Infantry Day: Celebrated every year on October 27, the day marks the landing of the first Indian infantry soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir who took part in an action to defend Indian territory from external aggression.
On the occasion of 75th Infantry day, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh extended his greetings and warm wishes to the brave men on infantry day. Take a look at his tweet below.
Greetings and warm wishes to our brave Infantrymen on the Infantry Day. They are the epitome of unwavering courage and valour. The nation salutes their service and sacrifice while serving the country.
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) October 27, 2021
The Indian Air Force tweeted archives of the historic day. Let us take a look at the tweet below.
Marking a significant landmark in India's military history by commencing induction of troops in the defence of Kashmir valley, Dakotas of No.12 Sqn of then #RIAF landed the 1st boots on ground- 1 Sikh @adgpi- at Srinagar on 27 Oct 1947. This day is marked as the #InfantryDay pic.twitter.com/IwmmF3V83O
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) October 27, 2021
Timeline of the Events:
1- 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 external aggression.
| Instrument of Accession It was a legal document that was first introduced by the Government of India Act, 1935. It was used for the first time in the year 1947. The document allowed the rulers of the princely states under British India to join either of the new dominions of India or Pakistan created after the Partition of British India. |
2- On October 26, the 1 Sikh Battalion was intimated late at night to move to the Palam Airport in New Delhi for being airlifted to Srinagar. At this time, two of the four companies were stationed at Gurgaon and the rest were deployed away from Gurgaon to control the post-Independence Communal riots.
3- As 1 Sikh had only two companies available at that time, one battery of 13 Field Regiment, an artillery regiment, was provided to it in an infantry role.
4- 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.
5- Lt. Col. Dewan Ranjit Rai first secured the Srinagar airfield and then rushed to Baramulla to stop the invaders in their tracks. He was successful in holding them and during this time, more reinforcements were sent to Srinagar via air route to push back the Pakistani invaders.
6- 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.
Need for the induction of troops in Srinagar on October 27
First, the Pakistani invaders were advancing towards the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. Second, inducting the troops via the link road was time-consuming and 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.
Since then, every year, Infantry Day is celebrated to pay homage to the thousands of infantry soldiers who lost their lives in the line of duty.
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