Wing Commander Mian Naranjan Singh commanded an operational Squadron from April 1967 to July 1970. During his tenure, inspite of shortage of experienced pilots he succeeded in improving the operational efficiency of the Squadron by intelligent planning, hard work and close supervision. His Squadron won a number of trophies in various competitions and gunnery meets held by his Air Command. The Squadron under his guidance consistently met the flying tasks allotted to it and participated with credit in every exercise held in the theatre.

Throughout, Wing Commander Mian Naranjan Singh displayed professional skill and devotion to duty.

I knew 'Wingco' Mian Niranjan Singh when I was a lowly F/O in 27 Sqn - the Flaming Arrows.  He was a true professional as an aviator and led by example.  He laid down and achieved very high standards and expected the rest of the squadron to follow.  Consequently, the grounding that the 14 F/Os in 27 Sqn got was exceptional.  In ground attack he expected pin point accuracy and in air combat he introduced concepts and practice of defensive and offensive splits long before TACDE (formed in 1970) made these terms common parlance.  One of the most cherished entries in my log book is the one in which MNS, in his characteristc bold hand writing has endorsed my achieving Fully Ops status on Hunters.  The sqn garnered the max number of prizes in the inter sqn competition held in 1968 (pl see attachment) and repeated the performance in 1969.....need one say more!

He was no less as a CO and human being.  He was highly approachable and friendly, ready to listen to personal problems or share a joke, from every level in the squadron.  He and his wife truly represented the all important head-of-the-family image.  Since I was the squadron photographer I have a fairly large colection of pics in which he appears (I would be glad to share these with anyone who wants scanned copies).

His range of interests and depth of knowledge was staggering.  He was equally comfortable discussing subjects from A to Z, from astro-sciences to zoology; he seemed to have an encyclopaedic store in his memory.  Consequently, it was no surprise that when he attacked the TOI daily crossword he usually completed it in the first reading.

My one regret is that in all these years after he retired I totally lost touch with him and his wife.  I know the loss is entirely mine.

Mian Naranjan Singh was a terrific flyer, a wonderful CO and a warm human being.

My first and only contact with then S/L MN Singh was during the 1965 operations. ex Guwahati. 47 Sqn(Toofs) and 37 Sqn (Hunters) were op a 6-ac dett each from there, using the EAC Comm Flt premises as the  combined Flights complex. With him were Rajiv Maindarkar, 'Charlie' Janak Kumar, Asher and, I think, Bum Bali and Viju Joshi on att from '17'.
 
He was hilarious and kept us all in good cheer reading aloud, kirtan/ paath  style, from some 'Midwood' classics (!!) and similar Hindi books he had brought along from Chhabua, among other things! That kind of a diversion was badly needed those days, what with constant 8/8 low level clouds, rain, the war in the East fast turning into a 'sitzkrieg' and HQ EAC sending down latest 'TS' aerial pictures of Dhaka city and the airfield, which were badly smudged and were only of 1945 vintage!! Mian MN Singh asked the then SASO, A/C Pandit, who had brought the photos to us by hand, if he had permission to go to Gauhati town and buy some latter day aerial pictures of Dhaka from book shops selling pictorial tourism literature! 
 
Never came across him after that, although one kept hearing of him for many years.

Gp Capt Mian Niranjan Singh (Retired) passed away in Fairfax, VA on 01 May 2008 after a long illness. He fought pancreatic cancer and was in high spirits despite his pain until the end.  Despite being in a terminal state, he believed till the end that he would make it through.  He is survived by his wife in the US and Children in Canada, France and India