Major Hari Pal Singh Ahluwalia was an Indian mountaineer, author, social worker and Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS) officer. During his career he made contributions in the fields of adventure, sports, environment, disability and social work. He is one of six Indian men and the twenty first man in the world to climb Mount Everest. On 29 May 1965, 12 years to the day from the first ascent of Mount Everest, he made the summit with the fourth and final successful attempt of the 1965 Indian Everest Expedition along with H. C. S. Rawat and Phu Dorjee Sherpa. This was the first time three climbers stood on the summit together.

The Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS) is a civil service of the Government of India. IOFS officers are Gazetted defence-civilian officers under the Ministry of Defence. They are responsible for the administration of the Indian Ordnance Factories, which provide the indigenous defence production capabilities of India.