Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, October 1

Former Deputy Director, Sainik Welfare, Lieut-Col Manmohan Singh (retd) is a busy man these days as several people from across the region have been calling on him to congratulate him on the feat of his adopted son Lieut-Gen Ranbir Singh, DGMO, Indian Army, who strategised the surgical strikes across the LOC two days ago.At his residence in Urban Estate here, the Lieut-Col said, “Since we did not have any child, I legally adopted my brother’s son Ranbir, whom we fondly call Babbu, at the age of three and a half years. My brother, who retired as a JCO, was residing at Ambala Jattan village near Garhdiwal in Hoshiarpur. Since there was no good education facility there, we brought him here and sent him to St Joseph’s Convent School, Lajpat Nagar, right from LKG.”Taking out old pictures, he recalls, “Ranbir was very intelligent but a bit lazy. I had to push him out of the bed early and he maintains the habit. At the Class V level, I made him study rigorously and prepare for admission to Sainik School Kapurthala. There he worked hard and got through in the National Defence Academy (NDA). He went to Khadakwasla, then the IMA in Dehradun and got commissioned in the Army in December 1980. He has been the only infantry general to have commanded an armoured division after Gen Sundarji.”He proudly tells, “Till date, he maintains all habits that I passed onto him. He is regular with early morning walks. I am a teetotaller and he too is. He is an avid book reader till date.”Says Lieut-Col Manmohan Singh, “He got married to a Marathi girl. They have a son, who is studying in the Delhi College of Engineering. My brother (Lieut-Gen Ranbir’s biological father) passed away at 50, while his wife and two daughters are in Vancouver for the past 20-25 years.”He further said, “Ranbir keeps coming here every four months or so. But this time, he won’t come till the tension defuses. Having been promoted as Lieut-Gen six-seven months ago, he was tipped to be the Corps Commander and get posted here. The incumbent here Lieut-Gen BS Sehrawat and Ranbir have been batchmates. In any case, he will have to serve as a Corps Commander for a year to be eligible as the Chief of Army. He has been accompanying Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on his foreign tours. He has shown his capabilities and is among the front-runners now.”Lieut-Col Manmohan, who has been training youth for entry to Defence, paramilitary forces and police for the past over two decades, said he had been in Delhi with Lieut-Gen Ranbir a week ago and he remained very busy. “He comes home late even now. He calls me up daily after returning from work. He called me even on the day when they conducted the strike.”