Indian Army Day 2024: Date, Theme, History & Significance

Ashutosh Bansal January 15, 2024 03:01 9620 0

Context: The nation celebrates Indian Army Day on January 15 every year to honour the soldiers who have dedicated their lives to the nation.

Indian Army Day 2024: Date, Theme, History & Significance

Context: The nation celebrates Indian Army Day on January 15 every year to honour the soldiers who have dedicated their lives to the nation.

About Indian Army Day

  • India will celebrate its 76th Army Day on January 15 in 2024. 
  • Day is dedicated to honouring soldiers and their sacrifice for the nation. 
    • It also commemorate the achievements of the first Indian Commander in Chief of the Indian Army — General (later Field Marshal) K.M. Cariappa.
  • Motto of the Indian Army: Seva Paramo Dharma and it means ‘Service Before Self’.
    • It signifies that Army officials always prioritise the safety and security of the nation.
  • Theme of Indian Army Day 2024: In Service of the Nation. 
    • Theme highlights the core values of the Army, emphasising the unwavering dedication, commitment, and professionalism of our nation’s soldiers. 
  • Current Chief of the Army Staff: General Manoj Pande.
  • Significance of Indian Army Day: It is a day of introspection and remembrance. 
    • It’s a day to pay homage to brave soldiers who have laid down their lives for the nation, to recognise the unwavering dedication of those who stand guard at our borders, and to appreciate the sacrifices made by their families.

History of Indian Army Day

Indian Army Day of 2024 celebrates the 76th anniversary of the Indian Army’s first Commander-in-Chief, Field Marshal Kodandera M Cariappa, taking over the reins from the British in 1949.

  • About Army Chief General KM Cariappa: He led Indian forces to victory in the 1947 war, took over the command of the Indian Army from General Sir FRR Bucher, the last British Commander-in-Chief in 1949 and became the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of Independent India

Celebration of Indian Army Day

From 1949 till 2022, the Army Day parade was organised at the Cariappa Parade Ground in the Delhi Cantonment. In 2023, the Southern Command was in charge of the parade in Bengaluru.

  • 2024 Army Parade: This year, celebration will take place in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
    • This year, the parade will be led by the Central Command of the Army, based in Lucknow. 
    • The Central Command is one of the seven groups that make up the Indian Army. 
  • Use of Artificial Intelligence in Selection: This year’s Army Day parade will be special because of the use of Artificial Intelligence to select the ‘Best Marching Contingent’. 
    • Artificial Intelligence is being used for the first time to identify the best marching contingent.

New Initiative by Indian Army

Indianise to Modernise: It is a new operational philosophy has been brought in for handling of drones and counter drone systems at the level of infantry, artillery and armoured battalions,

  • Year of Technology Absorption: Indian Army will observe 2024 as the “Year of Technology Absorption” as it’s trying to gradually mature into a modern force that will have a new operational philosophy for induction of drones and counter-drones systems right across infantry, artillery and armoured battalions, and establish Command Cyber Operations Support Wings (CCOSWs).
  • Command Cyber Operations Support Wings (CCOSWs): They are special sub units to augment cyber capability.  CCOSWs are being organised in four verticals: 
    • Computer Emergency Response Team to meet the emergency response, 
    • Cyber Security Section to audit Computers & Networks, 
    • Security Operations Control for Monitoring & analysis of Networks.
    • Test & Evaluation Section for testing of new applications/softwares.
  • SAMBHAV Hardware: The Army has already inducted 2500 Secure Army Mobile Bharat Version (SAMBHAV) handsets which has multi-layered inscription and are 5G compliant. 
    • It is developed in-house in close collaboration with National Centres of Excellence and industryc, the Army’s requirement is about 35000 SAMBHAV handsets which would be distributed to officials handling sensitive assignments.
  • Previously in 2023, they an attempt to grow out of previous declaration of making 2023 as the “Year of Transformation” that saw moves such as reorientation of its arms like that of artillery, induction of fresh human resource through Agniveers, downsizing of some verticals and tech infusion.

List of Indian Chief of the Army Staff

S.No. Name Tenure
1 General Sir Robert Lockhart 15 August 1947 to 31 December 1947
2 General Francis Robert Roy Bucher 21 June 1948 to 15 January 1949
3 Field Marshal Kodandera Madappa Cariappa 16 January 1949 to 14 January 1953
4 General Maharaj Rajendrasinhji Jadeja 15 January 1953 to 1 April 1955
5 General Maharaj Rajendrasinhji Jadeja 1 April 1955 to 14 May 1955
6 General Satyawant Mallana Shrinagesh 15 May 1955 to 7 May 1957
7 General Kodandera Subayya Thimayya 8 May 1957 to 7 May 1961
8 General Pran Nath Thapar 8 May 1961 to 19 November 1962
9 General Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri 20 November 1962 to 7 June 1966
10 General Paramasiva Prabhakar Kumaramangalam 8 June 1966 to 7 June 1969
11 Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw 8 June 1969 to 15 January 1973
12 General Gopal Gurunath Bewoor 16 January 1973 to 31 May 1975
13 General Tapishwar Narain Raina 1 June 1975 to 31 May 1978
14 General Om Prakash Malhotra 1 June 1978 to 31 May 1981
15 General Kotikalapudi Venkata Krishna Rao 1 June 1981 to 31 July 1983
16 General Arun Kumar Shridhar Vaidya 1 August 1983 to 31 January 1986
17 General Krishnaswamy Sundarji 1 February 1986 to 31 May 1988
18 General Ashwa Nath Sharma 1 June 1988 to 30 June 1990
19 General Sunith Francis Rodrigues 1 July 1990 to 30 June 1993
20 General Bipin Chandra Joshi 1 July 1993 to 19 November 1994
21 General Shankar Roy Chowdhary 20 November 1994 to 30 September 1997
22 General Ved Prakash Malik 1 October 1997 to 30 September 2000
23 General Sundarajan Padmanabhan 1 October 2000 to 31 December 2002
24 General Nirmal Chander Vij 1 January 2003 to 31 January 2005
25 General Joginder Jaswant Singh 1 February 2005 to 30 September 2007
26 General Deepak Kapoor 1 October 2007 to 31 March 2010
27 General Vijay Kumar Singh 1 April 2010 to 31 May 2012
28 General Bikram Singh 1 June 2012 to 31 July 2014
29 General Dalbir Singh Suhag 1 August 2014 to 31 December 2016
30 General Bipin Rawat 31 December 2016 to 31 December 2019
31 General Manoj Mukund Naravane 31 December 2019 to 30 April 2022
32 General Manoj Pande 30 April 2022 to Present

 

Indian Navy Day

  • Navy Day is celebrated on December 4 to acknowledge the role and achievements of the Indian Navy. 
  • It commemorates the launch of Operation Trident against Pakistan during the Indo-Pakistan War in 1971.
  • Significance: It raises awareness about the Indian Navy among the general public.
  • Indian Navy’s Motto: Sam no Varunah (शं नो वरूण‌:) that means that the God of water, Varuna, should be auspicious unto us.
  • Current Chief of the Naval Staff: Admiral R. Hari Kumar.

List of Indian Navy Chief Admirals

Sr. No. Names Tenure of Office
1. Rear Admiral J.T.S. Hall August 15, 1947, to August 14, 1948
2. Admiral Sir Edward Parry August 15, 1948, to October 13, 1951
3. Admiral Sir Mark Pizey October 14, 1951, to July 21, 1955
4. Vice-Admiral Sir Stephen Carlill July 22, 1955, to April 21, 1958
5. Vice-Admiral R.D. Katari April 22, 1958, to June 4, 1962
6. Vice Admiral B.S. Soman June 05, 1962, to March 3, 1966
7. Admiral A.K. Chatterjee March 04, 1966, to February 27, 1970
8. Admiral S.M. Nanda February 28, 1970, to February 28, 1973
9. Admiral S.N. Kohli March 01, 1973, to February 28, 1976
10. Admiral J.L. Cursetji March 01, 1976, to February 28, 1979
11. Admiral R.L. Pereira March 01, 1979, to February 28, 1982
12. Admiral O.S. Dawson March 01, 1982, to November 30, 1984
13. Admiral R.H. Tahiliani December 01, 1984, to November 30, 1987
14. Admiral J.G. Nadkarni December 01, 1987, to November 30, 1990
15. Admiral Ramdas December 01, 1990, to September 30, 1993
16. Admiral V.S. Shekhawat October 01, 1993, to September 30, 1996
17. Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat October 01, 1996, to December 30, 1998
18. Admiral Sushil Kumar December 31, 1998, to December 29, 2001
19. Admiral Madhvendra Singh December 29, 2001, to July 31, 2004
20. Admiral Arun Prakash August 01, 2004, to October 30, 2006
21. Admiral Suresh Mehta October 30, 2006, to August 31, 2009
22. Admiral Nirmal Verma August 31, 2009, to August 31, 2012
23. Admiral Devender Kumar Joshi August 31, 2012, to February 26, 2014
24. Vice Admiral RK Dhowan February 26, 2014, to May 31, 2016
25. Admiral Sunil Lanba May 31, 2016, to May 31, 2019
26. Admiral Karambir Singh May 31, 2019, to November 30, 2021
27. Admiral R. Harikumar November 30, 2021, to present

Indian Air Force Day

  • Indian Air Force Day is celebrated on October 8th each year to mark the establishment of the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 1932.
  • Current Chief of the Air Staff: Vivek Ram Chaudhari.

List of Air Chief Marshal of India (1947- 2021)

S. No. Name Tenure
1 Sir Thomas Elmhirst 15 August 1947 – 23 February 1950
2 Sir Ronald Ivelaw-Chapman 23 February 1950 – 9 December 1951
3 Gerald Gibbs 10 December 1951 – 31 March 1954
4 Subroto Mukerjee 1 April 1954 – 31 March 1955
5 Aspy Engineer 1 December 1960 – 31 July 1964
6 Arjan Singh 1 August 1964 – 15 July 1969
7 Pratap Chandra Lal 16 July 1969 – 15 January 1973
8 Om Prakash Mehra 16 January 1973 – 31 January 1976
9 Hrushikesh Moolgavkar 1 February 1976 – 30 August 1978
10 Idris Hasan Latif 1 September 1978 – 30 August 1981
11 Dilbagh Singh 1 September 1981 – 3 September 1984
12 Lakshman Madhav Katre 3 September 1984 – 1 July 1985
13 Denis La Fontaine 3 July 1985 – 31 July 1988
14 Surinder Mehra 1 August 1988 – 31 July 1991
15 Nirmal Chandra Suri 31 July 1991 – 31 July 1993
16 Swaroop Krishna Kaul 1 August 1993 – 31 December 1995
17 Satish Sareen 31 December 1995 – 31 December 1998
18 Anil Yashwant Tipnis 31 December 1998 – 31 December 2001
19 Srinivasapuram Krishnaswamy 31 December 2001 – 31 December 2004
20 Shashindra Pal Tyagi 31 December 2004 – 31 March 2007
21 Fali Homi Major 31 March 2007 – 31 May 2009
22 Pradeep Vasant Naik 31 May 2009 – 31 July 2011
23 Norman Anil Kumar Browne 31 July 2011 – 31 December 2013
24 Arup Raha 31 December 2013 – 31 December 2016
25 Birender Singh Dhanoa 31 December 2016 – 30 September 2019
26 Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria 30 September 2019 – 30 September 2021
27 Vivek Ram Chaudhari 30 September 2021 – Present

Also Read, List of First in India in the fields of Science, Politics, Defence, Architecture, Sports, Awards

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Indian Army Day FAQs

To honor soldiers' dedication, it marks the anniversary of Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa becoming the first Indian Army Commander in 1949.

The theme is "In Service of the Nation," highlighting soldiers' dedication, commitment, and professionalism.

General Manoj Pande is the current Chief of the Army Staff as of 2024.

It takes place in Lucknow, and Artificial Intelligence is used for the first time to select the 'Best Marching Contingent.'

He led India to victory in 1947, became the first Indian Commander-in-Chief, and is celebrated on Army Day.
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