IAF to celebrate Marshal Arjan Singh birth centenary year-long; bust unveiled at Vayu Bhawan

A bust of the late Marshal of the Indian Air Force, Arjan Singh, was unveiled at the Vayu Bhawan on Monday by Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa to mark the birth centenary of the celebrated war hero.

"Various events have been planned over a period of one year to commemorate the occasion," a senior IAF official said.

The IAF had on Sunday conducted a half-marathon, that began from Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and covered prominent places like Lodhi Road, Mathura Road, India Gate, Rajpath, and culminating back at the stadium.

"The Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh was a visionary, a proponent of air power and he played a stellar role in laying the foundation of IAF as a formidable fighting force," the IAF said in a statement.

As a tribute to his vision for th IAF, a seminar on 'Air Power in the 2040: Impact of technology' was also held on Monday at the Air Force Auditorium, Subroto Park.

The seminar was attended by IAF chief Dhanoa and various serving and retired dignitaries.

After the seminar, the Chief of the Air Staff unveiled a bust of the Marshal of the Indian Air Force at the Air headquarters -- Vayu Bhawan.

The IAF has also planned to conduct a Marshal Cup, an all-India hockey tournament which kicked off Monday in Chandigarh and will conclude on April 25, the IAF statement said.

An icon in the country's military history, Singh led a fledgling IAF in the 1965 Indo-Pak war when he was just 44-years-old.

Born on April 15, 1919, in Lyallpur in Punjab in undivided India, his father, grandfather and great grandfather had served in the cavalry.

"This event is a fitting tribute to IAF Marshal Arjan Singh," Dhanoa said at the seminar.

The IAF in the statement said, Singh was 19 years when he was selected for training at Royal Air Force (RAF) College Cranwell in 1938 and was commissioned into RAF as a Pilot Officer in December 1939.

"He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for outstanding leadership, great skill and courage in Burma Campaign during World War II. He also led India as the Chief of the Air Staff in the 1965 war against Pakistan, wherein IAF gained air superiority over PAF and helped Indian Army score strategic victories," the IAF said.

Singh passed away on September 16, 2017 at the age of 98.

"His dynamic personality, professional competence, honesty of purpose in his service to the country and the IAF, truly sets him apart as a leader and an icon of the Indian Air Force," the statement said.

Singh is the only officer of the IAF to be promoted to five-star rank, equal to a Field Marshal in the Army.