I’ve been fascinated by the mass public affection for Air Chief Marshal AP Singh as he nears retirement. I keep asking myself why. We now fight beyond visual range. Increasingly, we live that way too. Yet Singh has crossed a distance that military leaders rarely do. People don’t merely admire him. They feel they know him. Fifth-generation fighters, drones and AI are only the military expression of a much larger transformation in society. Technology now totally mediates how we work and interact. And yet, Singh’s public appeal rests on something simply human. Traditionally, military leaders have been (perceived) as larger-than-life figures. Men to admire, look up to, even revere. Figures who inspire awe, but remain somewhat distant from the ordinary citizen. Singh seems to have turned that archetype on its head. His appeal is not that he towers above the people around him, but that he appears entirely comfortable sitting amongst them. Whether participating in public runs, joining for a few dance steps, interacting with schoolchildren, meeting next of kin or talking to airmen, he seems completely at ease with people. He understands their language, humour and cultural references. None of these encounters is particularly grand in itself. Yet, collectively, they have created an unusually personal connection. And from my own interactions with him, I think there is something even more fundamental. He speaks his mind, certainly, but never seems particularly interested in establishing that he is the cleverest person in the room. He listens with intent. And when he listens, you feel he is genuinely interested in what you have to say. This is not to suggest that other Chiefs have been any less warm, humane or eager to connect. Many may have been every bit as approachable in private. Singh’s distinction, I think, is how naturally he allows that side of himself to be seen in public. Even with cameras rolling, he seems completely comfortable being himself. It doesn’t feel staged or cultivated. That is a rather different form of military charisma. The conventional archetype inspires people to follow him. Singh makes people feel that he is one of them. And, in an increasingly impersonal world, that simple ability to connect has become more powerful than ever. You expect politicians to understand this instinctively. What is remarkable is seeing a military leader do it so naturally. Military sociologists will be studying this phenomenon for years.