Pushpinder Singh Chopra (30 September 1943 – 3 May 2021) was an Indian military historian and the author of several books, chiefly on military aviation history of India. He is known as the chronicler of Indian aviation.

Biography

Early life and family

Singh was educated at

The Doon School The Doon School (informally Doon School or Doon) is a selective all-boys boarding school in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India, which was established in 1935. It was envisioned by Satish Ranjan Das, a lawyer from Calcutta, who prevised a school mod ...

Dehra Dun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislativ ...

to a military background. His father was Major General Mohinder Singh Chopra, a famed soldier in the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

, although his family had to shift from

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

- leaving their ancestral lands behind. He had graduated from Government College,

Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which a ...

. He worked with Gillanders Arbuthnot & Co Ltd in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

, and later with Rallis, where he quickly made a name for himself in marketing.

Aeronautical career

He wrote extensively about the history of the Indian Air Force, from its inception in 1933 till present day. He was the founder editor of ''Vayu Aerospace and Defence Review'', a bi-monthly aviation and defence magazine based in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

, and the Society of Aerospace Studies. He started with debunking conspiracies by the

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

during the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War where he interviewed pilots. His article, ‘Laying the

Sargodha Sargodha (Punjabi and ur, ) is a city and capital of Sargodha Division, located in Punjab province, Pakistan. It is Pakistan's 12th largest city by population and one of the fastest-growing cities of the country. Sargodha is also known as t ...

Ghost to Rest’, in Vayu Aerospace Review in November 1985 was a trailblazer amongst others, which led to debunking the myth of Pakistan Air Force’s claim of shooting down five Indian Air Force Hunters on September 7, 1965. His ‘Aircraft of the Indian Air Force 1933-73’ became standard reference book on the Indian Air Force and was followed by an account of the Service on its Golden and then Diamond Jubilees. The definitive three-volume History of the Indian Air Force ‘Himalayan Eagles’ was officially released at the IAF’s Platinum Jubilee in 2007. He was also responsible for the immense respect and recognition that

Arjan Singh Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh, DFC (15 April 1919 – 16 September 2017) was a senior air officer of the Indian Air Force. He served as the 3rd Chief of the Air Staff from 1964 to 1969, leading the Air Force through the Indo- ...

received before he became an Air Marshal in the

. He was the Founder-Editor of the Vayu Aerospace and Defence Review and was Indian editor for the Air International, World Air Power Journal, Asian Defence Journal, Jane’s Defence Weekly and Aviation Week & Space Technology. He also headed Daimler Benz Aerospace in India. During an earlier Farnborough Air Show, he was given a special award for his breaking news story on the Indian LCA programme from the Royal Aeronautical Society of the UK. In 2015, at the Aerospace Media Awards held at the Paris Air Show, he was awarded ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ for Outstanding Contribution to Aviation Journalism’. One of his largest breakthroughs was the launching of the

Dornier 228 The Dornier 228 is a twin-turboprop STOL utility aircraft, designed and first manufactured by Dornier GmbH (later DASA Dornier, Fairchild-Dornier) from 1981 until 1998. Two hundred and forty-five were built in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. In 19 ...

, he was a representative of Dornier in India at the time, which has been one of India's greatest aeronautical accomplishments.

Socio-religious career

Pushpinder founded ‘Nishaan Nagaara’, a non-political journal, to highlight Sikh issues, culture, history and heritage in April 1999. The inaugural issue was released by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He was made the President of the Sikh Forum, and protested for justice for the

1984 Anti-Sikh Riots The 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots, also known as the 1984 Sikh Massacre, was a series of organised pogroms against Sikhs in India following the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. Government estimates project that about 2,800 Sikhs ...

, a resolution seeking declaration of the violence as “Sikh Genocide Day” was also passed by him along with other leaders.

Death

Singh passed away due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

in Gurgaon in 2021.

Publications

Books

*A Guide to Air Power in Asia and the Pacific (1971) *Aircraft of the Indian Air Force, 1933-73 (1974) *A Directory of Combat Aircraft in Asia (1980) *The Indian Air Force and its Aircraft (1982) *Touching the Sky: the Indian Air Force Today (1991) *Fiz’aya: Psyche of the Pakistan Air Force (1991) *The Battle Axes (1993) *1947: A Soldier’s Story (1997) *Diamonds in the Sky (2000) *Portrait of Courage: Century of the 5th Battalion, The Sikh Regiment (2001) *History of Aviation of India: Spanning the Century of Flight (2003) *Fly Navy (2006) *Himalayan Eagles: History of the Indian Air Force (2007) *Consolidation and Expansion (2007) *World Air Power (2007) *Foundations (2007) *The Black Archers: Illustrated History of No. 47 Squadron Indian Air Force (2009) *Dragon Fire, Illustrated History of No. 6 Squadron Indian Air Force (2012) *The First Supersonics, No. 28 Squadron, IAF (2013) *Neuve Chapelle: The Jullundur Brigade in France & Flanders, 1914-1915 (2014) *Fly Navy Fly (2022)

Magazines

* Vayu Aerospace and Defence Review (1973-Present) * Nishaan Nagaara Magazine (1999-Present)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh Chopra, Pushpinder 1943 births Living people People from Punjab, India 20th-century Indian historians Indian male journalists Indian military writers Writers from Delhi 21st-century Indian historians The Doon School alumni