India is one of the oldest civilizations in the world, spanning a period of more than 4000 years, and witnessing the blending of several customs and traditions, which are reflective of the rich culture and heritage of the country. The history of our nation gives a glimpse into the fairness of its evolution: from a country reeling under several invaders, colonialism, to one of the leading economies in the global scenario today!

We the people of India sleep and live peacefully because we are being guarded by our armed forces. The Indian Armed Forces consists of the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force, the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard. They are our nation’s shield and sword. They keep our enemies at bay and the people of our country secure and free.

The Army of India was raised under the British Raj in the 19th century by taking the erstwhile presidency armies, merging them, and bringing them under the Crown. The British Indian Army fought in both World Wars I & II. The armed forces succeeded the military of British India following India’s independence in 1947. The Indian army showed its brilliance and valor during the Battle of Saragarhi on 12th September 1897; the war took place between the British Indian Empire and the Afghan tribesmen. It occurred in the North-West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan). In this battle, our 21 Sikhs fought against 10,000 Afghans.

Do you know that India controls the highest battlefield in the world, the Siachen glacier, at 5000 meters above Mean Sea Level (MSL)? Yes, it is unbelievable. Indian soldiers are considered among the very best in high altitude and mountain warfare. The Indian army’s High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) is one of the most elite military training centers in the world and is frequented by Special Operations teams from the U.S, U.K & Russia. U.S Special Forces trained at HAWS before their deployment during the invasion of Afghanistan.

The famous Bollywood movie Border (1997) is based on the real life battle of Longewala which was fought in December 1971 between India and Pakistan, in which barely 120 Indian Soldiers with 1 jeep mounted M40 recoilless rifle held the fort against 2000 Pakistani soldiers backed by 45 tanks and 1 mobile infantry brigade. Despite being heavily out-numbered, the Indian soldiers held their ground right through the night; and with the help of the Air Force was able to completely beat the attackers.

Operation Rahat (2013) was one of the biggest civilian rescue operations ever carried out in the world. It was carried out by the Indian Air Force to evacuate civilians affected by the floods in Uttarakhand in 2013. It was the biggest civilian rescue operations in the world carried out by any Air Force using helicopters. During the first phase of the operation from 17 June 2013, the IAF airlifted a total of about 20,000 people; flying a total of 2,140 maneuvers and dropping a total of 3,82,400 kg of relief material and equipment.

As a country, India is under constant threat and faces a lot of challenges from external and internal threats which calls for a robust defense mechanism. The Indian Armed Force and the Central Armed Police Force ensure the national security of India. Let’s understand the various defense forces of India better.

Indian Armed Force: The Indian Armed Force is the primary defense wall of India and serves under the authority of the Ministry of Defense. They mainly manage external security threats. The Indian Armed Force has four main divisions: Indian Army, Indian Air Force, Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard.

CAPF: We also have the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) which serves under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs. They mainly manage internal security threats and only aid in combating external threats whenever necessary. There are seven main divisions of the CAPF:  Assam Rifles, Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), National Security Guards (NSG) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).

Indian Armed Force with strength of over 1.4 million active personnel, it is the world’s second-largest military force and has the world’s largest volunteer army. According to a 2015 estimate by Credit Suisse, the Indian Armed Forces are the world’s fifth-most powerful military. It has also the fourth-largest defense budget in the world.

Some of our special forces are best known all over world. They are: MARCOS (Marine Commandos) is India’s most lethal special force. Though they are trained to engage in battle on all terrains, MARCOS commandos are super-experts in maritime warfare. The physical test to join MARCOS is so gruesome that more than 80 percent of the applicants drop out in the first, three-day long, physical fitness and aptitude test. Those who successfully complete the test are subjected to a five-week-long process called the ‘hell’s week’ where commandos are put through extreme sleep deprivation coupled with the most difficult physical tasks. These commandos are even capable of firing while lying down, standing, running full-sprint, even backwards and looking into a mirror – with a reaction time of 0.27 seconds. The final stages of the training include an 800-meter long thigh-high mud crawl called the ‘death crawl’, loaded with 25 kg of gear which is concluded with shooting a target 25 meters away with a  man standing next to it.    

Para commandos are one of the most highly trained special forces of the Indian Army. Because of the extremely fatal nature of the operations they perform, they are kept at optimum level of operational efficiency and physical fitness, and only the most physically fit, mentally robust, intelligent, and highly motivated soldiers are inducted in the fleet. Para commandos go through the most grueling commando training regimes in the world, apart from daily 20km runs with 60km baggage and man-to-man assault practices; they even have to free fall from belligerent heights of as much as 33,500 feet. They are also highly trained in terrain and environment warfare and deep sea diving. Their most notable and fatal operations included the 1971 war with Pakistan, the 1999 Kargil war and the infamous Operation Bluestar in 1984. 

With over 2000 commandos, the Garud Commando Force is a unit of the Indian Air Force and specializes in Airfield Seizure, Special Reconnaissance, Airborne Operations, Air Assault, Special Operations Combat Search and Rescue, and counter insurgency. The training for being a Garud commando is so tough that it can take up to 3 years to qualify as a fully operational Garud. Also, Garud commandos are extremely adept at anti-hijack and counter insurgency training, jungle and snow survival techniques, specialized weapon handling and advanced driving skills.

Ghatak force is a special operations infantry platoon that acts as shock troops and lead man-to-man assaults ahead of a battalion. They specialize in raids on enemy artillery positions, airfields, supply dumps and tactical headquarters while also being experts at directing artillery and air attacks on targets deep within enemy lines. Only the most physically and mentally fit soldiers make it into the Ghatak force which is usually 20 men. Since they face the enemy face-to-face, they are trained to be undisputed at heliborne assault, rock climbing, and mountain warfare, demolitions, advanced weapons training, close quarter battle and infantry tactics.

Created in 1986, the NSG or Black Cats fall neither under Central Armed Police Forces nor under Paramilitary Forces of India. It’s instead a mix of commandos from both the Indian Army and Central Armed Police Forces which is lead by a ‘Director General’ from the Indian Police Service.  Comprising two units – the Special Action Group (SAG), which consists entirely of Indian Army personnel; and the Special Ranger Groups (SRG) for counter terrorism activities – the NSG IS equipped with some of the most advanced weapons in the world. The selection process is so brutal that it has a dropout rate of 70-80 percent. And the few, who qualify to become NSGs, are sent off to train for another 9 months to become Phantom NSG Commandos.

Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (COBRA) is probably the only Indian special force that is specifically trained in guerilla warfare to tackle the notorious Naxalite groups in the country. A part of the CRPF, COBRA commandos masters in camouflage, jungle warfare, parachute jumps, precision strikes and ambushes. Their sniper units are also one of the best among the armed forces of India.

Thankfulness: Our armed forces are brilliant and respected. We stay peacefully only because of them. We owe them our heartfelt gratitude. Let’s take a moment to salute our Armed Forces on this Republic Day. While we laugh, dance and holiday with our near and dear ones, they are working long hours in extreme conditions.

We THANK YOU for your dedication, for your service, for your sacrifice; your hard work and long hours and time away from your families which is difficult. But you are appreciated deep in our hearts. WE SALUTE YOU DEAR SOLDIERS!!!