India celebrates the 15 January as the National Army Day. Uttarakhand has been a land from where soldiers, artists and extraordinary citizens have made the country proud. The most recent study about Uttarakhand people has been about the percentage of soldiers in the army from the state. Every 100th soldier in the Indian armed forces is an Uttarakhandi. The revelation has filled in a sense of honor and pride in the people of Uttarakhand, who have contributed at various levels to the glory of the country.
Home Ministry has declared the statistic about the soldiers from various states. There have been more than 169519 soldiers from Uttarakhand in the army. At present more than 72000 soldiers are serving the national armed forces. The enthusiasm for getting into the army can be judged from the number of potential youth of Uttarakhand who are eager to become a part of it.
General Bipin Rawat also hails from Paudi region of Uttarakhand. He has been pivotal in the most critical army operations in recent times after taking his position. During British rule, they too admitted about the caliber of Uttarakhand soldiers. In fact, they decided to professionally train soldiers from the province. Thus they established the academy in Dehradun in 1922. Prince of Wales Royal Military College was founded here and in 1932 IAMA foundation was also laid. Uttarakhand’s soldiers have been eminent in defending against the Kabali attacks and Kargil War.
On the Indian Army Day, the celebrations are held in different institutions of the armed forces. Special programmes are held to celebrate the first Indian taking up the army post and the end of British dictatorship on the armed forces of our homeland. The significance of the day is the taking up of charge of Head Commander by K.M. Karyappa. He was the first Indian to take this post from the British Commander General Roy Francis.