V. K. Singh

The battalion was among the oldest in the Indian Army, having been raised in 1798 as 1/16 Bengal Native Infantry.

He joined the battalion in Delhi, where it was garrisoned in the Red Fort and the Rashtrapathi Bhavan.

He was slotted into 'C' company of the battalion.

General Vijay Kumar Singh(retd), PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC (born 10 May 1950) is an Indian politician and a former four-star General in the Indian Army.

He is the current Minister of State in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and Ministry of Civil Aviation in the Second Modi ministry.

He previously served as Minister of State for External Affairs, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of the North-Eastern Region and Minister of State for Statistics and Programme Implementation in the First Modi ministry.

Singh was born on 10 May 1950 in a Rajput Family to Captain (later Colonel) Jagat Singh, an officer then serving in the 14th battalion The Rajput Regiment of the Indian Army, and Krishna Kumari, at the Military Hospital at Pune.

He was born into the Tomar clan of Rajputs, with roots in the Bapora village in the Bhiwani district of Haryana.

His paternal grandfather, Daffadar Mukhram Singh, served with the 3rd Cavalry.

All five brothers of his father served in the Army, either joining the 1st Horse (Skinner's Horse) or the 7th Rajput Regiment.

His maternal grandfather, Subedar Shimbu Singh, also served in the Army and hailed from the Bohra Kalan village in the Gurgaon district.

His village had been founded by the Rajput rulers and frequently involved in fighting with the Mughal and has produced many warriors.

He was inspired by men who served the Army from the British times.

Singh's mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer and died in 1952.

He was raised by his maternal grandparents before his father remarried and he went to live with them for a few years.

At the age of 8, he enrolled at the Birla Public School, a boarding school in Pilani, Rajasthan.

He joined the National Cadet Corps during his schooling and served in all three wings.

He qualified in the entrance exam and having filled 'Air Force' as his first choice, he appeared before the No. 1 Air Force Selection Board in Dehradun.

He entered the National Defence Academy (NDA) in 1966.

A part of the 'HUNTER' squadron, he held a number of cadet appointments at the NDA.

He became a Corporal in his fifth term, the battalion cadet captain (BCC) in his sixth term, and officiated as the Academy Cadet Captain (ACC) for a short while.

In his fifth term, on the request of his father, he was moved from the Air Force to Army.

After graduating from the NDA, he entered the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in June 1969.

He was assigned to 'Cassino' Company at the academy.

He was appointed senior under officer (SUO) in his fourth term.

He passed out from the IMA in 1970, placed in the top ten in the merit list.

Singh’s career in military lasted 42 years from the year 1970 to 2012.

He started his career when he was commissioned in the 2nd Battalion of Rajput Regiment after graduating from Indian Military Academy and retired after serving as the Chief of Army Staff (India).

He has been a part of many wars and recipient of many Army honours.

Singh was commissioned into the 2nd Battalion of the Rajput Regiment (Kali Chindi) on 14 June 1970.

He attended the Young Officers (YOs) course at the Infantry School in Mhow in November 1970.

He completed the course and joined his battalion in early 1971 in Tamulpur in Assam where the battalion had moved.

Before the outbreak of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he was appointed Intelligence Officer (IO) of the battalion.

The battalion moved to Meghalaya in mid-1971 and fought the war, entering East Pakistan from the east.

Singh served as the IO through the war.

During his military career, Singh served as the 24th Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) from 2010 to 2012.

Singh took the Government of India to court in a dispute over his date of birth and subsequent retirement, becoming the first serving Indian Chief of the Army Staff to take legal action against the Indian government.

After his retirement from the military, Singh joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2014 and was elected as Member of Parliament to the Lok Sabha for the Ghaziabad constituency of Uttar Pradesh in that year's general election.

He was re-elected to the same seat in 2019.

Singh has written an autobiography called Courage and Conviction.