India loses its leading military analyst
Jasjit Singh founded the Air Force think tank Centre for Air Power Studies in 2001
Leading military analyst Air Commodore Jasjit Singh,who mentored several generations of writers and military commentators and penned scores of books considered essential reading by think tanks,passed away Sunday morning after a fight against pneumonia.
The 80-year-old officer and Padma Bhushan awardee founded the Air Force think tank Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS) in 2001 and was the longest continuously serving director of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA). He had been unwell for the past fortnight after catching a bad bout of cold,and was hospitalised a week ago.
A former IAF fighter pilot,Singh was in service during both the 1962 and 1971 wars. While air power was not used in the war with China,the IAF was extensively deployed during the liberation of Bangladesh. Singh was awarded the Vir Chakra for carrying out bombing raids against heavily defended enemy targets in the 1971 war. He later served as director of operations for the IAF.
It was after he retired as air commodore in 1987 that Singh established himself as India’s best-known military analyst with his insightful writings and his deep knowledge of national strategy. The same year,he succeeded K Subrahmanyam,perhaps India’s most prominent analyst,as director of IDSA. He would continue in the post for 14 years,inspiring several generations of thinkers and analysts who are currently driving national policy.
Singh was also a regular contributor to The Indian Express and earlier served as editorial advisor (defence and strategic affairs) for the newspaper.
He authored and edited scores of books on national security and military affairs in South Asia,including the highly regarded India’s Defence Spending: Assessing Future Needs,Nuclear India,and Air Power in Modern Warfare.
Singh,who was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2006,was also a visiting lecturer in war colleges across the world and a known figure in seminars and conferences on security in the international community.
Till he fell ill last month,Singh was actively looking after the affairs of CAPS,considered an authority in aviation strategy. Those close to him said that till the end he stayed devoted to the cause of promoting the culture of strategic thinking in India and was working on a project to promote and run courses on national security and strategic studies in universities along with the Human Resources Development Ministry and University Grants Commission.
He had also come up with a low-cost paperback on security with the National Book Trust.
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