Education
Education & Intellectual Journey
Colonel Prakash Tewari’s approach to education transcends formal degrees—it is rooted in lifelong experiential learning, intellectual curiosity, and spiritual exploration.
His formal academic journey began at St. Joseph’s School, culminating in a Bachelor of Arts from Jawaharlal Nehru University through the National Defence Academy (NDA). He later earned an M.Sc. in Disaster Mitigation from Sikkim Manipal University, building on his military and strategic insights.
To enhance his cross-disciplinary expertise, he pursued a wide range of professional diplomas and certifications, including:
Business Management – MDI Gurgaon & Symbiosis University
Chinese (Mandarin) – Specialized language training
Peace and Conflict Studies – Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
Vedanta Studies including Eastern and Western Philosophies – Vedanta Forest Academy
Leadership Motivation – Leadership Management International (LMI), Texas, USA
During his service in the Army and Corporate he also did a number of structured courses and training in :
· Business Leadership Course dealing with leadership in Sustainable Business, developing strategic business framework, product stewardship and stakeholders strategies. Identifying challenges and opportunities for transformation, leadership and innovation.
· Organization Transformation Course dealing with self journey i.e engagement/conversation, practicing mindfulness, need to excel i.e locus of control, probability assessment, motivation, achievement syndrome, co-creation i.e differentiated/ integrated role self/organization and collaboration.
· Leadership Behaviour dealing with Tata Values, success factors, leadership behaviour and how to become an increasingly high performing global enterprise.
· Tata Business Excellence Model on aligning goals and targets to Annual Business Plan through Balance Score Card, Strategic Deployment Matrix, Key Result Areas and performance indicators.
· Community Engagement Strategy dealing with principles of community engagement, mapping of communities, community interventions, architecture of care, structure of community relations functions, sustainability councils/ protocols.
· Rehabilitation and Resettlement Course dealing with National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy, best practices and making entitlement matrix.
· Conflict resolution course dealing in conflict resolution, peace-making, peace keeping, mediation, psychology, traumatology and upliftment of people through social and economic development programs.
· Junior Command and Senior Command Course dealing in conflict management, human resources management, performance appraisal logistic operations and co-ordination of various resources for execution of tasks.
· Junior Staff Course dealing in organizing of staff works in office, filing of reports and returns and preparation of briefs, agenda points, minutes of conferences and feedback reports.
· Engineering Certificate Course dealing in construction of bridges, roads and maintenance of essential public services like railways, communications, airports, public health, etc.
This diverse educational portfolio reflects his vision of integrating military strategy, environmental governance, and corporate sustainability into a unified mission of nation-building and transformation.
“Education to me is not about degrees and diplomas; it’s about the wisdom acquired through real-world experience and the habit of reading, reflecting, and engaging deeply with ideas.”
— Colonel Prakash Tewari
A Life in Books: Self-Taught Scholar
From a young age, Colonel Tewari developed an insatiable love for reading. By the time he reached high school, he had already read the works of Thomas Hardy, D.H. Lawrence, Alan Paton, Samuel Beckett, George Eliot, Shakespeare, Aldous Huxley, Ayn Rand, Jean-Paul Sartre, Paul Ionesco, Frederick Forsyth, James Hadley Chase, and even Mills & Boon, thanks to his three sisters' collection.
While at the NDA, he conducted a literary research project on the Theatre of the Absurd, further deepening his engagement with English literature.
During his Army service in remote and isolated locations, where formal resources were limited, he read widely from any book available—across genres including geography, political science, history, and social studies, often gifted to the battalion library by officers' families. His intellectual appetite expanded further during his corporate career in the power and steel sectors, where he studied subjects such as mining, geology, hydrology, and environmental science to better understand the technical and ecological complexities of his work.
Spiritual Readings and Literary Inspirations
In the later stages of his life, Colonel Tewari’s reading evolved toward spiritual and philosophical literature. He draws particular inspiration from author Raj Supe, whose novels—When Life Turns Turtle and When Life Cartwheels—fuse spirituality, artistry, and romance in the sacred backdrops of Indian pilgrimage sites. These works, along with books such as The Secret of the Nagas, The Immortals of Meluha, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, Old Path White Clouds, and God Talks with Arjuna, deeply influenced his spiritual worldview.
For the past five years, Col. Tewari has been intensely engaged with the Bhagavad Gita, describing it as “the most contemporary text on the planet—timeless, visionary, and profoundly relevant.” He spent over a year decoding the original Sanskrit, studying various interpretations, and collating insights from renowned spiritual teachers. This study is now shaping his current writing project, where he seeks to blend the voice of the seeker and the artist, crafting a new genre rooted in spiritual evolution.
