Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer originating from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. An air chief marshal is equivalent to an Admir ...

Om Prakash Mehra,

PVSM Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (IAST: ) is a military award of India. It was constituted in 1960 and since then it is awarded in recognition to peace-time service of the most exceptional order and may be awarded posthumously. All ranks of the ...

(19 January 1919 – 8 November 2015) was a former air officer in the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

. He served as the Chief of the Air Staff from 1973 to 1976. He received

Param Vishisht Seva Medal Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (IAST: ) is a military award of India. It was constituted in 1960 and since then it is awarded in recognition to peace-time service of the most exceptional order and may be awarded posthumously. All ranks of the ...

(PVSM), the highest military award for peace-time service, in 1968. He was awarded

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service" ...

, India's second highest civilian honour, in 1977. He later became

Governor of Maharashtra The governor of Maharashtra is the ceremonial head of the state of Maharashtra. The Constitution of India confers the executive powers of the state to the governor, however the de facto executive powers lie with the Council of Ministers. Bhagat ...

from 1980 to 1982, and

Governor of Rajasthan A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

from 1985 to 1987. He married Satya Mehra and has four children with her Sunil, Parveen, Rahul, and Amitava and numerous grand children.

Early life

Mehra was born on 19 January 1919 at

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

. His basic education was at the Sacred Heart Convent. He finished school at the Central Model School in 1933 and joined

Government College University, Lahore The Government College University, Lahore (colloquially known as GCU), is a public research university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Opened as Government College, Lahore, in 1864, it became a university in 2002. Overview In 1864, Gov ...

and completed a master's degree in History from the Punjab University in 1940.

Career

After a short spell of flying at the Northern India Flying Club,

, he was selected for the Indian Air Force and joined the services as a

Pilot Officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...

on 30 November 1940. On completion of his training, he was posted to No.1 Squadron in August 1941. In March 1946 Mehra was selected to serve as the

Indian Air force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

representative at the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Australia, an organization set up to provide administrative and logistics support to the

British Commonwealth Occupation Force The British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) was the British Commonwealth taskforce consisting of Australian, British, Indian and New Zealand military forces in occupied Japan, from 1946 until the end of occupation in 1952. At its peak, t ...

s located in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. In view of the nationalization of the armed forces, he was recalled and posted in February 1947 as the Chief Ground Instructor at the No.1 Advanced Flying School

Ambala Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala has two sub-are ...

, to replace the RAF officer who was returning home.

Post-Independence

In August 1947, he was promoted to the rank of Wing Commander and posted as Commandant of the Elementary Flying Training School at

Jodhpur Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the Ki ...

. On promotion to the rank of

Air Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes u ...

in August 1963, he took over as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Maintenance Command, in which capacity he served during the 1965 War. On 26 January 1968, he was awarded the

, and promoted to Air Marshal in March 1968. Soon thereafter he was posted as Deputy Chief of Air Staff, Air Headquarters. In early 1971, he was deputed as Chairman of

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is an Indian state-owned aerospace and defence (military), defence company, headquartered in Bangalore, India. Established on 23 December 1940, HAL is one of the oldest and largest aerospace and defence manuf ...

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

. On 15 January 1973, he returned to Air Headquarters, designated as the new Chief of Air Staff, succeeding Air Chief Marshal PC Lal. Mehra relinquished the post to Air Chief Marshal

Hrushikesh Moolgavkar Air Chief Marshal Hrushikesh Moolgavkar, PVSM, MVC (15 August 1920 – 9 April 2015) was a former Air officer in the Indian Air Force. He served as the 9th Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force from 1 February 1976 till 31 Augu ...

on 31 January 1976, on completion of his tenure.

Post-Air force career

After his retirement, he represented India at a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

meeting in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

as deputy leader of India's team. He was the recipient of

in January 1977. He went on to serve as the Governor of Maharashtra from 3 November 1980 to 5 March 1982. This was followed by his posting as Governor of Rajasthan from 6 March 1982 to 4 November 1985. Air Chief Marshal Mehra was elected President of the

Indian Olympic Association The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) or Indian Olympic Committee (IOC) is the body responsible for selecting athletes to represent India at the Olympic Games, Asian Games and other international athletic meets and for managing the Indian teams ...

in 1975, and was responsible for the hosting by India of the 1982 Asian Games. From 1978 to 1980 he was President of the Asian Games Federation, currently known as the

Olympic Council of Asia The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is a governing body of sports in Asia, currently with 45 member National Olympic Committees. The current Acting President is Raja Randhir Singh, substituting Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah. The headquarter ...

, and continued to be the Honorary Life President of the

. He was an honorary life member of the Durand Football Tournament Society, which organizes the

Durand Cup The Durand Football Tournament, commonly known as Durand Cup, is an annual domestic football competition in India which was first held in 1888 in Shimla. Hosted by the Durand Football Tournament Society (DFTS) and All India Football Federation ...

. In January, 2010, his autobiography, ''Memories: Sweet and Sour'', was released by M. Hamid Ansari, Vice President of India in New Delhi. He was Chairman, Board of Advisors of Centre for Air Power Studies. In 2012, he was living in Delhi, and was the oldest living student of

Panjab University, Chandigarh Panjab University (PU) is a collegiate public state university located in Chandigarh, Punjab. Funded through both State and Union governments, it is considered a state university. It traces its origins to the University of the Punjab in Laho ...

. He died on 8 November 2015 at the age of 96.

Works

* ''Memories Sweet And Sour'' by Air Chief Marshal OP Mehra. KW Publisher, 2010. .

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mehra, Om Prakash Chiefs of Air Staff (India) 1919 births 2015 deaths Military personnel from Lahore Military personnel from Punjab, India Government College University, Lahore alumni University of the Punjab alumni Governors of Maharashtra Governors of Rajasthan Indian Air Force air marshals Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in civil service Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal Indian Air Force officers Indian sports executives and administrators