Lieutenant general S.K. Sinha, 90, the grand old soldier from Bihar, died at the Army Research and Referral Hospital in New Delhi at 10.45am on Thursday.

He is survived by his wife, son Y.K. Sinha, now India's high commissioner to Sri Lanka, and three daughters.

Sinha was the worthy son of a worthy father and the worthy father of a worthy son. His father M.K. Sinha was in the Imperial Police (previous incarnation of the Indian Police Service).

He was the first inspector-general of police, Bihar. His son Y.K. Sinha is awaiting his new assignment in UK.

Sinha was born in Gaya but his father settled down at Buddha colony, Patna, where the family has a landmark house.

The Sinhas represented the elitism and erudition of Patna. Though he was a high-ranking military personnel, S.K. Sinha was endowed with indelible command on military history, Constitution, current affairs and politics.

While travelling with him to Ara and Maner in the late 1990's, Raj Mohan Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, journalist and an author, was mesmerised to find Sinha narrating the military strategy of Veer Kuer Singh - the hero of the first war of Independence in 1857 - against the British.

An acclaimed columnist, Sinha used to write columns on current affairs in various newspapers. A right to the Centre thinker, Sinha justified the US action against Iraq president Saddam Hussein. He supported the US on the first and second Gulf War.

He quit his Army career in 1983 in the wake of his surprise supersession. The then Indira Gandhi government had appointed general-officer-commanding-in-chief Eastern Command, A.S. Vaidya, a junior to Sinha, as the Army chief.

His supersession and appointment of his junior as Army chief had become national news then with many newspapers and magazines writing favourably for Sinha.

Sinha unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha election from Patna in 1984.

Graduating with honours from Patna University in 1943, Sinha joined the Indian Army simultaneously and passed out as the best cadet from the Officers' Training School, Belgaum. He secured many laurels during his long Army career.

He was appointed ambassador to Nepal in 1990 when Nepal was a kingdom. It was during his tenure as ambassador, Nepal underwent the transition and achieved democracy.

Sinha played a key role in improving India-Nepal relationship. Then Nepal Prime Minister, too, praised Sinha for his work as ambassador.

Sinha took over as the governor of Assam in 1997 and became the governor of Jammu and Kashmir in 2003. Sinha's expertise with insurgency, militancy and forces invariably earned him praise.

Sources said he was admitted to the base hospital in Delhi on November 1 with a fracture in his femur bone and ribs and was later shifted to the Research and Referral Hospital after complications.

His funeral will take place on Friday at the Brar Square crematorium.