Marshal of Indian Air Force, Arjan Singh passes away at 98

Arjan Singh, Marshal of Indian Air Force and the key hero of the historic 1965 Indo-Pakistan has laid into rest forever at the age of 98 years.

The IAF Marshal died on Saturday, 16 September, 2017 at 7:47 pm due to cardiac arrest in Army’s Research & Refferal hospital,New Delhi.

The brave hero of IAF had played a key role in the Indian’s victory in the historical 1965 war against Pakistan.

The IAF Chief was the oldest only “Five Star” rank officer who was conferred the rank of the “Marshal of the Indian Air Force” on January 28, 2002.

Arjan Singh was born on 15 April 1919 in Lyallpur (now Faisalabad in Pakistan),  joined the newly-formed Indian Air Force in 1938 at the mere age of 19.

He was admitted in the army hospital in intensive care unit because of cardiovascular complications. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met the Marshal at the hospital after hearing the news of his illness in the evening.

In 1965 when the things got soar and Pakistani army launched its Grand Slam operation in which its armoured thrust targeting the town of Akhnur, Arjan Singh was summoned into the office of the then defence minister for air support. To the reply, he just said “…in an hour”. And true to his words the Indian air force struck the Pakistani army in an hour. His leadership skills made the Indian air force to achieve the targets. He was awarded with the Padma Vibhushan award for his leadership during the 1965 war.

He was really a true hero with great leadership skills and we will never forget his contribution made to the Country.