Lucknow: In March this year, when a team from Indian Navy MARCOS air-dropped from IAF's C-17 in Arabian Sea some 1,400 nautical miles (2,600km) away from the Indian coast, rescued 17 crew members of ex-MV Ruen and apprehended 35 Somali pirates following a 40-hour protracted anti-hijacking operation, the 66-year-old Commodore (retired) Arvind Singh, pioneer of the Indian elite marine special force programme, was brimming with pride at his residence in Lucknow.
Commodore Singh, a Maha Vir Chakra awardee naval officer who lives a low-key life on Rae Bareli Road, was among the first two Indians who qualified one of the world's most demanding special force courses, US Navy SEAL (Sea, Air and Land), along with his senior comrade Shomir Mukherjee in 1985, following which Indian Marine Special Force (IMSF) came into existence.
Six naval officers cleared the first batch of IMSF course. Later, it was rechristened as Marine Commando Force (MARCOS).
"What those boys (MARCOS) did in March was an unbelievable and an extraordinary accomplishment. The entire world was astounded to know that there exists a force with exceptional expertise in India, which rescued hostages in an intricate and challenging operation," he said.
"MARCOS were air-dropped in open sea with their parachute and weapon gear, then they swam to combat rubberised raiding craft boats, and navigated next to the hijacked ship to safely rescue the hostages," said the decorated officer who retired from navy in 2014.
Commissioned in the navy in 1981, Commodore Singh passed out of the Indian Naval Academy, Cochin, with the President's Gold Medal for being the best cadet. Prior to joining navy, Arvind did his graduation from the University of Lucknow.
"I come from a family of civil servants, doctors and engineers but my inclination towards the military came from the Keelor brothers (Air Marshal Denzil Keelor and Wing Commander Trevor Keelor). As a teenager, I was privileged to witness the victory procession organised in Hazratganj to welcome Indo-Pakistan 1965 war heroes in an open convertible. That moment always remained in my conscious and inspired me to join the military," he said.
"However, my mother Minder Kaur was not keen on my choice of career. Therefore, with a bit of hesitation, she asked me to join the navy, as she believed that at least naval boys don't have to fight on borders," he chuckled.
Originally hailing from Phoolpur in Moradabad district, his grandfather Rao Bahadur Chaudhary Umrao Singh was a district collector in the British govt, his father Dr Virendra Singh Chaudhary was a veterinary officer, his mother hailed from Zirakpur in Mohali district of Punjab, and his maternal grandfather Dr Hazura Singh was a civil surgeon.
Youngest among three siblings, his eldest brother Anil Singh is a data scientist in the US, while his elder brother Colonel (retired) Sunil Singh is an anaesthetist.
"I picked from my father values like determination, spirit of not giving up and athleticism, while discipline came to me from my mother," he recalled.
"We all three studied in St Francis College till high school and did intermediate from La Martiniere College. I joined NCC junior wing in school and adventure fiction novels like Jules Verne's ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas' gave strength to my decision to join navy," he said.
During his tenure in navy, Arvind was executive officer (XO) of missile corvette INS Khanjar, commanding officer (CO) as well as XO of INS Abhimanyu, naval base in Mumbai which serves as the home of MARCOS, CO of INS Gharial, an amphibious warfare vessel, CO of INR Ranjeet (destroyer), XO of INS Ranvir (destroyer), CO of INS Chilka (naval base), Naval Officer In Charge Odisha and Gujarat, served a tri-service tenure of strategic forces command in Andaman and Nicobar, and did National Defence Course, Defence Services Staff College, and Naval Higher Command Course.
Major General (retired) Ajay Kumar Chaturvedi, former Chief of Staff Andaman and Nicobar Command of Indian Armed Forces, under whom Commodore Arvind Singh had served, said: "His exceptional prowess was evaluated during the Indian expedition to Sri Lanka as Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) for Operation Pawan in 1987-88."
"He commanded the team of marine commandos in multiple operations including to obliterate Guru Nagar Jetty, the crucial point where the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were transporting supplies and armaments into Jaffna city. It was a formidable mission. Not only was the narrow channel leading to the jetty extensively trapped with mines, but it was the sole available route for an assault. LTTE had positioned snipers in the high-rise buildings overlooking the jetty. His team successfully placed and detonated explosive charges and extensively damaged the jetty and destroyed 17 LTTE speed boats," said Chaturvedi who is part of Lucknow-based military think tank STRIVE.
For his role in Operation Pawan, Arvind Singh, who was then a lieutenant, was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra.
"The Indian army welcomed naval marine commandos with immense warmth for the IPKF mission in Sri Lanka. They could have simply rejected our requirement for mission, but they treated us like big brothers and gave us the opportunity to learn, and execute missions," said Commodore Singh who was also bestowed with Nau Sena medal (gallantry) for the interdiction and destruction of an LTTE ship off the coast of Chennai in 1993.
"Back then (post 1985) IMSF training curriculum was like the US seal program, but now MARCOS has gone beyond it. Today's MARCOS equipment is at par with any special forces on earth. Their motto ‘The Few, The Fearless' befits their job profile. India is gifted with disciplined and loyal soldiers," he said.