While tributes poured in from all walks of life for Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh who passed away on Saturday, many of his successors recalled several instances of the legendary soldier’s abiding role in shaping the IAF into one of the finest military arms in the world. From encouraging young pilots to warmly welcoming women fighter pilots, the Marshal set personal examples in shaping the ethos of the IAF, many former Air Force chiefs said.
Besides being the first four-star general of the Air Force and its only five-star general in its history, Marshal Singh also stood out as an icon and legend due to his leadership values like honesty and integrity on which the Indian Air Force has built its structures, many in the IAF recalled.
“Something special to him was his personal contributions. For instance during Burma campaign in WW-II, they went quite deep to attack the Japanese. It was a brilliant air campaign… The other part of him is his leadership, his style and remarkable patience. I never heard of him losing patience. He demanded few things, integrity and honesty. These mattered to the IAF. He set a tradition. We simply followed it down the line,” former Air Chief Marshal (ACM) S Krishnaswamy told The Hindu .
Singh formally took charge as the Marshal of the Air Force in 2002 when ACM Krishnaswamy was the Chief. He said the IAF had built its structures on his ethos, integrity to the military and the nation and honesty to colleagues and sub-ordinates.
Another former Chief ACM Arup Raha had a similar observation.
“Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh stands out as he had so many credits to him. He had shrewd military characters in him. He was loved by everyone. He is an icon and legend. There are not many Chiefs who can be compared with him,” he said.
Marshal Singh joined the Royal Indian Air Force in 1938 when he was only 19 years old. He went on to become the Chief of the IAF when he was 44 years old and soon saw action in the 1965 war in which he played an instrumental role in turning it around.
Recalling the several firsts of Marshal Singh, ACM Raha said on the 1965 war, “In the backdrop of the 1962 war, the IAF was exploring its ability as a war winning potential. He did exceptionally well in that.”
After retiring as Chief, Marshal Singh got into public life and served as High Commissioner and Lieutenant Governor earning laurels.
Welcomed women fighter pilots
ACM Raha, who stepped down as Chief at the end of the last year, recalled meeting him regularly to update him on the developments in the Air Force. He recollected one particular incident, the proposal to induct women fighter pilots in 2015.
“When we were planning to put a proposal to the government on inducting women as fighter pilots, I told him about it. He was very elated. He said women are as good as men and they should be given equal opportunity. After the government approval, I informed him about it and he was very happy,” he said.
In June 2016, the first batch of three women fighter pilots, Avani Chaturvedi, Bhawana Kanth and Mohana Singh, were commissioned into the IAF and they later met Marshal Singh at his residence.
“He was so happy to meet them. They were like his grandchildren. He showed so much affection on them and told them of life in the Air Force,” ACM Raha recalled.
Last year, the IAF celebrated Marshal Singh’s 97th birthday and Air Force station Panagarh was renamed Air Force station Arjan Singh. “When we decided to do it, he was initially reluctant. But we convinced him,” ACM Raha added.
Set example
Another former Chief ACM AY Tipnis recalled one of his earliest interactions with Marshal Singh when he was a young officer in 1962-63 when the first Russian MiG-21 squadron was inducted into the Air Force. It was also the first supersonic squadron in the force.
Normally when a new squadron is formed, senior officers are posted as a precaution in handling new platforms.
“But we were there and the only reason was the Marshal had insisted that there must be young people in the squadron. He came personally to enquire how many young chaps were there. He personally spoke to all the young officers and asked us about the experience. We were overwhelmed,” ACM Tipnis recalled.
According to ACM Tipnis, one of the most telling things about Marshal Singh was loyalty — to the IAF, to the people and to the nation. “One knew that here is one who they could depend on, people under him knew that they won’t be asked to do something he himself wouldn’t do,” he added.
While Marshal Singh was the first and only Marshal of the Air Force, he is also one of the only three five-star officers in the history of Independent India. The other two were Field Marshal KM Cariappa and Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw.
