By Shishir Prashant 
Maj General B C Khanduri, AVSM (1934-2026 ).
A Tribute.
I first met the legendary General Khanduri in the late 1980’s.He was then a serving officer of the glorious Indian Army and was visiting my hometown, Mussoorie. As a young man I was fascinated by his personality. With that meeting began my lifelong admiration of him.
I was impressed by his ramrod persona and the admirable air of simplicity that he carried despite his manifold accomplishments. In 1991, I met him for the second time. On superannuation from the Army, he had joined the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) to become the Member Parliament from Garhwal. As Superintendent of Police, Lucknow City,I was supervising the security arrangements for a mammoth BJP rally at the famous Begum Hazrat Mahal Park. Amidst the huge crowd someone tapped my shoulder from behind. On turning I saw the General’s whiskers smiling at me, “How are you Anil?” he quipped. His aura evoked an instinctive salute from me. I was pleasantly surprised that he had remembered my name.
I regularly followed him in the news. As Union Minister of Surface Transport in the Vajpayee Government, he was instrumental in efficiently implementing the dream infrastructure,” Golden Quadrilateral Highway” project. At that time, it was the biggest of its kind in the country. It gave a fillip to the economic development of the country and also inspired the host of Expressways which India is now regularly building!
After the creation of Uttarakhand our meetings became more frequent. In 2007 he became the Chief Minister( CM) of Uttarakhand. He had two stints as the CM. First from 2007 to 2009 and the second between 2011 and 2012.
As Chief Minister he meticulously organised his days. His meetings were brief and to the point. During his tenure as CM of Uttarakhand, I had the good fortune of closely working with him.
As the Intelligence Chief of the State, it was my duty to regularly brief him about sensitive issues related to security and governance.
He was a hard task master who valued professionalism, efficiency and integrity. His deportment was that of the classic military General’s-warrior’s moustaches, gentleman’s attire, tough visage and frugality in words–but beneath all that, the discerning could see his heart of Gold and feel his humaneness. I was fortunate to work with him for almost three years.
His day, as CM, began with my Intelligence briefings. It was an honour to be associated with him. Though he assiduously served India and its people, his heart always remained in the sublime Himalayan mountains. In his going India has lost both a great General and a Statesman.
May his soul rest in eternal peace.
Om Shanti!
— Anil Raturi IPS Retd