V. K. Singh
Chief of the Army Staff | |
---|---|
In office 31 March 2010 – 31 May 2012 | |
President | Pratibha Patil |
Prime Minister | Manmohan Singh |
Preceded by | Deepak Kapoor |
Succeeded by | Bikram Singh |
Personal details | |
Born | 10 May 1950 |
Service number | IC-24173W[2] |
During his military career, Singh served as the 24th
After his retirement from the military, Singh joined the
Singh has written an autobiography called Courage and Conviction.[e]
Early life and education
Singh was born on 10 May 1950 in a
Singh's mother was diagnosed with
National Defence Academy
He qualified in the entrance exam and having filled 'Air Force' as his first choice, he appeared before the No. 1 Air Force Selection Board in Dehradun. He entered the National Defence Academy (NDA) in 1966.[21] A part of the 'HUNTER' squadron, he held a number of cadet appointments at the NDA. He became a Corporal in his fifth term, the battalion cadet captain (BCC) in his sixth term, and officiated as the Academy Cadet Captain (ACC) for a short while. In his fifth term, on the request of his father, he was moved from the Air Force to Army.[22]
Indian Military Academy
After graduating from the NDA, he entered the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in June 1969. He was assigned to 'Cassino' Company at the academy. He was appointed senior under officer (SUO) in his fourth term. He passed out from the IMA in 1970, placed in the top ten in the merit list.[23]
Military career
Singh’s career in military lasted 42 years from the year 1970 to 2012. He started his career when he was commissioned in the 2nd Battalion of
Early career (1970-1978)
Singh was commissioned into the 2nd Battalion of the
"The world has forgotten the atrocities committed in Bangladesh. I do not think the people of Bangladesh of that period have forgotten, but the coming generations, probably have found it easier to put it somewhere in the corner"
— Singh, Indian Army Records
He was very much inspired by
In late 1975, Singh was one of two officers selected to attend the
After completing the course, he returned to India and was posted to the Commando School at Belgaum.[31] After a year at the school, he moved back to his battalion in Secunderabad but was immediately selected to attend the Junior Command course at the College of Combat in Mhow. He finished the course and joined his battalion and was given command of a company. Two months later, he was selected to attend the winter warfare advanced course at the High Altitude Warfare School at Gulmarg.[35]
Mid-career (1978-1994)
In April 1978, Singh came back to his battalion which was to move to Poonch for its operational tenure along the Line of Control. He commanded the 'A' company of the battalion during this tenure. Later that year, he was posted to the Indian Military Training Team (IMTRAT) in Bhutan. He served as an instructor at IMTRAT for about two years. After his return from Bhutan, he was transferred to a new unit, the 25th battalion of the Rajput Regiment (25 Rajput) at Fatehgarh. He was given command of the Delta company of the battalion.[35]
The battalion then moved to
In mid-1987, he joined his battalion as a company commander. In July, as part of the 76 Infantry Brigade, the battalion moved to
In late 1989, Singh was approved to be promoted to the rank of
Singh also made a cameo appearance in the 1991 Hindi film Prahaar: The Final Attack, starring Nana Patekar, Madhuri Dixit and Dimple Kapadia.[38]
Later Career (1994-2001)
In June 1994, Singh was selected to attend the Higher Command Course at the Army War College, Mhow. After the ten-month course, he was appointed Colonel General Staff (Col GS) of the 12th Infantry Division at Jodhpur. He spent close to three years in this appointment under two division commanders.[35] In 1998, he was promoted acting Brigadier and appointed Commander of the 168 Infantry Brigade in Samba, Jammu and Kashmir.[31][40] As Brigade commander, he had four infantry battalions and two Border Security Force units under his command. A year into his command, the Kargil War broke out and all units were on high alert. He was in command of the brigade till mid-2000.[35]
In June 2000, Singh was selected to attend the
General Officer (2001-2010)
Singh was promoted to the rank of
On 15 April 2006, Singh was promoted to the rank of
Chief of Army Staff (2010-2012)
Singh became the 24th Chief of Army Staff on 31 March 2010, and was the first commando to achieve that position.[6] Towards the end of his career, a dispute regarding his date of birth arose; Singh took the Government of India to court and become the first serving officer of the Indian Army to do so.[47] Because of an error made in 1965 when he enrolled with the National Defence Academy, official records misstated the year in which he was born. Singh withdrew the writ in February 2012 when, according to The Hindu, the Supreme Court of India "refused to intervene". The Court noted there was no dispute regarding his actual date of birth and that the matter being contested was the way in which it had been recorded. It ruled Singh had on three occasions accepted the misrecorded date.[48][h]
The BBC noted in 2012 that defence experts considered a drive to modernise the Indian army had suffered from "a lack of planning and acrimony between the military and the defence ministry". This report followed an interview given by Singh in March 2012 that caused a political row. According to Singh, over a year earlier he had reported to A. K. Antony, the defence minister, that he had been offered a bribe of US$2.7 million if the army bought several hundred sub-standard vehicles. Antony issued a rebuttal to the interview, saying he had requested a written report from Singh regarding the incident and that this had never been submitted. Two days after the interview with Singh, a correspondence between V.K. Singh and the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was leaked. The correspondence criticised the standard of India's defences and caused another political row.[49]
Singh retired as Chief of Army Staff on 31 May 2012. He was succeeded by General
Political career
After his retirement from the military, Singh showed support for the
Singh and Ramdev led a demonstration on 23 December 2012 at
Union minister
In May 2014, Singh was appointed as Minister of State of External Affairs and Minister of state (independent charge) for North East Region in the NDA-led Indian government.[59] He was relieved of responsibility for the North East Region in November 2014, when Jitendra Singh replaced him.[60]
Singh is praised for leading
Electoral history
2019 General Election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
BJP | Vijay Kumar Singh | 9,44,503 | 61.96 | +5.45 | |
SP | Suresh Bansal | 4,43,003 | 29.06 | +21.09 | |
INC | Dolly Sharma | 1,11,944 | 7.34 | -6.91 | |
NOTA | None of the Above
|
7,495 | 0.49 | +0.03 | |
Majority | 5,01,500 | 32.90 | -9.36 | ||
Turnout | 15,25,097 | 55.89 | -1.05 | ||
BJP hold | Swing | -7.82 |
2014 General Election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
BJP | Vijay Kumar Singh | 7,58,482 | 56.51 | +13.17 | |
INC | Raj Babbar | 1,91,222 | 14.25 | -18.16 | |
BSP | Mukul | 1,73,085 | 12.89 | -8.84 | |
SP | Sudhan Kumar | 1,06,984 | 7.97 | N/A | |
AAP | Shazia Ilmi Malik | 89,147 | 6.64 | N/A | |
NOTA | None of the Above
|
6,205 | 0.46 | N/A | |
Majority | 5,67,260 | 42.26 | +31.33 | ||
Turnout | 13,42,471 | 56.94 | +11.64 | ||
BJP hold | Swing | +15.665 |
Personal life
Singh is married to Bharti Singh. Bharti complained of an occurrence[
Aside from his career in defence and politics, his interests are sport,[specify] horse riding, and reading. He has written an autobiography, Courage and Conviction, covering his career and experience in the Indian Army.[66]
He has often been embroiled in controversy over his comments on social issues and topics of national importance. From a family with a military background, he is open in his expression of nationalism.[67] He faced criticism over his battle to have the army's record of his date of birth rectified.[k] The dispute culminated in a Supreme Court case. Singh failed in his attempt to have the Army's anomalous record of two different birth dates amended to reflect the later date. The court ruled that the Ministry of Defence could act to enforce his retirement according to the earlier 1950 date, given that Singh had previously agreed to the Army's use of the 1950 date when granting him promotions and awards. The court did not dispute the fact that his actual date of birth was in 1951.[70][71]
Honours and awards
Military awards
Param Vishisht Seva Medal | Ati Vishist Seva Medal
|
Yudh Seva Medal | Poorvi Star |
Special Service Medal
|
Sangram Medal | Operation Vijay Medal | Operation Parakram Medal |
Sainya Seva Medal | High Altitude Service Medal
|
Videsh Seva Medal | 50th Anniversary of Independence Medal
|
25th Anniversary of Independence Medal
|
30 Years Long Service Medal
|
20 Years Long Service Medal
|
9 Years Long Service Medal
|
US Army Ranger Tab
|
During his service as the COAS, Singh was appointed honorary
Dates of rank
Insignia | Rank | Component | Date of rank |
---|---|---|---|
Second Lieutenant |
Indian Army | 14 June 1970[2] | |
Lieutenant | Indian Army | 14 June 1972[74] | |
Captain | Indian Army | 14 June 1976[75] | |
Major | Indian Army | 14 June 1983 | |
Lieutenant-Colonel |
Indian Army | 1 November 1991[76] | |
Colonel | Indian Army | 1 February 1993[77] | |
Brigadier | Indian Army | 4 June 1999[78] | |
Major General | Indian Army | 29 June 2004[79] | |
Lieutenant-General |
Indian Army | 1 October 2006[80] | |
General (COAS) |
Indian Army | 1 April 2010[81][82] |
See also
References
Notes
- ^ A subset of the official records of the Army misstated the year in which Singh was born (as 1950).[4][5]
- ^ V K Singh started his career as a military officer and became the first ever commando (trained to carry out high altitude and counter insurgency operations) in the Indian Army to have been promoted to the General rank.[6] He was part of the 1971 India-Pakistan War and Operation Pawan.
- ^ "Minister of State (Independent Recharge)[clarification needed] for Statistics and Programme Implementation"
- ^ Singh's order in the succession of COAS depends on how the count is made. From the establishment of Indian "home rule", there had been 25 heads of the Indian Army prior to Singh's appointment. The first was designated, "Commander-in-Chief, Indian Army", while the second and 3rd were called "Chief of the Army Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Indian Army". If counted from the first commander with COAS included in the position title, Singh would be the 25th COAS; if from the first who was called solely COAS, he would be 23rd in the order; if counted from the very first Head of the army after home rule began, he would be the 26th. (See Chief of the Army Staff (India).) Most sources describe Singh as the 24th COAS.[8]
- ^ Singh, V.K.; Verma, Shiv Kunal (2013), Courage and Conviction: An Autobiography. Aleph Book Company[12]
- ^ V K Singh was born on May 10, 1951 (or, according to some - erroneous - Army records, 1950). While his grandfather was a Junior Commissioned Officer, his father was a colonel in the Indian Army.
- Rajputs year after year to the Army’s recruitment camps (called bharti, enrollment) in neighbouring towns or states. Many who are enrolled enter the Rajput Regiment, as did Gen. Singh.[17]
- ^ Singh was the 24th Indian Army Chief and the only one to date to take a dispute with the Union Government to court, in the case of his date of birth issue.[11]
- Gaziabad.
- ^ After retiring from his position as Chief of Army Staff, Singh became a member of the BJP. He also actively participated in the anti-corruption campaign led by Anna Hazare in New Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan. V K Singh once compared Anna’s movement with the 1975 Bihar Movement of Jayaprakash Narayan. On the issue of Nirbhaya gang rape case of 2012, which shook the conscience of the country, Singh was among the leading agitators against the crime.[54]
- ^ A variety of sources took a range of positions (not all critical) on Singh's fight with the Ministry of Defence over his date of birth.[4][68][69][5]
Citations
- ^ "Army chief Gen V K Singh had accepted date of birth". Economics Times. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ a b c "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 16 October 1971. p. 1209.
- ^ "V K Singh to be next Indian Army chief". News 18.
- ^ a b Singh, RSN. "Age controversy: Is Gen VK Singh paying the price for being honest?". Sify.com. Archived from the original on 22 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- ^ a b "Why Gen VK Singh's D.O.B is not just a 'personal' matter". Firstpost. No. India News. 27 January 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
The case arose from a difference in the records of the Military Secretary's Branch and the Adjutant General's (AG's) Branch of the army. The latter is the usual record-keeper. In Gen Singh's case, the ministry of defence decided that it will go by the Military Secretary's records – when common sense should have told it to do otherwise. In fact, the MoD has done so in at least one earlier case.
- ^ a b "Gen V K Singh takes over as Army Chief". India Strategic. March 2010. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
- ^ ANI (9 July 2021). "VK Singh takes charge as MoS Civil Aviation". The Economic Times - m.economictimes.com. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
- ^ India Strategic (March 2010). "Gen V K Singh takes over as Army Chief". www.indiastrategic.in. No. Indian Army News. Archived from the original on 13 June 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ Official Indian Army Web Portal. "Chief of the Army Staff (COAS)". www.indianarmy.nic.in. Archived from the original on 18 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ Staff writers (23 May 2021). "V K Singh: Latest News (topic roundup)". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
Singh served as the 24th Chief of the Army Staff from 2010 to 2012
- ^ a b Staff writer. "Gen VK Singh Biography in Hindi: About family, Political life, Age, Photos, Videos, History". Patrika News (in Hindi). Retrieved 12 October 2020.
VK Singh retired on 31 May 2012 after contributing for 42 years in the Army. He was the 24th Chief of the Army Staff in the Indian Army
- ^ "India is Seeming Ungrateful, Writes General VK Singh". The Hindu. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ "Members : Lok Sabha". 164.100.47.194.
- ^ a b Singh & Verma 2013, p. 17.
- ^ Singh & Verma 2013, p. 1.
- ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
- ^ "The General's village". Business Standard News. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ Singh & Verma 2013, p. 15.
- ^ Singh 2005, p. 6-11.
- ^ Singh & Verma 2013, p. 18-21.
- ^ Mohan, Raman (24 January 2010). "Bapoda village basks in Gen VK Singh's glory". The Tribune. Chandigarh. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
- ^ Singh & Verma 2013, p. 29.
- ^ Singh & Verma 2013, p. 29-33.
- ^ "The Official Home Page of the Indian Army". www.indianarmy.nic.in. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ Dutta, Sujan (30 July 2011). "Generation shift in air force". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 14 September 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
- ^ Singh & Verma 2013, p. 36-37.
- ^ Singh & Verma 2013, p. 43-47.
- ^ "VK Singh compares Pakistan army with Nazis for Bangladesh atrocities". DNA India. 16 December 2016. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ "Pakistan Army worse than Nazis in 1971 war, says retd General VK Singh". India Today. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ a b Mishra, Achyut (27 June 2019). "Sam Manekshaw, the general who told Indira when Indian Army wasn't ready for a war". ThePrint. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ a b c "Change of Guard - General VK Singh new COAS". Sainik Samachar. 10 April 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ^ Singh & Verma 2013, p. 85-89.
- ^ Singh & Verma 2013, p. 94-101.
- ^ "AR 670-1" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Singh & Verma 2013.
- ^ "SELECTION FOR THE 39th DEFENCE SERVICES STAFF COLLEGE COURSE" (PDF). pibarchive.nic.in. 31 March 1982.
- ^ "GALLANTRY AND DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARDS FOR DEFENCE PERSONNEL" (PDF). pibarchive.nic.in. 24 January 1990.
- ^ a b "Did you know: Gen VK Singh is a small time movie star!". First Post. 23 January 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ^ "When the army chief did a cameo in Bollywood". India Today. 3 April 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ^ "Gen V K Singh takes over as Army Chief". India Strategic. 31 March 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ^ "Gen VK Singh battles odds, becomes 26th army chief". DNA. 31 March 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
- ^ ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ Singh & Verma 2013, p. 251-256.
- ^ "The great Quetta tragedy". DAWN Newspaper. 25 October 2008.
- ^ "Senior Appointments: Army". pib.gov.in. 25 February 2008.
- ^ "Republic Day Gallantry and other Defence Decorations". pib.gov.in. 25 January 2009.
- ^ Gokhale, Nitin A. (26 March 2012). "Details of who allegedly offered Rs. 14-crore bribe to Army chief". NDTV. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
- ^ Venkatesan, J. (10 February 2012). "Army Chief loses age war". The Hindu. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
- ^ "India's corruption scandals". BBC.
- ^ "Gen. V.K. Singh to retire today". The Hindu. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
- ^ "V.K. Singh: throw the corrupt out of power". 4 August 2012.
- ^ Ali, Mohammad (13 August 2014). "Ramdev takes on Congress, warns of march to Parliament". The Hindu.
- ^ "VK Singh now battles with Baba Ramdev". Zee News. ANI. 12 August 2012.
- ^ "General Vijay Kumar Singh Biography". Elections.in. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ "V K Singh, Baba Ramdev named in FIR for violence at Jantar Mantar". Financial Express. PTI. 24 December 2012.
- ^ "V K Singh, Ramdev named in FIR for violence at Jantar Mantar". The Times of India. 24 December 2012.
- ^ "Former Army Chief Gen. V K Singh joins BJP along with other Officers". Bihar Prabha. IANS. 1 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
- ^ Sinha, Arunav (16 May 2014). "Former chief of Army staff General (retired) VK Singh defeats Raj Babbar of Congress by 567260 votes to register a win at Ghaziabad". The Times of India. TNN. Archived from the original on 15 January 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
- ^ "List of ministers in Narendra Modi's government". Economic Times. 27 May 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
- ^ Sharma, Aman (11 November 2014). "What went wrong? VK Singh lost Doner to MoS for personnel Jitendra Singh". Economic Times. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
- ^ "India begins evacuating citizens". The Hindu. 31 March 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- ^ "Presstitutes remark row: PM Narendra Modi says media ignoring V K Singh's good work in Yemen". Indian Express. 19 April 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- Live Mint, 31 May 2019
- ^ "Minister VK Singh's Wife Says She Was Secretly Taped, Is Being Blackmailed". NDTV.com. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ Unnithan, Sandeep (19 April 2013). "Exclusive: VK Singh invites AK Antony, Army chief and defence secy for daughter's marriage -- UPDATED: August 21, 2013". India Today. New Delhi. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ "Gen VK Singh's daughter's marriage: Latest News, Videos and Photos of Gen VK Singh's daughter's marriage". The Times of India. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ "We have called the Chinese bluff: Gen VK Singh (Retd)". Garhwal Post. 14 July 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ Press Trust of India (29 January 2012) [20 January 2013]. "General VK Singh's DoB to be corrected". Business Standard News - India. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- ^ "Row over India army chief VK Singh's age 'unfortunate'". BBC News. 18 January 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- ^ TRIPATHI, PURNIMA S. (23 February 2012). "Age of controversy". Frontline. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ Thapar, R. (Lt Col) (16 August 2010). "Brigade of the Guards: A glorious tradition". www.sainiksamachar.nic.in. Archived from the original on 22 December 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
- ^ "V. K. Singh: the veteran of wars who lost the age battle". Daily Bhaskar. 26 March 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
- ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 9 September 1972. p. 1313.
- ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 4 December 1976. p. 1662.
- ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 6 March 1993. p. 379.
- ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 14 May 1994. p. 939.
- ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 3 January 2004. p. 20.
- ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 2 September 2006. p. 1208.
- ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 7 April 2007. p. 567.
- ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 28 August 2010. p. 1492.
- ^ "Ex-serviceman's son hits back at VK Singh, says 'my father was not from any party'". The Indian Express. 3 November 2016. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
Selected works
- Singh, V.K.; ISBN 978-9382277576
- Singh, V. K. (2005). Leadership in the Indian Army: The Story of 13 Soldiers. ISBN 9780761933229.
External links
- General V. K. Singh, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC in the Indian Army official website