Hero of 1965 War and the Only Marshal Of IAF, Arjan Singh Passes away at the age of 98

The only Marshal of Indian Air Force, Arjan Singh passed away at the age of 98 in the Army’s research and referral hospital in the evening hours of Saturday. Arjan Singh was admitted to the hospital after he suffered a cardiac arrest.

Air Marshal Arjan Singh is credited with shaping the Indian Air Force in its initial years. He had the honour of leading a flying past of more than hundred IAF aircraft on the occasion of India’s first Independence Day. He was granted the honorary rank of Marshal in 2002 on the occasion of Republic day which was conferred before him on only two Army Chiefs, K M Carriappa and Sam Manekshaw.

Arjan Singh was born on April 15, 1919, in Lyallpur which is now in Pakistan. He belongs to a family of soldiers and joined the Indian Air Force in 1938 after completing his degree from the Government college in Lahore.  He had participated in operation against the tribals of North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) as a pilot office posted in Karachi.

As an officer, Arjan Singh had a very distinguished career record. He had participated in operations on the Burma front during Second World War and as a squadron commander, he had led the defence operation of Imphal in 1944. He was awarded the distinguished flying cross on the battlefield for his leadership and performance in defeating the Japanese by the supreme allied commander of the South East Asian Command, Lord Mountbatten.

Before taking over as Air Marshal in 1964, Arjan Singh had held many important posts. The Pakistani Air Force was commanded by his batchmate, Air Marshal Asghar Khan. During the conflict in Kutch in early 1965, the two chiefs had mutually agreed to keep their air force out and prevent further escalation of tension.

In 1965 when Pakistan had launched a military attack in Akhnoor sector to cut off Jammu and Kashmir from rest of the India, the then army chief of India General J N Chaudhari had suggested Arjan Singh that Pakistani assault could only be stopped by IAF. Both the chiefs called on the then defence minister Y B Chavan who gave them a go-ahead signal.

Under the leadership of Arjan Singh, Indian Air Force had established its superiority over Pakistan in weeks and had deeply penetrated into the enemy territory which includes the airfield like Peshawar and Mauripur of Pakistan.

But Arjan Singh believed that the 1965 war ended in a stalemate despite India being in an advantageous position. He had even advised the then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri not to accept the ceasefire. Shastri was under tremendous international pressure to accept the ceasefire. On the other hand, Pakistani force was losing its aircraft at a fast rate and was keen on accepting the ceasefire but ultimately India under the pressure of International community agreed to a ceasefire.

Arjan Singh was honoured with Padma Vibhushan for his meritorious service during the 1965 war. He was subsequently promoted to the rank of Air Chief Marshal at par with a General and was the first officer to be promoted so. After retirement, he continued to serve the country in various capacity. In 1971, he was made the country’s ambassador to Switzerland and in 1974 was appointed as the High Commissioner to Kenya.

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