One of the great Indians that most people have not heard of
On 15th of April 1919, two days after Indians were massacred in Amritsar in one of the most ghastly and remorseless acts of violence by a tyrannical power, some 170 Km away in Lyallpur (now Faisalabad in Pakistan), Punjab province of British India, a boy was born who would go on to become the Indian Superhero with unmatched Flying skills and go on to fly 60 different types of Aircrafts.
He followed the footsteps of his Father, Grandfather and Great-grandfather and joined Armed Forces.
He passed out as a Pilot officer at the age of 20 from the Royal Air Force College at Cranwell.
As a consummate Squadron Commander, flying Hurricane fighters in defence of Imphal in 1944, besieged by the Japanese, he had displayed masterly leadership. In an unprecedented step, the then Supreme Allied Commander of the South East Asian Command, Lord Mountbatten, had personally awarded him the Distinguished Flying Cross on the battlefield for his leadership and performance in defeating the Japanese.
On 15th of August 1947, he led a fly past of 100 Air crafts over Red Fort to mark the occasion of India’s Independence.
In 1964 he became the youngest Chief of Air Staff at the age of 44.
During 1965 war, when Pakistan launched Operation Grandslam to cut-off Jammu and kashmir from India, the then Defence minister Y. B. Chavan asked him about the time required by Indian Air Force to launch counter attack. He said that it will be done within an hour, and he did just that.
He later recounted “Pakistan had a qualitatively superior force that included modern fighters such as F-86 Sabres and F-104 Star fighters. The Indian Air Force had Mysteres, Vampires, Ouragans, Hunters, and Gnats in its inventory. We were fighting against all odds as they had air-to-air missiles and we just had a few Russian MiG’s that were not used much in the war.”
“But, with sheer skills and bravery of IAF pilots, Pakistan was losing its aircraft at a fast rate and was keen on accepting the ceasefire. Because of international pressure and other considerations, India agreed to the ceasefire.”
In an interview to Gaurav Sawant he said “In 1965 war, IAF destroyed 123 Pakistani tanks & hit 72 ammunition trains. Had it not been for IAF, India would have lost Kashmir in 1965”
In 1966, He became the first Air Chief Marshal of IAF.
In 2002, President K.R. Narayanan promoted him to the rank of Marshal of Indian Air Force. The one and only 5 star officer of Air Force.
He became the living example of fortitude, bravery, courage, passion, dedication towards Nation and commitment towards duty.
Even to this day he was the never ending flow of Inspiration to many.
He went on to serve India in many ways, sometimes in the form of Ambassador sometimes Administrator.
He was 96, and almost immobile when this photo was taken in 2015. He found it extremely difficult, but stood to lay a wreath and give one final salute to Late President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. This image will remain in the memory of Indians for centuries to come!
The Marshal of Indian Air Force Arjan Singh one and only 5 star officer of IAF passed away on 16th September 2017 at 1947 hours. Even the time of his demise reminds us of his celestial connection with Indian Nation.
Once upon a time, a long time ago, they made men like this ....
Jai Hind!
(1) All image credits: Google, Twitter.
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