IAF Celebrates 100th Birthday of Wing Commander Kurien Verghese, Commissioned on Republic Day 1950

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has felicitated Wing Commander Kurien Verghese (Retd) on his 100th birthday, with Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh visiting the veteran at his Bengaluru residence on 18 August 2026. The celebration brought together senior serving officers, Air Force family representatives and veterans in a rare tribute to one of the earliest officers of the Indian Republic.

Among those present were Mrs Sarita Singh, President of the Air Force Family Welfare Association (AFFWA); Air Marshal S Shrinivas, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Training Command; Mrs Sunita Shrinivas, President AFFWA (Regional); and several Air Force veterans. The gathering honoured a man whose service to the IAF began at a defining moment in India’s constitutional history.

Verghese was commissioned on 26 January 1950, the very day the Constitution of India came into effect and the country became a Republic. Historical records show that he joined the Indian Air Force's Administration branch as Service Number 3742 and later rose to the rank of Wing Commander before retiring on 31 August 1978.

That timeline places him among the first batch of officers commissioned in the newly formed Republic. His military career ran for nearly three decades, spanning a period when the Indian Air Force was itself evolving from a small post-Independence force into a more complex and modern service.

Before joining the Air Force, Verghese had completed an MA and an LLB in Bombay, now Mumbai. In an interview published ahead of Republic Day in 2025, he recalled approaching an Air Force recruiting officer even before his law examination results were declared. After the selection process, he went to Dehradun for the selection board and then to Delhi after being chosen for the service. He later spoke of the pride he felt in wearing the Air Force uniform.

His early postings took him to Air Force Headquarters in New Delhi, where he served from around 1949-50 until 1961, according to a previously published account of his career. He then moved to Bengaluru and served at Training Command in Hebbal between 1961 and 1964.

In 1965, he attended the Staff College at Coonoor for further officers’ training. From 1966 to 1969, he served with Eastern Air Command in Shillong, before moving to Central Air Command headquarters in Allahabad, now Prayagraj, where he remained from 1969 to 1972.

Verghese returned to Bengaluru in 1972 and stayed there until his retirement in 1978. By then, he was serving as Wing Commander and held the appointment of Command Judge Advocate, the senior legal post at Training Command. His law background became a central part of his contribution to the service during the later years of his career.

One of the most notable episodes associated with his service came after the death of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, in May 1964. Verghese was reportedly chosen during his service to collect Nehru’s ashes, which were later scattered in accordance with the former Prime Minister’s wishes.

His long association with Bengaluru also mirrors the city’s rise as a major aerospace and military aviation hub. He first came to the city in the 1960s and eventually made it his home. In later recollections, he spoke warmly of Bengaluru and the circumstances that led him to settle there after years linked to Training Command.

Family members have also highlighted the personal values he carried beyond service. His daughter, Susana Kurien, previously said he encouraged equal opportunities within the family and remained deeply interested in current affairs even in old age. Despite hearing difficulties, he continued to use email and kept himself updated on developments around him.

The 26 January 1950 commissioning date adds unusual historical weight to his story. That was the day India moved from Dominion status to a sovereign democratic Republic as the Constitution came into force. For Verghese, beginning his military career on that date tied his service to one of the most important moments in the country’s modern history.

More than 76 years later, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh’s visit to the veteran’s home created a direct link between the Air Force’s earliest Republic-era officers and the force as it stands today. The presence of senior Training Command leadership, AFFWA representatives and Air veterans gave the centenary celebration a strong institutional character.

The IAF’s felicitation of Verghese also reflected its continuing tradition of honouring retired personnel who helped shape the service across generations. For a veteran whose career began on India’s first Republic Day and ended in 1978 after nearly three decades in uniform, the centenary was both a personal milestone and a reminder of the Air Force’s own institutional journey.

At 100, Wing Commander Kurien Verghese (Retd) stands as a living link to the first generation of officers commissioned in the Republic of India. His life has spanned the last years of colonial rule, Independence, the creation of the Republic and more than seven decades of national change, with his service record remaining closely tied to the formative years of the Indian Air Force.

The Bengaluru celebration on 18 August 2026 was therefore more than a birthday greeting. It was a formal salute by the Indian Air Force to an officer who entered its ranks at the dawn of the Republic and whose long life continues to embody a formative chapter in the service’s history.