1. Param Vir
Chakra, the highest wartime gallantry award has been awarded only 21 times till
date, and 2/3rds of these were awarded posthumously.
2. Siachen
Glacier is the highest battlefield in the world. More soldiers die here from
cold than enemy attacks. The temperature drops to -50 degree celsius, at times.
Siachen is jokingly referred to as a punishment posting, as over 850 people
have lost their lives here due to bad weather. The official duration of the
posting is three months and anything more than that can damage a soldier’s life
beyond repair(Dementia, ED, frostbites are common). However, people often end
up spending around six months to an year, since no one wants to be posted there
and those who are already there cannot be relieved until reinforcements arrive.
Even the helicopters have to be pushed beyond their limits to reach the area in
order to send supplies.
3. The High
Altitude Warfare School in Gulmarg is the world’s best training institute when
it comes to mountain warfare. The best forces from around the world come here
to train, including the Delta Force and Marines.
4. There is
absolutely no reservation or preference, be it in matters of caste, creed,
religion or race in the Indian army. The Services Selection Board for the
selection of candidates as Commissioned Officers is apparently the toughest in
the world as compared to selection in defense forces of any other country.
Though the Indian Army faces a shortage of around 12,000 officers, there is no
compromise on quality standards when selecting candidates.
5. In terms
of numbers, the Indian Army is third largest army in the world. It also has the
credit of being the largest volunteer force. It has been the largest
contributor to the United Nations Peace Keeping Force (UNPKF), and has taken
part in huge number of missions abroad. Under the British occupation, the
Indian Army had the largest number of soldiers fighting in the Second World
War, numbering over2.5 million.
6. Apart
from the WWII, the Indian Army has the credit of accepting the largest military
surrender in history in 1971. Over 93,000 Pakistani soldiers surrendered to
India, leading to the independence of Bangladesh. It is very rare in history
that an attacking party had to surrender in war.
7. The
Indian army has never initiated a first attack or engaged in a military coup
with the intention of gaining power or governing a nation.
8. Another
brilliant example of bravery by the Indian army was during the Battle of
Saragarhi on 12th September 1897. In this battle, 21 Sikhs fought against 10,000
Afghans. All 21 Sikhs died in this battle, and there were 400-600 casualties on
the Afghan side. This battle is often cited as one of the greatest last stands
in history, often compared to the Battle of Thermopylae,where King Leonidas
fought Persian army of Xerxes in 480 BC with an army of 300 Spartan soldiers.
9. Talking
about the regimental structure, each defense establishment has a place of
worship for different religions based on the religious distributionof the
army. When there isn’t enough place for all religions, a sarv dharmsthal is
created, which serves as a place of worship for all religions. A highly
educated Religious Teacher of the rank of a Junior Commissioned Officer(JCO/Warrant Officer) acts counselor to soldiers and officers to help
them during moral and psychological crisis.
10. The
Ministry of Defense operates five Rashtriya Military Schools and a Rashtriya
Indian Military College as feeder institutions to defense forces, where
students undergo a similar curriculum designed according to their age group as
they would in services. The students here are generally called cadets and have
an option to join Indian Defense service at the end of their schooling.
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