He was the CAS at the time of Operation Chengiz Khan, the preemptive strikes that were carried out by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) that marked the formal initiation of hostilities of the war.

Slated to study law in England, Lal instead joined the Air Force Volunteer Reserve at the outbreak of World War II.

He later commanded this squadron during the Burma Campaign and mentioned in dispatches as well as being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Under his command, the IAF scored a decisive victory against Pakistan in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, which led to the creation of Bangladesh in December 1971.

[1][2] Having qualified for a diploma in journalism at King's College, London in 1938, Lal expected to return to full-time study of law at the Inns of Court in the fall of 1939.

Since he held a civilian pilot license, Lal was invited to join the Air Force Volunteer reserve.

After a short stint at the Coastal Defence Flight in Calcutta, Lal was posted as a navigation instructor at No.

He led the squadron in a tactical reconnaissance role in support of the XIV Army, from North Burma all the way till Rangoon.

Sqn Ldr Lal has completed a considerable number of operational sorties, He is the Commanding Officer of a squadron which has been employed on photographic reconnaissance in support of the Fourteenth Army in the Irrawaddy Valley.

He has shown exceptional qualities and keenness and has completed many hazardous sorties in the wake of strong enemy opposition.

[10] Along with Group Captain Minoo Merwan Engineer, Lal embarked for United Kingdom, having been selected to attend the RAF Staff College, Andover in May 1949.

[14] With two Dakota aircraft, Lal led the Indian Air Force team that brought the king to safety in New Delhi.

[3] In January 1953, he was promoted to the acting rank of air commodore and posted to the Cabinet Secretariat as deputy secretary (military).

The team rejected the Supermarine Swift and chose the Folland Gnat, a decision which would serve India and the IAF well during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.

After landing in Tokyo, on 8 November 1960, Mukerjee was having a meal in a restaurant with a friend, an officer in the Indian Navy.

[18] The falling out with Menon led to Lal being informed that his services were no longer required by the IAF at the end of his term with IAC in September 1962.

The prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, offered him a job in a public sector steel mill but Lal refused.

Under Lal, corporate policies regarding multiple aspects of human resource management were framed.

[24] He was instrumental in the establishment of the production lines for the new Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 and Folland Gnat fighters, and HS 748 transport aircraft.

Thousands of East Pakistanis died, and nearly ten million refugees fled to West Bengal, a neighbouring Indian state.

Aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) mounted simultaneous attacks on seven IAF bases – Srinagar, Awantipur, Pathankot, Uttarlai, Jodhpur, Ambala and Agra.

These flew against eight Western Pakistani airbases: Murid, Mianwali, Sargodha, Chandhar, Risalewala, Rafiqui, and Masroor.

In total, 23 combat sorties were launched that night, inflicting heavy damage on Sargodha and Masroor airbases.

Through the night the Indian Air Force also struck the main East Pakistani airfields of Tejgaon, and later Kurmitola.

At the same time, the Indian Air Force was deploying additional aircraft to its forward airfields for strikes that were to follow the next morning.

In the field, forward air controllers were responsible for directing strikes called out in the support of the Army.

[35] In April 1973, Lal was appointed full-time chairman and managing director (CMD) of the Indian Airlines Corporation (IAC).

[38] With the new government being formed in March 1977, Lal was appointed part-time Chairman of Indian Airlines in July.

[38][40] In February 1978, J. R. D. Tata, the founder and long-time chairman of Air India was unceremoniously dropped from the board by Prime Minister Morarji Desai.

Wreaths were laid by the Minister of Defence R Venkataraman and the chiefs of the three service – COAS General K. V. Krishna Rao, CNS Admiral Oscar Stanley Dawson and CAS ACM Dilbagh Singh[43] Lal was working on his memoirs and the history of the IAF when he died.