Bikram Singh

Lieutenant General Bikram Singh, PVSM (4 July 1911 – 22 November 1963) was a General Officer in the Indian Army. He was the General Officer Commanding XV Corps when he was killed in the 1963 Poonch Indian Air Force helicopter crash.

Early life and education Singh was born on 4 July 1911. He attended the Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College at Dehradun. In 1930, he was selected to attend the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

Military career Early career Singh graduated from Sandhurst in 1933 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant and placed in the unattached list of the Indian Army. Newly commissioned Indian officers were attached with a British unit before being sent to an Indian unit. He was attached with the Royal Berkshire Regiment. After an year's attachment, he was posted to the 6th Royal Battalion (Scinde), the 13th Frontier Force Rifles which was stationed at Kohat in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). Subsequently, the battalion moved to Razmak and join the Razmak Brigade. He spent three years in NWFP, till 1937, participating in multiple active operations.

Death and legacy

On 22 November 1963, Singh was killed when his helicopter crashed en route to Poonch. In a great loss to the Indian Armed Forces, the crash claimed six distinguished officers. The officers who were on the helicopter apart from Singh were: Lieutenant General Daulet Singh, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Command Air Vice Marshal Erlic Pinto, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Air Command Major General N K D Nanavati, General Officer Commanding 25 Infantry Division Brigadier S R Oberoi, Commander 93 Infantry Brigade Flight Lieutenant S S Sodhi, Pilot

The news of the air crash came as a shock to the nation. A black-bordered extraordinary Gazette of India was issued on 23 November. The Ministry of Defence, the three service headquarters and all defence establishments in New Delhi were closed on 23 November as a mark of respect. All public events of the Defence Minister and Service Chiefs were also cancelled. The officers were laid to rest with full military honours. Singh was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal posthumously on 26 January 1964.

A memorial has been built at the site of the air crash, commemorating the names of the victims. The Indian Army organises an annual event to pay homage to them. An 'Akhand Path' is also organised by the people of Poonch and surrounding villages, as a mark of their love and affection towards the departed souls, every year to commemorate the tragic accident. A statue of Singh is installed in Jammu and a memorial in his ancestral village of Siana in Nawanshahr. A library and a museum dedicated to him is also being constructed. The Bikram Chowk in Jammu is also named for the general. Two committees – the Lieutenant General Bikram Singh Society at Kahma village and the Lieutenant General Bikram Singh Yadgaar Committee in Jammu organise ceremonies, akhand paths, blood donation camps among other events to remember him.

Honours and decorations

Param Vishisht Seva MedalGeneral Service MedalIndia General Service Medal (1936)Indian Independence Medal1939–45 StarAfrica StarWar Medal 1939–1945