Syed Ata Hasnain was commissioned into the 4th Battalion,
Garhwal Rifles, from the
Indian Military Academy,
Dehradun, on 16 June 1974. It is a unit raised by his father. He eventually commanded the same battalion. He participated in
Operation Pawan in
Sri Lanka during 1988-90, and took part in counter insurgency operations in Punjab in 1990-91. During the 1990s, the then Colonel Hasnain served with the
United Nations in
Mozambique, and later, war torn
Rwanda. He attended the Higher Command Course at
Army War College, Mhow, and thereafter served as Colonel General Staff at the HQ Victor Force at Avantipura South Kashmir, at the height of the militancy. As a
Brigadier, he served in J&K as Commander, 12 Infantry Brigade, on the
Line of Control, at
Uri. He later commanded
19 Infantry Division in
Baramulla,
Jammu and Kashmir, as a
Major General, serving under the overall direction of XV Corps. As a
Lieutenant General, Hasnain has been posted as
General Officer Commanding (GOC),
XXI Corps, in
Bhopal,
Madhya Pradesh. In October, 2010, it was announced that he will be returning to
XV Corps in Kashmir, as the GOC of that formation. As GOC of XV Corps, he has held several meetings to redress grievances and concerns of commons citizens, and to bring the Army closer to them He conceived and operationalised the "Hearts Doctrine" which focused on people as the centre of gravity in Kashmir. His contribution towards improving the security scenario in Kashmir was the balance he brought between the employment of hard power in counter infiltration and counter terrorist operations and military soft power. Gen. Hasnain played a pivotal role in starting the
Kashmir Premier League (KPL) in 2011, to build bridges between Kashmiris and Indian Army men. Throughout his tenure he applied an intellectual approach towards conflict and even guided the State Government in its approach as its Security Adviser. On 9 June 2012, Lt Gen Hasnain took office as the
Military Secretary, at Army Headquarters,
New Delhi. His unique and innovative approach defined as "Playing Friend Not God" has been widely appreciated as the new HR management mantra across domains in and outside the military. On 7 Sep 2013, Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain was awarded his first civilian honor by the Capital Foundation Society of Delhi. He received the award from the
Vice President of India,
Mohammad Hamid Ansari. The award was for Military leadership of an exceptional order. On 9 Sep 2013, the General Officer spoke at the Global Town Hall organized by the US based Ali Soufan Group and Qatar International Academy for Security Studies. This event was simultaneously held at New York, Singapore, Dakkar and Belfast. Lt Gen Hasnain spoke at Singapore on the subject ' Applying Counter Narratives in Conflict Stabilisation : The Heart is My Weapon Doctrine in Kashmir's Conflict Zone'. ==Post-retirement==