India, Aug. 14 -- Lieutenant General Arvind Mahajan (retired) takes pride in being part of a generation born into a free nation, one that held the promise of a newly independent India, witnessed its remarkable journey, and helped shape its transformation.

"While Gen Z may be the flavour of the times today, back then, it was we who were hailed as the generation of a New India. We were destined to witness and participate in the journey of a country determined to build its own future," he says, sipping hot coffee in the basement of his Gurugram home on a rain-soaked afternoon.

Born on December 24, 1947, he retired in 2007 as director general of the Indian Army's Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME), bringing down the curtain...