We celebrate 15 January every year as Indian Army Day to remember the event when General K M Cariappa became the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of Independent India. Kodandera M Cariappa took over as the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from General Butcher. He was an army officer with a distinguished career in the British Indian Army and later the Indian Army. In 1919, he joined the army when he received the King’s Commission with the first group of Indian cadets. Before taking charge as Army chief, he administered the country’s army on the west during the Indo-Pak War of 1947. He had a vital contribution to various re-attaining territories in Kargil. The story of his appointment is also very interesting. The story goes something like this – Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was having a meeting with senior army personals and cabinet ministers. He suggested that the post of first army chief should be given to a British officer because Indian officers have no experience in handling such a post. One of the army personnel present their, objected to this and said that, “as we also don’t have the experience of leading a nation, so we should appoint a British person as our first Prime Minister.” After hearing this, Nehru realised his mistake and asked the person that would he like to become the first army chief? On this he suggested the name of Lieutenant general K.M. Cariappa who was also present there and thus he became the first army chief.
The day reminds us that independence wasn’t just a fight of one day but a lengthy process. Indian Army Day is celebrated to recognise the efforts of this Man of Principals. He was known for his compassion & discipline. He inspired generations by demonstrating the highest standards of patriotism. It is said that, lucky are those who get selected for Indian army. With countries like the US, China, and Russia, our nation’s army is one of the biggest armed forces in the world that operates on “Serve others before self” as its ultimate agenda. Discover more about the Indian Army Day’s history, significance, and celebrations. As we all know, Indian army has a long and glorious history. Therefore, it is difficult to talk about everything in such a limited space. It would not be wrong to say that there would be no India without Indian Army. It is the backbone of the country. It is also one of the few institutions left in the country which could be considered as completely neutral and reliable. India became an independent nation after gaining freedom from British rulers in 1945 after almost 200 years. During that time, the country was experiencing a lot of chaos & riots as many refugees and people were migrating from Pakistan. Even though the country got freedom from British rulers in 1947, it didn’t have the official reins of the Indian army in its hand until two years later, in 1979. Finally, on the day of 26th January 1950, the Constitution of the country was declared, and India became a republic country. Soldiers are one of the greatest assets of any country. They are the guardians of the nation and protect its citizens at all costs. The primary mission of the Indian Army is to ensure national security and national unity, to defend the nation from external aggression and internal threats, and to maintain peace and security within its borders.
We have taken for granted that someone is always deployed to guard our borders while we sleep in our cozy homes or there will be someone to take the bullets of the enemies and terrorists for us. We sleep comfortably in our homes because we know that even if we are not alert, there are some people who are always aware so that we can be safe. These people are part of the country’s Army. The first priority of the Indian Army is to cater for the security of the nation, its unity and integrity, defence from any kind of external aggression and internal threats, and to keep peace and security within the borders. The Army also manages rescue missions at the time of natural disasters, calamities or any other disturbances, displaying their humanitarian face. Let us patch our ways and start giving real respect to the soldiers otherwise a time may come when there will be no one to defend our motherland. Long live India and long live Indian Army.
