The Indian Army will present a medal to Union Finance Minister Jaswant Singh for his services during the Kargil conflict of 1999.

As India's external affairs minister during the Kargil war, Singh had led India's diplomatic offensive against Pakistan. His efforts paid off with the then US president Bill Clinton summoning the then Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharief to Washington DC and asking him to withdraw the intruders unilaterally from the Kargil hills.

Defence Minister George Fernandes told Lok Sabha on February 27 that the recommendation for the medal had come from the Army Headquarters. It was former army chief, General S Padmanabhan, who had recommended Singh for the medal.

General Padmanabhan retired on December 31 last year, handing over charge to General N C Vij.

The Indian Army had announced two medals for Operation Vijay -- the military operation staged by the army and the
India Air Force in Kargil in the summer of 1999 -- Operation Vijay Medal and Operation Vijay Star. While the medal was for soldiers who were mobilised during the operation, the star was for those who participated in the battle.

The armed forces had also presented several other military honors to individual soldiers, including four Param Vir Chakras, the highest military gallantry award of the country.

A senior army officer said when Singh is awarded the military medal he would become "the first civilian to
win a military honor."

Singh used to be a Major with the Indian Army's Central India Horse Regiment. He later took premature
retirement and joined politics.

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What do you think about the story? Read what others have to say: Number of User Comments: 9 Sub: Medal To Politicians The idea of bestowing a military medal on FM Jaswant Singh of the ruling BJP, smacks of cheap popularity.There are enough other awards he can ... Posted by Ranjit B Rai Sub: Medal for Jaswant Singh This was the only thing which was lacking in the Army to make the mess complete.The Army medal being conferred to civilians. The Army sycophancy ... Posted by manoj asthana Sub: Medal For Jaswant Singh Dear sir, It is indeed nice to learn about the medal for Jaswant Etc.However,it is high time people in high -places thought of those who ... Posted by LtCol KSN Sukumaran(Retd) Sub: medal to Jaswant Singh Jaswant Singh, who had been country's defence minister,external affairs minister and now finance minister, has shown that a man from the defence services can possess ... Posted by Colonel Y.V. Tuli Sub: error in your article With due respect to the views of the army officer, I would like to point out that the first military honours to a civilian officer,was ... Posted by AMARTYA BASU