PRESS INFOPJVIATION BTJREAU(DEFEN(j'E WING), GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, NEW DELHI, F.rua-ry 1, 1950. MAHA VIR CHAKFJ FOR AIR COMMODORE MAR SING-H New Delhi, February 1, 1950 Amongst the three Indian Air Force recipients of the second highest gallantry award, the Maha Vir Chakra, is Air Commodore Mehar Singh, DSO (Retired). A dare—devil pilot, Mehar Singh made 1istory when, during the critical early days of the Jammu and Kashmir operations, 'he •pioneered. the flights over the Himalayas across unchartered 'mountainous routes. It will be recalled that he was the first to land at the hurriedly constructed airstrip in the beleagured town of Poonch and thereafter established the long—drawn airlift operations, thus saving the town from being overrun by the enemy and evacuating over 30,000 refugees to safety. A few months later, without adequate facilities for high altitude flying, he landed on one of the highest airfields in the world at Leh (Ladakh), thus securing the all—important Eastern flank of the Kashmir valley. The citation making the Maha Vir Chakra awarded to Mehrtr Singh reads, Throughout his tenure as over—all Commander of air operations in Jammu and Kashmir, Air Commodore Mehar Singh showed great devotion to duty at great personal risk and set an example to those serving under him 1t. The citation adds: "Many tasks were not part of his duty, but in view of the fact that they were hazardous, he carried them out to infuse confidence in his junior pilots. The leadership shown by Air Commodore Mehar Singh in the early days of the Kashmir operations was invaluable to the IAF'. After qualifying as a Service pilot from Cranwell, Mehar Singh was commissioned and posted to No.1 IAF Squadron in April 1935. From the outset, Mehar Singh came to the notice of his superior officers as "outstanding". By the hazardous air operations carried out by him in the NorthWest Frontier of undivided India, and later in 1942, the evacuation of stranded women and children, first in Habbaniyah and then in Burma, Mehar Singh earned the admiration of his commanding officers and colleagues alike .