Indian Air Force (IAF) and the United Services Institution of India (USI) jointly conducted the first Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh Annual Lecture at USI, Shankar Vihar today. The inaugural lecture was delivered by former Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria PVSM AVSM VM (Retd). The CAS, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari PVSM AVSM VM ADC, members & faculty of USI, Senior Defence Officers (serving & retired) and Air Force personnel attended the event. The lecture was conceptualised by the IAF to honour the legend of Arjan Singh, and will give the IAF and USI an opportunity to commemorate his momentous achievements and extraordinary life story.

            Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh DFC was born on 15 April 1919, in Lyalpur (now Faisalabad) in present day Pakistan. He joined RAF Cranwell in 1938. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in 1944 for his outstanding leadership, great skill and courage during the Burma Campaign in World War II. On 01 August 1964, he took over as the Chief of the Air Staff in the rank of Air Marshal. The Marshal successfully commanded the Air Force to a resounding victory in the 1965 Indo – Pak War. Subsequently, in recognition of the Air Force's contribution in the war, the rank of the CAS was upgraded to that of Air Chief Marshal and Arjan Singh became the first Air Chief Marshal of the Indian Air Force. He was also conferred with the Presidential Award of Padma Vibhushan in recognition of his contributions in the 1965 war. On completion of five years as the Chief of the Air Staff in two ranks, Arjan Singh retired on 16 Jul 1969. After retirement, he continued to serve of the nation as India's Ambassador to Switzerland, as the High Commissioner to Kenya, as the Chairman of IIT Delhi and as the Lt Governor of Delhi.

            In recognition of his services, in January 2002 the Government of India conferred the rank of the Marshal of the Air Force onto Arjan Singh making him the first and the only 'Five Star' rank officer with the Indian Air Force.  He was the Marshal of the Air Force for 15 years till his demise in 2017. The IAF intends to conduct this lecture on an annual basis to inspire service personnel and citizens of this country to follow the example of the Marshal's dedication, vision and leadership. 

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ABB/AM/SM

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