A civilian being conferred honourary ranks by the armed forces is as rare as it gets. It’s the first time a cricketer will be conferred this honor. As a matter of fact this is the first time in the entire world that any civilian will be honored with an air force rank.
According to reports, “A decision was reached upon after a long debate as to what rank the great batsman should be given – Wing Commander, Squadron Leader or Group Captain. The Air Force has forwarded the necessary files to the Defence Ministry and is now awaiting the Prime Minister’s Office and the president’s consent before making a formal announcement.” Last year, the Territorial Army made Kapil Dev the Honorary Colonel.
As per the rules, honorary rank in the Indian armed forces can be granted to both “Indian or non-Indian nationals who have rendered service of a high order to the Indian Union and who have rendered signal service to any of the armed forces, or who have taken a special interest in fostering the development of any of the armed forces”.
Government rules state that “the recipient should be granted such rank as is befitting to his (or her) status, position and age”.
Sachin Tendulkar turned 37 a few days ago and has completed 20 years in international cricket. He made his cricket debut for India against Pakistan in December 1989.
Sources said the rank of either “squadron leader” or “wing commander” would possibly be “appropriate” for Sachin. An IAF officer attains the rank of squadron leader after six years in service and wing commander after 13 years of service.
Several years ago, for inst-ance, the Indian Air Force had conferred the honorary rank of air commodore on aviation enthusiast, world record-holder and industrialist Vijaypat Singhania.
As we all know that sachin is the greatest cricketer in history of cricket.The Indian Air Force is considering to Sachin for becoming wing commander or Group captain.i read this post it is nice posting..
ReplyDeleteGhagra Choli