Air Chief Marshal S.K.(Polly) Mehra

 Arun S

Surinder Kumar Mehra was born in Delhi on 15 November 1932, educated at the Modern School in New Delhi, and thereafter at the Delhi University. He was commissioned in the Indian Air Force in December 1951 as a fighter pilot at a young age of 19 years, and served the IAF for 42 years prior to his retirement as the Chief of the Air Staff.

After commissioning, he went on to become an outstanding combat pilot well versed in both the air defense and strike roles. Even as a young squadron pilot, he was selected as a member of the Aircrew Examining Board, a body that sets standards and examines the aircrew on the skills demanded of them in flying operations. Command of his first squadron came in 1962, when he took over No.7 Battle Axes flying the Hawker Hunter. He was a Squadron Leader then. After the upgradation of ranks, Mehra got posted to the newly raised No.28 First Supersonics Squadron. There he trained on the MiG-21 fighters, at a time when the No.28 Squadron was the sole MiG-21 squadron.

When war broke out in September 1965, Mehra was still with the First Supersonics. The Squadron did not see much action. Relegated initially to CAPs, the squadron did not see much combat during the war, though on one occasion, Mehra missed being bombed by a Pakistani B-57 as he was about to go to his MiG on ORP.

In 1967, Mehra took over command of No.28 Squadron as its third CO. The Squadron moved to Hashimara in the East. He was awarded the VM for his command of the Squadron. In 1970, Mehra handed over command to BK Bishnoi on a posting to Air Force Staff College in the United States. On returning from the US in 1971, S.K. Mehra moved on to Eastern Air Command's Operational Staff.  The 1971 War was spent on the EAC's Planning & Operational Staff. He was commended for some specific non-conventional operations which are classified. He was awarded the Vayu Sena Medal in 1971.

Mehra then went on to command the Tactics & Air Combat Development Establishment (TACDE) which is the cradle of all combat doctrines. He spent three years in command of TACDE from 1973-1976. A stint with the Indian Ambassador's Office in Russia as the Air Attaché followed.  He received the AVSM in 1976. On promotion to Air Commodore, he commanded Adampur and later Jamnagar Air Force stations.

The senior staff appointments held by him at Air HQ include Director of Air Staff Inspection - an organization that assesses and reports on the operational standards of field units, Director of Personnel (Officers), Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Operations), and Deputy Chief of Air Staff. His experience thus represents an ideal blend of personnel management, operational planning, and higher level futuristic re-equipment planning of the Air Force. As the DCAS, he was fully involved in inter-governmental negotiations and in negotiations with the industry on Air Force acquisitions, as also with the Defense R&D.

In 1987, Mehra took over as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, South Western Air Command with the responsibility of all air operations in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. In 1988, he took over as the Chief of Air Staff from Air Chief Marshal La Fontaine. His tenure saw the eyeball to eyeball confrontation with Pakistan on Operation Brasstacks, the de-induction of the IPKF from Sri Lanka, and acquisition of new systems into the Indian Air Force like the Mi-35 attack helicopters.

Air Chief Marshal Mehra retired in 1991, after forty years of service. During his career with the Air Force, he had accumulated over 3200 hours of flying, and held a PVSM, AVSM and VM for his distinguished services rendered.

Air Chief Marshal Mehra also member of the National Security Advisory Board (NSAB) that came into being after nuclear tests of 1998 and the Kargil War of 1999.  

In his illustrious forty year career with the IAF, ACM Mehra, led initiatives on strategic defense and laid down a vision for the future of the Indian Air Force and its interaction with other armed services. During his time as the Chief Air Staff, India's strategic security was under grave threat from developments in its neighborhood. In this period General K.Sundarji brought forth nuclear thinking in the military, BARC forged the nuclear sword, and ACM Mehra was the first to wield it. Under his tutelage from 1988 to 1991 the Indian Air Force perfected the tactics for air delivery of nuclear weapons. Given the sensitivity, secrecy and recessed nature of India's nuclear posture at that time, it must have been very challenging to perfect and prepare for such capability. One can imagine what it took to rise to the challenge in 1990, given the huge effort and time it is taking to unroll a full-fledged overt nuclear deployment per the Draft Nuclear Doctrine. The Draft Nuclear Doctrine was released by the NSAB on 17-August-1999, ACM Mehra was a part of the NSAB at the time and his contributions played a crucial role in shaping the doctrine.

I first saw Air Chief Marshal S. K. Mehra on 8-Oct-1988 at the Air Force Day parade at Palam. At the investiture ceremony that day he pinned medals on IAF men and officers for distinguished services. It was a very special moment for me to see the Air Chief pin a medal on my father's chest. Many years later I had the privilege to meet him and spend time with him. He had an imposing personality but was a gentle host who quickly put his visitors at ease. His clear thinking and enunciation convinced me how safe Indian citizenry is and that India's defense forces are lead by such capable people and the defense institutions produce officers of such high caliber.

I met ACM Mehra after he returned from a visit to Pakistan as part of a team of retired senior defense officers. This visit was a confidence building measure but ACM Mehra found the team was frustrated with the inability of the Pakistani establishment to honor mutual agreements and the Pakistan Army's hypnotic fixation on Kashmir. In lighter moments after business meetings with Pakistani counterparts the subject of frequent Mig-21 crashes as reported by Indian media had cropped up. Apparently the PAF officer said “Mehra Sahib aap ke jahaz to kam se kam Russi hai, hamara kya haal hain un Chinee copies ke sang mat pooch”. Translated i treads “ Mehra sir, at least your Mig-21’s are from Russia, imagine what we are suffering with our Chinese copies of MIG-21!”. As ACM Mehra related this incident to me, I remembered the validity of P.V.S.Jagan Mohan’s  PAF crash rate compilations and comparison. In my meeting with him, ACM Mehra also recalled the total lack of honor in Pakistani military establishment. A force that does not have honor to its uniform; “ Apne vardi ki izzat nahi karte”, he said. He found Pakistan's unwillingness to accept the bodies of its dead soldiers in the Kargil war to be the most humiliating insult to any solider worth its salt. He was pained to be facing such lowly and pitiful enemy. Personal honor and the honor of the military uniform were fundamental to his notion of a true warrior.

In my personal interaction with ACM Mehra I could see in him a thinking general, masterful planner, a fighter and a caring person.

It was a personal shock to know of ACM Mehra’s sudden demise from heart attack on 8-Dec-2003. All Indian citizens that he so zealously defended during his lifetime will miss him dearly.

Goodbye and Godspeed ACM Mehra on your new mission. May God keep you close to His heart and under His wings hereafter. Fly safe into sunset and a new day beyond. Our prayers go with you.  

Bharat-Rakshak joins the author in saluting one of the IAF’s greatest leaders.

Also see: Air Chief Marshal Surinder Kumar Mehra, P.V.S. Jagan Mohan. http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/Air-Chiefs/Chiefs-Air-14.html