Om Prakash Mehra

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PVSM
Air Chief Marshal Om Prakash Mehra
8th Chief of Air Staff
In office
16 January 1973 – 31 January 1976
PresidentV. V. Giri[1]
Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi[2]
Preceded byPratap Chandra Lal
Succeeded byHrushikesh Moolgavkar
11th Governor of Maharashtra
In office
3 November 1980 – 5 March 1982
Chief Minister
Preceded by
Vasantrao Patil
5th President of Indian Olympic Association
In office
1975–1980
Preceded byBhalindra Singh
Succeeded byBhalindra Singh
Personal details
Born(1919-01-19)19 January 1919
Param Vishist Seva Medal (PVSM)
Padma Vibhushan
Military service
Allegiance 
Indo-Pakistani War (1965)

Governor of Rajasthan
from 1985 to 1987. He married Satya Mehra and has four children with her Sunil, Parveen, Rahul, and Amitava and numerous grand children.

Early life

Mehra was born on 19 January 1918 at Lahore. His basic education was at the Sacred Heart Convent. He finished school at the Central Model School in 1933 and joined Government College University, Lahore and completed a master's degree in history from the Punjab University in 1940.[3][4]

Career

After a short spell of flying at the Northern India Flying Club,

Indian Air force representative at the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Australia, an organization set up to provide administrative and logistics support to the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces located in Japan. In view of the nationalization of the armed forces, he was recalled and posted in February 1947 as the Chief Ground Instructor at the No.1 Advanced Flying School Ambala
, to replace the RAF officer who was returning home.

Post-Independence

In August 1947, he was promoted to the rank of Wing Commander and posted as Commandant of the Elementary Flying Training School at

Air Marshal in March 1968. Soon thereafter he was posted as Deputy Chief of Air Staff, Air Headquarters. In early 1971, he was deputed as Chairman of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bangalore. On 15 January 1973, he returned to Air Headquarters, designated as the new Chief of Air Staff, succeeding Air Chief Marshal PC Lal.[6] He credited his success to Sathya Sai Baba and became his avowed devotee. (http://www.vedamu.org/features/FMrOPMehra.aspx
)

Mehra relinquished the post to Air Chief Marshal Hrushikesh Moolgavkar on 31 January 1976, on completion of his tenure.[7]

Post-Air force career

After his retirement, he represented India at a UNESCO meeting in Paris as deputy leader of India's team. He was the recipient of Padma Vibhushan in January 1977.[8] He went on to serve as the governor of Maharashtra from 3 November 1980 to 5 March 1982.[3] This was followed by his posting as Governor of Rajasthan from 6 March 1982 to 4 November 1985.[9][10]

Air Chief Marshal Mehra was elected president of the Indian Olympic Association in 1975, and was responsible for the hosting by India of the 1982 Asian Games. From 1978 to 1980 he was President of the Asian Games Federation, currently known as the Olympic Council of Asia, and continued to be the Honorary Life President of the Olympic Council of Asia.[3] He was an honorary life member of the Durand Football Tournament Society, which organizes the Durand Cup.[11]

In January, 2010, his autobiography, Memories: Sweet and Sour, was released by M. Hamid Ansari, Vice President of India in New Delhi.[12] He was chairman, Board of Advisors of Centre for Air Power Studies.[13]

In 2012, he was living in Delhi, and was the oldest living student of

Panjab University, Chandigarh.[4][14] He died on 8 November 2015 at the age of 96.[15]

Works

References

  1. ^ V. V. Giri
  2. ^ Indira Gandhi
  3. ^ a b c d "Hon'ble Air Chief Marshal O. P. Mehra". Governor of Maharashtra. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  4. ^ a b "PU to honour its oldest alumni, former Air Chief Marshal O P Mehra of 1938 batch". The Indian Express. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  5. ^ "Indian Air Force Gallantry & Service Awards Register". Bharat Rakshak. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  6. ^ "Indian Air Force :: Chiefs of Air Staff Profile". Bharat Rakshak. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  7. ^ "Ex-Chiefs Gallery". Indian Air Force. Archived from the original on 3 April 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  8. ^ "Padma Awards Directory (1954–2013)" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs.
  9. ^ "Former Governors". Raj Bhawan, Rajasthan. Archived from the original on 27 June 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  10. ^ "Photo Gallery of Governors". Legislative Assembly of Rajasthan. Archived from the original on 17 April 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  11. ^ "Honorary Life Members Durand Football Tournament Society". Durand Football. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  12. ^ "Vice President's releases the autobiography of Air Chief Marshal (Retd) O P Mehra". Vice President's Secretariat, Press Information Bureau. 19 January 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  13. ^ "About - Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS)". capsindia.org.
  14. ^ "Hon'ble Air Chief Marshal Sh. O.P Mehra ji visited our Gurukul". Facebook. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  15. ^ "Former Air Chief Marshal O P Mehra dies". Business Standard. Press Trust of India. 9 November 2015.

External links

Military offices
Preceded by
Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Maintenance Command

1963–1967
Succeeded by
H. N. Chatterjee
Preceded by Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (India)
1969–1971
Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief of the Air Staff
1973–1976
Succeeded by
Civic offices
Preceded by President of the Indian Olympic Association
1975–1980
Succeeded by
Government offices
Preceded by
Governor of Maharashtra

1980–1982
Succeeded by
Preceded by
K. D. Sharma
(acting)
Governor of Rajasthan

1982–1985
Succeeded by