Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain took oath as the Governor of Bihar on Saturday (March 14, 2026). Patna High Court Chief Justice Sangam Kumar Sahoo administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mr. Hasnain at a ceremony at the Lok Bhavan.
Mr. Hasnain took the oath as the 43rd Governor of Bihar since India’s independence.
Mr. Hasnain was named the Governor of Bihar on March 5, 2026 as part of major gubernatorial appointments effected by President Droupadi Murmu.
He succeeded Arif Mohammad Khan who took oath as Bihar governor on January 2, 2025.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Deputy Chief Ministers- Samrat Choudhary, Vijay Kumar Sinha, Chairman of the Bihar Legislative Council Awadhesh Narayan Singh, Speaker of the Bihar Legislative Assembly Prem Kumar and numerous ministers and members of the Bihar Legislature, senior administrative and police officials of the Government of Bihar, military officers were present.
Mr. Hasnain remained active in national and academic roles even after retirement. In 2018, he was appointed chancellor of the Central University of Kashmir.
Before being appointed as governor, he was serving as a member of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
Having a service of nearly four decades, he was commissioned into 4th Battalion of the Garhwal Rifles in 1974 after graduating from the Indian Military Academy. He went on to hold several key command and staff appointments, many of them in Jammu and Kashmir.
Born into a military family, Mr. Hasnain did his schooling at Sherwood College in Nainital and later attended St Stephen’s College, Delhi. King’s College, University of London. He also studied in the Royal College of Defence Studies, King’s College London, and the Asia Pacific Centre for Security Studies, Hawaii.
He served in a range of critical assignments from Sri Lanka to Siachen Glacier, from the North East to Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), and in U.N. operations from Mozambique to Rwanda.
Mr. Hasnain commanded the Srinagar-based 15 Corps, one of the Army’s most critical formations responsible for operations in the Kashmir Valley. He also led the 21 Corps, a major strike formation of the Indian Army.
His final posting before retirement was as Military Secretary of the Indian Army. After retiring from the Indian Army in July 2013, Mr. Hasnain continued to contribute to public life through academic and institutional roles.
In 2015, he was nominated as a Member of the Executive Council of the Prime Minister’s Library and Museum.
He has been awarded six decorations by the President of India and two by the Army chief.
