin Rawat too had similarly waited. Sadly, he passed on without seeing Tiranga At Chowk on 26 January 2026.
“A LEADER’S REAL TEST IS NOT THE CRISIS HE SURVIVES, BUT THE TEAM HE LEAVES BEHIND, STILL BELIEVING, STILL WORKING, STILL SAYING ‘LAGE RAHO’ LONG AFTER HE HAS MOVED ON.”