Died 25/04/2007
New Delhi Spouse(s) Maya Known for Kashmir conflict | Years active Since 1936 Parents Janak Singh | |
Born February Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "{"., 1915 (age Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "{".)Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "{". ( 1915-15/07-{{{day}}} ) Sri Nagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India Occupation Army personnel
Civil servant Children Navendra , Ambita, Brinda (deceased ) Awards Padma Bhushan, Military Cross | ||
Kashmir Singh Katoch (born 25 June 1915) is an Indian army personnel and a former military advisor to Hari Singh, the last ruler of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir during the pre-Indian independence period. When Pakistan invaded Kashmir in 1947 after the India-Pakistan partition, Hari Singh requested Louis Mountbatten, the then Governor-General of India, for help and it was Katoch who was deputed by the Indian government to advise and assist the ruler. These events led to the accession of Kashmir to the Dominion of India.
Katoch was born in 1915 in Sri Nagar to Janak Singh, a former Prime Minister of the state of Kashmir, and did his military training at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, to complete the course in 1936. After training at Surrey Regiment, he joined the Frontier Force Rifles and participated in World War II; the service earned him a Military Cross. He became a Lieutenant Colonel of the British Army at the age of 31. After the Indian independence, he was deputed at the Kashmir State Forces and it was during this time, he was appointed as the military advisor to Hari Singh. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 1965, for his contributions to civil service.