1.
Subedar Major
–
Subedar-major is the senior rank of junior commissioned officer in the Indian and Pakistani Armies, and formerly a Viceroys commissioned officer in the British Indian Army. Although commissioned, they would be considered as senior enlisted personnel, a battalions single subedar-major assists the commander in much the same way as a regimental sergeant major would. Under British rule a subedar-major wore the crown of a full major, india now use Ashoka lions with a gold and red stripe below, and Pakistan a wreathed star with green and red. These stripes separate subedar-majors from full commissioned majors, in the Old Indian Army this distinction was made by race, in the cavalry, the equivalent rank is risaldar-major. Subedar-major or risaldar-major equated to a British major and subedar or risaldar to captain, although junior to all British officers
2.
Param Vir Chakra
–
The Param Vir Chakra is Indias highest military decoration awarded for the highest degree of valour or self–sacrifice in the presence of the enemy. Literally meaning Wheel of the Ultimate Brave, it is similar to the Medal of Honor in the United States, unlike the Param Vir Chakra, which is awarded only to military personnel, the Ashoka Chakra decoration may be awarded either to military or civilian personnel. Similarly to the PVC, it can be awarded posthumously, a number of central and state governments and ministries of India provide several allowances and rewards to recipients of the PVC. The PVC was established on 26 January 1950, by the President of India and it can be awarded to officers or enlisted personnel from all branches of the Indian military. Provision was made in the event an individual was awarded the PVC twice, in this were to occur, they would receive a bar and a replica of the vajra, the weapon of Indra, the god of heaven. To date, the award has not been conferred twice and it carries with it the right to use PVC as a post-nominal abbreviation. The medal was designed by Savitri Khanolkar, the wife of an Indian Army officer, Vikram Khanolkar of the Sikh Regiment. Coincidentally, the first Param Vir Chakra was awarded to her son-in-law Lt. Gen. Surinder Nath Sharmas elder brother, Major Somnath Sharma, the medal is a circular bronze disc 1.375 inches in diameter. On the front, the state appears in the center on a raised circle surrounded by four copies of the vajra, the mythical weapon of Indra. The motif symbolizes the sacrifice of Rishi Dadhichi, who gave his bones to the Gods to make the vajra to kill the demon Vritra, the medal is suspended from a straight swiveling suspension bar. On the rear, around a center, are two legends separated by lotus flowers. The words Param Vir Chakra are written in Hindi and English, a purple ribbon,32 millimetres long, holds the Param Vir Chakra. The medal has been awarded 21 times, of which 14 were posthumous awards, of the 21 awardees,20 have been from the Indian Army, and 1 has been from the Indian Air Force. The Grenadiers have received the greatest number of Param Vir Chakras, the various Gorkha Rifle regiments of the Indian Army have received three awards, with the 1,8, and 11 Gorkha Rifle regiments each having one PVC recipient. Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon, who was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously in 1971, is the only Indian Air Force officer to date to have been honoured with the Param Vir Chakra. Naib Subedar Sanjay Kumar, and Subedar Yogendra Singh Yadav, are the active duty PVC recipients in the Indian Army. Beyond the obvious honour, the award carries a cash allowance for those under the rank of lieutenant. Upon the death of the recipient, the pension is transferred to the widow until her death or remarriage, in the case of a posthumous recipient who is a bachelor, the allowance is paid to his father or mother
3.
Jammu and Kashmir
–
Jammu and Kashmir is a state in northern India, often denoted by the acronym J&K. It is located mostly in the Himalayan mountains, and shares borders with the states of Himachal Pradesh, the state has special autonomy under Article 370 of the Constitution of India. A part of the erstwhile Princely State of Kashmir and Jammu, the western districts of the former princely state known as Azad Kashmir and the northern territories known as Gilgit-Baltistan have been under Pakistani control since 1947. The Aksai Chin region in the east, bordering Tibet, has been under Chinese control since 1962, Jammu and Kashmir consists of three regions, Jammu, the Kashmir Valley and Ladakh. Srinagar is the capital, and Jammu is the winter capital. Jammu and Kashmir is the state in India with a Muslim-majority population. The Kashmir valley is famous for its mountainous landscape. Ladakh, also known as Little Tibet, is renowned for its remote mountain beauty, Maharaja Hari Singh became the ruler of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in 1925, and he was the reigning monarch at the conclusion of the British rule in the subcontinent in 1947. Jammu and Kashmir had a Muslim majority, following the logic of Partition, many people in Pakistan expected that Kashmir would join Pakistan. However, the predominant political movement in the Valley of Kashmir was secular, so many in India too had expectations that Kashmir would join India. The Maharaja was faced with indecision, on 22 October 1947, rebellious citizens from the western districts of the State and Pushtoon tribesmen from the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan invaded the State, backed by Pakistan. The Maharaja initially fought back but appealed for assistance to the India, Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession on 26 October 1947 in return for military aid and assistance, which was accepted by the Governor General the next day. Once the Instrument of Accession was signed, Indian soldiers entered Kashmir with orders to evict the raiders, the resulting Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 lasted till the end of 1948. At the beginning of 1948, India took the matter to the United Nations Security Council, a ceasefire was agreed on 1 January 1949, supervised by UN observers. A special United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan was set up to negotiate the arrangements as per the Security Council resolution. The UNCIP made three visits to the subcontinent between 1948 and 1949, trying to find a solution agreeable to both India and Pakistan and it passed a resolution in August 1948 proposing a three-part process. It was accepted by India but effectively rejected by Pakistan, in the end, no withdrawal was ever carried out, India insisting that Pakistan had to withdraw first, and Pakistan contending that there was no guarantee that India would withdraw afterwards. No agreement could be reached between the two countries on the process of demilitarisation, India and Pakistan fought two further wars in 1965 and 1971
4.
India
–
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
5.
Indian Army
–
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India serves as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and it is commanded by the Chief of Army Staff, two officers have been conferred with the rank of field marshal, a five-star rank, which is a ceremonial position of great honour. It conducts humanitarian rescue operations during calamities and other disturbances, like Operation Surya Hope. It is a component of national power alongside the Indian Navy. The army has been involved in four wars with neighbouring Pakistan, other major operations undertaken by the army include Operation Vijay, Operation Meghdoot and Operation Cactus. The Indian Army has a system, but is operationally and geographically divided into seven commands. It is a force and comprises more than 80% of the countrys active defence personnel. It is the 2nd largest standing army in the world, with 1,200,255 active troops and 990,960 reserve troops, a Military Department was created within the Government of the East India Company at Kolkata in the year 1776. Its main function was to sift and record orders relating to the Army that were issued by various Departments of the East India Company for the territories under its control. With the Charter Act of 1833, the Secretariat of the Government of the East India Company was reorganised into four Departments, including a Military Department. The army in the Presidencies of Bengal, Bombay & Madras functioned as respective Presidency Army until April 1895, for administrative convenience, it was divided into four commands at that point of time, namely Punjab, Bengal, Madras and Bombay. The British Indian Army was a force for the primacy of the British Empire both in India and across the world. In the 20th century, the Indian Army was an adjunct to the British forces in both the world wars. 1.3 million Indian soldiers served in World War I for the Allies, in 1915 there was a mutiny by Indian soldiers in Singapore. After the United Kingdom made promises of self-governance to the Indian National Congress in return for its support, Britain reneged on its promises after the war, following which the Indian Independence movement gained strength. Indian officers given a Kings commission after passing out were posted to one of the eight selected for Indianisation. In World War II Indian soldiers fought for the Allies, in 1939, British officials had no plan for expansion and training of Indian forces, which comprised about 130,000 men. Their mission was internal security and defence against a possible Soviet threat through Afghanistan, as the war progressed, the size and role of the Indian Army expanded dramatically, and troops were sent to battle fronts as soon as possible
6.
Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry
–
The Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army. The regimental center is in Srinagars Airport Complex at Avantipur with a winter setup near Jammu and its regimental insignia consists of a pair of crossed rifles. The regiment mostly consists of volunteers from the state of Jammu & Kashmir, 50% of the regiments troops are Muslims while the rest represent other ethnic groups from the state. In response to the Pakistani invasion of Kashmir in 1947, local militias were raised for specific sectors, such as Jammu, Leh, Nubra, the militias were a paramilitary force under the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs and operated on the Line of Control. Following the Sino-Indian War of 1962, in 1963 the 7th and 14th Battalions of the J&K Militia were spun off to form the Ladakh Scouts, the militias conducted themselves with great distinction during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965 and earned 3 Battle Honours during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971. The troopers of the force felt strongly that they wanted the dignity and privileges of an army unit. These efforts bore fruit, and in 1972, the J&K Militia was converted to a full-fledged Army regiment as the Jammu, brigadier Puar went on to become the first Colonel of the Regiment. In 1976, the regiment was renamed as the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry, the JAK LI has served with honor in numerous theaters. In 1984, JAK LI was deployed to the Siachen Glacier, the 8th JAK LI earned great honour by capturing a Pakistani post at 21,000 feet at the Siachen Glacier in 1987. Naib Subedar Bana Singh, 8th JAK LI, earned the Param Vir Chakra for the Regiment in this battle and he is the first and only recipient of the PVC for the Regiment. Major VS Minhas and 2nd Lt Rajiv Pande won a Vir Chakra, in 1987, JAK LI was deployed to Sri Lanka during Operation Pawan. In 1992–93, a unit from JAK LI Regt. ie 2JAKLI was deployed as a part of UNISOM II, in 1999, JAK LI earned honours in the Kargil War. The overall performance of the battalion during Operation Vijay was exceptional and marked with exemplary valour and grit in the face of the enemy
7.
Siachen conflict
–
The Siachen conflict, sometimes referred to as the Siachen War, is a military conflict between India and Pakistan over the disputed Siachen Glacier region in Kashmir. A cease-fire went into effect in 2003, the contentious area is about 900 square miles to nearly 1,000 square miles of territory. The conflict began in 1984 with Indias successful Operation Meghdoot during which it gained control over all of the Siachen Glacier, Pakistan controls the glacial valleys immediately west of the Saltoro Ridge. According to TIME magazine, India gained more than 1,000 square miles of territory because of its operations in Siachen. The Siachen Glacier is the highest battleground on earth, where India, both countries maintain permanent military presence in the region at a height of over 6,000 metres. More than 2000 people have died in this terrain, mostly due to weather extremes. The conflict in Siachen stems from the incompletely demarcated territory on the map beyond the map known as NJ9842. The 1949 Karachi Agreement and 1972 Simla Agreement did not clearly mention who controlled the glacier, UN officials presumed there would be no dispute between India and Pakistan over such a cold and barren region. Following the UN-mediated ceasefire in the 1949, the line between India and Pakistan was demarcated up to point NJ9842 at the foot of the Siachen Glacier. The largely inaccessible terrain beyond this point was not demarcated, the detailed description of its northern end stated that from Chimbatia in the Turtok sector the line of control runs north-eastwards to Thang, thence eastwards joining the glaciers. This vague formulation further sowed the seed for the dispute to follow. N. Title of U. N. document number S/1430/Add, a U. N. map showing CFL alignment superimposed on a satellite image depicts the CFL terminating at NJ9842. The extension of this line north to the glaciers never appeared on any authoritative map associated with either the 1948 or 1972 agreements. In 1949, a Cease-Fire Line Agreement was signed and ratified by India, Pakistan, in 1956-58, a scientific team led by the Geological Survey of India recorded its findings publicly including information about the Siachen and other glaciers. After Pakistan ceded Shaksgam Valley to China in an agreement in 1963. In 1957 Pakistan permitted a British expedition under Eric Shipton to approach the Siachen glacier through the Bilafond La, five years later a Japanese-Pakistani expedition put two Japanese and a Pakistani Army climber on top of Saltoro Kangri. These were early moves in this game of oropolitics. Pakistan granted a number of permits and this in turn reinforced the Pakistani claim on the area, as these expeditions arrived on the glacier with a permit obtained from the Government of Pakistan
Republic of India
Indian Army
Honorary Captain
Param Vir Chakra
