President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi today condoled the demise of war hero Marshal Arjan Singh saying he won the nation's gratitude for his military leadership in the 1965 Indo-Pak war.
"Sad at demise of a great air warrior & Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh. Condolences to his family & IAF community. Marshal of the IAF Arjan Singh was a WW II hero & won our nation's gratitude for his military leadership in 1965 war," Kovind said in a series of tweets.
PM Modi mourned the unfortunate demise of Marshal. “We remember his outstanding service to the nation," he tweeted.
Modi said the determined focus of Singh, who was promoted to the five-star rank of Marshal of the Air Force in 2002, on capacity building in the IAF added great strength to India's defence capabilities.
"India will never forget the excellent leadership of Arjan Singh in 1965, when the IAF saw substantial action," the PM said in a series of tweets.
Modi recalled how the ageing war hero stood up to salute him despite his ill health.
"Sometime back I met him, who despite his ill health tried to get up to salute even though I said no. Such was his soldier discipline," he said.
He said his thoughts were with Singh's family and those mourning the demise of the distinguished air warrior and a fine human being," he added.
War hero Marshal Arjan Singh, who led the Indian Air Force during the 1965 India-Pakistan conflict, died tonight. IAF sources said he passed away around 7.30 p.m. Ninety-eight-year-old Singh, the only officer of the IAF to be promoted to five-star rank, equal to a Field Marshal in the Army, was admitted to the Army's Research and Referral hospital this morning after he suffered a cardiac arrest.
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