[7] Vaidya fought in the Burma Campaign with the 14th Army during the final months of the Second World War, including at the battles of Meiktila and Rangoon.
[7] He was awarded the MVC in an investiture ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan by the President of India Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan on 21 April 1966.
[12] The citation for the Maha Vir Chakra reads as follows:[13][14] Gazette Notification: 9 Pres/66,1-1-66 Operation: Date of Award: 16 September 1965
Lieutenant Colonel Arun Shridhar Vaidya was in command of Deccan Horse in the series of actions fought by his unit from the 6 to 11 September 1965 in Asal Uttar and Cheema (Punjab) in the operations against Pakistan.
In the battle he showed inspiring leadership and remarkable resourcefulness in organising his unit and fighting against heavy odds and inflicted severe casualties on the Patton tanks of the enemy.
[7] The citation for the bar to the Maha Vir Chakra reads as follows:[18] Gazette Notification: 22 Pres/72,12-2-72 Operation: 1971 Date of Award: 05 December 1971
Brigadier Arun Shridhar Vaidya was commander of an armoured brigade in the Zafanval sector during the operations against Pakistan on the Western Front.
He employed his tanks relentlessly and aggressively and helped the division to maintain constant pressure and momentum of advance against the enemy.
On 4 January 1973, Vaidya was promoted to the acting rank of major-general and appointed General Officer Commanding (GOC) the elite 1st Armoured Division.
[23] In 1984, Vaidya designed and supervised[24] Operation Blue Star – a military operation ordered by Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India,[25] against militants commanded by Shabeg Singh, a former Officer of the Indian Army, under Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Chief of Damdami Taksal, in June 1984 at the Shri Harmandir Sahib complex.
Just six months later, on 10 August 1986, he was shot dead in his car while driving home from the market on Rajendrasinhji Marg, at around 11:45 a.m.[27][28] According to police, four reportedly clean-shaven men pulled up alongside the car on motorcycles, with the lead assassin firing three shots into Vaidya through the driver's-side window; the first two bullets penetrated his brain and killed him instantly.
[30] The bleeding general was carried to the Command Hospital in a passing green matador van, and was declared brought dead.
[31] According to Indian intelligence sources, Vaidya had been the number four assassination target on lists of Sikh militants as he was one of several people killed in retaliation for Operation Blue Star.
[27] Following the assassination, the Khalistan Commando Force issued a statement declaring that Vaidya had been killed in retaliation for the Golden Temple operation.
[32] The assassination shocked India, and security measures for senior military commanders, particularly for those who had taken part in Blue Star, were immediately stepped up.
Local anti-Sikh rioting broke out in Pune and Mumbai after Vaidya's assassination; a number of people were stabbed and several Sikh-owned businesses were attacked.
Despite admitting to the killing, they pleaded not-guilty, justifying their actions by stating that Vaidya was "guilty of a serious crime, the punishment for which could only be death".