Srinivas Kumar Sinha - Revision history

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	[[Lieutenant General]] '''Srinivas Kumar Sinha''', [[Param Vishisht Seva Medal\|PVSM]], [[Aide-de-camp\|ADC]] (January 7, 1926 – November 17, 2016) was an [[Indian Army]] General who served as the [[Vice Chief of the Army Staff (India)\|Vice Chief of Army Staff]]. After his retirement, he served as [[Governors of states of India\|Governor]] of the states of [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)\|Jammu and Kashmir]], and [[Assam]].<ref>{{cite news \|title=Former J&K; Governor Lt Gen Srinivas Kumar Sinha Passes Away \|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2016/11/17/former-jandk-governor-lt-gen-srinivas-kumar-sinha-passes-away/ \|date=17 Nov 2016 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118140142/http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2016/11/17/former-jandk-governor-lt-gen-srinivas-kumar-sinha-passes-away/ \|archive-date=18 Nov ~~2022~~}}</ref>		[[Lieutenant General]] '''Srinivas Kumar Sinha''', [[Param Vishisht Seva Medal\|PVSM]], [[Aide-de-camp\|ADC]] (January 7, 1926 – November 17, 2016) was an [[Indian Army]] General who served as the [[Vice Chief of the Army Staff (India)\|Vice Chief of Army Staff]]. After his retirement, he served as [[Governors of states of India\|Governor]] of the states of [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)\|Jammu and Kashmir]], and [[Assam]].<ref>{{cite news \|title=Former J&K; Governor Lt Gen Srinivas Kumar Sinha Passes Away \|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2016/11/17/former-jandk-governor-lt-gen-srinivas-kumar-sinha-passes-away/ \|date=17 Nov 2016 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118140142/http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2016/11/17/former-jandk-governor-lt-gen-srinivas-kumar-sinha-passes-away/ \|archive-date=18 Nov 2016}}</ref>

	==Early life==		==Early life==
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	On 1 August 1978, Sinha was promoted to lieutenant-general. In July 1983, [[Eastern Command (India)\|Eastern Army Commander]] [[Arun Shridhar Vaidya\|A S Vaidya]] was appointed the [[Chief of the Army Staff (India)\|Chief of Army Staff]], despite Sinha's seniority. Following this, Sinha sought premature retirement from the Army in 1983.<ref name="lt_gen">{{cite news \|date=2 June 1979 \|title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) \|page=501 \|publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book \| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y7AhAQAAIAAJ \|title = The Indian Army: Its Contribution to the Development of a Nation\|isbn = 9780195653168\|last1 = Cohen\|first1 = Stephen P.\|year = 2001}}</ref>		On 1 August 1978, Sinha was promoted to lieutenant-general. In July 1983, [[Eastern Command (India)\|Eastern Army Commander]] [[Arun Shridhar Vaidya\|A S Vaidya]] was appointed the [[Chief of the Army Staff (India)\|Chief of Army Staff]], despite Sinha's seniority. Following this, Sinha sought premature retirement from the Army in 1983.<ref name="lt_gen">{{cite news \|date=2 June 1979 \|title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) \|page=501 \|publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book \| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y7AhAQAAIAAJ \|title = The Indian Army: Its Contribution to the Development of a Nation\|isbn = 9780195653168\|last1 = Cohen\|first1 = Stephen P.\|year = 2001}}</ref>

	Vaidya was in charge when [[Operation Blue Star]] (the June 1984 storming of the Golden Temple) took place. Sinha remained in national focus after quitting the Army through his lectures on academic subjects in universities and articles in national newspapers.<ref name="Rao">{{cite news \|title=Where did General S.K. Sinha go wrong? \|author=I. Ramamohan Rao \|url=http://newsagency.thecheers.org/South-Asia/news_29364_Where-did-General-SK-Sinha-go-wrongArticle.html \|newspaper=Cheers Magazine \|date=27 June 2008 \|access-date=9 July ~~2022~~}}</ref>		Vaidya was in charge when [[Operation Blue Star]] (the June 1984 storming of the Golden Temple) took place. Sinha remained in national focus after quitting the Army through his lectures on academic subjects in universities and articles in national newspapers.<ref name="Rao">{{cite news \|title=Where did General S.K. Sinha go wrong? \|author=I. Ramamohan Rao \|url=http://newsagency.thecheers.org/South-Asia/news_29364_Where-did-General-SK-Sinha-go-wrongArticle.html \|newspaper=Cheers Magazine \|date=27 June 2008 \|access-date=9 July 2011}}</ref>

	== Later career ==		== Later career ==

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{{Short description|Indian military officer (1926–2016)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}

{{Use British English|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = [[Lieutenant General]]
| name = S K Sinha
| honorific_suffix = [[Param Vishisht Seva Medal|PVSM]], [[Aide-de-camp|ADC]]
| width =
| office3 = [[Vice Chief of the Army Staff (India)]]
| term_start3 = 1 January 1983
| term_end3 = 1 June 1983
| predecessor3 = [[Adi M. Sethna|A M Sethna]]
| successor3 = G S Rawat
| office2 = 19th [[Governor of Assam]]
| 1blankname2 = Chief Minister
| 1namedata2 = [[Prafulla Kumar Mahanta]] [[Tarun Gogoi]]
| term_start2 = 1 September 1997
| term_end2 = 21 April 2003
| president2 =
| predecessor2 = [[Lokanath Misra]]
| successor2 = [[Arvind Dave]]
| office1 = 8th [[Governor of Jammu and Kashmir]]
| 1blankname1 = Chief Minister
| 1namedata1 = [[Mufti Mohammad Sayeed]] [[Ghulam Nabi Azad]]
| term_start1 = 4 June 2003
| term_end1 = 25 June 2008
| president1 =
| predecessor1 = [[Girish Chandra Saxena]]
| successor1 = [[Narinder Nath Vohra]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1926|1|07}}
| birth_place = [[Patna]], [[Bihar]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2016|11|17|1926|1|07}}
| allegiance = {{flag|British India}} {{flag|India}}
| branch = {{army|British India}} {{army|India}}
| serviceyears = 1944 – 1983
| rank = [[File:Lieutenant_General_of_the_Indian_Army.svg|20px]] [[Lieutenant General]]
| military_blank1 = [[Service number]]
| military_data1 = IC-1536<ref name="The Gazette of India">{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=178 |date=11 March 1967 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref>
| unit = [[6/9 Jat Regiment]]
| commands = [[File:IA_Western_Command.svg|20px]] [[Western Command (India)|Western Army]] [[I Corps (India)|I Corps]] [[10th Indian Infantry Division|10 Infantry Division]] 23 Mountain Division 71 Mountain Brigade [[5 Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force)|3/5 Gorkha Rifles]]
| battles = [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]]
| military_blank2 = Awards
| military_data2 = [[File:Param_Vishisht_Seva_Medal_ribbon.svg|25px]] [[Param Vishisht Seva Medal]]
| spouse =
| children = [[Mrinalini Sinha]] [[Manisha Sinha]] [[Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha]]
}}

[[Lieutenant General]] '''Srinivas Kumar Sinha''', [[Param Vishisht Seva Medal|PVSM]], [[Aide-de-camp|ADC]] (January 7, 1926 – November 17, 2016) was an [[Indian Army]] General who served as the [[Vice Chief of the Army Staff (India)|Vice Chief of Army Staff]]. After his retirement, he served as [[Governors of states of India|Governor]] of the states of [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]], and [[Assam]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Former J&K; Governor Lt Gen Srinivas Kumar Sinha Passes Away |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2016/11/17/former-jandk-governor-lt-gen-srinivas-kumar-sinha-passes-away/ |date=17 Nov 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118140142/http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2016/11/17/former-jandk-governor-lt-gen-srinivas-kumar-sinha-passes-away/ |archive-date=18 Nov 2022}}</ref>

==Early life==

Srinivas Kumar Sinha was born on 7 January 1926 in Patna, [[Bihar]]. He was the son of Mithilesh Kumar Sinha, [[Indian Imperial Police|IP]], [[Inspector-general of police]] of the state of [[Bihar]] and the grandson of the first Indian Inspector General of India in the [[British Raj]], Alakh Kumar Sinha.<ref>{{cite web |title=Archived copy |url=http://www.aryasamaj.org/newsite/node/1497M |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141230014207/http://www.aryasamaj.org/newsite/node/1497M |archive-date=30 December 2014 |access-date=2012-11-14}}</ref> He graduated with Honours from [[Patna University]] in 1943 at the age of 17 and joined the [[Indian Army]] soon thereafter. He was recognised as the Best Cadet of the Officers' Training School, Belgium, the war-time equivalent of the Sword of Honour. He was commissioned into [[Jat Regiment]] and after India gained independence, moved to the 5th Gorkha Rifles.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lt Gen SK Sinha – Brown Pundits|url=https://www.brownpundits.com/2016/12/01/lt-gen-sk-sinha/|access-date=2021-02-10|website=www.brownpundits.com}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Roychowdhury|first=Shankar|author-link=General Shankar Roychowdhury|date=2016-11-19|title=Tribute: The 'thinking man's soldier'|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/opinion/op-ed/191116/tribute-the-thinking-mans-soldier.html|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-03|website=Deccan Chronicle|language=en}}</ref> He was involved in combat during the Second World War in [[Burma]] and [[Indonesia]] and, after India became independent, in [[Kashmir]]. He served two tenures in [[Nagaland]] and [[Manipur]], where he participated in counter-insurgency operations.

His son [[Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha]] ,a former diplomat, is serving as present Chief Information Commissioner.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Roy|first=Amit|date=2 December 2018|title=Slice of Patna in Sinha saga|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/bihar/slice-of-patna-in-sinha-saga/cid/1677327|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-03|website=Telegraph India}}</ref>

== Military career ==

Gen Sinha was promoted to captain on 10 September 1951.<ref>{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=156 |date=11 July 1953 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref> In 1953, Sinha secured the top position at the [[Defence Services Staff College]] in India and in 1962 again, at the [[Joint Services Staff College (UK)|Joint Services Staff College]] in the [[United Kingdom]]. He held all levels of active command in the Army from a platoon to a field army. He was promoted lieutenant-colonel on 9 June 1965.<ref name="The Gazette of India"/> He commanded a [[battalion]] in [[Ladakh]], a brigade in [[Manipur]], a mountain division in [[Assam]], an infantry division in [[Jammu]], a corps in [[Punjab]], and the [[Western Command (India)|Western Army]]. He served as [[Directorate of Military Intelligence (India)|Director, Military Intelligence]], [[Adjutant-General (India)|Adjutant General]], and [[Vice Chief of the Army Staff (India)|Vice Chief of Army Staff]] at Army Headquarters. He also served as an instructor at [[Mhow]] and [[Staff College, Wellington]]. During his army career, he was associated with Jammu and Kashmir from 27 October 1947. He was involved as a junior staff officer in organizing the massive airlift from Delhi to [[Srinagar]] in October 1947. In 1949, he was appointed Secretary of the Indian delegation on the delineation of the Cease Fire Line in Kashmir at a meeting convened by the [[United Nations]]. He led the Indian delegation to [[Italy]] in 1972 for a conference on the application of human rights to warfare. He was awarded the [[Param Vishisht Seva Medal]] in 1973 and was promoted to major-general on 28 December.<ref name="maj_gen">{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=528 |date=4 May 1974 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref> He was made Honorary [[Aide-de-camp|ADC]] to the [[President of India]]. He also served as the President of the [[Brigade of Gurkhas|Gorkha Brigade]].

On 1 August 1978, Sinha was promoted to lieutenant-general. In July 1983, [[Eastern Command (India)|Eastern Army Commander]] [[Arun Shridhar Vaidya|A S Vaidya]] was appointed the [[Chief of the Army Staff (India)|Chief of Army Staff]], despite Sinha's seniority. Following this, Sinha sought premature retirement from the Army in 1983.<ref name="lt_gen">{{cite news |date=2 June 1979 |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=501 |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y7AhAQAAIAAJ |title = The Indian Army: Its Contribution to the Development of a Nation|isbn = 9780195653168|last1 = Cohen|first1 = Stephen P.|year = 2001}}</ref>

Vaidya was in charge when [[Operation Blue Star]] (the June 1984 storming of the Golden Temple) took place. Sinha remained in national focus after quitting the Army through his lectures on academic subjects in universities and articles in national newspapers.<ref name="Rao">{{cite news |title=Where did General S.K. Sinha go wrong? |author=I. Ramamohan Rao |url=http://newsagency.thecheers.org/South-Asia/news_29364_Where-did-General-SK-Sinha-go-wrongArticle.html |newspaper=Cheers Magazine |date=27 June 2008 |access-date=9 July 2022}}</ref>

== Later career ==

=== Ambassador to Nepal ===

In 1990, Sinha was appointed India's ambassador to [[Nepal]] when autocratic rule prevailed in that country and bilateral relations with India had hit their lowest in the wake of the trade and transit impasse of 1989. During his tenure in Nepal, India-Nepal relations improved. The Prime Minister of India stated that Sinha had played a major role in this development. The Prime Minister of Nepal wrote, "General Sinha was as much India's Ambassador to Nepal as Nepal's Ambassador to India".<ref name="Rao"/>

=== Governor of Assam ===
In 1997, Gen. Sinha was appointed [[Governor of Assam]] at a time insurgency was at its peak. He crafted a three-prong strategy of unified command, economic development, and psychological initiatives. Heavy attrition was inflicted on the militants through coordinated and intensified military operations. He was invested in installing 100,000 shallow [[tube well]]s in [[Brahmaputra valley]] turning Assam from a rice deficit state to a rice surplus state.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Business News: 'SKY' is not the limit for Assam's strife-hit economy|url=https://m.rediff.com/money/2000/may/12assam.htm|access-date=2021-02-10|website=m.rediff.com}}</ref> His psychological initiatives had a large emotional impact.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sinha adopts Punjab model |url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1020902/asp/northeast/story_1159288.asp |date=September 2, 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150531185208/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1020902/asp/northeast/story_1159288.asp |archive-date=31 May 2015|website=www.telegraphindia.com}}</ref>

===Governor of Jammu and Kashmir===
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2021}}
On 4 June 2003, General Sinha became the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. In 2003, when he took over as Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, on average, ten people were killed every day and the annual arrival of tourists was a mere 28,000. Improved security brought down the daily rate of killing from ten to one. With an improved security situation, tourist arrivals increased from 28,000 a year to 600,000 by 2008, when he relinquished the appointment of Governor. The state also started installing 1000 [[micro hydro]] projects on the mountains.

He encouraged civic action with efforts to revive Kashmir's liberal Islamic traditions. He inaugurated seminars and conferences on Kashmiriyat at Srinagar, with scholars from Pakistan and several Central Asian states.

His term as governor to Kashmir ended on 25 June 2008.

==Books==
Sinha has written for national newspapers, and is the author of nine books including one on the Jammu and Kashmir Operation of 1947–48 (''Operation Rescue'')<ref name=":0"/> and his autobiography, ''A Soldier Recalls''.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Chibber|first=M. L.|author-link=Manohar Lal Chibber|date=30 November 1992|title=Book review: A Soldier Recalls by Lt-Gen S.K. Sinha|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-the-arts/books/story/19921130-book-review-a-soldier-recalls-by-lt-gen-s.k.-sinha-767185-2012-12-21|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-03|website=India Today|language=en}}</ref> His other books are of Matters Military, Pataliputra, Veer Kuer Singh, A Governor's Musings, Reminiscences and Reflections and Changing India, Guarding India's Integrity: A Pro-Active Governor Speaks. His last book ''Raj to Swaraj'' was finished just a few days before his death.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Singh|first=Sushant|date=2016-11-18|title=Lt Gen S K Sinha (1926-2016): The Lieutenant General who could not be Army chief|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/lieutenant-general-s-k-sinha-dead-governor-jk-assam-army-chief-indira-gandhi-4381197/|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-03|website=The Indian Express|language=en}}</ref>

==Death==
[[File:The Chief of Army Staff, General Dalbir Singh paying homage on the mortal remains of Lt. Gen. S.K. Sinha (Retired), in New Delhi on November 18, 2016.jpg|thumb|COAS General Dalbir Singh paying homage]]
He died on 17 November 2016 at the age of 90 years. He was survived by his wife Premini Sinha, his son [[Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha]] (former diplomat and presently [[Chief Information Commissioner of India|CIC of India]]) and three daughters, Meenakshi, [[Mrinalini Sinha|Mrinalini]], and [[Manisha Sinha|Manisha]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-01-24 |title=No, Kanye, That's Not How It Happened |url=https://today.uconn.edu/2019/01/no-kanye-thats-not-happened/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017075849/https://today.uconn.edu/2019/01/no-kanye-thats-not-happened/ |archive-date=17 October 2020 |access-date=2020-12-03 |website=UConn Today |quote=Sinha's father, Lt.-Gen. Srinivas Kumar Sinha of the Indian Army}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2016-11-18 |title=President of India condoles the passing away of Lt. Gen. S.K. Sinha |work=Business Standard India |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/government-press-release/president-of-india-condoles-the-passing-away-of-lt-gen-s-116111800315_1.html |access-date=2022-01-20}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=17 November 2016|title=J&K ex-Guv Lt Gen Sinha passes away|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/features/jk-ex-guv-lt-gen-sinha-passes-away-324425|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-20|website=Tribune India|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-11-17|others=PTI|title=PM condoles death of former J&K Governor Lt Gen SK Sinha|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/pm-condoles-death-of-former-jk-governor-lt-gen-sk-sinha-4380616/|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-20|website=The Indian Express|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2016-11-17|title=SK Sinha passes away|url=https://www.dailyexcelsior.com/sk-sinha-passes-away/|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-20|website=Daily Excelsior}}</ref>
{{Clear}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{S-start}}
{{S-mil}}
{{Succession box
| before= [[Adi M. Sethna|A M Sethna]]
| title=[[Vice Chief of the Army Staff (India)|Vice Chief of Army Staff]]
| years= January 1983 – June 1983
| after= G S Rawat
}}
{{Succession box
| before= [[K. V. Krishna Rao]]
| title= [[General officer commanding#Usage in the Indian Army|General Officer Commanding-in-Chief]] [[Western Command (India)|Western Command]]
| years= June 1981 - December 1982
| after= [[Krishnaswamy Sundarji]]
}}
{{S-gov}}
{{Succession box
| before=[[Lokanath Misra]]
| title=[[Governor of Assam]] | years=1997–2003
| after=[[Arvind Dave]]
}}
{{Succession box
| before= [[Mata Prasad]]
| title = [[List of Governors of Arunachal Pradesh|Governor of Arunachal Pradesh]]
| years = 17 MAY 1999 – 1 AUG 1999
| after = [[Arvind Dave]]
}}
{{Succession box
| before=[[Girish Chandra Saxena]]
| title=[[Governor of Jammu and Kashmir]] | years=2003–2008
| after=[[Narinder Nath Vohra]]
}}
{{end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinha, Srinivas Kumar}}
[[Category:1926 births]]
[[Category:2016 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian generals]]
[[Category:Governors of Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Governors of Arunachal Pradesh]]
[[Category:Governors of Assam]]
[[Category:People from Gaya, India]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of India to Nepal]]
[[Category:People from Patna]]
[[Category:British Indian Army officers]]
[[Category:Vice Chiefs of Army Staff (India)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal]]