Time Capsule: Marshal Arjan Singh (1919-2017)
Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh, who died on September 16 seven years ago at age 98, was an officer and a gentleman who served as an exemplar not only for Air Warriors but also for so many others outside the defence forces. He was a soldier, a diplomat and an administrator, and he carried out all these roles with élan.
Born in Lyallpur (now in Pakistan and renamed to Faisalabad), Arjan Singh joined the Indian Air Force’s No. 1 Squadron as a Pilot Officer in 1939, and he soon distinguished himself in the North Western Frontier Province in campaigns against the tribal forces. Promoted to the rank of Squadron Leader in 1944, he saw action in the Imphal Campaign and then in Burma (Myanmar). Lord Mountbatten, then the Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia Command, personally pinned the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) on Arjan Singh for his services. He was proud that his squadron got eight DFCs in the war, more than any other, British or Indian.
Group Captain Arjan Singh led the first flypast over the Red Ford on August 15, 1947. He was appointed the Chief of the Air Staff in the rank of Air Marshal in August 1964, in time to be tested by the war against Pakistan the next year, where the Indian Air Force acquitted itself very well. After the war, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan and was appointed the first Air Chief Marshal of the Indian Air Force, which he led until his retirement in 1969.
Appointed Ambassador to Switzerland, he and his wife Teji, who was really the wind beneath his wings, travelled so much in that country that, as she recalled: “People often said that no diplomat has gone to all these places in on our country. I would smile politely and not say that Switzerland is smaller in size than Punjab!” In 1974, he was appointed High Commissioner to Kenya for three years. In later years, he served as a member of the Minorities Commission and as Lt. Governor of Delhi.
More than his feats as a soldier and a diplomat, he drew in a wide circle of admirers for his leadership and deportment. One could see it in 2002 at Rashtrapati Bhavan after President KR Narayanan elevated him to the rank of Marshal of the Indian Air Force — he was the cynosure of attention despite the presence of then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, minister and top dignitaries. The promotion made Arjan Singh the lifelong honorary head of the force he had led. Later, he would literally sell his farm to help Air Force veterans.
When he passed away, PM Narendra Modi went to his Kautilya Marg residence to pay his respects. Present at the cremation were former PM Manmohan Singh, then Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and several top dignitaries. A 17-gun salute was fired and the Indian Air Force’s Sukhoi jets flew in the “Missing man” formation for the final flypast, saluting the Marshal of the Indian Air Force for the last time.
Back-to-back operations by the security forces against Maoists and setting up of over 200 camps in their bastion Abujhmad have almost strangled their movement.
With six Maoists, including two women, killed in an encounter with the elite Greyhound commandos of the Telangana Police in Bhadradri Kothagudem district adjoining Chhattisgarh on September 5, the Maoists have suffered a serious setback. The incessant pressure on the Maoists by the security forces in Chhattisgarh had forced them to shift to Telangana, where the Greyhounds took them on.
On September 3, nine Maoists were killed in a joint operation conducted by the Central Reserve Police Force’s 111th Battalion, Bastar Fighters and the District Reserve Guards (DRG) in the forests adjoining the Dantewada-Bijapur district border. Six of the killed Maoists were women. Macherla Esobu, a top Maoist carrying a bounty of Rs 25 lakh on his head, was also among the killed. With this success of the security forces, the number of Maoists killed this year in India has risen to around 170 as against 46 in 2021, 30 in 2022 and 29 last year.
The penetration by the security forces into the hitherto untrodden territory of Abujhmad last year has unnerved the Maoists. A series of setbacks in various encounters with the security personnel has depleted their strength and demoralised their cadre. This fear of getting killed has forced many of them to surrender at police stations or in Central Armed Police Forces camps.
As many as 22 Maoists have been killed this year in Chhattisgarh alone. These back-to-back operations are yielding satisfactory results, evident from the fact that around 670 Maoists were arrested this year, while 656 more surrendered in the Bastar division. As many as 5,816 Maoists surrendered between 2014 and 2022, of which 2,855 surrendered in 2022 alone. At present, only 38 districts are in the grip of the Maoist menace as against 96 in 2010.
Six of the eight Maoists killed in an encounter with a combined force of the DRG, Special Task Force (STF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the Border Security Force (BSF) in the forests adjoining Farasbeda and Kotmeta villages in Narayanpur district, Chhattisgarh, on June 15, carried a reward of Rs 8 lakh each.
Speaking after a review meeting in Raipur on August 24, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said 14 top Maoists had been killed this year. He also assured that India would be free of the Maoist menace by March 2026.
A recent trend seen after these encounters is that the Maoists are no longer carrying back their dead comrades or their weapons with them. In the past, they would carry their dead with them and give them a traditional cremation. Not so now. With the security forces in hot pursuit, they fear that their escape will be hampered. In the encounters on September 3 and 5, a large haul of arms and ammunition was recovered.
While the security forces’ recent success has brought them gallantry medals, rewards and commendations, it has sent tremors among the Maoist leaders who have fought the establishment for years. With many of their leaders dead, the morale among the rank and file is at its lowest. The security forces have set up over 200 camps in the last bastion of their refuge in Abujhmad, a 4,000-sq km forest stretch. This has almost strangled the Maoist movement.
As face-to-face confrontations with the security forces could lead to more killings among the Maoists, they will resort to tactics that would inflict maximum harm and casualties on the security forces with least damage to themselves.
Nothing could be safer for the Maoists than to plant improvised explosive devices (IEDs), trigger these from a distance and then escape into the adjoining forests. Usually, these IEDs are planted in advance when the roads are being laid. Later, when Maoists plan to attack the forces, they trigger it through batteries. Unfortunately, since these IEDs are planted deep in the soil, it becomes difficult to detect them with explosive detectors.
On June 23 this year, the CRPF lost two of its gallant Cobra commandos when a truck carrying rations for its personnel in Tekulagudem from its base at the Silger camp came under an IED attack. The IED triggered by Maoists hurled the truck high in the air, killing the two commandos.
The Electronics Corporation of India Limited, Department of Atomic Energy and the Defence Research and Development Organisation have recently developed different explosive detectors that may help avoid such attacks in future.
In a desperate attempt to regain lost ground, the Maoists may attack the security forces. With the forces closing in on Maoist leader Madvi Hidma, who has been instrumental in a series of attacks on them, he would desperately be looking for opportunities to carry out attacks. Carrying a reward of Rs 25 lakh, Hidma, a native of Puvarti village in Sukma district, is the most wanted Maoist in the region. A forward base set up in Tekulagudem, just a few km from Puvarti, has him on the run. It is believed that his arrest or killing in an encounter will break the backbone of Maoists in the area.
As the security forces gain a foothold in every bastion of the Maoists, the alertness among the personnel may wane. The stringent standard operating procedures may, at times, be thrown to the winds, and laxity may set in. Such a scenario would prove disastrous. The security forces need to maintain the momentum, based on hard intelligence, which, of late, has been pouring in steadily. They should remain on the offensive to avert casualties. The day may not be far when India will be rid of the menace of Maoists.
One of the two battalions of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has already replaced the Assam Rifles in Manipur while the second battalion is to be deployed by September 30, said a senior government official.
Manipur has witnessed fresh incidents of violence since September 1, leaving at least 12 people, including two women, elderly persons and a retired soldier, dead and over 20 others injured. The official said the weapons used in the attack were country made.
However, the apex body of Kukis, Kuki Inpi Manipur, said it is firm on its stand of non-removal of Assam Rifles.
Information and publicity secretary of KIM, Janghaolun Haokip, told ET, “We are not aware of any discussion with the Union home ministry pertaining to removal of Assam Rifles and replacing it with two battalions of CRPF. Neither we nor any of the organisations affiliated to us had any discussion over it.”
He said: “Our stand is clear that Assam Rifles should not be replaced. The paramilitary has a history in dealing with counter insurgency operations and it is a neutral force.”
Last week, thousands of Kuki-Zomi people came out on the streets of Kangpokpi district headquarters protesting the removal of the 9 and 22 battalions of Assam Rifles from Kangpokpi and Churachandpur.
Meanwhile, Manipur valley politicians claimed replacement of two Assam Rifles battalions by CRPF units is a fulfilment of wishes and desires of the people of Manipur.
Sources in the Army added that this is a routine movement of troops and not much should be read into it. Sources added the two Assam Rifles battalions were withdrawn from Manipur for operational duties in Jammu and Kashmir and some other parts of the northeast.
BJP MLA Rajkumar Imo Singh, son-in-law of chief minister N Biren Singh, said the Centre has initiated this as per the wishes and desire of the people of Manipur.
This report is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
India’s stance on relations with China has remained steadfast. It has always emphasised that peace and respect for the LAC are precursors to normalising ties.
WHILE the standoff on the Line
of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh continues, India’s stance on the border issue has remained steadfast. National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval, while interacting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently on the sidelines of a meeting of the BRICS NSAs, emphasised that peace and respect for the LAC were precursors to the normalisation of India-China relations.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has also been reiterating this stand during his interactions with his Chinese counterpart, in Kazakhstan and Laos in July this year during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit and ASEAN Plus meeting, respectively. A few days ago, speaking at the Global Centre for Security Policy in Geneva, Jaishankar said while negotiations were underway, about 75 per cent of the disengagement issues at the LAC had been resolved. He again highlighted that while there was violence between the militaries of the two countries, the rest of the bilateral relationship could not be insulated from it.
There cannot be a clearer statement from the political executive about the state of affairs, future expectations and prerequisites for peace. Like Jaishankar, Wang Yi has also been a career diplomat, adept at handling sensitive situations. Beijing’s stance has always been ambiguous, emphasising on niceties and engagement, with the Chinese media, controlled by the Communist Party, often misquoting contents of bilateral exchanges to gain a perceived moral high ground. Though there are indications of some progress in resolving dispute points in Ladakh, but caution should always remain the buzzword in dealing with China.
The Chinese are used to picking quarrels, flexing military muscle and browbeating their neighbours. This is particularly so with countries having legitimate claims in the South China Sea (SCS). While bullying is the hallmark of its diplomacy, whether it is Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippines or the WHO, it may not have bargained for such a firm resolve from India. In fact, China’s inability to ride roughshod in the border dispute with India seems to have become a major irritant that it finds problematic to handle. It would surely wish to resolve the disputes along the LAC, entirely on its terms. Despite having been stymied at Doklam in south-west Bhutan or in east Ladakh, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has circumvented any disadvantage by encroaching upon Bhutan on the eastern flank of the Chumbi valley and by optimum use of the terrain that favours it along the LAC in Ladakh.
Among China’s pressing security concerns, like the Taiwan issue, sovereignty disputes with Philippines, Vietnam and other ASEAN nations in the SCS, the Himalayan borders appear to be the most vexing as the opponent can match up to it. Often enough, the difference between India and China in terms of comprehensive national power, which includes not only military muscle but also technology and economy, gets highlighted as a major concern for India. That may well be, but an armed conflict across the LAC will not be a viable option for China, and what Prime Minister Modi told Russia about “this not being an era of war,” is equally applicable to Communist China. Instead, it will continuously endeavour to gain advantages through skirmishes on the northern border, while talking about peace and engagement. This would keep its manufactured claims alive and help in tying down India to an extent.
The clear answer for India lies in considering the LAC in a holistic manner and not have a compartmentalised approach. Theatre commands have been on the anvil for quite some time and finally seem to be taking shape.
However, before a joint tri-services structure fructifies, it is imperative that the Army should look at a comprehensive application of its formations, from eastern Arunachal until Ladakh. Along the vast and hostile terrain in Kameng, Subansiri and beyond until the Lohit valley, the topography offers advantages to our forces.
The watershed in Sikkim, especially in the east, which overlooks the Chumbi valley, is probably the most dominant stretch from the Indian perspective. Any threats being posed in Ladakh or elsewhere by the PLA need to be effectively countered by a show of force as appropriate, in such advantageous areas, giving a clear signalling of intent when required, by stressing on quid-pro-quo options. This orchestration can only be effective if the LAC is seen from a single prism, and not war-gamed in terms of respective sectors.
With the exception of the tactical pre-emption displayed in occupying the important heights on the Kailash Range, which compelled the PLA to cede ground, we have been mostly reactive in countering Chinese perfidy along the LAC. While the terrain across the LAC favours the PLA in terms of faster build-up of troops and equipment and logistic support riding on better infrastructure, the geographical disadvantages do get balanced in terms of resolute military application, especially in the east. The tardy development in border areas is also now being overcome at a steady pace, despite the terrain challenges.
The Chinese have a penchant for continuously changing the goal posts and not adhering to border peace agreements. They always adopt a maximalist position while staking claims in any dispute and combine it with bullying tactics to browbeat an adversary. However, the Chinese leadership, which is firmly in control at present, recognises and respects the strength and will of an adversary that does not blink easily. This will weigh with the Chinese leadership, even though considering the geopolitical realities of the world today and the stakes of major powers involved, India may find itself largely alone in facing up to its northern adversary.
India would also be well served by adopting an ambivalent stance on Tibet and Taiwan and being more vocal on Uighur issues in Xinjiang.
For us, being proactive does not necessarily imply being aggressive, but rather being pre-emptive in our plans and actions to counter China’s designs by outguessing it. It also means having credible deterrence capabilities, which are a must against China. Proactive diplomacy, in tandem with the efforts of our armed forces on the borders, should continue to be the defining character of our policy in dealing with Beijing.
An Army marches on a tankful of fuel and bellyful of water, a logistician nightmare.
Hitler knew this well. He perceived early that the weakest link in his plans for blitzkrieg using his Panzer
Divisions was fuel supply. He ordered his staff to design a fuel container that would minimize gasoline
losses under combat conditions. Quick to task, the German army had thousands of Jerrycans, as they
came to be called by the allies, stored and ready when hostilities began in 1939.
Developed under great secrecy, it had many unique features: Capacity: 22 Litres. Ease of storage: flat
sided and rectangular in shape. For balance: two halves welded together. Three handles: one man to carry two cans and pass one to another in bucket-brigade fashion . Air Chamber at the top: to float on water. Short spout with snap closure: pop open for pouring, making unnecessary a funnel or opener. Gasket to make it leak proof. An air-breathing tube from the spout to air space keeps the pouring smooth. And most important, the can’s inside was lined with a waterproof plastic material enabling the Jerrycan to be used alternately for gasoline and water – as required. A marvel of an invention: it was a fuel carrier …….. water container …….. a comfortable stool to sit on …..… three piled up
as a table to eat on and a …..… row of them to mark a boundary. The British named it the Jerry (slang for German) can.
Generations of soldiers have used it in all its avatars, and the name remains ‘Jerrycan’.
The story begins ……… in the summer of 1939. An American engineer named Paul Pleiss, working in Berlin, persuaded a German colleague to join him on a vacation trip overland to India. They built a car and while preparing to leave on their journey, realized that they had no provision for emergency water. The German had access to thousands of Jerrycans, then
still a closely guarded state secret. He simply took three and mounted them on the underside of the car.
While the two were halfway across India, Field Marshal Goering sent a plane to take the German engineer back home.Before departing, the engineer gave Pleiss complete specifications of the Jerrycan. Pleiss continued alone to Calcutta.
Then he put the car in storage and returned to Philadelphia.
Back in the United States, Pleiss told military officials about the container. Without a sample, even though the war was well under way, he could stir no interest. He had his car shipped from Calcutta. It arrived in New York in the summer of 1940 with the three Jerrycans intact, Pleiss immediately sent one to Washington. The Americans tried to make their own
designs of the can without much success.
The British first encountered the Jerrycan during the German invasion of Norway in 1940. Later that year Pleiss was in London and was asked by British officers if he knew anything about the can’s design. He ordered the second of his three Jerrycans to be flown to London. Steps were taken to manufacture exact duplicates – unsuccessfully.
Even in 1942, the Americans however, in their own arrogant ways remained oblivious of the Jerrycan. Just before the Battle of El Alamein, the American Army was offered the ‘American cans’ which they rejected outright; they were happy with the captured Jerrycans. The British Army too remained content with thousands captured from the Germans. They were bitter with their government since the British cans would either burst at the seams or leak causing much logistic despair. The Jerrican was slowly turning out to be a deciding factor in the War; in 1942 General Montgomery defeated
Rommel using captured Jerrycans.
No one who did not serve in the desert, can realize to what extent the difference between complete and partial success rested on the simplest item of our equipment – Desmond Young, British Historian.
Meanwhile the British were finally gearing up for mass production. Two million British Jerrycans were sent to North Africa
in early 1943, and by early 1944 they were being manufactured in the Middle East. Since the British had such a head start,
the Allies agreed to let them produce all the cans needed for the invasion of Europe. Millions were ready by D-day.
President Roosevelt observed in Nov 1944 – Without these cans it would have been impossible for our armies to cut their
way across France at a lightning pace which exceeded the German Blitz of 1940.
Heil Jerrycan!!!!!
Sepoy Arvind Singh, who belonged to Hamirpur district, sacrificed his life in the encounter with terrorists in the Kishtwar area of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday. Arvind Singh was a native of Lahar village falling in Nadaun subdivision of the…
Sepoy Arvind Singh, who belonged to Hamirpur district, sacrificed his life in the encounter with terrorists in the Kishtwar area of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday. Arvind Singh was a native of Lahar village falling in Nadaun subdivision of the district. Notably, four Army personnel were injured in the gunbattle. Two of them Naib Subedar Vipan Kumar and sepoy Arvind Singh were rushed to the nearest military hospital but they succumbed to bullet injuries. The Army officers reported that one of the soldiers died of splinter injuries caused by a grenade explosion while the other died of a bullet injury in the head.
27-year-old Arvind Singh had joined 20 Dogra regiment of the Indian Army five years ago and had got married two years ago. The martyr is survived by his wife Ikhsu and one-year-old son Riyansh.
His younger brother Parmajit Singh is also serving in the army in Jammu.
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While speaking to the media, Parmajit Singh said that the news of Arvind’s martyrdom was conveyed to the family on Friday evening. He added that it was painful to lose his brother at a young age but it was matter of pride that he made the supreme sacrifice for the country.
Arvind’s father Rajinder Singh and mother Saroj Kumari were inconsolable. The body of the martyr is expected to arrive in the village today and the cremation will take place on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri have condoled the demise of sepoy Arvind Singh. The Chief Minister said that it was painful to lose a braveheart and said he would live forever in the hearts of the people. He expressed firm solidarity with the family members.
Baramulla encounter broke out in the Pattan area of the north Kashmir district late Friday
Srinagar: Three terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla district this morning, sources said. The gunfight began in the Chak Taper Kreeri in the Pattan area of the north Kashmir district late Friday after a joint operation was launched by the Indian Army and Jammu and Kashmir police based on specific intelligence input regarding the presence of terrorists.
In a separate encounter, troops of the Army’s Rising Star Corps unit shot dead two terrorists in Kathua on Friday.
“Large war-like stores were recovered after the operations concluded,” they said in a statement on X.
Earlier Friday, two Army personnel, including a junior commissioned officer (JCO), were killed in action and an equal number injured in an encounter with terrorists in the higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district.
The gunfight broke out when a joint security party of the Army and police, acting on a tip-off, launched a cordon-and-search operation in the Naidgham area in the Chhatroo belt connecting Kishtwar with south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
Four Army personnel were injured in the gunbattle and two of them — Naib Subedar Vipan Kumar, a JCO, and Sepoy Arvind Singh — later died, the officials said, adding that one of the soldiers died of splinter injuries caused by a grenade explosion and another of a bullet injury in the head.
These encounters happened ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mega poll rally in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district.
Multi-tier security has been deployed across the twin districts of Doda and Kishtwar, particularly around the venue, to ensure a peaceful and smooth conduct of the election rally.
This will be the first visit by a prime minister to Doda in the last 42 years.
Voting in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections will be held in three phases – September 18, September 25, and October 1. The counting of votes will take place on October 8.
This is the first Assembly election in J&K in 10 years, and the first since the abrogation of Article 370 – which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir – and Article 35A – which empowered Jammu and Kashmir’s legislature to decide who the erstwhile state’s permanent residents were.
(With Inputs From Agencies)
