Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...

Nathu Singh Rathore was an Indian Army officer from Gumanpura,

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

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. History Dungarpur is the seat of the elder branch of the Guhilot of Mewar family. The seat of the younger branch is that of the Maharana of Udaipur. The city was founded in ...

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

Jaimal Rathore Jaimal Rathore (1507–1568) was the Rathore Rajput (Mertiya) ruler of Merta. He was cousin of the Hindu saint Mirabai and Great grandson of Rao Jodha Rathore and Grandson of Rao Duda Rathore (Founder of Mertiya clan of Rathore's & Establis ...

of Merta. who fought for

Mewar Mewar, also spelled as Mewad is a region in the south-central part of Rajasthan state of India. It includes the present-day districts of Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Pratapgarh, Rajsamand, Udaipur, Pirawa Tehsil of Jhalawar District of Rajasth ...

against

Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...

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

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

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 Sandhurst, after Rajendrasinhji Jadeja who later became a

three-star general Military star ranking is military terminology, used in mainly English speaking countries, to describe general and flag officers. Within NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to OF-6–10. Star ranking One-star A one-star rank is usually ...

. 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. The regiment traces its history back to 1778, when the 24th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry was formed. The regiment's 1st Battalion was later formed in 1798 ...

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

Deccan The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and occupies the majority of the Indian peninsula. It stretches from the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges in the north to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. It is bound by the mount ...

. At Staff College Camberley, he scored a still-record 935 out of 1000 in Strategy. He served as a Battalion Commander in Burma during World War II. Singh climbed the military hierarchy and in 1949 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 (,) (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. Moreover, he represented the Punjabi Sikh community in the processes o ...

, the

defence minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

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

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