Samir Sinha Memorial Lecture
Born at Kolkata on 28 Jan 1926, he had his initial schooling at Bishops Wescotts Namkum (Ranchi) and subsequently from 1937 - 1942 at the Royal Indian Military College, Dehradun.
He was commissioned into the 15th Battalion of Maratha Light Infantry in Dec 1943 and later volunteered for the Parachute Regiment in 1945. He participated in the 1947- 48 War and was wounded in the battle of Jhangar. On completion of the Defence Services Staff College, he served on the staff of 50 (Independent) Parachute Brigade as the Deputy Assistant Adjutant and Quarter Master General (DAA & QMG) as also the Brigade Major (BM).
He participated in Operation Vijay (liberation of Goa) in 1961 as the Second-in-Command of 2 PARA (Maratha). In 1963, he raised 6 PARA.
After attending Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth in USA, he was posted as General Staff Officer Grade I in the Military Operations Directorate at Army HQ from 1965-67. Later he commanded 82 Mountain Brigade, 51 Parachute Brigade and 47 Infantry Brigade – a rare achievement to have commanded three different brigades.
During 1971 Indo-Pak War, he was attached to HQ Eastern Command as Deputy Director Civil Administration for Bangladesh, a role in which he made substantial contribution to the overall success of the campaign.
He commanded 19 Infantry Division in J & K from 1972 – 1974 and was later Chief of Staff of Northern Command from July 1974 – Oct 1975. Thereafter, he was Commandant, Indian Military Academy (1975-76), Director Military Training at the Army HQ (1976 – 1979) and Chief of Staff , Central Command from 1979 – 1981.
He served as the Inspector General, Special Frontier Force (SFF) from 1981 - 1984 and retired from there after 40 years of dedicated and distinguished service.
Post retirement, he was Director United Service Institution (USI) of India from 24 Nov 1987 – 30 June 1996. His association with the USI goes back to 1947, when he became a life member. During his tenure as the Director USI, the present building came up and USI shifted from its previous location in Kashmir House to the present premises. He was also an elected member of the USI Council for a number of years. His contribution to USI will be remembered for all times to come.
Major General Sinha expired on 26 Jan 2002. He is survived by two sons – Brigadier Deepak Sinha and Colonel Ashok Sinha, both now retired.