Mohammad Ahmed Zaki | |
|---|---|
 Zaki in 2017 | |
| Born | (1935-01-20)20 January 1935 (age 90) |
| Allegiance |  India |
| Branch | Indian Army |
| Years of service | 1955–1993 |
| Rank |  Lieutenant-General |
| Service number | IC-7613H[1] |
| Unit | 19 Maratha LI |
| Commands | Indian Military Academy XV Corps 19th Infantry Division Telangana Area Mizoram Range,Assam Rifles 86th Infantry Brigade 2 Maratha LI |
| Battles / wars | Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Insurgency in Northeast India Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 |
| Awards | Param Vishisht Seva Medal Padma Shri Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Vir Chakra |
Lieutenant GeneralMohammad Ahmed ZakiPVSM AVSM VrC (born 20 January 1935,Hyderabad,Telangana) is a formergeneral officer of theIndian Army.
Zaki was born into a Hyderabadi family with a long history of service in theNizam's Army. His father was a retired Brigadier in the Nizam's Cavalry forces.[2]
Zaki was educated at theRashtriya Indian Military College inDehra Dun from 1947 to 1951. He was selected for theNational Defence Academy in 1952.
Upon being commissioned into theIndian Army, he joined the 19th Battalion of theMaratha Light Infantry in 1955.
In theIndo-Pakistani War of 1965, Zaki was wounded in the battle of Thatti Jaimal Singh and was awarded theVir Chakra for a conspicuous display of gallantry in the face of the enemy:[3]
Gazette Notification: 134 Pres/65,16-10-65
Operation: -Date of Award: 20 September 1965
CITATIONMAJOR MOHAMMAD AHMAD ZAKI (IC-7613)
19 BATTALION, THE MARATHA LIGHT INFANTRYMajor Mohammad Ahmad Zaki was in command of the leading assaulting company of his battalion near Thatti Jaimal Singh in the Lahore Sector. On 20 September 1965, his company came under heavy medium machine gun, rifle and Browning fire and he was injured in the shoulder and arm by a burst of medium machine gun fire. Still he led a determined assault on the enemy He was wounded again. Undaunted by his successive injuries, he drove home the assault in what was virtually hand-to hand fighting. With a hand grenade he himself destroyed an enemy bunker containing a medium machine gun. At this stage he fell exhausted due to profuse bleeding, but inspired by his determined efforts, his company annihilated the enemy and captured the objective. In this battle, Major Zaki showed inspiring leadership, courage and dedication to duty, in the highest traditions of the Indian Army.
During theIndo-Pakistani War of 1971, he was in command of the2nd Battalion of the Maratha Light Infantry (Kali Panchvin) in theShakargarh area. He has held many important appointments such as instructor at theInfantry School inMhow, Brigade Major inLadakh and instructor at theDefence Services Staff College inWellington Cantonment.[4]
In March 1976, he raised the 18th Battalion of the Maratha Light Infantry. He was promoted to the rank ofBrigadier and took over the command of the 86th Infantry Brigade inPunjab. From 1984 to 1985, he was DIG Mizoram Range (Assam Rifles).[4]
Zaki was awarded theAti Vishisht Seva Medal and promoted to the rank ofMajor General. In August 1985, he assumed command of theTelangana,Tamil Nadu,Karnataka,Kerala andGoa area. Later, he was posted asGeneral officer commanding19 Infantry Division inJammu and Kashmir from 1986 to 1987.[4]
Further elevated to the rank ofLieutenant General in 1988, he took over as Director General Infantry. He was corps commander of theChinar Corps in Srinagar when there was an outbreak ofinsurgency in Kashmir. Zaki was awarded theParam Vishisht Seva Medal in 1991. He took over as Commandant of theIndian Military Academy inDehra Dun in June 1991. After that, he was appointed an advisor to theGovernor of Jammu and Kashmir. He retired from the Indian Army on 31 January 1993, after nearly 38 years of service.[1] He then had a second stint as advisor to the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir from 1993 to 1995. General Zaki was awarded thePadma Shri by theGovernment of India in 2001 for his services to the nation.[5]
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Post retirement from India Army, Gen Zaki served as Vice Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia from 1997 to 2000.
| Insignia | Rank | Component | Date of rank |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Second Lieutenant | Indian Army | 11 December 1955[6] |
 | Lieutenant | Indian Army | |
 | Captain | Indian Army | |
 | Major | Indian Army | 11 December 1968[7] |
 | Lieutenant-Colonel | Indian Army | 5 April 1974[8] |
 | Colonel | Indian Army | |
 | Brigadier | Indian Army | 20 October 1982[9] |
 | Major General | Indian Army | 16 August 1985[10] |
| Lieutenant General | Indian Army |