Military history of India
India has a long military history dating back to over 5000 years.
The amazing uniformity of measurement systems across a number of sites suggests that the
Indus Valley Civilization was a single state. However, it seems that the large cities were controlled by small groups of merchants, landowners and priests. Therefore, no standing
armies were involved. The artifacts and texts from contemporaneous
Egypt and
Mesopotamia clearly depict battles. But the excavations at
Harappan sites have not revealed a single artifact that depicts military, battles, prisoners or a human killing another human. Very few
bronze weapons have been found.
Fortified cities have been excavated which seems to indicate some defensive capability.
Excavations do not indicate a well developed martial culture, which may be a reason for the eventual decline of the civilization.
Early Indo-Aryans
The
Rigvedic tribes of
Indo-Aryans were lead by their tribal chieftain (
raja) and engaged in wars with each other as well as other tribes. They used
bronze weapons and had
horse-drawn spoke-wheeled
chariots described prominently in the
Rigveda. The main share from the booty obtained during the
cattle raids and battles went to the chief of the tribe. The warriors belonged to the
Kshatriya varna. Earlier, most archaeologists believed that
Aryan armies invaded peaceful Harappan cities and destroyed them. However, since none of the excavations indicate battle damage to the cities, the arrival of the Aryans is now more often dated to
Late Harappan (Cemetary H) times. The earliest allusions to a specific battle are those to the
Battle of the Ten Kings in
Mandala 7 of the
Rigveda.
During the post-Rigvedic (
Iron Age)
Vedic period (ca. 1100-500 BC), the
Vedas and other associated texts contain references to warfare. The world's first military application of
war elephants dates from around
1100 BC in ancient India and is mentioned in several
Vedic Sanskrit hymns. The military art and science of Ancient India has been described in
Dhanurveda.
The two great epics of India, the
Ramayana and the
Mahabharata, are centered around conflicts between the emerging
Mahajanapadas and refer to military formations, theories of warfare and esoteric weaponry.
Valmiki's
Ramayana describes
Ayodhya's military as defensive rather than aggressive. The city, it says, was strongly fortified and was surrounded by a deep moat. Ramayana describes Ayodhya in following words: "The city abounded in warriors undefeated in battle, fearless and skilled in the use of arms, resembling lions guarding their mountain caves".
Mahabharata describes various military techniques like
Chakravyuha.
King
Bimbisara was an expansionist and conquered
Anga in what is now
West Bengal. He strengthened the military of
Magadh's capital,
Rajagriha.
Ajatashatru built a new fort at
Pataliputra, Magadh's new capital to launch an attack on
Licchavis, across the
Ganga River.
Jain texts tell that he used two new weapons - a
catapult and a covered
chariot with swinging
mace that has been compared to modern
tanks.
Mahapadma Nanda defeated
Ikshvakus,
Panchalas,
Kasis,
Harhayas,
Kalingas,
Asmakas,
Kurus,
Maithilas,
Surasenas and
Vitihotras. At the time of
Dhana Nanda, the
Nandas had an army consisting of 80,000
cavalry, 200,000
infantry, 8,000 armed
chariots, and 6,000
war elephants. Had
Alexander the Great decided to continue his campaign in
India, he could have faced extremely strong opposition from such a large army.
According to
Megasthenes,
Chandragupta Maurya built an army consisting of 30,000
cavalry, 9,000
war elephants, and 600,000
infantry. Some modern historians feel that this is an exaggeration on the part of
Megasthenes, who was serving as an ambassador from the
Seleucid Empire. Chandragupta conquered all of northern India, establishing an empire from the
Arabian Sea to the
Bay of Bengal. He then conquered the regions to the east of the
Indus river after defeating the
Macedonians and
Seleucus Nicator, and then moved southwards, taking over much of what is now Central India. The entire army was administrated by six chairs, one for each of the four arms of the army (infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariots), one chair for the navy, and one for logistics and supply.
Infantry at this time was most commonly armed with a
longbow made of bamboo, and a double-handed broadsword. Other foot soldiers could be armed with a large tower shield and a spear or javelins. The cavalry is not noted especially, but Megasthenese does mention that they were armed with a few spears, of which we can assume most were meant for hurling. Elephants were mounted, either bareback or with a
howdah, with archers or javelineers, and with a
mahout around the animal's neck.
Chariots by this time were in definite decline, but still managed to stay an arm of the army by sheer virtue of their prestige.
In 185 BC, the last
Mauryan king was assassinated by
Pushyamitra Shunga, the Commander-in-Chief of the Mauryan armed forces.
Simuka, the founder of the
Satavahana dynasty, conquered
Maharashtra,
Malwa and part of
Madhya Pradesh. His successor and brother
Kanha (or Krishna) further extended his kingdom to the west and the south. He was succeeded by
Satakarni I, who defeated the
Sunga dynasty of North India.
Gautamiputra Satakarni defeated the
Western Kshatrapas ruler
Nahapana. His brother
Vashishtiputra Satakarni, was defeated by his
Western Kshatrapa father-in-law in a battle.
Vima Takto, using the name "Soter Megas" (Great Saviour), conquered
Gandhara and northern India in 68 AD. The
Kushan warriors were assimilated into Indian society as
Kshatriyas. Following
Yuezhi's style, most of the Kushan nobles fought from
horse back, supported by the heavier parts of the army,
cataphracts. The coins of
Kujula,
Vima Takto,
Vima Kadphises and
Kanishka show the king usually unarmored, lightly armored than the later Kushan kings. In many coins
Kanishka appears to have a
bow, but this interpretion is debatable. Some
Buddhist texts indicate the use of Indian influences like
elephants leading the attacks and the use of
chariots. The elephants first appeared on the coins of
Vima Kadphises and probably went on to become the mount of the kings. The elephants are depicted with towers and a covering. It is not clear whether these were armor or just padding. Buddhist texts mention that the infantry were used to support these elephants. The historian Nikonorov suggests that the elephants used were provided by the
Satraps. However, the main strength of the Kushan army came from its unarmored horses. The use of heavy cavalry increased later. Apart from the original Kushans and Indians, the Greeks, various mountain tribes,
Sacas from northern India and
Iranian mercenaries were also added to Kushan army. The
Kidarites and
Sassanids predominantly used cavalry. The
Satraps provided them with additional India forces including elephants.
See also: Military organization of the Gupta EmpireSiva-Dhanur-veda, considered a contemporary military classic gives information about the military system of the Guptas. They utilized war
elephants, supplemented by additional armor. The use of horses, if any, was very less. The use of
chariots had heavily declined by the time of the Guptas, as they had not proved very useful against the
Ancient Macedonians,
Scythians, and other invaders. Guptas utilized heavy
cavalry clad in mail armor and equipped with
maces and lances, who would have used shock action to break the enemy line. They also heavily relied on
infantry archers, and the bow was one of the dominant weapons of their army. Their longbow was composed of metal, or more typically
bamboo, and fired a long bamboo cane arrow with a metal head. Iron shafts were used against armored elephants, and fire arrows were also part of the bowmen's arsenal. Archers were frequently protected by infantry equipped with
shields,
javelins, and longswords. Guptas also maintained a
navy, allowing them to control regional waters.
Samudragupta seized the kingdoms of
Shichchhatra and
Padmavati early in his reign. Later, he took the Kingdom of
Kota and attacked the tribes in
Malvas, the
Yaudheyas, the
Arjunayanas, the
Maduras and the
Abhiras. By his death in 380, he had conquered over twenty kingdoms.
Chandragupta II defeated the
Saka Western Kshatrapas of
Malwa,
Gujarat and
Saurashtra in a campaign lasting till 409. He had defeated his main opponent
Rudrasimha III by 395. He also crushed the
Bengal (
Vanga) chiefdoms.
Skandagupta defeated
Pushyamitra. He repulsed the attack of
Hephthalites or "
White Huns", c. 455, but the expense of the wars drained the empire's resources and contributed to its decline.
Harsha's empire
Empror
Harshavardhana (
606-
648) ruled northern
India for over forty years. His father, a king of
Thanesar had gained prominence by successful wars against the
Huns. Harsha had plans to conquer the whole of India, and carried on wars for thirty years with considerable success. By 612 he had built up a vast army with which he conquered nearly all North India up to the
Narmada river. But, in
620 Harsha lost to
Pulakesin II, when he attempted to invade
Deccan.
In
South India, the Chalukyas and the Pallavas gained prominence.
Chalukya king
Pulakesi II's expansionism started with minor campaign against the
Alupas,
Gangas and others. He defeated the
Pallava king
Mahendravarman, and also conquered the
Cheras and the
Pandyas. His most successful military campaign was his defeat of
Harshavardhana (c. 615). However, the war depleted the treasury, so Pulakesi II had to stop his expansionist campaigns.
The Pallava king
Narasimhavarman had vowed to avenge Mahendravarman's defeat against Pulakesi II. He invaded
Vatapi with an army headed by his general Paranjothi. He successfully defeated Chalukyas, killing Pulakesi II in 642. The clashes between the Chalukyas and the Pallavas continued. The Chalukya king
Vikramaditya II won a comprehensive victory against the Pallavas in 740. The Chalukya Empire was overthrown in 750 by the
Rashtrakutas. During the 970s,
Tailapa II, a scion the Chalukya dynasty, overthrew the Rashtrakutas and recovered most of the Chalukya empire, except for
Gujarat. The Chalukyas of this period are known as the Kalyani Chalukyas, as
Kalyani was their capital. The Kalyani Chalukyas clashed with the
Cholas intermittently.
Someshvara I, also known as Ahavamalla, defeated the Chola king
Rajadhiraja Chola in
1052.
The
Cholas were the first rulers in the Indian subcontinent to maintain a fleet and use it to expand their dominion overseas. The Chola king
Vijayalaya defeated the
Pallavas and captured
Thanjavur. In the early 10th century the Chola king
Paranthaka I defeated the
Pandyan king
Rajasimha and also invaded
Ceylon (
Sri Lanka). His son,
Rajaditya, was defeated and killed by the
Rashtrakuta ruler
Krishna III (c.949). It is known through inscriptions that at least from
Uttama Chola's time, Chola warriors were provided with waist coats of armor. Hence, one regiment was called
Niyayam-Uttama-Chola-tterinda-andalakattalar.
Paluvettaraiyar Maravan Kandanar is noted as an important general during Uttama Chola reign. He also served under
Sundara Chola.
Rajaraja Chola began his military career with the conquest of the
Cheras. He defeated the Chera King
Bhaskara Ravivarman, destroying his fleet at the port of
Kandalur. He also seized
Pandya Amara Bhujanga and captured the port of
Vilinam,
Kerala and a part of Ceylon. In the 14th year of his reign (AD
998-
999) he conquered
Gangas of Mysore,
Nolambas (
Bellary and Eastern
Mysore),
Tadigaipadi (the district of Mysore),
Vengi (southern part of Northern
Circars),
Coorg (
Kudamalainadu) and the
Pandyas. Next, he conquered the
Chalukyas of the
Deccan. During the next three years, he subdued
Quilon and the northern kingdom of
Kalinga with the help of his son
Rajendra Chola I.
Rajendra Chola later completed the conquest of Sri Lanka, crossed the
Ganges and marched across
Kalinga to
Bengal, and sent out a great naval expedition that occupied parts of
Burma (Myanmar), Java,
Malaya, and
Sumatra in South East Asia. Cholas were later defeated by the
Hoysalas from the west and
Pandyas from the south.
In middle of 9th century, the
Palas under
Devapala attacked
Pratiharas. Led by
Bhoj, the Pratiharas and their allies defeated Pala king
Narayanpala. The Pratiharas'
cavalry was described as the finest in 851 by an
Arab. There were many battles between Pratiharas under Bhoj and
Rashtrakutas under
Krishna II with mixed results. When Rashtrakuta king
Indra III attacked
Kanauj,
Mahipala (Bhoj's successor) fled but returned after the left. During the rule of Mahipala, in 915, Al Mas'udi from
Baghdad wrote that the Pratiharas were at war with the Muslims in the west and the Rashtrakutas in the south. He wrote that Pratiharas had four armies of about 800,000 men each.
The Rajputs
Rajput ArmorAfter
Babur's victory over
Ibrahim Lodi at the
First Battle of Panipat, the
Mewar ruler
Rana Sanga led a combined Rajput army of 20000, with an intent to defeat
Babur and capture
Delhi. The Mughals had superior
artillery, which prevailed against the Rajput
cavalry. A
Tomar general betrayed Rana Sanga, resulting in his defeat by Babur at the
Battle of Khanua (
March 16,
1527). During the reign of Rana Udai Singh II (son of Rana Sanga), Babur's Grandson
Akbar conquerod
Chittor, the capital of
Mewar.
The Battle of
Haldighati (
June 21,
1576) between
Rana Pratap Singh (Rana Udai Singh II's son) and Akbar is one of the most famous battles in the Indian history. The Mughal army of 80,000 was headed by a Rajput,
Raja Man Singh and Akbar's son Salim (aka
Jahangir). The Rajput army's strength was 20,000. The extremely fierce battle lasted for about four hours.
After most of his soldiers were either killed or captured, Rana Pratap escaped. His legendary horse
Chetak was killed in the battle. Rana Pratap was saved by his estranged brother Sakta Singh. Later, Rana Pratap organized a small army of
Bhil tribals funded by a businessman called Bhamashah and started a
guerrilla war against Akbar. He conquered large parts of Mewar, but was unsuccessful in conquering the capital Chittor.
Delhi Sultanate
The
Delhi Sultanate, under the
Khilji dynasty, was successful in defeating a number of invasions from the
Mongol Empire.
Zafar Khan, the general of
Alauddin Khilji, was successful against several such invasions. Zafar Khan defeated invading Mongols near
Jalandhar in
1297 to secure Alauddin Khilji's throne. Later in
1299, a Mongol army of 200,000 soldiers entered India with the intention of conquest. Zafar Khan showed desperate valor in battle and defeated them, though he did not survive.
Samoothiris of Kozhikode
More famously known as the
Zamorin, this small Kingdom welcomed the Portuguese in
1498 as traders and then with the assistance of its naval chief,
Kunjali Marakkar, fought several naval wars with them in the 16th century.
Muzzafarid dynasty
Sultan Muzaffar Shah I, the
Governor of
Gujarat established the
Muzzafarid dynasty in
1391. It expanded rapidly and peaked under
Sultan Mahmud I who lost the famous
Battle of Diu to the Portuguese in
1509.
Vijayanagar empire
In
1509, the
Bahamani Sultan declared a
jehad against Vijaynagar. His large coalition army was defeated by
Krishnadevaraya, who also wounded the Sultan. In
1510, Krishnadevaraya launched a counteroffensive against the Sultan at
Kovelaconda. In this battle, Yusuf Adil Shahi of
Bijapur was killed. In
1512, Krishnadevaraya captured
Raichur and
Gulbarga after defeating
Barid-i-Mamalik, the titular head of the
Bahmani Sultanate, who escaped to
Bidar. Later, Bidar also fell to Krishnadevaraya. However, he diplomatically restored the Bahmani Sultan to his throne, with an intention to create discord and suspicion in the Bahmani coalition.
In a battle from
1512 to
1514, Krishnadevaraya subjugated the
Palaigar of
Ummattur, who had rebelled against his brother. While this campaign was halfway, the
Gajapati of
Orissa attacked Vijayanagar and occupied two northeast provinces,
Udayagiri and
Kondavidu. In January
1513, Krishnadevaraya launched a campaign recover to Udaygiri. The campaign lasted till
1518, resulting in defeat of Gajapati. On
January 26,
1565 the Islamic kingdoms of
Ahmednagar,
Berar,
Bidar,
Bijapur and
Golconda came together to defeat the Vijayanagar decisively in the
Battle of Talikota.
The effects of the Mongol wars
Indians made
steel weapons that were popular in the ancient world because of their quality and durability. These weapons were forged from
wootz steel, which may have existed in India as early as
200 BCE.
Mughal Empire
The Maratha empire
The
Maratha Empire, also called the Maratha Confederacy, of India was founded by
Shivaji in
1674, when he carved an independent Maratha zone around
Pune, from the
Bijapur Sultanate.
Shivaji established an effective civil and military administration. He made it a state policy never to desecrate a mosque or seize women after military raids. He had many loyal Muslim admirers, who served in his army. He was also only the second king in Indian history to have his own active navy. After a lifetime of exploits and
guerrilla warfare with the Mughal emperor
Aurangzeb, Shivaji died in
1680, leaving a Maratha kingdom of great but ill-defined extent. This was followed by a period of unstability which ended with the death of
Aurangzeb.
Kanhoji Angre was the first Maratha naval chief under
Chattrapati Shahu, Shivaji's grandson. He harassed
Dutch,
English and
Portuguese commercial ships on the Western coast of India in the early 18th century. He remained undefeated until his death in
1729.
Although the descendants of Shivaji continued to rule, the office of the
Peshwa, or the
Prime Minister, had become the dispensers of Maratha power and patronage. The Peshwas were the effective rulers of the Maratha state and oversaw the period of greatest Maratha expansion, brought to an end by the Maratha's defeat by an
Afghan army at the
Third Battle of Panipat in
1761.
The last Peshwa,
Baji Rao II, was defeated by the British in the
Third Anglo-Maratha WarMajor wars:See:
List of Anglo-Maratha Wars*
First Anglo-Maratha War*
Second Anglo-Maratha War*
Third Anglo-Maratha War*
Fourth Anglo-Mysore War*
Third Anglo-Mysore WarRaja Marthanda Varma built this Kingdom after inheriting a small state of
Venad in
1723. It became one of the most powerful Kingdoms in Southern India until it merged with India in
1956. Raja Varma also led the
Battle of Colachel in
1741 which marks one of the first Asian victories over an European naval power with his army called the
Nair Brigade.
Hyder Ali was instructed by
French military officers. He was one of the first Indian rulers to use
rockets. He used iron rockets to defeat a top British unit in battle[
1]. His son,
Tipu Sultan was also instructed by
French military officers. Tipu participated in
First Anglo-Maratha War of
1775â€"
1779. He defeated the Brathwaite on the banks of the
Coleroon in February
1782 in the
Second Mysore War. After his father's death in
1782, he decided to check British advances by forming alliances with the
Marathas and the
Mughals. However, his plan wasn't successful. So, he turned to
France. In
1789, he invaded the state of
Travancore, a British protectorate. However, he didn't receive expected help from France (the French were embroiled in the
French Revolution) and Mysore was defeated in what is now known as the
Third Mysore War. Tipu Sultan died in the
Fourth Mysore War. Although
Horatio Nelson crushed
Napoleon's ambitions of advancing to India at the
Battle of the Nile, three armies - one from
Bombay, and two British (one of which was commanded by
Arthur Wellesley), marched into Mysore in
1799 and besieged the capital,
Srirangapatnam. On
May 4,
1799, the armies broke through the defending walls and Tipu died of a gunshot wound near the gates of his fortress.
Main wars:
*
First Mysore War,
1766*
Second Mysore War*
Third Mysore War,
1789-
1792*
Fourth Mysore War,
1799Punjab
The Napoleonic wars
The
British Indian Army was raised to guard the factories. Later, it grew into the army of
John Company Bahadur, and subsequently grew into Presidency armies of
Bengal,
Madras and
Bombay in
1795, after the fall of French
Pondicherry in
1793. The Dutch trained the military of the princely state of
Travancore called the
Nair Brigade.
The 1857 Sepoy war
Main article: First War of Indian Independence
After 1857, the Presidency Armies were abolished. The Queen took over their control.
The
Indian Air Force was established in 1932.
The British-Indian army
The British-Indian army contained members of all the major religious groups in India, it contained
Hindus,
Sikhs,
Christians, and
Muslims. The number of Sikhs in the army grew steadily with time because they were considered less biased, less drastic in dealing with the different Indian cultural and religious sects and less likely to challenge their British superiors. This was especially true after the
Sepoy Rebellion where they were less active in the rebellion and almost absent from it.
The world wars
The British Indian Army's strength was about 189,000 in
1939. There were about 3,000 British officers and 1,115 Indian officers. The army was expanded greatly to fight in World War II. By
1945, the strength of the Army had risen to about two and a half million. There were about 34,500 British officers and 15,740 Indian officers. The Army took part in campaigns in
France,
East Africa,
North Africa,
Syria,
Tunisia,
Malaya,
Burma,
Greece,
Sicily and
Italy and fought very bravely. It suffered 179,935 casualties in the war (including killed(24,338), wounded(64,354), missing(11,762) and POW(79,481) soldiers).
Opposition: the Indian National Army
The Republic of India has fought three
wars and one major incursion battle with Pakistan and one border war with
China. Independent India has never experienced a military coup, unlike
Pakistan.
Major wars
Main article: Indo-Pakistani War of 1947
Independent India, formed on
August 15,
1947, has seen three wars with
Pakistan (1947-48, 1965, 1971). The first war took place after Pakistani soldiers and armed tribesmen invaded the independent province of
Kashmir. When the forces almost reached the capital
Srinagar the Maharaja,
Hari Singh, and the democratically elected Prime Minister of Kashmir,
Sheikh Abdullah, signed an agreement with India in which all Kashmiri lands were ceded to India. India sent their troops in shortly after and secured a majority of the new Indian state of
Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian Air Force carried out
Operation Meghdoot in support of the Indian Army and paramilitary forces in Northern
Ladakh to secure control of the
Siachin glacier.
Sino-Indian war, 1962
Main article: Sino-Indian War
India fought a border war against
China (
1962). China won the war, leading India to revamp the entire military system. After the war ended, the Department of Defence Production was set up to create an indigenous defence production base which is self-reliant and self-sufficient. Since 1962, 16 new ordnance factories have been set up.
Second Indo-Pak war, 1965
Main article: Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
The second Indo-Pak war was also fought over
Kashmir issue. It ended in with Indian forces gaining chunks of lands all around except Punjab where it was even. USSR interfered and got the truce between the two nations at Tashkent agreement, which also saw the mysterious death of Indian PM Lal Bahadur Shastri. At the same time, there was the possibility of a second Sino-Indian war along the Nathu Pass in
Sikkim [
2].
The Chola Incident
A Sino-India skirmish took place in
1967 and is known today as
the Chola Incident.
Third Indo-Pak war, 1971
Main article: Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
In the third Indo-Pak war, India intervened decisively in what was then
East Pakistan due to the mass exodus of refugees to India following West Pakistani military action there. The new nation of
Bangladesh was created as a result. India succeeded in removing Pakistani soldiers from "EAST PAKISTAN" resulting the formation of Bangladesh.
Kargil war, 1999
India fought a brief border skirmish with Pakistan in the Indian state of Kashmir in
1999. Dubbed the
Kargil War, after the infiltration of Pakistani soldiers and paramilitary in the Kargil area, India reclaimed the territory through military and diplomatic channels.
Other Operations
Sri Lanka mission, 1987-1990
Main article: Ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka#Indian involvement
The
Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) carried out a mission in northern and eastern
Sri Lanka in
1987-
1990 to disarm the
LTTE as per the Indo-Sri Lanka accord. In what was labeled as
Operation Pawan, the
Indian Air Force flew about 70,000 sorties to and within Sri Lanka, without a single aircraft lost or mission aborted.
Operation Cactus, 1988
In November
1988, the
Maldives Government appealed India for military help against a
mercenary invasion. On the night of
November 3,
1988, the Indian Air Force airlifted a
parachute battalion group from
Agra and flew them non-stop over 2000 km to Maldives. The Indian paratroopers landed at
Hulule, secured the airfield and restored the Government rule at
Male within hours. The brief, bloodless operation showed the capability of the Indian Air Force in what was labeled as
Operation Cactus.
Missile program
India has a well developed missile capabilities, which traces its roots to the
Indian Space Program.
The Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP) was formed in 1983 with the aim of achieving self-sufficiency in missile development & production.
Presently it comprises of five core missile programs
*
Agni ballistic missile*
Prithvi ballistic missile*
Akash surface-to-air missile*
Trishul surface-to-air missile *
Nag anti-tank guided missile This program has given
India self reliance in Missile development. So, attempts like Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) to control access to and availability of advanced weapon systems for
developing nations are not a major concern for India now.
Nuclear program
Buddha Smiles (nuclear test), 1974
In
1966, India had declared that it can produce nuclear weapons within 18 months. In
1974, India tested a device of up to 15 kilotons. The test was a "peaceful nuclear explosion" and was codenamed "Buddha Smiles".
On
May 11 and
May 13,
1998, India conducted five underground nuclear tests (3 on May 11 and 2 on May 13) and declared itself
a nuclear state.
The Indian military today ranks as the
world's third largest after the
USA and
China in terms of troops. Over a million strong, the
paramilitary unit of the Republic of India is the world's largest and most elite paramilitary force. Eager to portray itself as a potential
superpower, India began an intense phase of modernization and upgradation of its armed forces in the late
1990s. India is focussing more on developing indegenous military equipments rather than relying on other countries for military supplies. This change in policy has paid of well for the Indian Armed Forces. Most of the Indian naval ships and submarines, military armoured vehicles, missiles and ammunition are indegenously designed and manufactured.
Military collaborations with other nations
Apart from diverting resources towards indigenously manufacturing military equipment, the Indian Government is also focussing on collaborating with other countries to develop cutting-edge military technology and weapons. Jointly developed by
Russia and India, the world's only
supersonic cruise missile, known as the
BrahMos, was successfully test-fired in
2001. In 1997, India agreed to participate in the development of Russia's
Prospective Air Complex for Tactical Air Forces program. One of the primary objectives of the program is to develop a 5th generation
fighter aircraft, a prototype of which, known as the
Su-47, flew its first successful test-flight in 1997. India is also collaborating with
Israel to develop
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and anti-missile defence systems.
India is now focussing on purchasing the technology behind the military equipment rather than the military equipment. Recent examples of the successful implementation of this Indian policy include the purchase of
Sukhoi Su-30 MKI multi-role fighter aircraft and
T-90 main battle tanks from
Russia and diesel-powered Scorpene submarines from
France. In
2004, India purchased US$ 5.7 billion worth of military equipment from other countries, making it the developing world's leading arms-purchaser.
Disasters
On
April 28,
2000, ammunition worth
Rs. 393
crore was destroyed due to a fire at the
Bharatpur ammunition depot. Another fire at
Pathankot sub-depot resulted in loss of ammo worth Rs. 27.39 crore. On
May 24,
2001, another blaze at the
Birdhwal sub-depot destroyed ammunition worth Rs. 378 crore.
Awards
In Independent India, the gallantry awards for exemplary display of bravery in war time are the
Param Vir Chakra,
Maha Vir Chakra and
Vir Chakra in the decreasing order of importance. Their peace time equivalents are the
Ashoka Chakra,
Kirti Chakra and
Shaurya Chakra. The latter two awards were formerly known as
Ashoka Chakra, Class II and
Ashoka Chakra, Class III respectively. Sometimes, the peace time awards are bestowed on civilians as well. For meritorious service, the awards are
Param Vishisht Seva Medal,
Athi Vishisht Seva Medal and
Vishisht Seva Medal in decreasing order of importance.
*
Military of India*
History of India*
Military history of India during World War II*
History of the Indian Navy*
Monsieur Raymond (1755-1798), French Adventurer, General and friend of the
Nizam of
India*
Notes on Kushan Military*
The Role of Muslims Martial Races of Today: Pakistan in British-Indian Army in World War-II by Brig (Retd) Noor A Husain.
*
India Defence- Defence And Military Portal
*
Indian Jawan- A Tribute To The Indian Soldier
*
Indian army history*
Indian Air Force history*
Indian Air Force History (Bharat-Rakshak.com)*
Soldiers of the British and Indian armies 1840 to 1920Official war histories
The list of official war histories, written & researched by the History Division, Ministry of Defence,
Government of India.
*
Sino-Indian war, 1962*
Indo-Pak war, 1965*
Indo-Pak war, 1971
