Jagjit Singh Arora (1916–2005) was a retired three-star general of the Indian Army and a politician. He is best known as the Eastern Army Commander of the Indian Army during the Third India-Pakistan War in 1971. He died on 3 May 2005 in New Delhi of natural causes.
Contents
- 1 Wiki/Biography
- 2 Physical Appearance
- 3 Family
- 4 Religion
- 5 Address
- 6 signature/autograph
- 7 livelihood
- 7.1 British Indian Army
- 7.2 Indian Army
- 7.3 1947–48 India–Pakistan war
- 7.4 after the 1947 war
- 7.5 1962 India-China war
- 7.6 Career after 1962 war
- 7.7 1965 India-Pakistan war
- 7.8 Nathu La incident
- 7.9 Served as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) during the 1971 war
- 7.10 Career after 1971 war
- 7.11 Politics
- 8 Awards, Honors, Achievements
- 9 Death
- 10 Facts/General Knowledge
Wiki/Biography
Jagjit Singh Arora aka Jagjit Singh Arora was born on Sunday, 13 February 1916 (age 89 years at the time of death) in Kala Gujran, Jhelum District, Punjab Province, British India (now in Punjab, Pakistan). After completing his schooling at the Mission High School in Rawalpindi, Arora joined the Indian Military Academy (IMA) and joined the British Indian Army on 1 January 1939.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx): 6′
Hair Color: Gray
Eye colour: dark brown
Family
Jagjit Singh Arora belonged to a Sikh family of Punjab.
parents and siblings
His father Diwan Singh was an engineer. His sister Sampoorna Jeet was a teacher.
wife and children
His wife Bhagwant Kaur Arora died in 1997.
Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Arora (third from left) and his wife receiving the “Saropa” from the Patna Sahib Committee
The couple is survived by a son and a daughter. His daughter’s name is Anita Kalra. His son Kiranjit Singh Rana is a US-based publisher.
Anita Kalra during her father’s funeral
Religion
Jagjit Singh Arora followed Sikh religion.
Address
He lived at 529(A), Hargobindpura Basti, Sangrur, Punjab, India.
signature/autograph
Signature of Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Arora
livelihood
British Indian Army
Jagjit Singh Arora’s career as a Second Lieutenant in the British Indian Army began on 1 January 1939 when he was commissioned into the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Punjab Regiment, after which he served with his regiment in Burma (now Myanmar) and the British. Fought with the Commonwealth. forces against Imperial Japanese forces during World War II. On 30 January 1940, Arora was promoted to the rank of lieutenant. On 22 February 1940, he was promoted to the rank of Captain (Acting). On 1 February 1942, he became a Major (Acting) in the British Indian Army. On 5 February 1941, Arora was made Captain (temporary). On 1 May 1942, he assumed the rank of a war-commissioned Captain and a Major (temporary) in the British Indian Army. On 30 January 1946, after the end of the Second World War, Aurora became a major captain in the British Indian Army.
Note: Due to the shortage of officers in the British Indian Army during World War II, officers were given war substantive, executive and temporary ranks.
Indian Army
After India gained independence from Britain on 15 August 1947, Jagjit Singh Arora decided to join the Indian Army after the British Indian Army was divided into the Indian Army and the Pakistan Army. On 26 January 1950, when India became a republic following the adoption of its Constitution, the Government of India changed the British-era rank insignia of the Indian Armed Forces, following which Aurora was redesignated the 2nd Battalion of the Punjab Regiment of the Indian Army. Appointed from.
1947–48 India–Pakistan war
After gaining independence, India and Pakistan fought their first war over the then state of Jammu and Kashmir, when Pakistan sent its forces to invade it. During the war, Arora, who was commanding his unit, saw action against the attacking tribal Lashkar and Pakistani forces in Kashmir.
after the 1947 war
On 26 February 1950, Jagjit Singh Arora became a Major (temporary), and on 30 January 1951, he became a substantive Major. On 13 January 1952, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. On 28 November 1959, he became Brigadier (Acting), and commanded an infantry brigade. On 1 August 1958, he became a colonel in the Indian Army. In 1961, he was posted to 33 Corps of the Indian Army as Brigadier General Staff (BGS). As BGS of 33 Corps, Jagjit Singh Arora led a team of officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) to establish the Indian Military Training Team (IMTRAT) to build closer military ties with Bhutan.
1962 India-China war
During the Indo-China War of 1962, Jagjit Singh Arora was posted to the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA), where he commanded an infantry brigade. The war began on 20 October 1962 and ended on 21 November 1962.
Career after 1962 war
Jagjit Singh Arora was promoted and made Major General (Acting) in the Indian Army and on 21 February 1963, he was posted as a division commander of an infantry division. On 20 June 1964, he became a major major general and was appointed as Director General. of Military Training (DMT) on 23 November 1964.
1965 India-Pakistan war
As Major General, Jagjit Singh Arora took part in the India-Pakistan war of 1965. After the end of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Jagjit Singh Arora received promotion, and he became Lieutenant General (Acting) on 6 June 1966, after which he was appointed as the Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (DCOAS). He became a substantive Lieutenant General on 4 August 1966.
Nathu La incident
Jagjit Singh Arora was once again posted to the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) in 1967. There, he commanded an Indian Army corps during clashes with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) at Nathu La and Cho La in 1967. The Indian Army forced the Chinese soldiers to retreat from their positions.
Served as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) during the 1971 war
On 8 June 1969, Jagjit Singh Arora was appointed as the GOC-in-C of the Eastern Command of the Indian Army. Soon after his appointment, he was asked to begin preparations for the war that began on 3 December 1971. As corps commander, Arora ensured that 30,000 tons of supplies reached the Eastern Front without any interruption. In an article written by Lieutenant General Arora for Rediff, he said,
As far as I remember, we started deploying our forces in large numbers from June 1971. We also started transferring our military administrative staff because our depots were not well equipped to fight Pakistani troops on the eastern border. All the depots we had were established during World War II. We have also deployed more troops on the Assam and Tripura borders. Because we did not want to be caught with our trousers down if the Pakistani army attacked us.”
As GOC, he oversaw the training and arming of Mukti Bahini, a Bangladeshi guerrilla army fighting against the Pakistani Army in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). The war began around 5.40 pm on 3 December 1971 when the Pakistani Air Force bombed Indian airfields. During the war, he devised strategies following which the Indian Army attacked Pakistani troops from four different fronts in East Pakistan. Their plans were aimed at quickly defeating the Pakistani forces by attacking at some places and bypassing them at others, resulting in the unconditional surrender of Pakistani armed forces in East Pakistan in 13 days. On 16 December 1971, Lieutenant General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, the Unified Commander of the Eastern Military High Command of the Pakistan Armed Forces, signed an instrument of surrender at the Ramna Race Course in Dhaka at 16.31 IST.
Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Arora with Lieutenant General AAK Niazi during the signing of the surrender document in Dhaka.
A photograph of the surrender document signed by Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Arora and Lieutenant General AAK Niazi
The surrender in East Pakistan resulted in the capture of over 93,000 Pakistani soldiers by the Indian Army, making it the largest surrender since the end of the Second World War.
After surrender, Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Arora was given a guard of honor by the Pakistani Army.
After the surrender, East Pakistan gained independence from West Pakistan (now Pakistan) and was renamed Bangladesh.
Jagjit Singh Arora with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman after the independence of Bangladesh
Career after 1971 war
Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Arora served as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Command until his retirement from the Indian Army in 1973.
Politics
After retiring from the Indian Army, Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Arora joined the Akali Dal and was a Member of Parliament from the Rajya Sabha from 1986 to 1992.
Awards, Honors, Achievements
- After the end of the 1971 war, Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Arora was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) by the President of India.
- In 1972, the Government of India awarded Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Arora the Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian award.
- Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Arora was awarded the Bir Protik, Bangladesh’s fourth highest gallantry award.
- The Government of Punjab honored Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Arora with the Punjab Ratan Award after his death.
Death
Jagjit Singh Arora died on 3 May 2005 in New Delhi at the age of 89. He died due to age related reasons. After his death, the then Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Morshed Khan said,
Aurora will be remembered in the history of Bangladesh for her contribution during our liberation war in 1971 when she led the allied forces.”
He was cremated with full military honors at Brar Square, New Delhi.
Facts/General Knowledge
- In his book, Surrender at Dhaka: Birth of a Nation, Lieutenant General JFR Jacob writes that during the 1971 war, Jagjit Singh Arora often visited the soldiers fighting on the front lines, but did not interact well with the field commanders. Were unable to mingle with. Indian Army. He has written,
During the 1971 operation, Aurora made frequent visits to forward areas but failed to win the confidence of most of the field commanders there. His relations with most of them were like oil and water and he did not support his subordinate commanders despite successes in the war.
- After the attack on the Golden Temple in Amritsar by the Indian Army in 1984, Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Arora spoke out against Indira Gandhi’s decision and criticized her. Talking about this he said,
I don’t see very comfortable times in the coming months in Punjab. He is a very capable person and has amazing staying power. But there is no warmth in it. She can be a vicious, cold, calculating person.
- Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Arora often expressed his opinion in favor of better relations between India and Pakistan.
- According to Lieutenant General JFR Jacob, Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Arora, as the Eastern Army Commander, used to come to the office at around 10 in the morning, whereas the office timings were from 7.30 in the morning to 1.30 in the afternoon.
- After the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh joined the Civil Justice Committee and founded the Sikh Forum, which aimed to provide justice to the victims of the riots.
- In 1984, Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Arora published a book titled The Punjab Story, which was based on Operation Bluestar conducted by the Indian Army.
- Jagjit Singh Arora was fond of golf.
- After the demise of Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Arora, Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw paid tribute to him and credited him for the victory of the Indian Army over Pakistan in the 1971 war. Talking about this, Sam Manekshaw said,
Jaggi did the work while I got the field marshal’s baton.”
- After his death in 2005, Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Arora’s uniform and medals were handed over to the Indian Army.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn