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Hardit Malik

Hardit Singh Malik

Hardit Singh Malik (1894–1985) was an Indian pilot, civil servant and diplomat. He is most often remembered as one of the earliest Indians to serve as a combat pilot, having flown with the British Royal Flying Corps during the First World War, and for his subsequent career in the Indian Civil Service and in independent India's diplomatic corps.

Key facts

Full name Hardit Singh Malik
Born 1894
Died 1985
Nationality Indian
Known for Service as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps; later civil service and diplomatic career
Occupations Aviator, civil servant, diplomat

Background and education

Malik was born in 1894 into a Sikh family in Punjab. Like a number of Indians of his generation from privileged backgrounds, he was sent to Britain for his schooling and university education, studying at Eastbourne College and later at Balliol College, University of Oxford. His years at Oxford brought him into close contact with British academic and political circles, and he was also a keen sportsman, particularly noted as a golfer.

Service in the First World War

During the First World War, Malik sought a combat role and, after initial difficulties in being accepted, was commissioned into the Royal Flying Corps. He flew operationally on the Western Front, becoming one of the first Indians to serve as a military pilot in the air arm of the British forces. He was wounded in action during the war. His service is frequently cited in histories of Indian participation in the First World War as an early example of an Indian flying with a frontline air unit.

Civil service career

After the war, Malik joined the Indian Civil Service. Over the following decades he held a range of administrative posts under the Government of India during the late colonial period, working in revenue, administrative and policy roles.

Diplomatic career

Following Indian independence in 1947, Malik moved into diplomacy and represented India abroad. He served as a senior Indian diplomat in the early years of independent India's foreign service, including assignments in Europe and North America, where he was associated with India's missions in Canada and France during the late 1940s and 1950s.

Later life

After retirement from public service, Malik continued to be associated with public and sporting life in India, particularly with golf, a sport he played at a high amateur level for much of his life. He wrote a memoir reflecting on his career across aviation, administration and diplomacy. He died in 1985.

Significance

Malik's career spans three distinct phases of modern Indian history: late colonial military service, the administrative apparatus of British India, and the diplomatic service of independent India. He is regularly mentioned in studies of Indians in the First World War as one of the very first South Asians to serve as a military aviator, and his subsequent career provides an example of the transition of Indian officials from imperial service into the institutions of the new republic.

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