SPOTLIGHT: LT GENERAL DHIRAJ SETH, AVSM, CLASS OF 1983
Our “OL In The Spotlight”- the third in this series- is Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth, AVSM, of the Class of 1983. He is currently the General Officer Commanding, Delhi Area.
It is indeed a proud moment for Lawrencians that Lt Gen. Seth commanded the impressive 74th Republic Day Parade which took place in Kartavya Path in New Delhi on January 26, 2023.
Millions of Indians in India and abroad watched the live telecast of this event. In the military parade, India exhibited its armed might with an emphasis on our indigenous Made in India equipment. The tableaux that followed depicted our country’s rich, colourful cultural heritage.
A product of The Lawrence School, Lovedale and The National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth was commissioned into 2nd Lancers in 1986- one of the oldest regiments in the Indian Army, raised in 1809, and part of the Indian Army’s Armoured Corps. In the course of his career in the Indian Army, he commanded First Horse (again a very distinguished regiment dating back to 1803), 98 Armoured Brigade and a Rashtriya Rifles, Active Counter -Insurgency Force in J&K.
He excelled in various courses of instruction. He was awarded the best all-around student at the Defence Services Staff Course at Wellington. General Seth attended the prestigious Defence Services Command and Gen Staff Course at Military College, Paris, France, the Higher Command Course at Mhow and the National Defence College at New Delhi. He has also qualified on the International Defence Acquisition Management Course at Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, USA.
He was Director General of Ceremonial, Welfare and Discipline at Army HQ before taking over command of 21 Corps. Since August 2022, he has been General Officer Commanding, Delhi Area.
Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth was honoured with the Ati Vishisht Seva medal (AVSM) in 2022 by the President of India. This is a military award given to recognize “distinguished service of an exceptional order.”
We caught up with Gen Seth and got his story of schooldays at Lovedale, his career in the Indian Army, and his advice for current Lawrencians and young OLs starting out on their careers through these questions :-
1. When were you at School? Which House were you in?
1981 to 1983. I was in Aravalli/ Nilgiris.
2. Was there any particular reason your parents/you chose Lovedale?
My Father was posted at Defence Services Staff College Wellington in 1980 so having re-located to The Nilgiris after my Xth Boards, it was a great opportunity to study and pass out with the ‘stamp’ of one of the most prestigious Public Schools of India. A big thanks to my parents who complied with my request and I joined The Lawrence School Lovedale.
3. What are your main memories of life at School? Please elaborate. What are some events/places that have stayed in your mind?
It was the first time that I was joining a boarding school, so that aspect had its challenges and though we were 4/5 of us joining as freshers in XIth, we had our fair share of tricks being played on us as part of settling down. Omelettes with Sambhar for breakfast & ‘Jaggery Tea’ have continued to remain a part of me ever since. I was part of the ‘Bee-Keeping’ Club, and our trips to hills around, duly kitted up with ‘Maal’ our chemistry Teacher are fondly remembered.
( At School, 1982 - With Mr Venkatraman. Taught Chemistry for Senior School and was incharge of the Bee Keeping club of which I was a member)
Participating in Inter House and Inter school Debates in Hindi at the large Hall with Mr Nambiar as the guide and mentor and winning the honours for Lawrence were pride-filled moments. Anecdotes of ‘Big Bogs’ in any case remain ultimate. In fact when I look back today, how I wish I had joined school in an earlier class and moreover I often dream of re-living those lovely 2 years.
4. Which member of the staff, if any, had a strong influence on you, and why?
I was in the Science stream for my XI th and we had such a remarkable lot of teachers, each so very proficient in their respective subjects. Mr Srinivasan (Tho) teaching us Physics, Mr Venkataraman (Maal) for Chemistry and Mrs Sharada taking on Math. All of them shaped us to deliver to our best in the board exams. However, I got selected for NDA and joined before appearing for the exam.
5. What are some learnings from School that have helped you later in your life?
The school motto of ‘Never Give In’ is so powerful that for any situation in Life, the moment one factors these three magical words of our motto into any given situation a kind of special energy to overcome and ‘further move on’ kicks in and making things happen the way one willed. Secondly the school made be more independent both in my thoughts and action which proved most beneficial when I joined the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and beyond in my initial formative years in the Army.
6. Did you always want to join the Indian Army? When you joined there was always a reputation for you to maintain as a second generation Army Officer.......
Living up to expectations of your colleagues and seniors as a 2nd generation officer, more so with a father who has done well is difficult. In fact a challenge that eggs you to continue to keep striving to deliver your best.
7. What did you learn from your father, Lieutenant General K M Seth, PVSM, AVSM, an illustrious officer who retired as the Adjutant General of the Indian Army and later served as Governor of Tripura, Chhattisgarh, and briefly Madhya Pradesh?
I have tried to live by the undermentioned principles of my father :-
Value of hardwork & perseverance.
Work hard & enjoy hard.
Honesty of purpose.
Integrity and probity in all dealings.
Humility, Compassion, Share & Care.
In fact, whilst at school, I was preparing for IIT-JEE, had
taken ‘Brilliant Tutorials’ as well, but somehow, when I saw
couple of my Very Brainy classmates struggling with
Agarawal/Brilliant classes and I made it for NDA, I took the call to join as it was contributing to my father’s desire that I follow his footsteps.
8. When you took charge of the 21 Corps (Sudarshan Chakra Corps) in July 2021, I believe it was an unique event of a Corps being commanded by both father and son as your father had commanded this Corps in the 1990s.
Matter of great pride for me, a distinction not paralleled by
any father-son across Armies of the World.
9. Please describe for us how you felt when you commanded the
Republic Day Parade recently? What were the major challenges in
carrying out this mega event so successfully?
A feeling of great pride, an onerous responsibility and
honour and I truly stand humbled for the opportunity of
leading the parade on ‘Kartavya Path’ for the first time.
10. Are you in touch with your old school friends?
Yes we have a class of 83 whatsapp gp which is a vibrant
group wherein I am not an active an member, but it keeps
one in connect and touch with all happenings of the
batch. Moreover, an ‘OL Fauji’ WA gp created a couple of
years back by Rear Admiral Phillipose also exists and
keeps us all ‘Faujis’ across all batches in the three
services connected.
11. Based on your own experience, what would be your advice to
younger OLs starting out on their careers and to current
Lawrencians - on life, professions, and in carrying out
responsibilities ?
TO CURRENT LAWRENCIANS :-
Identify your passion and pursue it till you achieve the
same.
Following your passion and striving for a career in the same
will help in designing a Life for yourself from which you don’t
need a holiday.
Put in your very best in whatever you do, so that there
are no regrets that you could have done better.
TO OLs STARTING OUT ON THEIR CAREER
Your attitude towards whatever you do is of prime importance. In fact nine out of ten skill sets are attitudinal in nature. Rest everything falls into place.
Be a team person. Endeavour to always carry a ‘Happy Team’.
Strive to be a ‘Good Human Being’. Compensates for other minor professional shortcomings.
Lt General Seth with Headmaster, Mr Prabhakaran: visit to School, July 2022.
Prem Rao/Ed's note: Republic Day was celebrated on January 26, on January 27 we got confirmation that the overall Parade Commander was indeed an OL. Thanks to Rear Admiral Philipose G Pynumootil, AVSM, IN (retd), VP of the OLA, we contacted him on January 28. Despite his extremely busy schedule following the Republic Day and his other ongoing responsibilities, General Seth made time for his alma mater to give us this blog post and share some photographs.
Thank you, Sir. We wish you greater success in your professional career. May you continue to make our country and us OLs proud. Jai Hind!!
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