Lieutenant Shivam Ahlawat Becomes Fifth-Generation Officer in Skinner’s Horse Legacy

Lieutenant Shivam Ahlawat has been commissioned into 1 Horse (Skinner’s Horse), extending a rare and long-running military lineage as the fifth consecutive generation of his family to serve as an officer in the same regiment.

His commissioning on 5 September 2026 adds a new chapter to a family association with Skinner’s Horse that began in 1886 with his ancestor Lieutenant Sheochand Ahlawat. Across 140 years, the Ahlawats’ connection to the regiment has survived the transition from colonial cavalry to a modern armoured unit of the Indian Army.

For the Ahlawat family of Haryana, the moment was not just a ceremonial appointment but the latest handover of a tradition that has spanned operations in Kabul and Kandahar, the Boxer Rebellion, the two World Wars, the conflicts of independent India, Kargil and contemporary counter-insurgency deployments.

A family line tied to Skinner’s Horse since 1886

The story began when Lieutenant Sheochand Ahlawat joined 3rd Skinner’s Horse in 1886. He served for 32 years and saw action in operations in Kabul and Kandahar, in China during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, and later in France and Flanders during the First World War.

The second generation in the regiment was Captain Daryao Singh Ahlawat, whose service ran from 1918 to 1948. His career included the Second World War, during which he served as Adjutant while the regiment was deployed in Italy.

The family’s third officer in the regiment was Lieutenant Colonel Shamsher Singh Ahlawat, commissioned in December 1955. His service coincided with several major military operations of post-Independence India. He took part in the 1961 Liberation of Goa, Daman and Diu, and later fought in both the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pakistan wars.

During the 1965 war, his tank was hit and destroyed by enemy shelling. He survived the attack but suffered an injury that left him with a disability in his left eye. He retired in 1982 after about 27 years of service.

Colonel Sandeep Ahlawat carried the tradition into the modern Army

The fourth generation joined the regiment in June 1993, when Colonel Sandeep Ahlawat was commissioned into Skinner’s Horse. His career took him from armoured formations to some of the Indian Army’s most demanding operational settings.

During Operation Vijay in 1999, he served while attached to 8 JAT and took part in the capture of a Pakistani position at an altitude of around 16,000 feet during the Kargil conflict. He later served in counter-insurgency operations under Operation Rhino in Assam and Operation Hifazat in Manipur, and was also mobilised during Operation Parakram.

Colonel Sandeep Ahlawat later went on to command Skinner’s Horse itself.

The family’s unusual record had already drawn national attention when Colonel Sandeep Ahlawat was recognised in the Limca Book of Records for being the fourth generation of his family to serve as an officer in the same regiment.

Lieutenant Shivam Ahlawat becomes the fifth generation

Lieutenant Shivam Ahlawat has now carried that lineage forward. His commissioning on 5 September 2026 makes him the fifth generation of the Ahlawat family to wear the insignia of Skinner’s Horse.

Photographs taken after the commissioning showed him during the traditional pipping ceremony alongside a senior Ahlawat officer, widely identified as Colonel Sandeep Ahlawat.

Regional reports have linked the family to Gochhi village in Haryana’s Jhajjar-Rohtak region, an area known for a strong tradition of military service. However, details about Lieutenant Shivam Ahlawat’s age, education and the path by which he entered the Army have not yet been made public.

A regiment with two centuries of history

Skinner’s Horse itself is one of the Indian Army’s most historically significant regiments. Its origins go back to 23 February 1803, when Colonel James Skinner, widely known as “Sikandar Sahib”, raised an irregular cavalry formation at Hansi in present-day Haryana.

The regiment’s cavalrymen came to be known as the “Yellow Boys”, a reference to the distinctive yellow uniforms worn by its early sowars. Over more than two centuries, the unit evolved from horse-mounted cavalry into a modern armoured regiment.

Skinner’s Horse has taken part in a wide range of campaigns and conflicts, including operations in Afghanistan, the Boxer Rebellion, both World Wars and the Indo-Pakistan wars. Its motto is Himmat-e-Mardaan, Madad-e-Khuda, meaning “The bravery of man is by the help of God.”

From 1886 to 2026

Lieutenant Shivam Ahlawat’s commissioning stands out not simply because he comes from a military family, but because five successive generations have served as officers in the same regiment.

The family line runs from Lieutenant Sheochand Ahlawat to Captain Daryao Singh Ahlawat, then Lieutenant Colonel Shamsher Singh Ahlawat, followed by Colonel Sandeep Ahlawat and now Lieutenant Shivam Ahlawat.

In that span, warfare itself has changed dramatically — from cavalry campaigns and world wars to armoured warfare and modern internal security operations. Yet the Ahlawat family’s bond with Skinner’s Horse has continued uninterrupted.

With his commissioning on 5 September 2026, Lieutenant Shivam Ahlawat has become the latest bearer of that tradition, beginning his own service with 1 Horse (Skinner’s Horse) as the fifth generation in a line that has endured for 140 years.