During his military career, Singh served as the 24th[d][9]Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) from 2010 to 2012.[10] Singh took the Government of India to court in a dispute over his date of birth and subsequent retirement, becoming the first serving Indian Chief of the Army Staff to take legal action against the Indian government.[11]
Singh was born on 10 May 1950 in a Rajput Family to Captain (later Colonel) Jagat Singh, an officer then serving in the 14th battalion The Rajput Regiment of the Indian Army,[f] and Krishna Kumari, at the Military Hospital at Pune.[13][14] He was born into the Tomar(tanwar) clan of Rajputs,[15][16][g] with roots in the Bapora village in the Bhiwani district of Haryana. His paternal grandfather, Daffadar Mukhram Singh, served with the 3rd Cavalry. All five brothers of his father served in the Army, either joining the 1st Horse (Skinner's Horse) or the 7th Rajput Regiment.[18] His maternal grandfather, Subedar Shimbu Singh, also served in the Army and hailed from the Bohra Kalan village in the Gurgaon district.[14] His village had been founded by the Rajput rulers and frequently involved in fighting with the Mughal and has produced many warriors. He was inspired by men who served the Army from the British times.[19]
Singh's mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer and died in 1952. He was raised by his maternal grandparents before his father remarried and he went to live with them for a few years. At the age of 8, he enrolled at the Birla Public School, a boarding school in Pilani, Rajasthan. He joined the National Cadet Corps during his schooling and served in all three wings.[20]
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 Rajput Regiment after graduating from Indian Military Academy and retired after serving as the Chief of Army Staff (India). He has been a part of many wars and recipient of many Army honours.[24]
Early career (1970-1978)
Singh was commissioned into the 2nd Battalion of the Rajput Regiment (Kali Chindi) on 14 June 1970. The battalion was among the oldest in the Indian Army, having been raised in 1798 as 1/16 Bengal Native Infantry.[2][25] He joined the battalion in Delhi, where it was garrisoned in the Red Fort and the Rashtrapathi Bhavan. He was slotted into 'C' company of the battalion.[26] He attended the Young Officers (YOs) course at the Infantry School in Mhow in November 1970. He completed the course and joined his battalion in early 1971 in Tamulpur in Assam where the battalion had moved.[27] Before the outbreak of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he was appointed Intelligence Officer (IO) of the battalion. The battalion moved to Meghalaya in mid-1971 and fought the war, entering East Pakistan from the east. Singh served as the IO through the war. He was at that time a junior Officer in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation war and he was at Assam at that time. He was a witness of 1971 Bangladesh genocide by Pakistan Army officers and enlisted soldiers, and described the treatment of the people of Bangladesh by the Pakistan Army as akin to Nazism.[28] He commented:[29]
"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 Sam Manekshaw and was a follower of his ideology and learnt leadership from him, after he met him after the War of India and Pakistan in 1971.[30] After the war, the battalion went to Bhutan on a training exercise with the Royal Bhutan Army. In 1973, he was nominated to attend the battalion support weapons course at Mhow. After finishing the course and returning to the battalion, in early 1974, he was again sent to attend the winter warfare course at Gulmarg. In mid-1974, he was posted to the Infantry School as an instructor in the platoon weapons division.[31][32]
In late 1975, Singh was one of two officers selected to attend the United States ArmyRanger School at Fort Benning, Georgia in the United States. The Ranger course is 62 days long and is aimed at small unit tactics and leadership. During this course, he was assigned to Whisky company of the 75th Ranger Regiment. He performed well in the physically-extracting course, which started with over 300 students and ended with only about 90 graduating. He was graded an honours graduate since he had graded more than 80%. [33] Since he was a graduate of the Ranger School, he was permitted to wear the coveted Ranger tab on his uniform.[34]
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]
In late 1989, Singh was approved to be promoted to the rank of Colonel and cleared to command a battalion. In early 1990, the battalion embarked for Mumbai. Shortly thereafter, Singh was appointed Chief Instructor of the Commando School at Belgaum, where he had earlier served as an instructor.[38][39] He was earmarked by the Colonel of the Regiment to take over command of 24 Rajput, but Singh was determined to get back to his old battalion (2 Rajput) or take over the battalion he served with in Sri Lanka (25 Rajput). After a few months, he was appointed Commanding Officer of 2 Rajput.[35] The battalion was in Nowshera, Jammu and Kashmir along the Line of Control. It was a part of the 80 Brigade under the 25th Infantry Division. He commanded the battalion for about two years in Nowshera, before taking the unit to its peace location in Faizabad. The tenure started off in a tense environment - the Demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992, when the battalion was on the move to Faizabad.[35]
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]
Gen V.K. Singh paying homage at Amar Jawan Jyoti after taking over as Army Chief
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 MinisterManmohan 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 Bikram Singh.[50][i]
Political career
After his retirement from the military, Singh showed support for the anti-corruption movement.[51] He was seen on the stage in August 2012 at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi, where the yoga instructor Ramdev was fasting in protest of alleged black money and corruption. Singh was reported to have said, "It is shocking but true that over two lakh farmers have committed suicide since 1995. The problems of farmers will have to take the forefront in this movement as the government has turned a blind eye to their woes."[52] Around that time he also said the anti-corruption movement, whose principal figurehead was Anna Hazare, to that of the Bihar Movement that was led by Jayaprakash Narayan in 1975. Singh said,
"When I evaluate the country's present condition, it is similar to that of 1975. Jayaprakash Narayan had then said 'Vacate the throne, common people are coming'. He felt then that corruption is the root of all problems ... the situation in the country is the same today."[53][j]
In May 2014, Singh was appointed 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 Operation Raahat, a rescue mission to evacuate Indian citizens and other foreign nationals from Yemen during 2015 Yemeni Crisis.[61] Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April 2015 said, “I believe this is the first time in the world that a government minister has stood on the battlefield like a soldier to do this work ... I salute General V. K. Singh.”[62] In May 2019, Singh became Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways and served there till 11 June 2024.[63]
Singh is married to Bharti Singh. Bharti complained of an occurrence[when?] of blackmail and extortion by a man of Gurugram.[66] She and Singh have two daughters, Yogja Singh and Mrinali Singh. Yogja is married to Dr. Anirudh Singh who is the son of Lt. Gen. Ashok Singh.[67]
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.[68]
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.[69] 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.[72][73]
^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.
^Pride, tradition and the shortage of other local work opportunities continue to send Bapora’s 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]
^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][70][71][5]
^ ab"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.
^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
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