- Tri Forces Chiefs lay wreath At National War Memorial in New Delhi
- Defence Minister dedicates Shaurya Sthal to the Armed Forces at Dehradun Cantonment
- Rajnath launches ‘Soul of Steel’ Alpine Challenge to promote tourism in border areas
NE NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, JAN 14
As a mark of respect to the selfless duty of the ex-servicemen & their sacrifices towards the Nation and solidarity towards Next of Kin of the Bravehearts, the seventh Armed Forces Veterans’ Day was celebrated across the country on Saturday.
7th Armed Forces Veterans’ Day was celebrated across the country today. The celebrations were held at nine locations, with Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh presiding over the main function in Dehradun.
Read here for more: https://t.co/YQJG9ZX5b0@giridhararamane pic.twitter.com/Voe07Xgtce— A. Bharat Bhushan Babu (@SpokespersonMoD) January 14, 2023
The celebrations were held at nine locations, with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh presiding over the main function in Dehradun. Addressing a huge rally of veterans as part of the event at Jaswant Ground in Dehradun Cantonment, he expressed gratitude to the soldiers who have protected the sovereignty, unity and integrity of the country with unmatched courage & sacrifice and paid rich tributes to those who laid down their lives in the line of duty. He commended the serving as well as retired Armed Forces personnel who ensure the country’s national security.
Launched the ‘Soul of Steel’ Alpine Challenge, an initiative to promote tourism in border areas, at the ‘Veterans Day’ event organised in Dehradun. pic.twitter.com/fUMZ1mncdR
— Rajnath Singh (मोदी का परिवार) (@rajnathsingh) January 14, 2023
He further launched the ‘Soul of Steel Alpine Challenge’ which is a joint adventure sports initiative of the Indian Army and CLAW Global, by flagging off a car expedition from Dehradun to Ghamshali located in the Niti Valley.
Singh then paid homage to the supreme sacrifice and the dedicated service of our Armed Forces, and dedicated Shaurya Sthal-developed by Uttarakhand War Memorial Trust, which unanimously decided to hand over its control to the Indian Army on Veteran’ Day.
Every year on January 14, the Armed Forces Veterans Day is observed. On this day in 1953, Field Marshal KM Cariappa, the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army, who led Indian Forces to victory in the 1947 war against Pakistan, officially retired from the Services.
Emphasising on the adage 'Serving those who Served', CAS highlighted that as of today, we have 1,93,217 registered #IAF #Veterans and thanked them for their Vision, Hardwork and Selfless Service. pic.twitter.com/Y4WYyXzQVb
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) January 14, 2023
January 14, 2016, was marked as the First Armed Forces Veterans Day. Events honouring the ex-Servicemen and their families are held to recognise this day each year.
During the celebration, the ‘We for veterans’ anthem – an ode to our veterans commemorating their valor and sacrifice was also played.
Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Pushkar Singh Dhami and Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan also attended the rally. Also present were GOC-in-C, Central Command Lt Gen Yogendra Dimri; GOC, Uttar Bharat Area Lt Gen JP Mathew; GOC, Uttarakhand Sub Area, Maj Gen Sanjeev Khatri; President, Uttarakhand Ex-Servicemen League Maj Gen Mohan Lal Aswal (Retd) and Uttarakhand Sainik Kalyan Mantri Shri Ganesh Joshi and a number of veterans.
Lt Gen BS Raju #VCOAS visited the Department of Space and HQ #ISRO at #Bengaluru and interacted with the Chairman of #ISRO, Shri S Somanath.
Promoting modernisation & aatmanirbharta, #VCOAS flew in the newly inducted Light Combat Helicopter #LCH at #Bengaluru.#IndianArmy pic.twitter.com/uEkh60Cwed
— ADG PI – INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) January 14, 2023
The Veterans’ Day event at Chennai was presided over by Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Ajay Bhatt. He interacted with a number of veterans present on the occasion.
The celebrations in New Delhi were graced by Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Pande, Secretary (Ex-Servicemen Welfare) Shri Vijoy Kumar Singh and Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC) Air Marshal BR Krishna. Senior officers of the Armed Forces, Next of Kin, veterans and representatives of various ex-servicemen organisations were also present.
The three Service Chiefs highlighted the important welfare measures undertaken by various welfare departments under the veterans vertical of the Armed Forces. They commended the selfless service rendered by the veterans in Nation Building. The event witnessed the release of SAMMAAN magazine, a yearly journal published by Directorate of Indian Army Veterans (DIAV) covering informative articles and various topics of interest to the veteran community. The Indian Air Force also released the VAYU SEMVEDNA magazine.
In the morning, as part of the celebrations, the Chief of Defence Staff, three Service Chiefs, CISC and some ex-servicemen laid wreaths and paid homage to the fallen heroes at the National War Memorial in New Delhi to mark the occasion.
Other locations where the celebrations were organised by the three Service Headquarters are Jhunjhunu, Jalandhar, Chandigarh, Panagarh, Bhubaneswar and Mumbai. During the events, veterans were felicitated for their invaluable contribution to national security and nation building. The ‘We for Veterans’ anthem, an ode to the ex-servicemen commemorating their valour and sacrifice, was also played during the events.
