Army Day is celebrated on January 15 every year in India, in recognition of Lieutenant General (later Field Marshal) K. M. Cariappa's becoming the first Indian Commander-in-Chief in 1948. The day is celebrated in the form of parades. In 2008, the 60th Army Day was celebrated. Looking back from the current day, when the Indian Army projects power and sinew, it becomes difficult to remember the kind of fledgeling it was in 1947 Grit and experience affect the growth of an institution. Fighting four major wars, insurgency and other low intensity wars has indeed made it an eminently and effficient battle trained, war machine. The basic responsibility of the Army is to safeguard the territorial integrity of the nation against external aggression. Due to the country’s long borders encompassing different geographical and climatic conditions such as desert terrain on the west, snow-covered mountains in the north and thick rainfed mountainous jungles in the east, the Army has to constantly prepare itself for diverse challenges. In addition, the Army is often required to assist the civil administration during internal security disturbances and in the maintenance of law and order, in organising relief operations during natural calamities like floods, earthquakes and cyclones and in the maintenance of essential services. Demands on the Army have increased manifold due to continuous deployment of its forces in intense counter insurgency operations in Jammu Kashmir and the North East parts of the country. Soldiers at Siachen (in the image) To achieve these objectives, the Army has to be constantly modernised, suitably structured, equipped and trained.
Pictures of the Army Day Parade
The Indian Army: A brief note The major tasks of the Indian Army are as follows (As per the Army Doctrine): - Effectively project deterrence and dissuasion through the medium of strong, well-structured combat capability. Be prepared to engage in and conduct all types of military operations, singly or jointly, in the entire spectrum of conflict. Provide the requisite land forces component of the Strategic Forces Command.Provide aid to civil authority when called upon to do so for maintenance of law and order, humanitarian aid and assistance during disasters and calamities or any other circumstances including maintenance of essential services. Participate in United Nations peacekeeping operations in consonance with India’s commitment to the United Nations Charter. Be prepared to render military assistance to friendly countries when required to do so.
The Indian Army is organised into five regional commands
- HQ Central Command, Lucknow;
- HQ Eastern Command, Calcutta;
- HQ Northern Command, Udhampur;
- HQ Western Command, Chandimandir; and
- HQ Southern Command, Pune.
- HQ, South Western Command, Jaipur
- HQ, Army Training Command, Shimla
The Indian Army is divided into the following two broad categories: Arms and Services.
A brief history of the Army
In 1902, when Lord Kitchner took over as Commander-in-Chief of the Army it was further reorganised as a regular force. By 1914, at the time of the outbreak of the First World War, the strength of the Indian Army had reached approximately 150,000. By the time the Second World War started in 1939, the strength of the Indian Army had risen to 189,000. In 1947, with the partition of the country, two-thirds of the strength remained with India and one-third went away to Pakistan. On the eve of our independence the strength of the undivided Army was nearly two and a half million. Indian soldiers served all over the world during the British regime. They fought from China in the East to France and Africa in the West. They fought bravely during 1914-18 and 1939-42, during the First and Second World Wars. The tales of their valour spread from China in the East to Iraq, Africa, Italy and France in the West. The secret of success of the Indian Army has been its unflinching sense of duty, discipline and traditions of valour. On 15th January 1948 Lieutenant General K. M. Cariappa became the first Indian Commander- in- Chief (C-IN-C). 15th January is now celebrated every year as Army Day. On this occasion the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) takes the salute at the Army Day Parade in the Delhi cantonment. This is a grand parade held just before the Republic Day Parade. The rulers of some princely states were reluctant to join the new Indian dominion and many had to coaxed by threat of force. The Army was yet to reorganise its partition when the call of duty came from Junagadh and Hyderabad. The Indian Army bravely and without bloodshed consolidated out position in these states, which then became parts of Indian dominion. The war raged in Jammu & Kashmir from October 1947 to January 1949.
It ended in a proud victory for our Army and Pakistan failed to capture Jammu or Srinager. However a premature cease-fire was accepted by our Government which enabled Pakistan to hold large parts of Jammu & Kashmir state. These areas under Pakistan's occupation are called Pak-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Northern Areas.From 1948 to 1962 Indian Army contingents did a number of peacekeeping assignments outside the country, in Korea, Gaza (Egypt) and Congo (Central Africa) on behalf of United Nations and earned great honour for the country.
In 1962 when China attacked India the Indian Army was rushed to fight them on the icy heights of the Himalayas for which they were ill-equipped and ill-prepared. A sort of 'code of honour' has come down to us from our great commanders and soldiers of the past eras. It is a matter of great pride that whenever India has been attacked the Indian Army stood by this code of valour, fidelity and honour. The tradition never to surrender has remained ingrained in our fighting men and our Army has resolute soldiers who are ever ready to do their duty unto death without hesitation.
Soldiers during the 1962 Indo-Sino war(image)
Changing times bring changing needs. Battle training must tell also on the structuring of the army, for it is this function that extracts the most from the assets available, both men and material. A look at the command and structuring of the Indian Army shows how finely these have been tuned to meet India's threat perceptions, based on the experience of the major wars that it has fought and the present-day geo-political context.