The Monsoon War

Amarinder Singh, born into the royal family of Patiala, was educated at the Doon School. After graduating from the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy, he was commissioned into the 2nd Battalion of the Sikh Regiment in 1963 and served as Company Commander. During the 1965 war against Pakistan, he was ADC to the GOC-in-C, Western Command (Lieutenant General Harbakhsh Singh VrC), in whose theatre of operations the entire war was fought. He spent five terms in the Punjab Legislature, once as minister and then as chief minister of Punjab from 2002 to 2007. Presently, he has been elected as a Member of Parliament after his victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in Amritsar. A five-time member of the Vidhan Sabha from Punjab, he is also part of the Parliamentary Defence Committee. He has authored numerous books, including Honour and Fidelity: India's Military Contribution to the Great War 1914-1918 and The Last Sunset: The Rise and Fall of the Lahore Durbar. Tajindar Singh Shergill received his early education at the Lawrence School Sanawar and graduated from the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, where he was awarded the President's Gold Medal; he has a master s degree from the University of Madras and a Master of Military Science degree from the United States Command and General Staff College, Kansas, U.S.A. He was commissioned into the Deccan Horse in February 1964 and later commanded the Regiment. He has been the Defence Attaché at the Indian Embassy, Washington DC, USA and commanded 16 Independent Armoured Brigade; later he commanded a Division in Jammu and Kashmir and Corps in the North-East, both during counter militancy and counter insurgency operations; he was also Commandant of the Indian Military Academy. His earlier book, Counter-Insurgency Support to a Host Nation, was published in 1987. He received a mention in Dispatches in the 1965 War and was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2002.