CHANDIGARH, April 23: One the most outstanding and decorated Generals of the Indian Army, Lt Gen Sartaj Singh (retd), died early today morning at Command Hospital, Chandimandir, after prolonged illness. He is survived by two sons and a daughter. Lt Gen Sartaj Singh (79) was cremated here with full military honours.Commissioned into the British-Indian Army's Regiment of Artillery in April, 1940, he had, as a young officer posted with an anti-tank regiment in Ceylon, won the George Medal for outstanding gallantry and initiative. After completing his Long Gunnery Staff Course in UK, he was appointed the first Indian chief instructor of the field wing of the Deolali-based School of Artillery in 1947.After a stint as an instructor at Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, and Commander 4 Artillery Brigade, he attended the first course at the National Defence College and was later detailed for a special mission to the Congo.During the 1965 Indo-Pak war, he commanded a mountain division in the north-eastern theatre and then took over as Director General Military Operation in 1966. After commanding 15 Corps in the northern sector, he was appointed as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Southern Command, from where he retired in 1974.In recognition of his outstanding services, he was decorated with the Padma Bhushan in 1972. In 1979, he launched the Chandigarh Consumer Forum and as its chairman served the cause of the consumer movement.
