General JJ Singh

Some Lesser Known Facts About General JJ Singh

• Does General JJ Singh drink alcohol:? Yes

• He was born in the small town Samma Satta in the Princely State of Bahawalpur (now in Pakistan).

• His father, Jaswant Singh Marwah, was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Indian Army.

• His family originally belongs to Daultala (also in Pakistan).

• He is a 3rd-generation soldier of his family as his grandfather, Sepoy (Private) Atma Singh Marwah was enlisted as a drummer in the 1/67 Punjab Regiment of the British Indian Army in 1914 and fought in the First World War.

• His father, Jaswant, passed out from the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in April 1943 and is a veteran of the Second World War.

• When he was born, his father was posted at the Samma Satta.

• In August 1947, his family migrated to Patiala in India.

• He grew up in different regions of the Northern India as his father was frequently transferred.

• He did his schooling in Catholic Convent Schools.

• He joined the 25th course of the NDA (National Defence Academy) in January 1961.

• In 1962, when the Sino-Indian War broke out, he was still a cadet and due to the war urgency, the one year course of NDA was shortened to 7 months. JJ Singh and his classmates were commissioned early as Second Lieutenant on 2 August 1964.

• At the time of passing-out-ceremony, his grandfather blessed him saying- God willing, the son of a private shall be a colonel, and the son of the colonel shall be a general!

• At the Investiture Parade in 1968, he received the Colour of the Batallion from the then President of India Dr. Zakir Hussain.

• During his career, he was stationed at Nagaland, Jammu & Kashmir, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Joshimath in Uttranchal (now Uttarakhand).

• During his tenure with the Indian Army, he was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal, the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal.

• In 1991-92, he was wounded during a terrorist infiltration for which he was awarded the Chief of Army Staff’s Commendation.

• On 1 February 2005, he was appointed the Chief of Army Staff in the Indian Army.

• He is an ace shooter and loves to play Basketball, Squash & Golf.

• He is a keen mountaineer and has been trained at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling under Late Tenzing Norgay.

• In 2007, UK Sikh Forum awarded him the Sikh of the Year Award.

• In 2009, the World Punjabi Organization awarded him the Punjabi Ratan Award.

• In 2016, the French Government decorated him with the Legion of Honour. 

• In the 2017 Punjab Assembly Elections, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) nominated him a candidate from the Patiala constituency against Captain Amarinder Singh.