Origins, Memory, and the Making of an InstitutionThere are institutions that serve a nation, and then there are institutions that become the nation’s conscience. The Indian Army belongs firmly to the latter. On 15 January every year, as the country marks Indian Army Day, the occasion is often mistaken for a date on the calendar marked by parades, medals, and ceremonial precision. In truth, it is something far deeper. It is a day when India pauses—not in spectacle, but in recognition—to acknowledge an institution that has carried the weight of the Republic on its shoulders, often invisibly, often without applause. Field Marshal Kodandera Madappa Cariappa Indian Army Day commemorates a moment of historic transition. On 15 January 1949, General (later Field Marshal) Kodandera Madappa Cariappa assumed office as the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army, taking over from General Sir Francis Roy Bucher, the last British officer to hold the post. This transfer of command was not a mere administrative formality. It marked the final assertion of military sovereignty in a newly independent nation still finding its footing amidst Partition’s trauma, unresolved borders, and geopolitical uncertainty.For those who wore the uniform in the early years of Independence, this moment symbolised something profound: the Indian Army was no longer a colonial force commanded from afar. It now answered solely to the Indian people, the Indian Constitution, and the Indian flag.An Army Older Than Its NameWhile the modern Indian Army took institutional shape under British rule, India’s military consciousness predates colonialism by millennia. From the organised infantry formations described in the Rigveda to the strategic brilliance documented in Kautilya’s Arthashastra, warfare, defence, and discipline have long been embedded in the subcontinent’s civilisational memory.Empires rose and fell on the strength of their armies. The Mauryan standing army under Chandragupta and Ashoka, the Gupta forces that protected a golden age of learning, the Chola navy that dominated the seas, the Rajput codes of honour-bound warfare, the Maratha emphasis on mobility and terrain, and the Sikh Khalsa’s fierce martial ethos—all contributed layers to what would later become India’s military character.Yet, by the time the British consolidated power, these traditions were absorbed, reorganised, and often exploited. Indian soldiers fought valiantly in faraway lands during World War I and World War II, earning praise abroad while remaining subordinate at home. Over 2.5 million Indian soldiers served in World War II alone, making it the largest volunteer force in history.At Independence, India inherited not only a massive military apparatus but also its fractures: divided units, contested loyalties, inadequate equipment, and a leadership vacuum at the very top.1947–1949: Birth Under FireThe Indian Army’s baptism as a national force was immediate and unforgiving. Even before formal structures could stabilise, conflict arrived at the nation’s doorstep. The first Indo-Pak war of 1947–48 over Jammu and Kashmir forced Indian troops into action under extreme constraints—limited logistics, hurried mobilisation, and political uncertainty.Veterans of that era often spoke of improvisation as a defining feature of those early operations. Units moved by road, rail, and on foot, carrying not just weapons but the burden of defending a nation still bleeding from Partition.It was in this volatile environment that leaders like K. M. Cariappa, K. S. Thimayya, and others laid down the professional ethos of the post-Independence Indian Army—firmly apolitical, disciplined, secular, and answerable to civilian authority.Army Day, therefore, is not only about command succession. It is about institutional continuity—about how an army forged in colonial rule was reshaped into a democratic force without losing its operational edge.The Soldier’s Perspective: Army as FamilyFor veterans who served across decades, the Indian Army is rarely described in abstract terms. It is spoken of as family, as identity, as home. Brigadier Bakir Shamim (Retd.) former Commanding Officer of the 270 Engineer RegimentBrigadier Bakir Shamim (Retd.), former Commanding Officer of the 270 Engineer Regiment and later Chief Engineer, Hyderabad, articulates this sentiment with quiet clarity. Having spent 35 years in uniform before taking premature retirement, his life journey spans the Indian Army, the corporate world in the Middle East, and entrepreneurship back home. Yet, emotionally, his anchor remains unchanged.“For me, the Army is a big family—a very close family,” Brigadier Shamim says. “I lived abroad, worked in the corporate world, even became an American citizen. But in the heart of hearts, I am still in the Indian Army.”His reflection is telling. It underscores a truth civilians often overlook: service in the Army does not end with retirement. The uniform may be folded away, but the identity never truly leaves.Brigadier Shamim’s childhood itself was steeped in service—his father served in the Indian Air Force, and his own journey through King George’s School, the National Defence Academy, and the Indian Military Academy cemented a lifelong bond with the forces.This continuity of service across generations is not an exception; it is a pattern repeated across cantonments and regimental histories nationwide.Ethos Forged in ConflictAs the Indian Army matured, it faced defining trials that shaped its doctrine, preparedness, and psyche.The 1962 conflict with China was a sobering chapter. Operational and political miscalculations led to setbacks in the high Himalayas, exposing deficiencies in logistics, intelligence, and infrastructure. Yet, within the Army, 1962 is remembered not merely as a defeat but as a catalyst for transformation. Training methodologies were overhauled, mountain warfare capabilities expanded, and strategic planning recalibrated.The wars of 1965 and 1971 against Pakistan marked a turning point. By 1971, the Indian Army demonstrated operational maturity, joint coordination, and moral clarity. The liberation of Bangladesh and the surrender of over 90,000 Pakistani troops remains one of the most decisive military outcomes of the twentieth century.Later conflicts—from the counter-insurgency operations in the Northeast to the Kargil conflict of 1999—reinforced the Army’s adaptability. High-altitude warfare in Kargil, fought under intense global media scrutiny, showcased extraordinary courage under near-impossible conditions.Compassion as a Combat ValueBeyond battles and borders, the Indian Army’s ethos is deeply intertwined with compassion—particularly towards its own.One of Brigadier Shamim’s most enduring memories comes not from combat, but from an act of collective humanity during his tenure in Nagaland. When the widow of a Subedar Major, killed in action and left homeless after insurgents burnt her house, sought help, bureaucratic processes moved slowly. The Army did not.“The GOC told me, ‘Let’s help her.’ I said, ‘Whatever you want to do, I’ll do it,’” Brigadier Shamim recalls. “Within two months, my regiment built her a house.”What followed stayed with him far longer. Every fortnight for months, the widow returned with a cake—a simple gesture of gratitude that became a symbol of enduring connection. “My officers would joke, ‘Sir, your girlfriend has come,’” he says, smiling. “But for me, it was deeply touching.”This story captures something fundamental: the Indian Army does not abandon its own. Service extends beyond the battlefield, beyond death, beyond official obligation.Why Army Day Matters to CiviliansFor civilians, Indian Army Day offers an opportunity to engage with the human dimension of military service. It is easy to view the Army through parades and headlines, through uniforms and insignia. Harder—but necessary—is recognising the ordinary lives lived behind extraordinary duty.Army Day is a reminder that the freedoms enjoyed daily are secured by men and women who operate in silence, often in inhospitable terrain, separated from families, carrying responsibilities that cannot be shared.It is also a day to reaffirm civil-military trust—a cornerstone of India’s democratic framework. The Indian Army’s unwavering adherence to constitutional authority, despite political churn and regional instability, remains one of the Republic’s greatest strengths.As India evolves, the Army continues to adapt—embracing technology, modern warfare doctrines, and joint operations—while holding fast to its core values: Naam, Namak, Nishaan.Secunderabad: Where the Army Breathes DailyFew places in India embody the Army’s living continuity as vividly as Secunderabad Cantonment. Established in 1806, it predates Independence by over a century and has served as one of the most enduring military nerve centres in southern India.To walk through Secunderabad Cantonment is to experience a layered history—colonial-era bungalows standing beside modern installations, parade grounds echoing with commands that generations have heard, and institutions that quietly shape India’s strategic leadership.It is home to some of the Army’s most important establishments: The College of Defence Management (CDM)The College of Defence Management (CDM), where senior officers are trained in higher defence planning, strategy, and national security managementThe Army Service Corps Centre & College, the backbone of military logisticsMultiple regimental centres, training units, and support formationsFor officers who have lived and served here, Secunderabad is not just a posting—it is a formative chapter.Veterans often describe it as a place where the Army’s intellectual, operational, and human dimensions intersect. Young officers arrive with raw ambition; senior officers leave with perspective, tempered judgment, and institutional memory.Indian Army Day celebrations in Secunderabad carry a distinctive tone—less spectacle, more substance. Parades are precise but restrained. Wreath-laying ceremonies are deeply personal. Interactions with veterans feel less like formal events and more like family reunions.Here, Army Day is not performed. It is felt.Leadership: Authority Earned, Not AssumedOne of the most striking insights that emerges from conversations with senior officers is how leadership in the Indian Army is understood—not as command by rank, but command by trust. Lt Gen Madan Gopal PVSM, AVSM (Retd.), former Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Madan Gopal (Retd.), former Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) and a veteran of multiple operational theatres, articulates this with characteristic clarity.Commissioned into the 9 Gorkha Rifles after joining the National Defence Academy in 1963, his career spanned the 1971 Bangladesh War, counter-insurgency operations in Mizoram, Assam, Punjab, and Jammu & Kashmir, before culminating at Army Headquarters in one of the Army’s most consequential appointments.Yet, when he reflects on Army Day, his emphasis is not on authority or power.“Fifteenth January is very significant,” he says. “It is the day when the Indian Army was reborn under the Tricolour. We gave up the colonial mindset and began as the Indian Army all over again.”For him, Army Day is not nostalgia alone—it is continuity.“People often say the Army has changed. I don’t believe people have changed. What has changed is technology. Today’s officers are more educated, more aware, more technologically equipped—and that is a good thing.”This perspective challenges a common civilian misconception—that tradition and modernity exist in tension within the Army. In reality, the institution absorbs change without diluting its core.Command in Its Most Human MomentLeadership, in the Indian Army, often reveals itself not in ceremony but in crisis.Lt Gen Madan Gopal recalls a cordon-and-search operation near Sonamarg in Jammu & Kashmir, where his troops came under militant fire.“I found one of my boys lying on the ground, his head badly injured,” he recounts. “I did not want anyone else to see him—not even the Commanding Officer. I picked him up myself and put him into the vehicle.”What followed was not hesitation, but clarity.“The task in hand was more important. The mission had to continue. That is leadership. Certain qualities emerge only in moments like these. They don’t come every day. They just happen.”This is a recurring theme across officer narratives: command decisions are deeply personal, often isolating, and made in seconds. There is no room for theatrics—only responsibility.Army Day brings these moments back to veterans not as war stories, but as reminders of the weight they once carried.Patriotism Without Performance Colonel R. P. Johri (Retd.), 3rd Battalion, 9 Gorkha RiflesColonel R. P. Johri (Retd.), 3rd Battalion, 9 Gorkha Rifles, speaks of service in simpler, grounded terms.“The one thing that has never changed is patriotism,” he says. “People who join the Army—then or now—are people who want to do something for the country.”For him, Army Day is also a reckoning with what was sacrificed quietly.“We gave our youth to the nation. We lost birthdays, festivals, and family moments. Our friends in civilian life enjoyed those things. Our requirement was different.”There is no bitterness in his reflection—only acceptance. In the Army, sacrifice is not romanticised internally. It is normalised, understood, and absorbed.This quiet acceptance is what civilians rarely see, yet it forms the emotional core of military life.From Boys to MenFor Maj Gen Mohan Das (Retd.), Army Day is inseparable from personal transformation.An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, 1960 batch, his career spanned the 1965 War, counter-insurgency operations in the Northeast, technical specialisations, and senior command appointments.“My fifteenth birthday was spent at the National Defence Academy,” he says. “We learned to become men from little boys.”The Army, in his telling, is not merely a profession—it is an education in leadership, emotional intelligence, and responsibility.“It teaches you how to deal with people, how to extract the best from them, and how to give back to the nation.”Army Day, for veterans like him, is layered with memory—of drill grounds, early mornings, instructors’ voices, and the moment young cadets realised that leadership meant accountability, not privilege.The Regiment as AnchorRegimental identity is often misunderstood outside the military. To civilians, it may appear divisive or outdated. Within the Army, it serves the opposite function—it creates cohesion under stress. Colonel Raja Shekhar (Retd.) of the Rajput RegimentColonel Raja Shekhar (Retd.) of the Rajput Regiment, commissioned in 1974, explains this from lived experience.“Each company may have men from the same community. It helps them settle initially. But after some time, you don’t know who comes from where. You only know that he is your man.”During counter-insurgency operations in Jammu & Kashmir in the early 1990s, his battalion captured 15 top militants of the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, along with a large cache of arms.“That operation united the battalion,” he recalls. “But leadership is not just about action. It is about restraint.”This emphasis on restraint is critical. The Indian Army operates within democratic constraints even under provocation—a discipline that requires emotional control as much as courage.“Courage without restraint can be dangerous,” he says.Army Day honours not only those who fought, but those who chose not to escalate when restraint served the nation better.Families: The Silent FrontlineBehind every soldier stands a family absorbing absence without complaint.Spouses manage households across postings. Children grow up packing lives into trunks every few years. Parents age at a distance. The Army’s operational readiness is sustained not only by soldiers, but by families who adapt continuously, often invisibly. Army Day is as much theirs as it is the soldier’s. Veterans repeatedly emphasise that service is collective. No medal is earned alone. No command is held without unseen support.Veterans and the Long Afterlife of ServiceRetirement from the Army does not dissolve its influence. Veterans carry the institution into civilian life—through discipline, restraint, and a refusal to disengage from national concerns.Many mentor young officers. Others serve quietly in civil society. All remain tethered emotionally to the uniform they once wore.Army Day becomes a point of reconnection—a day when past and present briefly align.For veterans, it is not about nostalgia alone. It is about gratitude—for having been trusted with responsibility, for having belonged to something larger than self.Silent Comrades, the Future Force, and Why Army Day Belongs to Civilians TooWhen civilians speak of the Indian Army, they usually speak of men and women in uniform. What is less visible—but deeply ingrained in military life—is the presence of silent comrades who have served alongside soldiers for decades: animals trained, trusted, and deployed in environments where technology often fails.To veterans, these animals are not equipment. They are part of the unit’s moral fabric.The Silent Warriors: Animals in the Indian ArmyFrom the icy heights of Ladakh to the dense jungles of the Northeast and the scorching deserts of Rajasthan, animals have remained indispensable to Indian military operations.Military Working Dogs, in particular, occupy a revered space.These dogs are trained for:Veterans consistently describe them as intuitive, loyal, and fearless—often walking point ahead of human patrols, absorbing the greatest risk.Many officers recall dogs alerting units to ambushes or improvised explosive devices, saving dozens of lives in seconds.Recent years have seen the Army induct breeds better suited to extreme climates—dogs trained to operate at high altitude, in sub-zero temperatures, and in dense urban environments. The training blends traditional bonding methods with modern behavioural science.In regimental memory, fallen dogs are mourned. Their service is acknowledged. Their loss is felt.Beyond dogs, the Army continues to rely on animals uniquely adapted to Indian terrain.In Ladakh, the Army has inducted double-humped Bactrian camels, capable of operating in cold deserts at altitudes where vehicles struggle. Their endurance, load-bearing capacity, and ability to survive extreme cold make them invaluable for logistics and patrol roles.In mountainous regions, mules and ponies remain irreplaceable. Ammunition, supplies, and rations are often moved across narrow, treacherous paths where no machine can go.Ceremonial cavalry units continue to preserve mounted traditions, while horses are still used for reconnaissance and crowd control in specific contexts.Army Day, when viewed fully, honours not only soldiers—but an entire ecosystem of service, where animals play life-saving roles without recognition or reward.Restraint as a Strategic StrengthOne of the most misunderstood aspects of the Indian Army is its operational restraint.Veterans repeatedly emphasise that courage alone does not define military professionalism. Emotional discipline does.Colonel Raja Shekhar (Retd.) explains that leadership is often about preventing escalation.“There are moments when men are angry—when a comrade is injured or killed. Leadership is about keeping them calm. Courage without restraint can be dangerous.”This restraint is not a weakness. It is institutional maturity.The Indian Army operates under civilian authority, within constitutional limits, often in politically sensitive environments. Decisions are measured not only in tactical success, but in long-term national consequences.Army Day becomes a reminder that the Army’s strength lies as much in what it chooses not to do as in what it does.Modernisation Without Losing the SoulAs India’s strategic environment grows more complex, the Indian Army continues to modernise—integrating cyber capabilities, surveillance technologies, drones, precision weaponry, and network-centric warfare systems.Yet veterans consistently argue that technology alone does not win wars.Maj Gen Mohan Das (Retd.) underscores this balance. Maj Gen P Mohan Das VSM (Retd.) Corps of EME“Technology defines modern warfare. But leadership, morale, and training define victory.”The Army’s greatest asset remains its human capital—officers and soldiers trained to think independently, adapt under pressure, and lead ethically.Institutions like the College of Defence Management in Secunderabad reflect this philosophy, training senior officers not only in warfare, but in strategic thinking, economics, logistics, and civil-military relations.Army Day therefore looks forward as much as it looks back—acknowledging that future conflicts may be hybrid, ambiguous, and information-driven, yet will still demand character, judgment, and restraint.Veterans: Service That Does Not EndOne of the quiet truths of Army Day is that service does not end with retirement.Veterans carry the Army into civilian life—in habits, silences, and values. Many mentor younger officers, contribute to civil institutions, or serve quietly in advisory roles.Brigadier Bakir Shamim (Retd.), former Commanding Officer of 270 Engineer Regiment and later Chief Engineer, Hyderabad, articulates this enduring bond with disarming honesty.After premature retirement, he worked abroad, lived in the corporate world, and became an American citizen. Yet emotionally, nothing replaced the Army.“In the heart of hearts, I am still in the Indian Army,” he says.One of his most cherished memories comes from Nagaland, where his regiment rebuilt the home of a fallen soldier’s widow after insurgents burnt it down.“Within two months, we built her a house,” he recalls. “After that, every fortnight, she would come with a cake for us.”These are not stories of combat. They are stories of institutional compassion—rarely documented, yet deeply defining.Army Day honours this moral inheritance as much as battlefield success.Why Army Day Belongs to CiviliansPerhaps the most important question is not what Army Day means to soldiers—but what it should mean to civilians.The Indian Army does not function in isolation. It operates so that civilian life can continue uninterrupted.The freedom to debate, protest, create, build, and disagree exists because someone else stands watch—often in silence, often without recognition.Army Day is not a military festival.It is a civic reminder.It asks civilians to remember that peace is maintained, not inherited.That readiness is constant, even when invisible.That sacrifice is ongoing, even when unacknowledged.Gratitude, therefore, cannot be performative.It must translate into:Respect for veteransDignity in healthcare and pensionsUnderstanding of military restraintResponsible civil discourse around national securityA Living Institution, Not a RelicThe Indian Army is not frozen in time. It evolves, adapts, learns, and corrects itself.What remains unchanged is its ethical spine—Naam, Namak, Nishaan—honour, loyalty, and identity.Army Day commemorates the moment the Army became fully Indian in command. Every year after that is a reaffirmation of trust—between the nation and those who serve it.For veterans, it is a day of memory and belonging.For serving soldiers, it is a day of continuity and resolve.For civilians, it should be a day of understanding.Not a spectacle. Not slogans.But quiet recognition.Because the Indian Army does not ask to be celebrated.It asks only to be understood.
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घर पर बनाएं टेस्टी मिक्स अचार – देसी तरीका, बिना प्रिजर्वेटिव, आसान रेसिपी
गोंडा. अगर आप भी घर पर शुद्ध और स्वादिष्ट मिक्स अचार बनाना चाहते हैं, तो गोंडा की एक…
