To commemorate the contributions of infantry, the largest fighting arm of the Indian Army, the Infantry Day is celebrated every year on 27 October. This day has a unique significance, as it was on this day in 1947 that infantry men from the Indian Army became the first troops to land at Srinagar airport, an act which turned back the invaders from the outskirts of Srinagar and saved the state of Jammu and Kashmir from a Pakistan backed tribal invasion. What is the Infantry Arm? The Infantry battalions are the first ones to get deployed in the battlefield and the last ones to come out of deep trenched war, only after the mission has been accomplished. Popularly known as the 'Queen of the Battle', the Infantry remains the highly understated but the most pivotal combat arm for armies around the world. The Infantry is one among the four major combat arms of the Indian Army. The other three being Armoured Corps, Mechanised Infantry and Artillery. The battle hardened Infantry regiments form the bulk of the Indian Army's combat arms composition.
Need for Induction of troops in Srinagar on October 27th,1947
On October 26, 1947, Hari Singh (the then Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir) signed an agreement called 'Instrument of Accession'. This merged state of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir into the Indian Dominion and paved way for the Indian troops to be deployed to fight against the external aggression.
In the early hours on October 27, the troops were airlifted from two Indian Air Force flights and the remaining five were from the private airlines. On October 27, the Battalion commanded by Lt. Col. Dewan Ranjit Rai landed in Srinagar.
Lt. Col. Rai laid down his life in this action and was posthumously awarded the second-highest gallantry award of the country, i.e., Maha Vir Chakra.
The Pakistani invaders were advancing towards the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir and inducting the troops via the link road was time-consuming. The valley would have fallen into the hands of Pakistani invaders. Thus, an emergency meeting was held on the night of October 26 and after a go-ahead received from the then Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, troops were rushed to Srinagar.
As a part of the Infantry Day celebrations, a ‘Wreath Lying’ ceremony was held at National War Memorial, New Delhi, to honour the martyrs of the Infantry, who made the supreme sacrifice on various battlefields in service of the nation.
Be it the icy glacier of Siachen, the dense jungles of the Northeast, the rugged terrain and lofty peaks of the Himalayas or even the simmering hot desert of the Thar, the infantry soldier is undeterred by all odds and stays vigilant 24*7 to act as our first line of defence in the Indian Army's order of battle.