Hydearbad: Air Vice-Marshal Manish Kumar Rudra (retd) no more

Air Vice-Marshal Manish Kumar Rudra, one of the senior most IAF officers passed away after a brief illness in Hyderabad. He took part in two Indo-Pak wars (1965 and 1971)

Hyderabad: A veteran of two Indo-Pak wars (1965 and 1971), Air Vice-Marshal Manish Kumar Rudra (Retired), receipient of Sama Seva Medal and the Poorvi Star is no more. He passed away on Tuesday afer brief illness and was laid to rest on Thursday. He was 91. He is survived by his three sons, daugher and three grandchildren.

Air Force officers including the Commandant of Air Force Station, Begumpet laid a wreath at his funeral service and paid his last respects to the veteran and they handed over the Indian Air Force flag to his children. His course mate and close friend, Air Vice Marshal Cecil Parker sent a message which was read out during the funeral service. Wing Commander T. J. Reddy, President of the Indian Air Force Association (Andhra Pradesh and Telangana), also laid a wreath at the funeral service.

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Air Vie-Marshal Rudra was born on December 7, 1932, in Saugar of Madhya Pradesh and was commissioned into the IAF on August 30, 1952 . He marched in India’s first Republic Day Parade on January 26, 1951 as an NCC cadet (Army Wing). He served as the Deputy Task Force Commander of the famous Tangail Drop during the Indo-Pak conflict in 1971, which hastened the war’s end.

My late father Group Captain Samuel Venkata Rao (Retired) (Vayu Sena Medal Awardee) commanded a high-power radar station bordering East Pakistan in 1971. Before the operation, my father was called to the IAF headquarters since he knew the terrain and was a local commander. My father requested an emergency runway to be operationalized near the East Pakistan border for any eventuality, a responsibility that he undertook. A couple of Indian Air Force aircraft were damaged in the airdrop operation over East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). One Indian Air Force aircraft under Air Vice-Marshal Rudra’s operational command was hit by a paratrooper and had to land on this runway.

Air Vice-Marshal Rudra served tenures in the Indian Air Force VVIP Squadron who flew the Prime Minister and President of India and international VVIPs who visited India. He was the instructor for the Egyptian-UAE Air Force Pilots.

Rudra and my father shared a good friendship from their initial days of service and attended my christening at Cuttack, Odisha. Rudra’s passing away marks the nearing of an end to the golden era of the Indian Air Force.

By David Ranadhir Rao, Scientist-G, DRDL