January 15th marks the raising day of the Indian Army ( Army Day ) , The Indian Army is the largest branch of the Indian Armed Force has a strength of over a Million strong and maintains one of the largest active force in the world , Its primary role is to maintain and preserve the territorial integrity of India against external threats and its secondary role is to assist various government agency to fight against the proxy war and assist civilian authority in the time of national distresses.
It would be impossible for me to do justice in describing even the smallest function/role carried by the Indian Army in my blog , But I would just put up the editorial written by Pravin Sawheney in FORCE to mark the raising day of the Indian Army.
Amidst hopes for New Year , 2006 ended on a sombre note. The martyrdom of Col G.S Sarna in the Kashmir Valley violently brought home the fact that despite having an edge on the terrorists in J&K and winning the psychological battles to a large extent , the war continues and quite brutally for the Indian Army. Col Sarna's martyrdom becomes news because his family lived in Delhi and it was convenient for the national media to visit his home and photograph his stoic wife, bewildered son and dejected father.
A month before that another officer, Major Pitambhar had died in a similar fashion, fighting terrorists in the Valley. His martyrdom escaped the national media, probably because his family lived in some small district of Maharashtra. But apart from these two young and promising officers, many soldiers have also laid down their lives in the line of duty in the last few months. Whether they make news or not is immaterial. After all, their job is to obey orders and do whatever is needed for the honour (izzat) of their unit. That is the essence of the institution called the Indian Army.
Perhaps it is not appreciated enough, but the fact remains that the Indian Army is unlike any army in the world. This is not hyperbole, but a statement of Truth. The young Indian Army officers lead from the front, instead of pushing their men ahead.
They operate in hostile environment but seldom let that cloud their vision. During operations tracking trigger-happy terrorists, they seldom initiate fire , and almost every time work extra hard to ensure that no civilian is caught in the cross fire.
Yet, accidents happen as they are bound to , but that is the unfortunate side of war. While the rest of the country remains oblivious to the war going on , the men and officers of the Indian Army live and sleep at the battlefront.
While we enjoy all the luxury of a peaceful life , The brave jawans and soldiers of the Indian Army makes sure that the men in Olive Green pay the price in Blood to maintain this peace.
Credits : FORCE
Indian Army Official Website
The Hindu
