Indian Militarys Officers Tribute to Air Marshal Nur Khan

FROM THE OUTSTANDING PAF OFFICER AIR COMMODORE KAISER TUFAIL WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN PAF AIR CHIEF-BUT ALL WE HAVE IN PAKISTAN ARE WINDBAGS WHO ARE SPINELESS BUT CRAFTY

I am passing this exchange of posts between Commander Bhattacharya, Secretary Royal Indian Military Academy, Dhera Dhun and General V N Sharma, ex Indian Army Chief. It is a rare tribute and classic example of how the man had earned the respect of his colleagues of pre partition days.    ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: <gen_vnsharma@yahoo.co.in> Date: Fri, Dec 16, 2011 at 8:03 PM Subject: Re: AIR MARSHAL NUR KHAN PASSES AWAY To: Commander Bhattacharya <armanida@airtelmail.in> Dear Bhatta, This is indeed very sad news. Nur was a fine friend, warm hearted, loving and generous. A great Rimcollian with boundless high spirit, adventurous, physically very fit and full of joyous action.  He lived life to the hilt, further built a spirited and efficient Air Force and provided an unbeaten example of supreme leadership to all of us across the India-Pakistan divide. He has lived a fabulous life and built deep friendships on both sides of the border. Partings are very sad but we celebrate a great life, well lived. Do convey our deep, heartfelt condolences to his family. We grieve with them and offer our full support, our love and affection. With Regards VN  Sent on my BlackBerry® from Vodafone From: Commander Bhattacharya <armanida@airtelmail.in>  Date: Fri, 16 Dec 2011 19:21:58 +0530 To: <gen_vnsharma@yahoo.co.in> Cc: RIMC College Site<rimcollege@yahoo.com>; robaoffice<robaoffice@gmail.com>; hnhanda<hnhanda@yahoo.com>; ramaswamy<rama.sangye@gmail.com>; Chinu Mahanti<chinu.mahanti@gmail.com> Subject: AIR MARSHAL NUR KHAN PASSES AWAY My dear General Sharma sir,  Trust with Almighty's grace all is well.  With a heavy heart I convey sad tidings. Brig Mokhtar Karim called at around 4.30 this afternoon and conveyed the passing away of Air Marshal Nur Khan yesterday. I am appending below a piece written about such an illustrious and iconic Rimcoliian. It has also been sent to Pakistan on behalf of all Rimcollians from India. With best wishes and high regards  God bless Sincerely BhattaIt is with great sorrow to convey the passing away of a Rimcollian icon Air Marshal Malik Nur Khan on December 15 at CMH, Rawalpindi. He was buried in his native village Tamman, District Attock, Pakistan, where he was born on February 22, 1923 . He joined the Royal Indian Military College (RIMC), Dehra Dun in 1934, and during the World War II enlisted in the Indian Air Force Volunteer Reserve (IAFVR) and was commissioned as a fighter pilot in the Royal Indian Air Force on January, 6 1941. After independence and partition it was the Royal Pakistan Air Force for him along with many other Rimcollians of his vintage similarly placed who joined the Army. After a brilliant career Nur Khan rose to become the Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Air Force and was also the Governor of West Pakistan now Pakistan. He flew all types of fighter aircraft in PAF, including Tiger Moths, Hawker Harts and Audax biplanes, Vultee Vengeance, Harvards, Hurricanes, Lockheed T-33, F-86s, F-104 Starfighters, B -57s, MiG-19s and Mirages. Nur Khan was highly decorated; among his decorations are Hilal-e-Jurat, Sitara-i-Pakistan and Sitara-i-Quaid-i-Azam. He was also awarded the Order of Istiqlal (II Class) by the King of Jordan, and decorated as Commander of the National Order of the Cedars by the President of Lebanon and Grand Officer in the order of Range Nassau with Swords by the Dutch Government. May Almighty with His boundless grace and grant eternal peace to the departed soul and strength to family members to bear this great loss.   http://www.scribd.com/doc/61839666/Indo-Pak-Wars-A-Pictorial-History http://www.scribd.com/doc/21686885/TALIBAN-WAR-IN-PAKISTAN-AFGHANISTAN-A-WRITERS-PERCEPTIONS-FROM-2001-TO-2011 http://www.scribd.com/doc/22457862/Military-Decision-making-and-leadership http://www.scribd.com/doc/22151765/History-of-Pakistan-Army-from-1757-to-1971-PRINTING-ENABLED-Do-acknowledge-to-the-author http://www.scribd.com/doc/22455178/Letters-to-Command-and-Staff-College-Quetta-Citadel-Journal http://www.scribd.com/doc/23150027/Pakistan-Army-through-eyes-of-Pakistani-Generals http://www.scribd.com/doc/23701412/War-of-Independence-of-1857 http://www.scribd.com/doc/22107238/HISTORY http://www.scribd.com/doc/21693873/Indo-Pak-Wars-1947-71-A-STRATEGIC-AND-OPERATIONAL-ANALYSIS-BY-A-H-AMIN-THIS-BOOK-CAN-BE-PRINTED-FROM-THIS-SITE