INFANTRY : THE QUEEN OF THE BATTLE

 Today is Infantry Day, now isn’t that funny? Why do I find it funny or should I say ironic, well, isn’t everyday of the year the Infantarian’s day! Infantry, the Queen of the battle, is at work, 24 x 7 for 365 days without a break, be it war, peace or what we in the Army refer to as NWNP (“No War No Peace”). Be it Kashmir, the North East, Ladakh, Disaster Management or United Nations Peacekeeping, as though they don’t have enough on their hands already. They are the Atlases of our Armed Forces who take on the load of the Globe without any unnecessary bravado. “When it was victory, the cavalier claimed it outright, the gunner boasted of his calibre, the sapper and the signaller publicised their worth, but the infantryman stood silent with victory at his feet”.

Despite the world having progressed by leaps and bounds in terms of technology and the evolution or revolution of warfare into a highly technical arena, ultimately it is the “boots on the ground” which decide the victor or the vanquished. An infantry soldier is the epitome of courage and fortitude against all odds, he stands like a colossus be it Maj Somnath Sharma with his arm in a sling, conveying in no uncertain terms his resolve not to withdraw an inch against heavy odds and laying down his life protecting the Kashmir Valley from the marauders, or Maj Shaitan Singh and his Kumaonis in Chushul, who defied waves after waves of Chinese before laying down their lives. Battle of Saragarhi, the story of unmatched valour of 21 Sikh soldiers is etched in the annals of history, winning accolades from even the Britishers in their parliament even in the heydays of colonial Raj. Subedar Joginder Singh in NEFA, Abdul Hamid in the Khemkaran Sector in 1965 Indo-Pak war, Maj Hoshiar Singh in Jarpal in 1971 war, Subedar Major Bana in Siachen or Col Babu and his brave Biharis who gave a bloody nose to the Chinese in Galwan in 2020, the infantry has always delivered the knockout punch. If I start describing just the actions of gallantry awardees alone, I will run out of words in my limited vocabulary, so suffice to say that these men are a class apart, each one a king, he is self sufficient in every sense of the word. With his weapon, he is a deadly foe, ask any adversary, the infantry has its own “topkhana”, the mortars, they have their sappers, the “pioneers”, their signallers with their radio sets so they can independently, by themselves go into battle. That does not mean the others are mere appendages, each one plays a part but without the infantry, the armour or the artillery or the sappers by themselves can’t do what the infantry can. Like the "Queen" in the game of Chess, Infantry can go just about anywhere and everywhere, hence the moniker. No wonder they are the "Ultimate".

The Armed Forces or for that matter, everything else in the world revolves around certain symbols, like our ‘Tricolour’ or the ‘Ashoka Pillar’, similarly Infantry Day is being commemorated on 27 Oct 1947,  the day the first Sikh troops  landed in Kashmir Valley. Others celebrate their raising day, Infantry has always been there since times immemorial, so there can be no raising day, Battle Honours.. well every instance where they have gone into battle is an honour which they earned and richly deserved. Like the motto of the mighty Rajputana Rifles, “Veer Bhogya Vasundhara” (Only the braves inherit the earth!). We salute our brethren, our comrades in arms on this day.