With more than 1,130,000 soldiers in and about 1,800,000 the Indian Army is the world's third largest. It is a completely voluntary service and although a provision for exists in the it has never been imposed.
The Indian Army was formed soon after India gained independence in 1947 and retained most of the regiments of the The Army is deployed in many of the world's conflict zones as a part of the forces. The force is currently headed by the is the highest attainable rank in the Indian Army and is conferred by the on advice of the in exceptional circumstances. Two officers have attained this rank so far.
The Indian Army doctrine defines the role of the Indian Army as - "The Indian Army is the land component of the Indian Armed Forces which exist to uphold the ideals of the Constitution of India." As a major component of national power, along with the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force, the roles of the Indian Army are as follows :
- Primary: Preserve national interests and safeguard sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity of India against any external threats by deterrence or by waging war.
- Secondary: Assist Government agencies to cope with ‘proxy war’ and other internal threats and provide aid to civil authority when requisitioned for the purpose."
Upon India gaining independence in 1947, the was divided into two parts to serve the newly created nations of and Most units went to India; four regiments were transferred to the British Army while the rest went to India.
Sino-Indian Conflict (1962)
Since 1959, India followed a "forward policy" under which Indian border patrol units continuously pushed their posts forward deep into territory claimed by the (PRC). Small-scale clashes between the Indian and Chinese forces broke out as India insisted on the disputed being regarded as the international border between the two countries. Despite heavy casualties, Indian troops did not retaliate the cross-border firing by Chinese troops. China's misinterpretation of India's true intentions in created more rifts between the two countries.
Buoyed by the success of its military operations in Hyderabad and Goa, India took a more aggressive stance towards its border disputes with China. In 1962, the Indian Army was ordered to move to the Thag La ridge located near the border between and and about three miles (5 km) north of the disputed McMahon Line. Meanwhile, Chinese troops too had made incursions into Indian-held territory and tensions between the two reached a new high when Indian forces discovered a road constructed by China in After a series of failed negotiations, attacked Indian Army positions at the Thag La ridge. This move by China caught India by surprise and by October 12, Nehru gave orders for the Chinese to be expelled from Aksai Chin. However, poor coordination among various divisions of the Indian Army and the late decision to mobilize the Indian Air Force in vast numbers gave China a crucial tactical and strategic advantage over India. On October 20, Chinese soldiers attacked India in both the North-West and North-Eastern parts of the border and captured vast portions of Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh.
As the fighting moved beyond disputed territories, China called on the Indian government to negotiate, however India remained determined to regain lost territory. With no peaceful agreement in sight, China unilaterally withdrew its forces from Arunachal Pradesh. The reasons for the withdrawal are disputed with India claiming various logistical problems for China and diplomatic support to it from the United States, while China stated that it still held territory that it had staked diplomatic claim upon. The dividing line between the Indian and Chinese forces was christened the
The poor decisions made by India's military commanders, and, indeed, its political leadership, raised several questions. The was soon set up by the Government of India to determine the causes of the poor performance of the Indian Army. The report of committee apparently faulted much of the command of Indian Armed Forces and severely criticized the executive government for its failures on several fronts. The committee found that the major reason for the defeat was low deployment of troops on India's border with China even after hostilities began and also criticized the decision to not allow the Indian Air Force to target Chinese transport lines out of fear of Chinese aerial counter-attack on Indian civilian areas. Much of the blame was also targeted at the incompetence of then Defense Minister, who resigned from his post soon after the war ended. Despite frequent calls for its release, the Henderson-Brooks report still remains classified
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