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{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Man Mohan Bir Singh Talwar
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| birth_date = 1 April 1931
| birth_place = [[Abbottabad]]
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| death_date = 31 May 2019
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| allegiance = {{Ind}}
| branch = {{air force|India}}
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| rank = [[Group captain (India)|Group captain]]
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| commands = [[No. 5 Squadron IAF]]
| known_for = Role in [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]]<br>[[1984 anti-Sikh riots]] evidence
| battles = [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]]
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'''Man Mohan Bir Singh Talwar''' (1 April 1931-31 May 2019) was an [[Indian Air Force]] [[fighter pilot]] known for his role in air operations during the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]], for which he received the [[Maha Vir Chakra]]. He later submitted [[affidavit|evidence]] in relation to the [[1984 anti-Sikh riots|violence upon Sikhs in Delhi in 1984]].

==Early life==
Man Mohan Bir Singh Talwar was born on 1 April 1931 in [[Abbottabad]], then in [[British India]], to Kartar Singh.<ref name=Chakravorty1995/><ref name=Phoolka2007>{{cite book |last1=Phoolka |first1=H. S.|author1-link=H. S. Phoolka |last2=Mitta |first2=Manoj|author2-link=Manoj Mitta |title=When a Tree Shook Delhi |date=2007 |publisher=[[Roli Books]] |location=New Delhi |isbn=978-81-7436-598-9 |page=45-47 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ot6mBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA45|language=en |chapter=Plight of a War Hero}}</ref>

==Military career==
Talwar was commissioned into the Indian Air Force on 14 October 1953 and from 1969 to 1972 served the Agra based [[No. 5 Squadron IAF]], which operated [[English Electric Canberra|English Electric Canberra bombers]], first as squadron leader and then as Wing commander.<ref name=Chakravorty1995>{{cite book |last1=Chakravorty |first1=B. |title=Stories of Heroism: PVC & MVC Winners |date=1995 |publisher=Allied Publishers |location=New Delhi |isbn=81-7023-516-2 |page=345 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uzizVBSb4YsC&pg=PA345 |language=en |chapter=2. Medals and decorations of India}}</ref><ref name=Napier2022>{{cite book |last1=Napier |first1=Michael |title=Flashpoints: Air Warfare in the Cold War |date=2022 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4728-5355-4 |page=166 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8whxEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA166 |language=en |chapter=Indo-Pakistan War}}</ref><ref name=BRak/> During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he held the rank of [[Wing Commander]] and led several bombing missions into Pakistani territory.<ref name=Napier2022/> Then, along with [[No. 16 Squadron IAF]], he led his squadron's Canberras to [[PAF Base Murid|Murid]], [[PAF Base M.M. Alam|Mianwali]], [[Sargodha Airfield Complex|Sargodha]] [[PAF Base Chandhar|Chandhar]], [[PAF Base Masroor|Masroor]], [[Faisalabad International Airport|Risalwala]], [[PAF Base Masroor|Masroor]], and [[PAF Base Rafiqui|Shorkot]].<ref name=Napier2022/>

==Later life==
In 1973 Talwar joined the Defence Services Staff College as Wing commander.<ref name=BRak/> In 1977 was appointed Group Captain at [[Gorakhpur Airport|Gorakhpur airbase]].<ref name=BRak>{{cite web |title=Service Record for Group Captain Man Mohan Bir Singh Talwar 4573 GD(P) at Bharat Rakshak.com |url=https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/indianairforce/database/4573#google_vignette |website=Bharat Rakshak |access-date=26 July 2025 |language=en-gb}}</ref> He retired in 1979, following which he took to a garment business from his residence in Delhi.<ref name=BRak/><ref name=Singh/>

Talwar's [[affidavit|witness statement]] in relation to [[1984 anti-Sikh riots|anti-Sikh violence in Delhi in 1984]], is detailed in Pav Singh's ''[[1984: India's Guilty Secret]]'' (2017). In it, he recounts how he was imprisoned for defending his family when mobs attacked them in November of that year.<ref name=Singh>{{cite web |last1=Singh |first1=Parvinder |title=1984 Sikhs' Kristallnacht |url=https://www.saada.org/item/20170109-4880 |website=South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA) |access-date=25 July 2025 |language=en |date=9 January 2017}}</ref><ref name=Tribune>{{cite news |last1=Dutta |first1=Sujan |date=31 October 2021 |title=MVC Wg Cdr Man Mohan Bir Singh Talwar is known as the man who bombed Sargodha |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/features/mvc-wg-cdr-man-mohan-bir-singh-talwar-is-known-as-the-man-who-bombed-sargodha-332316/?utm_source=chatgpt.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250725143944/https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/features/mvc-wg-cdr-man-mohan-bir-singh-talwar-is-known-as-the-man-who-bombed-sargodha-332316/ |archive-date=25 July 2025 |access-date=25 July 2025 |work=The Tribune |language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{cite web |title=Affidavit of Manmohanbir Singh Talwar (Captain) 1984 |url=http://www.discoversikhism.com/sikh_genocide/affidavit_of_manmohanbir_singh.html |website=www.discoversikhism.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250725144753/https://www.discoversikhism.com/sikh_genocide/affidavit_of_manmohanbir_singh.html |archive-date=25 July 2025 |access-date=25 July 2025}}

[[Category:1931 births]]
[[Category:2019 deaths]]
[[Category:Witness (law)]]
[[Category:Pilots of the India–Pakistan war of 1971]]
[[Category:Indian military aviators]]

Man Mohan Bir Singh Talwar - Revision history

ContactBot at 06:58, 19 March 2026