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| Marshal of The India Airforce Arjan Singh (1919-2017) ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons) |
There are those who come rarely but leave a mark on our lives and in the process make a difference.
Today, one of the legends of the India Airforce passed away. He was The Marshal of The Indian Airforce Arjan Singh. The title Marshal is only given to those who make a mark for themselves. This title is equal to the Field Marshal in the Army. India Airforce has had only one man who has been conferred this title and that is Marshal of the Indian Airforce, Arjan Singh. Today, as he left us for eternal glory, it is time to celebrate the life and times of this legend.
Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh, DFC (16 April 1919 – 16 September 2017) was an Indian Air Force Officer who served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1964 to 1969. After retiring from the IAF, he served as a diplomat, politician, and advisor to the Indian government. In 2002, he became the first and only officer of the Indian Air Force to be promoted to five-star rank as Marshal of the Indian Air Force, equal to the army rank of Field Marshal.
Arjan Singh was born on 15 Apr 1919 in Lyallpur, Punjab (now Faisalabad, Pakistan), what was then British India in a distinguished military family. His father was a Lance Daffadar in the Hodson's Horse at the time of his birth, and retired as a full Risaldar of the Cavalry, serving for a time as ADC to a Division Commander. His grandfather Risaldar Major Hukam Singh belonged to the Guides Cavalry between 1883 and 1917. His great-grandfather, Naib Risaldar Sultana Singh was among the first two generations of the Guides Cavalry enlisted in 1854, he was martyred during the Afghan campaign of 1879. Arjan Singh was educated at Montgomery, British India (now in Pakistan). He entered the RAF College Cranwell in 1938 and was commissioned as a pilot officer in December 1939. As a distinguished graduate of the RAF College, Singh's portrait is now to be found on the walls of the College's west staircase.
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| Arjan Singh as part of the Squadron no-1, RIAF ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Imperial War Museum) |
Singh led No. 1 Squadron, Indian Air Force into combat during the Arakan Campaign in 1944. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in 1944, and commanded the Indian Air Force Exhibition Flight in 1945. Singh almost faced a court-martial in February 1945 when he tried to raise the morale of a trainee pilot (later rumored to be the future Air Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh) by conducting a low-level air pass over a house in Kerala. In his defense, he insisted that such tricks were needed for every cadet to be a fighter pilot.
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| Arjan Singh as CO of the Squadron no-1, RIAF ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Imperial War Museum) |
He was Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), from 1 August 1964 to 15 July 1969, and was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1965. When appointed as Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force, he was just about 45. At such a young age, he commanded the Air Force in war. He has been the only Chief of the Air Staff to have headed the Air Force for five years as opposed to the regular tenure of two and a half to three years. He also became the first Air Chief Marshal of the Indian Air Force to be upgraded to the position of Air Chief Marshal from the rank of Chief of the Air Staff in recognition of his Air Force’s contribution in the 1965 war. He took retirement from his services in 1970 at the age of 50.
In 1971 (after his retirement) Singh was appointed as the Indian Ambassador to Switzerland. He concurrently served as the Ambassador to the Vatican. He was also appointed as the High Commissioner to Kenya in 1974. He has also remained a member of the National Commission for Minorities and The Government of India (from 1975-1981). He was the Lt. Governor of Delhi from Dec 1989 - Dec 1990 and was made Marshal of the Air Force in January 2002.
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| President Obama meeting Arjan SIngh ( Credits- White House) |
In July 2015, Singh, then aged 96 and wheelchair bound due to a temporary indisposition, was among the many dignitaries to lay a wreath at the base of the coffin carrying the mortal remains of former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam at Palam Airport. He paid his last respects to President Kalam at Palam Airport on 28 July. On 14 April 2016 at an event to mark the Marshal's 97th birthday, the then Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha announced that Indian Air Force base at Panagarh in West Bengal will be named after MIAF Arjan Singh in honor of his service, and will be called Air Force Station Arjan Singh from then. Singh suffered a massive cardiac arrest in the early morning of 16 September 2017 and was rushed to the Army Hospital, Research, and Referral, in New Delhi, where his condition was stated to be critical. He died at 7:47 p.m. (IST) that evening.
May his soul rest in peace.
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