Tell about Indian Army?

The Battle of Saragarhi is yet another example of valor of Indian Army. Fought in 1897 on 12th of September, it was a battle fought between 21 Sikh soldiers against 10,000 Afghan soldiers. Afghans lost 180 soldiers while all 21 Sikhs died on battlefield. It was one of the greatest last stands in history.

The highest military honor in India is the Param Veer Chakra. 21 Indian soldiers have received Param Veer Chakra till date among which 14 received the award posthumously.

Indian Royal Army was the largest volunteering army by end of WWII with 2.5 million volunteers serving in naval, air force and infantry regiments posted in Europe, Asia and Africa. Of the total volunteers, 36,000 lost their lives, 34,354 were wounded and 67,340 were captured as prisoners.

The only war lost by Indian Army was in 1962 when India fought China. The loss was not a result of negligence on part of the Indian Army. It was rather the defense minister and PM who made mistakes in an attempt to micromanage the war using political routes. Complete freedom of operational control was not given to Indian Army and they were even denied of air support. A top ranking Chinese general eventually admitted that if there was anything that the Indian Army did not lack then it was determination and courage.

The Para Commandos of Indian Armed Forces is considered to be one of the best in world. They are trained to be lethal killers and they excel in covert operations. Not much is known about them and they are among the most feared armed forces all around the world.

“The President’s Bodyguards” is Indian Army’s oldest armored regiment. It was formed back in 1776.

Indian Army was born in 1776. It was East India Company Government in Kolkata that formed the Indian Army.

The oldest parliamentary force of Indian Armed Forces is that Assam Rifles. Assam Rifles was formed in 1835.

Indian Army is the largest volunteer force in the entire world. This simply means that Indian Army consists of the largest number of willing soldiers in the entire world. Indian Constitution actually has the option of military conscription but never needed to implement it.

One of the first wars that Free India fought was known as Operation Polo. It was actually a battle fought for maintaining the integrity of Indian Union and avoid its breakup. Hyderabad, one of the biggest kingdoms in India actually refused to become a part of Indian Union and demanded that it be recognized as a separate nation

Indian Army is the third largest army in the world. First and second positions are occupied by China and USA respectively.

Operation Polo, which was actually known as “Police Action” was fought between 3500 Indian Armed Forces on one side and 22,000 Hyderabad State Forces and 200,000 irregular forces known as Razakars on the other side. The operation was over in 5 days with Indian Army taking a casualty of 32 soldiers and 97 wonded. On the Nizam’s side 807 Hyderabad State Forces soldiers were killed, 1647 were taken as POWs and 1373 Razakars were killed with 1911 Razakars captured.

Throughout the world, there are only three cavalry regiments and Indian Armed Forces has one of those three.

Post Independence, Goa was still under the control of Portuguese till 1961. The locals did not want the Portuguese rule and were resiting them.

The largest contributor to United Nations peace making operations is Indian Army.

There are 9 Army Bases and 53 Cantonments of Indian Army throughout India.

At the age of 19, Royal Indian Army’s Sepoy Kamal Ram received the Victoria Cross for valor after WWII, making him the youngest Indian to ever receive that honor.

When it comes to jungle and high altitude mountain warfare, Indian Army has no match in this world. Russia, UK, USA and several other countries send their armies to Gulmarg based High Altitude Warfare School for training.

Arjun and Arjun MK II tanks indigenously developed in India are among the most advanced tanks in the world with highly accurate targeting of stationary and moving targets. They are capable of operating during day and night and can travel cross country at a speed of 40kmph and can achieve the maximum speed of 47kmph.

Similarly, the Counter-insurgency and Jungle Warfare School is also frequently visited by armed forces from those countries for training.

Indian Army has never been involved in a military coup and has never initiated first attack in any warfare.

Futuristic Main Battle Tank (FMBT) is currently in a conceptual and design phase with DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organization) conducting a feasibility study of implementing Weapons Management System and Digital Cockpit of fighter aircraft. The tank is envisioned to be a lightweight fighting machine with a weight of less than 50 tons and fully automatic gunner/loader roles.

World’s highest battlefield is controlled by Indian Army. It is the Siachen Glacier located 5000 meters above mean sea level (MSL). 3000 soldiers are deployed in the area because it falls under LOC (Line of Control).

This will reduce the conventional 4-member crew of Arjun tanks to 2-member crew with only Driver and Commander onboard.

In Indian Army, there is absolutely no provision for recruitment based on religion, caste or creed. Soldiers are always recruited based on their fitness and merits.