His immediate elder sibling was in the NDA and Malay followed him there and became a Gentleman Cadet in what was then called the Joint Services Wing.

Lahiri was an officer in the Indian Army[4] and played for Gorkha Brigade and Services in the Durand Tournament and Santosh Trophy.

The Gold Medal in his Course was awarded to GC Bipin Chandra Joshi, later Chief of Army Staff.

After the Sino-Indian War of 1962, he was selected to go to Fort Bragg, North Carolina to undergo training and then graduated from the US Army Special Warfare School.

After successfully completing the Course in Psychological Operations, Counter Insurgency and Special Forces Operations, he came back to India to design and set-up the Commando Wing for the Indian Army at Infantry School, Mhow which was then relocated to Belgaum.