Lt. Gen (Retd) Ak Singh: Family Memorabilia

Lt General A K Singh, The Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is the only son of the late Chowdhry Jai Narain Singh and the late Shrimati Tripti Devi. Born into an old and illustrious family with two generations of Rai Bahadur his Great Grandfather was Rai Bahadur Chowdhry Nihal Singh. In memory, and as a sign of respect, there also is a street named after him in Old Delhi which used to be their old family home. His Grandfather was Rai Bahadur Chowdhry Raghunath Singh.

He has three sisters Meera Shankar, Late Dr Geeta Chowdhry and Sudha Sarin with whom he shares a very close filial bond. He is married to Mrs Suneeti Singh who is a housewife and a universally recognized animal lover.

Mrs Suneeti Singh an army officer’s daughter, has been a constant source of support to her husband and the invisible force which goaded him forward in aiming high and also achieving all aimed. An inveterate animal lover she enjoys taking care of her dogs and horses personally and her most cherished moments are spent in their company. She has also been a teacher and was instrumental in developing some interesting Montessori formats for creative teaching. Extremely concerned about the Jawan wives Mrs Singh has taken time to understand their problems and difficulties and always worked towards easing them. Clearly, service before self is a motto she lives by. 

They are blessed with two sons, Vishal Singh, a mariner who has excelled and made a name for himself in this field and Udai Singh, a Nationally acclaimed Equestrian, who has been encouraged to pursue his passion for horse riding since his childhood. Udai has excelled and won several championships over the years and is now focused to make a mark for himself at the forthcoming Asian Games and the Olympics.

His elder sister Meera Shankar served as India’s Ambassador to the United States of America from 2009 to 2011. She was India’s second female ambassador to the United States of America, Vijaya Lakshmi Nehru Pandit being the first. Prior to 2009, she served as India’s Ambassador in Berlin, Germany.

Meera is married to Ajay Shankar, an IAS officer, who retired as Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. They are blessed with a daughter - Priya.

His second sister Dr Geeta Chowdhry, a professor of the Department of Politics and International Affairs at Northern Arizona University (NAU), died while in India with her family early this year. She was preceded in death by her parents. She had been at Northern Arizona University since 1989.

Previously she taught at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. She earned her Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Florida and her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from St. John’s College in Agra, India, where she grew up.

Geeta is survived by her husband, Dr Mark Beeman, a professor of Sociology and Social Work at NAU and son Jai.

The LG’s youngest sister - Sudha Sarin joined corporate India and is a Communications Professional with over 2 decades of experience. Sudha has worked with CEO’s and Industry leaders, of several Multi National & Indian Companies as a very successful entrepreneurs. She recently left her role as Managing Director – IPAN Hill & Knowlton India to work independently with companies and entrepreneurs to lend them her expertise, gained over the last two decades. 

Sudha is married to Ajay Sarin, a businessman and resides in New Delhi with her husband and sons Raghav and Pranav. 

The Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is an ex student of Sainik School Rewa and former Commander in Chief of Southern Command, of the Indian Army. Lt Gen (Retd) A K Singh, PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, the Lt Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Ex-General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command, alumnus of National Defence Academy was commissioned into one of the oldest Regiments, the 7th Light Cavalry on 17 June 1973 and has had an illustrious career with the Indian Army.

Born into a liberal family, his earliest influences were his father’s deep intellect, and large heartedness along with his mother’s grounded view of life and selfless service to friends and family. He imbibed his father’s intellect and many close to the family have been witness to his large heartedness.

His father the late Chowdhry Jai Narain Singh had completed his Masters in History from St Stephens College, New Delhi and was deeply interested in the social political fabric of the country.  His deep interest towards the social fabric of our country reflected itself in his efforts to helping highly intelligent yet under privileged boys and girls to achieve a sound educational grounding which would stand them and the society in good stead.

The Lt Governor was also deeply influenced by his mother, Shrimati Tripti Devi who despite not having a formal education was an astute, compassionate and wise woman whose focus was to ensure a sound education for her children that would provide them a place in the world. Her focus and dedication paid off and her children have all done her and their father proud.  She played a pivotal role in steering the life of her children and was a source of constant support and encouragement for them with her guiding force and deep wisdom.

Overall, the family reflects a very nationalistic fervour and is guided by the family ethos as imbibed from their parents – ‘to give more than you receive’, and ‘share and care’.

The Lt Governor has led a life which is deeply rooted in the early learning’s of his life ‘Good Thought, Good Words and Good Deed’ seems to be truly committed to making a difference in the lives of the people of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.