Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh, DFC
Singh was educated at Montgomery India (now in Pakistan). He entered the RAF College Cranwell in 1938 and was commissioned as a Pilot Officer in December 1939. He led No. 1 Squadron, Indian Air Force into command during the Arakan Campaign in 1944. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in 1944, and commanded the Indian Air Force Exhibition Flight in 1945. Almost faced a court martial, when he tried to raise the morale of an air force pilot, by conducting a low level air pass over a house in Kerala. Though he apologised for his mistake, but he insisted that such tricks are needed for every cadet to be a fighter pilot.
He was Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), from 1 August 1964 to 15 July 1969, and was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1965. He also became the first Air Chief Marshal of the Indian Air Force when, in recognition of the Air Force's contribution in the 1965 war, the rank of the Chief of Air Staff was upgraded to that of Air Chief Marshal. After he retired in 1969 at the age of 50, he was appointed the Indian Ambassador to Switzerland in 1971. He concurrently served as the Ambassador to the Vatican. He was appointed High Commissioner to Kenya in 1974. He was member of the Minorities Commission, Government of India from 1975-1981. He was Lt. Governor of Delhi from Dec 1989 - Dec 1990 and was made Marshal of the Air Force in January, 2002