After retirement, he briefly served as the prime minister of the state during a crucial period in 1947, which was evidently a temporary appointment while the Maharaja looked for a more permanent candidate.

[1][2][3] Janak Singh was from the village of Khaira in the Kangra district, in the present-day state of Himachal Pradesh in India.

[citation needed] On 11 August 1947 he was brought out of retirement to be the prime minister at a turbulent time on the eve of the independence of India and Pakistan.

[7][a] Singh had won a Military Cross with a unit of the Frontier Force Rifles during World War II in action in Italy.

The other two sons also served in the Indian Army, one in the 5 Gorkha Rifles, Brigadier Devendra Singh Katoch, AVSM, and the youngest, Lt.