FORCES (Gaurav Negi)

31 October My Dear Indians, When India attained independence in 1947, the princely states were asked to join either the dominion of India or the dominion of Pakistan.  Sardar Vallabhhai Patel took upon himself the responsibility to merge 565 princely states into the Union of India. Imagine what a herculean task it was ! Negotiating with 565 states- convincing some, pushing some and forcing some of the sates to join…. Looks impossible but Sardar Patel did it! He united India into a cohesive country. That is why since 2014 India celebrates his birthday as “ National Unity Day or राष्ट्रीय एकता दिवस Winston Churchill, former Prime Minister of UK had prophesied that Indians will fight among themselves and India will disintegrate. Sardar Patel proved him wrong. The most notable states that joined India by force were Hyderabad and Junagadh and then J&K. We have discussed about J&K and Hyderabad (Operation Polo).  Accession of Jammu and Kashmir with India   Accession of Hyderabad wit

27 October My Dear Indians, After Maharaja Hari Singh acceded Jammu and Kashmir with India on 26 October 1947, the Indian Army moved into J&K to defend it against Pakistan army and militia. How Jammu and Kashmir acceeded with India   It was not possible to reach Srinagar by road because the roads were not in good condition and also there was not enough time to travel by road. Reaching Srinagar by aircrafts was the only option and Srinagar airport was the only airport in J&K. Pakistan army and militia were already near Baramulla approximately 80 kms from Srinagar. On 27 October 1947 , 1st Battalion of Sikh Regiment (an infantry regiment) commanded by Lt Col. Dewan Ranjit Rai was airlifted to Srinagar. (Airlifted means- transported by aeroplanes) On reaching Srinagar, Lt Col. Dewan Ranjit Rai first secured the Srinagar airport. After this, he along with one company of soldiers moved towards Baramulla to stop the advance of the raiders. During the fight with the raiders, Lt Col De

26 October My Dear Indians, Today is Accession Day of Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir was earlier a part of the Sikh empire of Raja Ranjit Singh who was based in Lahore. Gulab Singh was the Governor of J&K under Raja Ranjit Singh. Towards the end of the Sikh empire, Gulab Singh founded the Dogra Dynasty and became the first King of Jammu & Kashmir. This was in the 1820s. “Dogra” is a clan in Jammu region. Language that they speak is Dogri. Maharaja Gulab Singh’s descendants ruled Jammu & Kashmir. Maharaja Hari Singh of the Dogra dynasty was the ruler of Jammu & Kashmir when India attained independence. 15 August 1947 - India attained independence Jammu & Kashmir was one of the princely states that, like all other princely states, had to choose between joining the Union of India or Pakistan. But Maharaja Hari Singh decided to stay independent. Maharaja Hari Singh decided to stay independent but Pakistan wanted to occupy Jammu and Kashmir. North West Frontier Pro

My Dear Young and Little Indians, Today is the 121st Birthday of Shaheed Ashfaqulla Khan अशफ़ाक़ उल्ला ख़ाँ He was born on 22 October 1900 in Shahjahanpur district in Uttar Pradesh.   A few days back when we were talking about ‘Ideology’, you would recall, I had told you that when Gandhi Ji recalled his Non-Cooperation movement (because of the Chauri Chaura incident in 1922), many young men and women were disappointed and disillusioned with Gandhi Ji’ s ways. Ashfaqulla Khan was one of those who were disappointed. He along with Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil formed the Hindustan Republican Association in 1923. This was later renamed as Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) in 1928. (after Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil and Ashfaqulla Khan were martyred and Bhagat Singh took charge of the Association) In 1924-25, Chandra Shekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar, Shivram Hari Rajguru and many others joined Hindustan Republican Association. Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil

My Dear Indians, We had talked about- Operation Polo   Lieutenant Colonel Ardeshir Burzorji Tarapore, Param Vir Chakra Now something more...some more history of Hyderabad and Kasim Rizvi. Kasim Rizvi was the President of an organization by the name "Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen". He was a politician who was very close to  to the Nizam of Hyderabad and had made attempts to use Hindus living in Hyderabad as a shield against Indian Forces. He was the one who created Razakars against India. He did everything possible to keep the state of Hyderabad either independent or as a part of Pakistan. After successful completion of Operation Polo, Kasim Rizvi was arrested and jailed. (The picture above- Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel being greeted by Nizam of Hyderabad Mir Osman Ali at Begumpet Airport, Hyderabad. The adjacent picture is that of Kasim Rizvi)   In 1957 he was released but on the condition that he would not stay in India. He decided to go to Pakistan. Before leaving for Pakistan

My Dear Indians, Simplicity......This is one word that defines the man who was born on 2 October 1904 - Lal Bahadur Shastri . His father’s name was Sharada Prasad Srivastava .  His mother’s name was Ramdulari Devi. He was born in Mughalsarai city मुग़लसराय in Uttar Pradesh. Mughalsarai is a small ‘railway’ town near Varanasi. This city is a major ‘junction’ of the Indian Railways. Lal Bahadur Ji was fondly called ‘Nanhe’ नन्हे by his family. His father died when he was only 18 months old. His mother then moved to her father’s home along with her three children. His mother also died soon and then his uncle in Varanasi took care of him. Lal Bahadur Ji had to walk miles without shoes to reach school. Lal Bahadur Ji became interested in the freedom struggle of India and was greatly impressed with Mahatma Gandhi. 1920 - Mahatma Gandhi started the Non-Cooperation Movement. Lal Bahadur Ji gave up his studies and joined the movement. He was 16 years old then. Later Lal Bahadur Ji joined the K

My Dear Indians, Today is the establishment day of The Indian Military Academy (IMA) भारतीय सैन्य अकादमी The Indian Military Academy , Dehradun was established on 1 October 1932. It was set up under the chairmanship of Field Marshal Philip Chetwode. Field Marshal Philip Chetwode had said the following words which are inscribed on the wall of IMA- The safety, honour and welfare of your country come first, always and every time. The honour, welfare and comfort of the men you command come next. Your own ease, comfort and safety come last, always and every time. These words is the best lesson that I have ever learnt on- Good Character Being a leader ,and Taking responsibility in public life The Gentlemen Cadets (trainees at IMA) who pass out as Officers of The Indian Army live AND die on these principles. My Dear Indians, Each one us should learn and practice these principles of a soldier. EACH one of us is a Soldier सबसे पहले देश (INDIA) फिर मेरी पलटन (my society) फिर मेरे साथी (Country