Every year on 15 January, Army Day is celebrated in India in recognition of Field Marshal Kodandera M. Cariappa's (then a Lieutenant General) taking over as the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from General Sir Francis Butcher, the last British Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army, on 15 January 1949.
It marks a day to salute the valiant soldiers who sacrificed their lives to protect the country and its citizens. Parades and other military shows in capital city of New Delhi as well as in all headquarters are observed.
However, this year's Army Day is going to be unique and something that has never happened before in the history of Indian Army is going to happen this year. In this article, we are going to cover exactly that and much more.
A fresh start to the year 2019
1. Meet Lt. Bhavna Kasturi - the first female officer to lead a contingent of male jawans
Lieutenant Bhavana Kasturi, a lady officer, will lead a contingent of 144 male jawans of the Army Service Corps which is participating after a 23 year gap in the Army Day Parade.She joined the Officers Training Academy, Chennai in October 2015 after clearing the NCC 38 special entry with AIR-4.
After rehearsal parade, in an interview she said, “This is the first time ever a lady officer is leading the contingent. Earlier, never a lady officer led a jawans contingent. Boys are putting too much effort and we have been practicing since past one year.” “Our center is in Bangalore and I’m coming from our regimental center and it’s been six months we are practicing. Along with me, there are two male officers from the center are practicing as contingent commanders”. “This shows the kind of acceptance, the change and the evolution which is happening in the entire organization. This shows acceptance for woman officers also.”
She also mentioned that the higher authorities are working very hard to give women a permanent commission inn the Indian Army.
2. Meet Captain Shikha Surabhi - first female officer to lead The Daredevils Team
The Daredevils is a part of the Army's Corps of Signals. It is a combat support arm and is famously known as 'that motorcycle team' that we get to see on Republic Day Parade. They hold 24 world records, including the Guinness World Record.
This time, Captain Shikha Surabhi, a female officer, will be leading the Army's Daredevils Motorcycle Display team for the first time. The team comprises of 33 men riding nine bikes in a pyramid formation.
Captain Shikha will be seen saluting the guests while riding a bike and the entire Daredevils contingent will be led by Major Manpreet Singh.
3. Display of the modern Artillery of the Indian Army
This year, both the Army Day parade and the Republic Day parade will see the display of M777 A2 Ultra Light Howitzer and K9 Vajra-T artillery for the first time.These guns are the first major artillery achievement after the Bofors, which were bought in the 1980s. These guns will be deployed along India's frontiers with China and Pakistan.
The Indian Army has ordered 145 M 777s from USA. India received its first shipment comprising two howitzers on 18 May 2017 in New Delhi from United States in ready to use condition.
10 units of K9s were brought from South Korea and assembled by L&T in India. The first batch of 25 units was delivered to the Indian Army in May 2018. Another 100 will be produced by L&T. for the Indian Army.
Interesting Facts about Indian Army
- It comprises of 80 per cent of the country's active defense personnel and is the biggest volunteer army in the world.
- The Indian soldiers are considered among the very best on high altitudes, jungle warfare, and mountain warfare. Soldiers from all over the world come to train with Indian soldiers and learn from them.
- Operation Rahat is one of the biggest civilian rescue operations in the world.
- Baily Bridge in Ladakh, at the highest elevation in the world, was constructed by the Indian Army in 1982.
- The Indian Army controls the highest battlefield in the world, Siachen glacier which is 5000 meters above sea level.
- The Indian horsed cavalry regiment is one of the last 3 remaining regiments in the world.
- The Indian Army is one of the biggest contributors to the United Nations peace operations and has conducted large peace-time exercises like Operation Brasstacks and Exercise Shoorveer.
- Some of the iconic victories of India include Kargil war, Siachen conflict, Chola incident, Liberation of Goa, Liberation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, 2nd and 3rd Indo-Pak war, Indo-Sino conflict of 1967, and major operations undertaken by the Indian Army are Operation Vijay, Operation Meghdoot, and Operation Cactus.
Hi, I am Pranjay Varshney. I am pursuing my B.Sc. (Hons) in Electronic Science from University of Delhi. My dream is to join the Indian Army as an officer and I am very passionate about it. I like to write articles about Indian Armed Forces and various political and economic affairs. I spend my free time doing gymnastics, listening to music or watching movies.
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