History Of Indian Army
The earliest known armies in Indian history were the epics Ramayana and Mahabaratha. The first Army of India was raised under the British rule in the 19th century by taking the presidency armies, merging them under the crown. The British Indian Military gave their contribution to both the world wars. The British Indian Military was raised to guard/ protect the Factories and Industries of British East India Company. This Army was divided into Presidency armies of Madras, Bengal, and Bombay in 1795.
Over 800,000 citizens volunteered for the Army during World War 1, and nearly more than 400,000 come forward for non -combat roles. After world war 2 and India’s independence in 1947 many wartime soldiers were discharged and units disbanded. The partition between India and Pakistan reduces the armed forces. After that, the Indian Armed forces fought in all three major wars against Pakistan and with the republic of china. Indian army is known for its bravery, they also fought in the Kargil war with Pakistan in 1999, which is known as Highest altitude mountain warfare in history.

Indian Soldiers during World War 1 picture Indian army during world war 2 Indian Army during British rule indian army history
Major Wars fought by the Indian Army
Time Period | Major Wars |
1. British Rule | · World War 1 · World War 2 |
2. The Republic of Indian (after independence) | · First Indo-Pak war, 1947 · Operation Polo, 1948 · Invasion of Goa, 1961 · Second Indo-Pak war, 1969 |
3. Indo-Sino conflict of 1967 | · Third Indo-Pak war, 1971 · Siachen war, 1984 · Kargil War, 1999 · Bangladeshi-India Border war, 2001 |
4. Other Important Operations | · The Mizo National Front, 1966 · The Chola incident, 1967 · Operation Blue star, 1984 · Sri Lanka Mission, 1987-1990 · Operation Cactus, 1988 |
Nuclear Programme of Indian Army
India became a Nuclear state in 1998. India tested its first nuclear weapon in 1947. The test was codenamed Smiling Buddha. India Military conducted a total of five underground Nuclear tests on 11 and 13 May 1998, which gives India a status of Nuclear state.
Pokhran 2 India;s Nuclear Journey Indian Nuclear test Pokkhran 1 – 18th May 1974
Indian Army Now
India has the 2nd largest Army in terms of no. of troops after China. The primary and the main mission of the Army is to ensure national unity and National Security, also defending the Nation from external threats like Terrorist, neighbor countries, maintain peace at the borders and create a secured nation for all the citizens. India started a phase of upgrading its armed forces in the late 1990s. India focused on developing its own military equipment, rather than relying on other countries. Now India builds its own military equipment. This boosts the power of the Indian Military in the world.
Indian Army Organization
Headquarters of the Indian Military is located in the Indian Capital, New Delhi, which is commanded by the Chief Of Army Staff (COAS). All the troops are organized into 40 Division in 14 Corps.
Indian Army Staff Officers at headquarters
POST | CURRENT HOLDER |
1. Chief Of Army Staff | General Bipin Rawat, YSM, AVSM, PVSM, UYSM, SM, VSM |
2. Vice Chief of Army Staff | Lieutenant General Manoj Mukund Naravane, PVSM, SM, VSM, AVSM |
3. Deputy Chief of Army Staff | Lieutenant General Iqroop Singh Ghuman, AVSM |
4. Deputy Chief of Army Staff | Lieutenant General Sudharshan Shrikant Hasabnis |
5. Adjutant General | Lieutenant General Ashwani Kumar, AVSM |
6. Military Secretary | Lieutenant General Jaswinder Singh Sandhu, UYSM, AVSM, VSM |
7. Master General of Ordnance | Lieutenant General S K Upadhya |
8. Engineer – in – chief | Lieutenant General S K Srivastava, AVSM |
9. Quartermaster General | Lieutenant General Ashok Ambre, PVSM, SM |
Indian Army Command Structure
Army works with one Training Command and six Operation Command. Each Command is directly linked and affiliated with the Army Headquarters situated in New Delhi. Each Command is headed by the General Officer Commanding- in – Chief with the rank of Lieutenant general.
In the below table, we have given the names of Command in their correct order of raising, with the location.
NAME | HEADQUARTERS |
1. Central Command | Lucknow |
2. Eastern Command | Kolkata |
3. Northern Command | Udhampur |
4. Southern Command | Pune |
5. South Western Command | Jaipur |
6. Western Command | Chandimandir |
7. Army Training Command | Shimla |
Indian Army Rank Structure
To know in detail about all the Ranks of Army, check out this article on Indian Army Ranks.

Ranks of the Indian Army – Officer Ranks
- Field Marshal (Honorary/ Wartime Rank)
- General
- Lieutenant General
- Major General
- Brigadier
- Colonel
- Lieutenant Colonel
- Major
- Captain
- Lieutenant
Ranks of Indian Army – JCOs and other Ranks (Junior Commissioned Officers)
- Subedar Major (Risaldar Major)
- Subedar
- Naib Subedar (Naib Risaldar)
Other ranks
- Havildar
- Naik
- Lance Naik
- Sepoy
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