Rajinder Singh Sparrow

Major General Rajinder Singh, MVC & bar (3 October 1911 – May 1994) was an Indian Army officer and a two time member of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian parliament. He was nicknamed 'Sparrow'.

Major General

Rajinder Singh

MVC**
Nickname(s)"Sparrow"
Born(1911-10-03)3 October 1911
DiedMay 1994
Allegiance British India
 India
Service/branch British Indian Army
 Indian Army
Years of service1932–1966
Rank Major General
Unit7th Light Cavalry
Commands held7th Light Cavalry
1st Armoured Division
Battles/warsWorld War II
Indo-Pakistani War of 1947
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
Awards Maha Vir Chakra**
Other workMember of the Lok Sabha

Career

Singh served in the ranks of the British Indian Army from 3 October 1932 to 31 January 1938. He attended the Indian Military Academy, Dehra Dun, and was commissioned onto the Unattached List, Indian Army on 1 February 1938. He spent the next year attached to The King's Regiment (Liverpool), a British Army regiment, stationed on the North West Frontier.[1] He was then admitted to the Indian Army and joined the 7th Light Cavalry on 24 February 1939. He was promoted to lieutenant on 30 April 1939,[2] and served during World War II. He was promoted temporary captain and acting major on 16 April 1942, to war-substantive captain and temporary major on 9 January 1943 and to substantive captain on 31 January 1945.[3]

Singh opted to join the Indian Army upon the partition of India in 1947, and commanded the 7th Light Cavalry from September 1947 to May 1949. He was twice awarded the Maha Vir Chakra, the second highest military decoration in India, the first for his role during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, for outstanding leadership during the advance and capture of Jhangar (Operation Bison),[4] and the second for displaying gallantry in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965,[5] during which he was GOC of the 1st Armoured Division.[6][7]

Promoted to colonel on 30 January 1957,[8] Singh held the appointment of regimental colonel of the 7th Light Cavalry from July 1959 to July 1969. He was appointed D. A.C., Army HQ.[9] On 3 July 1961, he was appointed a G.O.C. commanding a division, with the acting rank of major-general.[10]

Singh retired from the Army on 26 September 1966.[11] After retirement he entered politics and became a minister in the short lived Gurnam Singh ministry in 1967. Later he was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1980 and 1985 for the Jalandhar constituency as a candidate of the Indian National Congress.[12][13][14] He died in May 1994, at the age of 83.[5]

Dates of rank
InsigniaRankComponentDate of rank
Second LieutenantBritish Indian Army1 February 1938 (seniority from 31 January 1937)[15]
LieutenantBritish Indian Army24 February 1939[15]
CaptainBritish Indian Army1941 (acting)[3]
16 April 1942 (temporary)[3]
9 January 1943 (war-substantive)[3]
31 January 1945 (substantive)[3]
MajorBritish Indian Army16 April 1942 (acting)[3]
9 January 1943 (temporary)[3]
CaptainIndian Army15 August 1947[note 1][16]
MajorIndian Army26 January 1950 (recommissioning and change in insignia)[16]
Lieutenant-ColonelIndian Army31 January 1951 (substantive)[17]
ColonelIndian Army1954 (acting)[18]
30 January 1957[8]
BrigadierIndian Army1 March 1955 (acting)[18]
31 January 1960 (substantive)[19]
Major GeneralIndian Army3 July 1961 (acting)[10]
1965 (substantive)[20]

Notes
  1. Upon independence in 1947, India became a Dominion within the British Commonwealth of Nations. As a result, the rank insignia of the British Army, incorporating the Tudor Crown and four-pointed Bath Star ("pip"), was retained, as George VI remained Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Armed Forces. After 26 January 1950, when India became a republic, the President of India became Commander-in-Chief, and the Ashoka Lion replaced the crown, with a five-pointed star being substituted for the "pip."

References
  1. Indian Army List, January 1939
  2. Indian Army List, various dates
  3. Indian Army List (Special Edition) 1947. Government of India Press. 1947. p. 232.
  4. Singh, Prabhjot (1 November 1998). "Red letter day for 7 Light Cavalry". The Tribune. Chandigarh. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  5. "Former Congress (I) MP Rajinder Singh Sparrow passes away". India Today. 15 May 1994. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  6. "Major General Rajinder Singh Sparrow, MVC, GOC 1st Armoured Division". Bharat Rakshak. Archived from the original on 1 June 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  7. Pradhan, R. D.; Chavan, Y. B. (2007). 1965 War, the Inside Story: Defence Minister Y.B. Chavan's Diary of India-Pakistan War. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. p. 50. ISBN 978-81-269-0762-5.
  8. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 23 November 1957. p. 296.
  9. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 31 October 1959. p. 265.
  10. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 23 September 1961. p. 250.
  11. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 29 October 1966. p. 657.
  12. "List of winner/current and past and runner up MPs of Jalandhar Parliamentary Constituency, Punjab". Elections.in. 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  13. "Seventh Lok Sabha Members". Lok Sabha. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  14. "Eighth Lok Sabha Members". Lok Sabha. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  15. Indian Army List for October 1945 (Part I). Government of India Press. 1945. p. 231.
  16. "New Designs of Crests and Badges in the Services" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 August 2017.
  17. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 9 June 1951. p. 109.
  18. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 9 April 1955. p. 72.
  19. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 1 October 1960. p. 255.
  20. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 18 December 1965. p. 671.
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