Arun Singh (born 29 August 1944) is a former union minister of state for defence in the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

. He was minister in the government headed by

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to beco ...

. Born a ''Rajkumar'' in the princely family of Kapurthala, Singh was born in Srinagar, in what was then the salute state of Jammu and Kashmir. He is the elder son of Maharajkumar Karamjit Singh (1896-1967), the second son of Maharaja

Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala Maharajah Sir Jagatjit Singh Sahib Bahadur (24 November 1872 – 19 June 1949) was the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Kapurthala in the British Empire of India, from 1877 until his death, in 1949. He ascended to the throne of ...

. Educated at the Doon School and at

St. Stephen's College, Delhi St. Stephen's College is a constituent college of the University of Delhi, widely regarded as one of the oldest and most prestigious colleges for arts and sciences in India. It was established in 1881 by the Cambridge Mission to Delhi. The college ...

, Singh subsequently read for an MA at

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The college is located in the historic city-centre of Camb ...

. At Cambridge, he was a classmate of Rajiv Gandhi."The Return of Arun Singh"
Rediff on the Net. 10 July 1999. After completing his MA in 1971, Arun Singh joined The Metal Box Company and later Reckitt and Coleman. In 1984, he was elected as an MP from Uttar Pradesh, serving in the Rajya Sabha until 1988. Singh drew some negative attention for leaving the government before the arrival of the Bofors scandal. Singh left the government without explanation. Singh maintained that he had not received any money from the company."On the record: Arun Singh, former Minister of State of Defense"
''Indian Express'', 31 July 2006 At the time of

Kargil war The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referr ...

NDA NDA may stand for: Military * National Defence Academy (India), a military academy in India * National Defence Act, legislation for organizing and funding Canada's military * National Defense Academy of Japan, a military academy in Japan * Nig ...

defence minister Jaswant Singh brought him back as his advisor. According to Hindustan Times quoting an article published in Caravan's May 2014 Issue, Rajiv Gandhi, along with Arun Singh and Arun Nehru, was responsible for taking decision on " go ahead" for Operation Blue Star despite Indira Gandhi's consistence reluctance against Army entering the sacred shrine . The decision was taken with an eye on the Lok Sabha polls slatted to be held at the end of 1984.

References

https://web.archive.org/web/20140529103448/http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/chandigarh/eye-on-lok-sabha-polls-rajiv-led-trio-convinced-indira-says-report/article1-1223540.aspx 1944 births Living people The Doon School alumni St. Stephen's College, Delhi alumni Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge People from Kapurthala Punjabi people St. Xavier's Patna alumni Politicians from Patna 20th-century Indian politicians {{UttarPradesh-politician-stub