Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 17: Former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Lieutenant General SK Sinha passed away at a hospital in Delhi this morning after brief illness.
He was 92.
His family said he passed away at 10:45 AM at the Army Research and Referral Hospital.
He was first admitted to the base Hospital here on November 1 with a fracture in his femur bone and ribs and was later shifted to the R and R hospital after some complications developed.
He is survived by his wife, son and IFS officer YK Sinha who is at present Indian Ambassador to Sri Lanka and is moving for his new posting to the UK, and three daughters.
They said his funeral will take place tomorrow noon at the Brar Square crematorium here.
Gen Sinha has served as the Jammu and Kashmir Governor and led the first batch of Indian troops who entered Jammu and Kashmir when Pakistan raiders invaded in 1947.
He resigned from service after the Government superseded him and appointed General A S Vaidya as the new Army Chief.
Born in 1926, Lt Gen SK Sinha graduated with honours from Patna University in 1942 at the young age of seventeen. He joined the Army in 1943 soon thereafter passing out as the Best Cadet from the Officers Training School, Belgaum. He saw combat during the Second World War in Burma and Indonesia and after Independence in Kashmir.
He commanded battalion of 5 Gorkha Rifiles in Ladakh, a brigade in Manipur, a Mountain Division in Assam, Infantry Division in Jammu, a Corps and a field Army in the Western Theatre. He also had the distinction of serving as Adjutant General and Vice Chief of Army Staff.
During his varied career, Lt Gen Sinha, in 1949 was appointed Secretary of the Indian delegation for delineation of the ceasefire line in Kashmir. In 1972, he led the Indian delegation to Italy for a conference on application of human rights to warfare. In recognition of his service he was awarded Param Vishist Sewa Medal in 1973.
As a statesman, Lt Gen Sinha was appointed India’s Ambassador to Nepal in 1990. Appreciative of his work the then Prime Minister of Nepal had said, “General Sinha was as much India’s Ambassador to Nepal as Nepal’s Ambassador to India”.
He also had been Governor of two insurgency prone States of Assam and J&K.
A prolific writer, he authored five books including one on Jammu and Kashmir Operation of 1947-48 and his autobiography, “A Soldier Recalls”.
General Dalbir Singh, the Chief of the Army Staff, serving and retired army personnel will pay homage to the ‘Soldier Statesman’ tomorrow at Brar Square, New Delhi.
Meanwhile, as a mark of respect to Lt Gen SK Sinha, the J&K Government has decided that the State mourning will be observed for three day from today. The National and State Flags will fly at half-mast during the State mourning on all buildings and places, where these are flown regularly. Apart from this, there will be no official entertainment/function during the State mourning.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the death of Lt Gen (retd) SK Sinha and said his service to the nation will always be remembered. “Deeply saddened to learn of the demise of Lt Gen (retd) Srinivas K Sinha, former Governor of J&K and Assam”, Modi tweeted. “Had the opportunity of meeting Lt Gen (retd) Srinivas K Sinha just a few days ago. His service to our nation will always be remembered”, he said in another tweet.
MoS PMO Dr Jitendra Singh condoled the demise of Lt Gen SK Sinha. “Deeply saddened by the demise of Gen (Retd) SK Singh, Former Gov #Jammu#Kashmir. He was very kind to me and regularly visited me in Delhi”, Dr Jitendra tweeted.
Governor NN Vohra has expressed grief over the demise of Lt Gen SK Sinha. In a message of condolence the Governor described Lt Gen. Sinha as an efficient administrator who had served people with commitment. He prayed for the peace to the departed soul and conveyed his sympathy to the bereaved family.
Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti has condoled the demise of former Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Lt Gen (R) SK Sinha. In her condolence message, the Chief Minister said Lt Gen Sinha laid strong imprints of his personality in the State during his stint as Governor. She said his keen interest in the development of the State would be long remembered. Chief Minister prayed for peace to the departed soul and conveyed her sympathies with the bereaved family.
Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Nirmal Singh has expressed grief over the demise of Lt Gen SK Sinha. In a message of condolence, the Deputy Chief Minister described Lt Gen Sinha as an efficient administrator who had served the country with utmost dedication and commitment, also Jammu and Kashmir as a Governor. His tenure will always be remembered, he added.
Senior congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad has expressed his heartfelt condolences on the sad demise of former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Lieutenant General (Retd) Srinivas Kumar Sinha. “He will be remembered for a long time for his meritorious services. I pray for the departed soul and also express my sympathies with the bereaved family”, said Azad.
Former Chief Minister and President National Conference Dr Farooq Abdullah and Working President Omar Abdullah condoled his death. Former J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah wrote on twitter, “Very sorry to hear of the demise of Lt Gen Sinha, former Governor of J&K. May his soul rest in peace. My condolences to his family”. “I spent many an hour listening to his 1st hand account of events in J&K starting as far back as 1947. His recall of details was astounding”, he added.
Lt Gen Surinder Singh, Army Commander, Western Command expressed deepest condolences on behalf of all ranks on the sad demise of the former Western Army Commander. He described him as a General with extraordinary leadership qualities and one of the finest military mind in the country.
Advisor to Chief Minister, Prof Amitabh Mattoo expressed profound grief and shock over the demise of former Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Lt Gen (retd) SK Sinha. In a condolence message, the Advisor conveyed sympathies to the bereaved family and prayed for eternal peace to the departed soul. Paying homage to late Sinha, the Advisor described him as a great personality whose principles and vision will continue to inspire generations.
Provincial President, National Conference (NC), Devender Singh Rana expressed grief over the passing away of Lt General Sinha and conveyed condolences to the bereaved family. He prayed for peace to the departed soul.
Expressing deep sorrow and grief, JKPCC Chief GA Mir recalled the services of Lt Gen SK Sinha to the nation and termed him as a man of courage and honesty. Mir extolled the services rendered by Sinha as Governor of J&K. PCC Chief described his demise as a great loss to the nation. He offered condolences to bereaved family and sympathized with them. Mir also prayed for peace to departed soul.
Several senior leaders of JKPCC namely Sham Lal Sharma, Madan Lal Sharma, Tara Chand, Raman Bhalla, Mula Ram, GM Saroori, Kanta Bhan, Ravinder Sharma, Rajnish Sharma, Balwan Singh, Yogesh Sawhney, Dr Manohar Lal Sharma, Manjit Singh, Shabir Ahmed Khan, Vikram Malhotra, Choudhary Manmohan Singh, Shah Mohammad Choudhary, Namrata Sharma, Shah Nawaz Choudhary, Faqir Nath, Indu Pawar, GL Chalotra, Shiv Dev Singh, Prakash Sharma and Balbir Singh have condoled the sad demise of Lt Gen (retd) SK Sinha. In their condolence message, PCC leaders said that Lt Gen Sinha was a courageous army officer and able administrator. His death has caused great loss to the nation, they said and conveyed their heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family and prayed for eternal peace to the departed soul.
Senior BJP leader and MLC Ashok Khajuria has deeply condoled the demise of S K Sinha and said that India has lost a gem, who served the country and Jammu Kashmir. Mr Khajuria said that Jammu would never forget contribution of Gen Sinha to J&K as the State Governor and he will remain alive in hearts and memory of the people here.
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