Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Nathu Singh Rathore was an Indian Army officer from Gumanpura,

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

Early years

Singh was born in 1900, although official records say he was born on 10 May 1902 at Gumanpura in the princely state of

Dungarpur Dungarpur is a city in the southernmost part of Rajasthan, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Dungarpur District. It is the fastest developing town in the southern part of Rajasthan, alongside Aspur ''tehsil''. History Dungarpu ...

. He was the only son of Thakur Hamir Singhji of Gumanpura. He was a descendant of

Jaimal Rathore Jaimal Mertiya (1507–1568) was the ruler of Merta. He was cousin of the Hindu saint Mirabai and became the ruler of Merta after the death of his father, Rao Veeram Dev. His father was perceived as the strongest king of the east in his time. ...

who fought for Mewar against Akbar. Singh lost his parents at a young age and was then taken under the wing of Maharawal Vijay Singh of Dungarpur. Singh was educated at

Mayo College Mayo College (informally Mayo) is a boys-only independent boarding school in Ajmer, Rajasthan, India. It was founded in 1875 by Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo, who was the Viceroy of India from 1869 to 1872. This makes it one of the oldest pu ...

and was nicknamed Baghi (Rebel) by his peers. He was later sent to the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infant ...

in England to be trained as an officer to serve in the Mewar Army, on the request of Rajmata of Dungarpur.

Career

Singh was the second Indian officer to graduate from the

Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town ...

after General

Rajendrasinhji Jadeja General Maharaj Shri Rajendrasinhji Jadeja (15 June 1899 – 1 January 1964), also known as K.S. Rajendrasinhji, was the first Chief of Army Staff of the Indian army, and the second Indian, after Field Marshal K. M. Cariappa, to become Comman ...

who went on to become a three-star general. After serving in the Mewar Army, he was commissioned in the 1/7

Rajput Regiment The Rajput Regiment is one of the oldest infantry regiments of the Indian Army, tracing its origins back to 1778 with the raising of the 24th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry. The 1st battalion of the regiment was formed in 1798. After World ...

in 1925. He served at various places including Afghanistan and the

Deccan The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by the ...

. At Staff College Camberley, he scored a still-record 935 out of 1000 in Strategy. He served as a Division Commander in Burma during World War II. He climbed the military hierarchy and in 1947 was offered the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Indian army to replace the retiring General Roy Bucher by Sardar

Baldev Singh Baldev Singh ( pa, ਬਲਦੇਵ ਸਿੰਘ, hi, बलदेव सिंह) (11 July 1902 – 29 June 1961) was an Indian Sikh political leader, he was an Indian independence movement leader and the first Defence Minister of India. Mor ...

, the defence minister at the time. He declined, stating that General K. M. Cariappa was senior to him and more eligible for the post. He was instead appointed first as the Inspector-General of Training and Evaluation, and then in 1951 as the commander of the Eastern Army, a post he held till 1954.Rajendra Nath, Military leadership in India:Vedic period to Indo-Pak wars, page 15 The British Occupation of the Nicobar Islands, 1945 SE5438

The British Occupation of the Nicobar Islands, 1945 SE5438

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rathore, Nathu Singh Indian generals 1900 births Rajasthani people Year of death missing Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst People from Dungarpur