Rana Chhina

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please improve this article if you can. (January 2008)

Squadron Leader Rana Tejpal Singh Chhina (1960– ) is a writer and military historian, who is a veteran of the Indian Air Force.

Born and raised in New Delhi, Chhina was selected for the National Defence Academy in 1976, shortly after graduating from St. Columba's School.

He went on to serve with distinction as a helicopter pilot in all sectors in which the Indian Air Force was operational. From 1990–93 he was a flight instructor at Air Force training institutions.

Chhina is one of a small group of Indian officers to receive the rarely-awarded prestigious MacGregor Medal for valuable military reconnaissance. He holds the record for a high altitude flight (landing) for a medium-lift helicopter.

Since retiring from active service in 1997 as a Squadron Leader, Chhina has become a leading historian of the Indian Air Force and the former British Indian Army.

Chhina has not only built one of the most significant medal collections of the British Indian Army, he has pursued his childhood passion and transformed it into a ground-breaking career.

In reviewing his book The Indian Distinguished Service Medal (2001), Prof. Ed Haynes of Winthrop University wrote,

Rarely does a book on medals come along that presents the sort of Platonic ideal that Rana T. S. Chhina's work on the IDSM presents. This is a model for emulation for any effort at addressing a single award. In addition to giving a masterful history of the development and evolution of the IDSM, Chhina gives a detailed listing of all recipients of the medal.

He is one of the key interviewees in the internationally acclaimed award-winning Canadian documentary about the Komagata Maru, "Continuous Journey".

He is the vice president of the Indian Military Historical Society, UK and Secretary of the United Service Institution of India - Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research, New Delhi.

In 2006, he published "The Eagle Strikes - The Royal Indian Air Force 1932-1950"^[1]. The book is a collection of photographs and information on the Indian Air Force from its pre-independence days.

In 2007 saw the release of "The Indian Army: An Illustrated Overview"^[2], which also includes rare previously unpublished images.