Image below, first from bottom: The Hero's house in Patiala today.
Our Heroes
The Air Warrior Who Knew No Fear:
More On ... "Baba" Mehar Singh, Air Commodore
by P.S. CHANANA
Very few people in Patiala know about Mehar Singh after whom are named the sprawling Mehar Singh Colony towards the north of the city and Mehar Singh di Kothi on the Patiala-Sirhind road. The colony and the house are on the land allotted to the late Trilok Singh, father of Air Commodore Mehar Singh, in lieu of the agricultural land left by him in Pakistan during the Partitioon of Punjab in 1947.
This kothi, which enshrines the ashes of the Air Commodore, at one time The Hero of the Royal Indian Air Force, is at present in a state of neglect.
The life story of Air Commodore Mehar Singh, DSO, MVC, speaks of human valour and complete devotion to duty. Here was an air fighter who knew no fear, who saw no peril in the performance of his duty even when dangers stared him in the face. Courage and sincerity personified, Mehar Singh was the hope and inspiration of the Royal Indian Air Force in the 1940s.
Born in a well-to-do family of Lyallpur district (now known as Faisalabad in Punjab, Pakistan) on March 20, 1915, Mehar Singh was selected for the Royal Indian Air Force in 1933 while he was in the final year of B.Sc. During his nearly three years of training at the prestigious Royal Air Force College in England, he impressed the college authorities by his single-mindedness, discipline and spirit of comradeship.
His Commandant, Air Vice Marshall H.M. Grave wrote about him: "Keen, cheerful, hardworking and popular. His work compares favourably with that of English cadets. A creditable effort! And exceptionally good pilot, keen on games and has represented the college at hockey of which he is an excellent player."
During the next 12 years that Mehar Singh was in the RIAF/ IAF, he gave an excellent account of himself. One can imagine how hard were the times and how demanding and trying the situations in the country during World War II and after it, when he was called upon to play his role. "Mehar Baba", affectionately called so by his colleagues and friends, came out with flying colours. This brave, yet unassuming and modest air officer, won the admiration and affection of his seniors as also of the men under him.
Asghar Khan, an officer under him who later became Chief of the Air Staff of Pakistan, said about him, "With the solitary exception of Sq Ldr Mehar Singh, a pilot of outstanding ability, no one was able to inspire confidence among us."
After his training in England, Mehar Singh joined No 1 Squadron. In the operations in the wild and mountainous North West Frontier Province, he flew in one month as many as hundred hours. Mehar Singh, being fully adept at piloting fighters, bombers and multi-engine transport planes, was asked to rescue women and children from a beleaguered Air Force station of Habbaniyah in May, 1948. He did the job so commendably that the next year he was called upon to evacuate refugees from Burma (Myanmar). A similar duty was entrusted to him during the Partition when Sikhs and other non-Muslims were being forced to leave Pakistan.
In 1942, the Commander-in-Chief presented Mehar Singh a Commendation Certificate in recognition of his operational flying in Sind during the Hur disturbances in that province. A few months later, Mehar Singh accomplished a feat which, as per Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, "any air man of any air force in the world would be proud to accomplish." Mehar Singh also took over the command of the Arakan area of Burma. There, too, he displayed his unique qualities of leadership and daring.
Under the leadership of Mehar Singh, Squadron No 6 with its Hurricanes came to be known as the Eyes of the 14th Army, commanded by Gen William Slim. After the war, Field Marshall Slim recorded, "I was particularly impressed with the conduct of the Squadron led by a young Sikh Squadron Leader (Mehar Singh). They were a happy and efficient unit."
Remembering Mehar Singh, Lt.Gen Harwant Singh (Retd) observed, "Mehar Singh was one of the most celebrated fighter pilots of the Second World War. A pilot par excellence and a dare-devil, once in the cockpit, he became a part of the machinery."
For his work in Arakan which he accomplished with great skill and success, Mehar Singh was awarded DSO (Distinguished Service Order) in March, 1944. In fact, he was the first and the only officer of the IAF to have won this award.
Soon after the war, Mehar Singh was called upon to assist in the task of reorganising and strengthening of the RIAF and the training of personnel. In 1947, as a Wing Commander, he was appointed a member of the Armed Forces Nationalisation Committee and Deputy President of No. 7 GHQ Officers’ Selection Board, Dehra Dun. Promoted as Air Commodore in November, 1947, he took over Command No 1 Operational Group in Jammu and Kashmir.
Mehar Singh was deeply attached to the Air Force, which he said taught him to fly aeroplanes, made him an engineer, enabled him to gain experience in administration, offered him opportunities to fly and fight with the fellow members of the air crew in good and bad days and understand their difficulties and problems, and above all made him humane. He wished to leave it with honour but unfortunately that did not happen.
In the interests of the Service which he wanted to grow from strength to strength, he came to differ with some of his seniors on matters as purchase of equipment, standard of discipline, programme for effectiveness, appointments, postings, and certain practices and trends in the administration. Instead of getting involved in any controversy or confrontation that might have affected discipline in the Service, he chose to resign. He wished to be considered as one of those several hundreds of airmen who had joined and served the RIAF and had been written off. At the same time, this patriotic air fighter did not forget his obligation to his motherland. In the event of any emergency, he said, he would like to be the first to offer his services.
Thus went away from the Indian Air Force a legendary hero on September 27, 1948. When the gallantry awards were instituted, MVC (Maha Vir Chakra) was conferred upon Mehar Singh. An honour well deserved, indeed! But unfortunate as it may seem, it is, nevertheless, a fact that this nation soon forgets her sons who play heroic roles. Should not courage and integrity, professional competence and commitment to duty, love of the country and supreme sacrifices to uphold its honour ever remain worthy of grateful recognition and remembrance? What do we really do in this regard is a question to be pondered upon.
After his retirement, Mehar Singh was personal adviser of Maharaja Yadvindra Singh (of Patiala), the Rajparmukh of PEPSU. At times he would fly the Rajparmukh to New Delhi and other places for important conferences and meetings. He flew the Rajparmukh to New Delhi for the conference of Governers and Rajparmukhs for the last time on March 11, 1952. He was to take the Maharaja back to Patiala on March 17. An aircraft of the Escorts Ltd. that he was flying from Jammu to New Delhi on the night of March 16 was caught in a storm, killing Mehar Singh. A worthy life was thus cut short abruptly!
[Courtesy: Tribune]
May 25, 2011
Conversation about this article
1: Sangat Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), May 25, 2011, 10:12 AM.
As a kid born and brought up in Lyallpur, Mehar Singh's name was already a household name. In those days a propeller aircraft in the sky was a rarity, and for us kids it had to be our Mehar Singh flying it. Of Mehar Singh it was said that if he didn't know about an aircraft, it was not worth knowing it. We followed his sterling feat in 1947 when he was the first ever to land in Leh and how he single-handedly turned the tide in Kashmir. We knew of his family in Lyallpur and looked at his house with a sense of awe and pride. He will always remain our warrior in shining armour, with no equal, past or present, in this age.
2: Ajay Singh (Rockville, Maryland, U.S.A.), May 25, 2011, 4:23 PM.
There are many such heroes in Sikh history around the World Wars and Partition times. I am not sure if they are neglected by Sikhs. I do not wish to undermine their bravery, courage and sacrifice. But I do to remind you that the sacrifices of those who lost their all during Partition, for example, need similar recognition. There are millions of such heroes. Also, stories of our heroes such as Baba Mehar Singh merely anger me and leave me seething. Why? At the thought that we sacrificed our best men to save Kashmir in November but not Lahore or Lyallpur in that miserable summer. In fact, caravans were stopped by the Army from entering India at Harike. My grandparents, uncles, aunts are just as brave and resilient as Baba Mehar Singh and I am sure every family has such heroes. Baba Mehar Singh is a Sikh, brave and courageous, no doubt deserving of every honor bestowed upon him but I am sorry ... he is more of an Indian hero and typical of Indian policy, he was left on the wayside, ignored. Unlike Gen. Harbaksh Singh, who also fought in 1947 but refused a direct order in 1965 to make Beas a frontline and leave Amritsar undefended: now, that is pure heroism and not surprisingly received the same treatment from the Government of India. Baba Mehar Singh could and should have been a Sikh hero, that is THE tragedy. Maybe ... if he had lived longer.
3: Major D.D. Singh Pannu (Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.A.), May 28, 2011, 9:22 AM.
If I remember correctly, he was the 1st pilot whose plane got shot in the fuel tank, when he was rescuing people from Kashmir. He flew the plane in such a way (upside-down) - sorry, I don't know the technical term for it - and landed it safely at Jammu. Yes, landing a plane in Ladakh was another miracle, I think it was on a snow-bound field.
4: Mandeep Singh Khurpa (Melbourne, Australia), April 30, 2013, 1:53 PM.
"Baba Mehar Singh" has been listed among the all time great Punjabi personalities with their detailed achievements by an Australian Punjabi in his informational video ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNlT1Hqq4Hk&feature=youtu.be