Brigadier B.K. Ponwar, Architect of India's Modern Jungle Warfare Training, Dies at 77

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Brigadier Basant Kumar Ponwar (Retd), a 1971 war veteran and pioneer of India's modern jungle-warfare training, died on 29 July 2026 at the age of 77.
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He founded the Counter Terrorism and Jungle Warfare College (CTJWC) at Kanker in North Bastar, Chhattisgarh, in 2005.
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He directed the college for about 18 years and trained over 37,000 personnel from state police and central paramilitary forces.
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His training doctrine, summed up as 'fight the guerrilla like a guerrilla', shaped India's anti-Naxal operations.

●Name: Brigadier Basant Kumar (B.K.) Ponwar (Retd)
●Died: 29 July 2026, aged 77
●Known as: architect of India's modern jungle-warfare training
●Founded: Counter Terrorism and Jungle Warfare College (CTJWC), Kanker, Chhattisgarh (2005)
●Legacy: trained 37,000+ personnel; doctrine 'fight the guerrilla like a guerrilla'

Brigadier Ponwar served in the 1971 Indo-Pak War before dedicating his later career to counter-insurgency training. In 2005, he set up the Counter Terrorism and Jungle Warfare College at Kanker in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region, then a hotbed of Left Wing Extremism. His hard, realistic training transformed how state police and paramilitary forces fought Maoists in dense forest terrain, and the college became a national centre for jungle-warfare instruction.

Exam Relevance

defence

Defence Awareness > Counter-insurgency

ssc

General Awareness > Defence & Personalities

Expected Questions

★Which institution did Brigadier B.K. Ponwar found?
★Brigadier Ponwar's training was central to countering which insurgency?

Key Terms

Counter Terrorism and Jungle Warfare College

The anti-Naxal jungle-warfare training school at Kanker, Chhattisgarh, founded in 2005

priority_highMust Remember

•Brig B.K. Ponwar founded the Counter Terrorism and Jungle Warfare College (Kanker, 2005); 1971 war veteran; 'fight the guerrilla like a guerrilla'

tips_and_updatesExam Tips

•Associate Ponwar with anti-Naxal jungle-warfare training at Kanker, Chhattisgarh.

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Brigadier B.K. Ponwar, Architect of India's Modern Jungle Warfare Training, Dies at 77

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Practice Quiz

Brigadier B.K. Ponwar, who died in July 2026, is best known for founding which institution?

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