A national hero who scaled Mt Everest in May 1965, Ahluwalia was confined to the wheelchair as a result of an injury in the India-Pakistan war the same year. After his meeting with representatives of 18 US institutions, Ahluwalia told reporters in Washington that he was visiting the United States to ascertain the latest trends in management of spinal injuries and how these could be adapted to Indian circumstances.

He also wanted to create an awareness among the American people about the good work being done in the field of disability in India and seek the cooperation of the US government.

Accompanied by the ISIC director, Air Marshal (retd.)Amarjit Singh Chahal, and deputy director Harvinder Chhabra, Ahluwalia will visit various spinal injury centres in the United States.

Ahluwalia said he was looking for like-minded people who would be interested in technical cooperation to strengthen and improve the services of his centre. He would meet institutes willing to cooperate in the fields of research and human resources development. He said he would contact non-resident Indian (NRI) professionals, who would be willing to return to their motherland to contribute in the fields of spine surgery, neurosurgery, plastic surgery, urology, neurology, radiology and applied research.