Tej Singh no more, wanted to serve at border till last breath; played key role in 1971 war

New Delhi: ‘I want to die at border protecting my motherland’s borders….” was the last wish of Tej Singh Verma, who always harboured a strong desire to serve in the Indian Army. The proud Indian, who wore love for the nation on his sleeve, breathed his last on Thursday. He used to live in Delhi’s Tilak Nagar and is survived by his son Manvendra Verma.

The nationalist will be best remembered for his stellar contribution in the 1971 war with Pakistan. During the 1971 war, the Army needed airplanes to counter Pakistani rangers and as the security forces were deployed at borders, there was no one to fly these planes.

Tej Singh took the initiative and flew two mini planes from Indore flying club to the Jaisalmer border. He also stayed there for 18 days braving Pakistani shelling & bombarding.

Despite the odds, he stayed put and worked for hours to make the planes war-ready. Tej Singh Verma was keeping unwell for past few days.

“Even in last days, he kept talking about his service in Army and expressed wish that he wanted to die at border,” Tej Singh’s son told media.

Many acclaimed people including social workers were present during the last rites.

Tej Singh’s heroics at border made his city proud

His heroic act the border won him many laurels and was given a warm welcome when he returned to Indore, after spending 18 days in Army bunkers.

Tej Singh was posted as an Engineer at Indore flying club and also held a commercial pilot license. While the 1971 India-Pak war was underway, the Army jawans needed flying planes to destroy Pakistani bunkers and thus contacted the Indore flying club.

As the pilot was unwell at that time, Tej Singh decided to take up the uphill task and sought permission for the same. After getting go ahead from Army, he flew the planes to Jaisalmer and got his name registered in history books.