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Air Commodore of the Indian Air Force Kariyadil Cheriyan Kuruvilla, is a retired senior Indian Air Force Air Officer who served at various strategic military and defense bases in key positions. He served as the xxx from 19xx to 19xx. For his distinguished service in serving the IAF during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he was awarded the Vir Chakra. With 3 ejections from the Sukhoi-7, became the only known fighter pilot to be certified medically fit to continue flying fighter aircraft. He was promoted to Air Commodore (India).

After retiring from the Indian Air Force in 2001, he worked in the private sector as a consultant for 5 years. He now enjoys his retired life with his wife Grace Kuruvilla living in Bangalore, India.

Early and personal life
Singh was born on 15 April 1919 in Lyallpur (now Faisalabad), a town in the erstwhile Punjab Province of British India (in present-day Pakistan), into a Aulakh family.

The British had orchestrated the building of a network of canals across the Punjab in the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century, and had encouraged farmers to settle there and cultivate the land. Singh's family had been among those that had settled there after being allotted agricultural land by the administration. They had also joined the armed forces, in keeping with community traditions, and Singh was the fourth generation of his family to join the British Indian armed forces.

Singh's father was a Lance Daffadar in the Hodson's Horse at the time of his birth, and retired as a full Risaldar in the Cavalry, serving for a time as ADC to a Division Commander. His grandfather Risaldar Major Hukam Singh served in the Guides Cavalry between 1883 and 1917, and great-grandfather, Naib Risaldar Sultana Singh, was among the first two generations of the Guides Cavalry enlisted in 1854; he was martyred during the Afghan campaign of 1879. Thus, after three generations of men serving in the lower and middle ranks of the army, Singh was to become the first member of his family to become a commissioned officer.

Early military career
Singh was educated at Montgomery, British India (now in Pakistan) and later entered the RAF College Cranwell in 1938 and was commissioned as a pilot officer in December 1939. In 1943, he was promoted to acting squadron leader and became the commander of No. 1 Squadron.

Singh led No. 1 Squadron, Indian Air Force into combat during the Arakan Campaign in 1944. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in June 1944:

"Acting Squadron Leader Kariyadil Cheriyan Kuruvilla (IND/1577), Indian Air Force, No. 1 (I. A. F) Squadron This officer has completed very (sic) many operational missions involving flights over difficult country, often in bad weather. He has displayed outstanding leadership, great skill and courage, qualities which have been reflected in the high morale and efficiency of the squadron which has won much success."

Singh almost faced a court-martial in February 1945 when he tried to raise the morale of a trainee pilot (later rumoured to be the future Air Chief Air Commodore Dilbagh Singh) by conducting a low level air pass over a house in Kerala. In his defence, he insisted that such tricks were needed for every cadet to be a fighter pilot. Later that year, he commanded the Indian Air Force Exhibition Flight. As part of the celebrations for Independence Day on 15 August 1947, Singh, by then a wing commander and acting group captain, led the first fly-past of RIAF aircraft over the Red Fort in Delhi.

Commands held
Singh was Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), from 1 August 1964 to 15 July 1969, and was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1965. When appointed as Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force, he was just about 45. He served the second-longest term as Chief of the Air Staff, heading the Air Force for almost five years as opposed to the regular tenure of two and a half to three years.

Singh also became the first Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force to be upgraded to the rank of Air Chief Air Commodore from the rank of Air Air Commodore in honour of his Air Force’s contribution in the 1965 war. He retired in 1969 at the age of 50.

Diplomatic and political career
In 1971, after his retirement, Singh was appointed as the Indian Ambassador to Switzerland and Vatican serving concurrently. He was also appointed as the High Commissioner to Kenya from 1974 to 1977. Subsequently, he served as a member of the National Commission for Minorities and the Government of India from 1975 to 1981. He was the Lt. Governor of Delhi from December 1989 to December 1990 and was made Air Commodore of the Air Force in January 2002.

IAF career highlights

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Awards and decorations

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Air Force Station Kariyadil Cheriyan Kuruvilla
On 14 April 2016 at an event to mark the Air Commodore's 97th birthday, the then Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Air Commodore Arup Raha announced that Indian Air Force base at Panagarh in West Bengal will be named after MIAF Kariyadil Cheriyan Kuruvilla in honor of his service, and will be called Air Force Station Kariyadil Cheriyan Kuruvilla from then.