Happy Republic Day..!

[Contrarian]

Happy Republic Day !!

Here's a speech by President A.P.J Abdul Kalam on the even of Republic Day:

http://presidentofindia.nic.in/scri...ndia.nic.in/scripts/eventslatest1.jsp?id=1425
There is also audio version on the site, and the text also has pictures along with it.

Dear Citizens, on the eve of the 58th Republic Day of India, my greetings to all of you in the country and those living abroad. I convey my special greetings to the members of our Armed Forces and the Paramilitary Forces, who guard our frontiers on the land, the sea and the air and also the central and state level police including the internal security forces.

Friends, when we are celebrating the 58th Republic Day, I was thinking what thoughts I can share with you. Shall I talk to you on what message I got during my visits to various parts of our country and my interactions with the people particularly the youth with their dreams or shall I talk to you about the proud feeling I had when the farmers in Punjab succeeded in doubling the seed

cotton productivity in tune with the world record or shall I talk to you how a village in north-eastern state has become prosperous by developing its core competence in native silk production or shall I talk to you about the elation of the Gujarat farmers celebrating the arrival of electricity to all the villages in the State or shall I talk to you about many great human beings whom I met in various parts of the country such as, one great soul providing the leadership for transforming a polluted rivulet into a clean river in Punjab through the efforts of pilgrims themselves, or about another divine soul who has connected the hearts of people of Andhra Pradesh and Tamilnadu through the flow of water or about another divine personality, building a bridge connecting the peninsular region to the mainland near Kochi over the backwaters of the Arabian Sea in the Tsunami affected area or shall I talk to you on how 65 villages with a population of one lakh in Tamilnadu have generated a self-sustaining economy through PURA or shall I talk to you about the way that the judicial system of the State became a partner for on the spot disbursal of compensation to the victims of an earthquake in J&K for ensuring timely compensation to the right persons, or shall I talk to you about the bravery of our armed forces. I have already shared with you about these and other beautiful experiences that have made the Indian Republic proud. Such beautiful events and people have been changing the fabric of the nation.

What can I give?

In the eighties, children always used to ask me questions such as “When can I sing the Song of India?” Today, the youth are asking me, “What I can give to India?” This shows that the nation is on a positive growth trajectory. The change in pattern of the questions is indicative of the transformation which has taken place over the years. Also, I receive many e-mails and letters asking me “what I can give to India, my country?” When I study the letters, messages and mails that I have received and also the personal interactions with the people, I can clearly see abundant opportunities in which every citizen can contribute. I thought of sharing this with you: My topic of this address will be “What can I give to my nation?

Ambience in the Nation 2007

In the Indian history, our nation has come across a situation, all at a time, an ascending economic trajectory, continuously rising foreign exchange reserves, increasing domestic investment with investors’ confidence rising steadily, global successes of Indian managerial and entrepreneurial talents, global recognition of the technological competence, energy of 540 million youth, umbilical connectivities of more than 25 million people of Indian origin in various parts of the planet and the interest shown by many developed countries to invest in our engineers and scientists through setting up of new R&D centers in India. The distinction between the public and the private sectors and the illusory primacy of one over the other is vanishing. Also, there is a trend that many young people are opting for creating new enterprises instead of being mere employees.

Providing leadership for the one billion people with multi-cultural, multi-language and multi-religious background is indeed the core competence of our nation. Our technological competence and value systems with civilizational heritage are highly respected by the world community. Also, Foreign Institutional Investors find investing in India attractive as the returns are high and assured. Indian industrialists are also investing abroad and opening new business ventures. Our Gross Domestic Product which stands at seven hundred and twenty nine billion US dollars is poised to grow at 10% annually which along with various other concurrent actions, will enhance the welfare of the farmers, workers, professionals and unleash the creativity of the entrepreneurs, business persons, scientists, engineers and all other constituents of the society. Today due to the open sky policy and competitiveness the air travel has become affordable by the growing middle class. Railways have introduced many improvements and people can book tickets through internet. The revolution in travel has not only connected people but also boosted tourism and economy. Tele-density in the country has gone up to 18%. Mobile telephones are reaching the common man and serving their needs. One India plan has made calling across the country easy and affordable. Our ICT sector is exporting more than twenty four billion US dollars and the Indian Pharma industry is ranked 4th in the world and exports nearly four billion US dollars of products. Our forty four billion US dollars automobile industry is growing at the rate of 17% per annum. Our total export in the last 8 months has crossed eighty billion US dollars.

Our aerospace and aeronautical achievements are commendable. Six remote sensing satellites of various resolutions and spectral bands are providing valuable services in monitoring and management of natural resources. These have been further complemented with CARTOSAT-II launched

on 10th January 2007 by PSLV-C7 along with Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE) and two other foreign satellites. SRE after performing micro gravity experiments in orbit, has since been successfully recovered in Indian waters, leading to another technological milestone. Today, we have nine geo-stationary satellites in orbit including an exclusive EDUSAT for education. The country has successfully used the advances in space technology and telecommunication towards creating the tele-education as well as tele-medicine networks and village resource centres. SAKSHAT: One Stop Education Portal has been launched by the Government to serve the

quality education needs of the 11th and 12th class students spread in any part of the country. Broadband has reached up to the block level in all the Districts. Students from abroad are coming to India for academic programmes, training and internship and many foreign institutions have started collaborating with Indian universities and academic institutions. India’s experience has resulted in providing the

Pan African e-Network connecting the 53 countries. The country has operationalized two strategic missile systems. A state-of-the-art super sonic cruise missile system has also entered into commercial production with an international partner.

The number of people living below poverty line has come down to 22% and our literacy rate will soon touch 75%. Our unemployment is around 9% of the employable population of 400 million people. The Central Government has launched a

comprehensive rural development programme called Bharat Nirman Programme, Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission and Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme with substantial outlays for bringing the fruits of development equitably to all sections of the society irrespective of where they reside. Implementation of PURA programmes has been undertaken by number of state governments and private institutions in the country resulting in a number of operational PURAs. Central Government is planning to introduce two PURA Clusters in each district across the country as a first phase. People from all walks of life can be guiding forces and they can be partners in executing national development programmes and ushering in a good way of life. The State Governments have also launched a number of missions including rural and infrastructure development activities towards realizing the goals of Vision 2020.

Against this backdrop, I would like to discuss with you the ambience in 2020 for which we as a nation have to work.

Ambience in 2020

If we perform in an integrated way with development politics as the focus, in mission mode with transparency, I visualize even before the year 2020, a prosperous India is possible. We expect the people below poverty line to come to near zero and our literacy must be nearly 100%. Human Development Index of India will be less than 50 against the present 127. Every Indian will have either a good university degree or quality training with globally competitive employable vocational skill. E-governance would be in position for all Government to Government (G2G) and Government to Citizens (G2C) transactions making the governance system transparent with National ID card in position. Tele-density will reach over 75%. All our villages will have reliable, uninterrupted quality electric power supply. The interlinking of the rivers and water bodies and use of technology for water collection, water recycling and water management will result in equitable distribution of water for drinking, irrigation, industry, navigation and as natural beauty. There will be no shortage of water in any part of the country nor there will be disasters due to floods, water logging etc. India would have realized energy security and will be working towards energy independence. Good sanitation facilities will be available at homes in every part of India and for all Indians and tourists. We will be using more of renewable energy such as solar energy, wind power, bio-mass, mini and micro Hydel and thorium based nuclear reactors, adding less to the pollution. Through responsive and innovative venture systems and entrepreneurial training both in schools and colleges, we will have more enterprises leading to large number of employment generators rather than employment seekers. A pro-active healthcare system delivered through innovative schemes will provide quality healthcare access at an affordable cost to all the people of the country including those living in remote areas. Everyone will have an opportunity to take up and complete courses of choice in higher education. I am sure you will all see prosperity in the country, which will replace scarcity and control. In addition to the above economic, social and human development, India will also have a visible global presence in strategic sectors and will contribute to world peace. All our technological and economical advances while enhancing our prosperity would embed our value system derived from our civilizational heritage. This unique combination will make our growth robust and sustainable and will lead to a peaceful, secure, happy and prosperous society.

To achieve these goals, a national movement of development is essential. In this movement, every citizen, every constituent of our democracy has to participate. What can be the profile of people’s participation in this development movement? The citizens participation can be in many important areas like Reaching the unreached, Feedback on service to the people, Human Resource Development, Entrepreneurship, Role of Home makers, Environment development, Youth participation in political system with the focus on developed India,

Reaching the unreached

The Government has doubled the credit availability to the agriculture sectors in 2005-06 keeping 2004-05 as a base. NABARD and the banking and financial institutions have to work together to find hassle-free methods of providing micro credit and micro investment to the needy farmers so that they are weaned away from the clutches of elements who exploit them. Simultaneously, agricultural researchers, extension workers from academic institutions, non-governmental organizations and the industry should work closely with the farmers and enable them to increase the productivity, storage, food processing and marketing. In addition, they should facilitate the farmers to undertake non-farm tasks on the lines of “one product per village cluster” scheme to promote export of products based on the core-competence of the village for increasing the sustainability of the rural sector as a whole. The Insurance companies have to come forward with micro insurance, crop insurance and cattle insurance, apart from low cost medical insurance for providing risk cover to the farmers. Similarly, units like mobile diagnostic clinics as in Uttarakhand may be operated in all the districts to reach Medicare to the unreached. Recently, I have come across a number of initiatives by our judicial systems at various levels for fast delivery of justice such as legal aid clinics, mediation and conciliation, mobile court and lok-adalat and increasing the number of days and number of hours of working per day. These initiatives can be reinforced by having mobile courts reaching the village to deliver justice at the doorstep of the rural citizens. Corporate sector may also think of reaching the unreached as an essential component of “Corporate Social Responsibility”. In a world dominated by communication, extending the communication from the privileged to include the connectivity to the unreached should be part of our technological upheaval.

Feedback of Services

Though India is known to be one of the best destinations for outsourcing of many of the service and knowledge products, within our society we are yet to grow to appreciate and pay for the services. However, developed nations are gauged by the quality of service the citizens get from the government and from the corporate with which they do business. One mechanism by which we can continuously increase the quality of service is through feedback. This should be done by everyone without fear or bias. This feedback will enable all service providers to constantly improve the quality of service irrespective of what the service is. We will see a substantial increase in the services such as electricity, water, telephone, gas, transportation, education, insurance, banking, legal and police. The service providers whether they are in Government or in private sector have to take the feedback in the right spirit and provide customer satisfaction both in the short-term and in the long-term. Customers should also acknowledge positive developments and celebrate improvements. This scenario should lead to the pride of service and competitiveness.

Websites and Portals have all along been the best source for receiving feedback from the public, apart from meeting the people directly. I have been visiting the Government websites of many agencies. If the website does not provide the latest information its utility diminishes and loses the purpose for which the government department’s websites were created. It is necessary that these websites are constantly updated so that they provide the latest information and opportunities for feedback. The website may also be used to provide the information on the action taken about a particular suggestion. It is essential that service providing organization create a user forum and meet them regularly for proactively improving the quality of service through a monitoring mechanism. Government officers should make use of the e-governance portal and e-mail to stay continuously connected with the people and take necessary actions. The recent step of the government to introduce Right To Information Act is a positive step towards transparency in the governance.

Global Human Resources Cadre

Presently our university education system is contributing 3 million graduates and post graduates every year and the students seeking employment after completion of 10th class and 10+2 class are around 7 million per year. Thus nearly 10 million youth are injected into the employment market every year. In the 21st century, India needs large number of talented youth with higher education for the task of knowledge acquisition, knowledge imparting, knowledge creation and knowledge sharing. At present India has five hundred and forty million youth under the age of 25.

This will continuously be growing till the year 2050. Keeping this resource in mind, the Universities and educational systems should create two cadres of personnel: (1) a global cadre of skilled youth with specific knowledge of special skills (2) another global cadre of youth with higher education. These two cadres will be required not only for powering the manufacturing and services sector of India but also will be needed for fulfilling the human resource requirements of various countries. Thus, the universities and secondary school education system will have to work towards increasing the through put of the higher education system from the existing 11% to 20% by the year 2015, 30% by the year 2020 and 50% by the year 2040. The other Indians who are not covered by the higher education system should all have world class skill sets in areas such as construction, carpentry, electrical systems, repair of mechanical systems, fashion design, para-legal, para-medical, accountancy, sales and marketing, software and hardware maintenance and service, software quality assurance to name a few. No Indian youth should be without either a world class higher education or without world class skill sets. This is an important task in which all universities, academic specialists, colleges, vocational training institutions, certification agencies, banking systems and industrial enterprises can contribute in terms of assessing correct numbers, designing courses related to nation building tasks, assessing and providing infrastructural requirement, improving the quality of teachers, ensuring teachers-students ratio, complimenting the class room education with virtual class rooms through tele-education and above all ensuring that the students are able to face international competition in employable skills. Systems must be designed in such a way that no aspiring competent student should be denied quality education. The system of education must be able to maintain the required output quality. These are examples of what the Government have to do to give the enabling environment and how those who operate education systems have to give to our youth. Then, our youth can give their knowledge skills in making the nation prosperous.

Entrepreneurship Development

Orientation for entrepreneurship has to start right form the schools. Teachers need to teach the role of entrepreneurship on national development in the schools. During college education, the students must be exposed to business development opportunities and must be trained towards creation of new enterprises. Parents should encourage their children to take up new ventures after their education. We should cultivate a mind set that “Idea is wealth”. Government must create a facilitating environment for provision of venture capital for innovative ideas without collateral security. Universities, Engineering and Management institutions should work with banks and other funding agencies towards simplifying the procedures and working with the entrepreneurs till the project becomes self-sustaining and viable. The procedures in the Government should facilitate the spotting and recognition of new Indian talents and small entrepreneurs by creating a level playing filed for healthy competition. Citizens who can afford could turn themselves into angel investors or start venture capital organizations to fund such ventures. Big and small industries need to have a mind to encourage and partner with young entrepreneurs.

Role of Home Makers

Home makers have an important role to play in addition to shaping the family. They can equally contribute to societal upliftment. I have come across a project called “Siruthuli” which has been taken up in Coimbatore. This project on large scale rain water harvesting and activating the water bodies, aforestation, sewage/waste water treatment and solid waste management, integrates large number of people from different walks of life. A home maker is providing the leadership to this project. Many of the Panchayats across the country have women members who have been giving leadership in various rural development initiatives. Imagine the difference which can be made in the six hundred thousand villages with such actions.

Environment

Environment can become clean and upgraded only through the country wide active participation of citizens. People as a team can participate in cleaning the environment like the cleaning of Kali Bein River. Spiritual leaders can play a very important role in persuading the devotees in the clean environment movement which will promote the evolution of beautiful minds. Local groups can be formed to demonstrate and teach about cleanliness in the local residential areas. Welfare associations, NCC Cadets, Scouts, Guides and NSS Volunteers can proactively form these groups. Industrialists should follow the prescribed norms for environmental standards in all their institutions and make the buildings friendly to differently challenged people. Government employees should keep their offices and their environment clean as they would like to keep their homes. Parents and teachers should teach about the need for environmental friendly requirements to the younger citizens. Citizens can plant trees and nurture them in their neighbourhood every year as a mission. Our public infrastructure, airports, railway stations, bus stations, sea ports and Hospitals form the face of the nation in the global environment. It is the responsibility of all the stakeholders including the citizens to promote cleanliness in all these public facilities.

Youth Participation in the political system towards Developed India

Youth should take up politics as their career in large numbers. Political Science should form part of the curriculum from secondary to college level for all students with development politics as focus. Citizens should proactively cast their votes to select candidates of known performance with honesty as the focus. Legal personalities, experts and professionals should educate the citizens on the political process, constitution, procedures, their rights and responsibilities.

Similarly there are many more important tasks like making education accessible to every citizen, uplifting citizens below poverty level through a focused mission and accelerating the agriculture reforms. In the same way, there can be a movement in the judiciary for time bound clearance of pending cases in district courts and high courts within the next 3 years. Judiciary and bar should ensure that the common citizen gets speedy justice with nobility. While citizens demand that our police force has to be transparent and action oriented, it is also essential that the police stations are electronically connected and simultaneously they should be empowered with better quality of life, like proper housing, sanitary facilities, medical cover and children’s education. This will enable them to concentrate in their work with peace of mind and thereby output from the police increases. Above all our women folk constitute fifty percent of our population. Their dignity should be protected and they should get proper representation in all the decision making institutions like Panchayat systems. Our Panchayat boards really represent the village citizens and they should ensure that all development funds allotted for the rural development in their area are properly utilized for the intended purpose without dilution. Dear friends, there are many more areas in which citizens can participate towards the national development movement. Now let me focus on national security.

National Security

Our Armed Forces and Paramilitary Forces, day or night, are awake guarding our borders in the land, air and sea and remain vigilant to counter any threat and facilitate unhindered progress of national development. This I have experienced personally, when I visited the Siachen Glacier at an altitude of 17,000 ft. The temperature at minus 35 degree centigrade with heavy winds, did not deter our courageous Jawans. When, I was in the submarine, I saw the young sailors and naval officers, functioning efficiently and vigilantly in the silent sea keeping all round vigil on their mission in the Indian ocean. I was with 20 Squadron of the Indian Air Force, I experienced how our fighter pilots can meet any challenge of multi-targets through radar missiles and EW systems. We cherish the valour, commitment and devotion to duty of these gallant personnel of our Armed Forces. Our Police Forces and Intelligence agencies compliment each other and provide safety and security to our citizens from unscrupulous elements, criminals and extremists. Many persons from these forces have laid down their lives for protecting the nation, the flag and people. We salute them all. Our colleges and universities must not only generate excellent entrepreneurs, researchers but also generate the best soldiers for our country. Parents should encourage their children to participate in the national security missions.

Children are our Wealth

Some recent incidences of crime against children have shocked the whole nation and left deep scars in all of us. Children are our national wealth. Cruelty to children is against the fabric of the society which cannot be tolerated at any cost. Concerted action by all concerned in the society such as watchful neighbours, fast action oriented police machinery, vigilant media and speedy exemplary punishment to the perpetrators of crime by the judicial system is the need of the hour. In addition, as a preventive action we have to identify the people who have such tendency in the society through modern psychological test aids. Eradication of cruelty towards children should be the mission of every Indian since they are our future.

Conclusion

Developed India by 2020 is a mission of a billion people. Every one of us has a role to play. It will be a reality if everyone “Gives – What I can give”, through individual, societal and nationwide participation in a national movement facilitated by the Government. My interactions with our citizens in India and abroad, particularly the youth demonstrate to me the positive energy flowing from individuals which make them eager to give all they can to make India developed. The attitude of giving by every citizen and each group will definitely be an enriching factor for the whole nation leading to accelerated development process.

When the nation marches towards its missions, many challenges will come on the way. Courage is a very important trait for all sections of the society in overcoming these challenges. I would like to narrate one incident. On 8th June 2006, I was in the flight of Su-30-MKI. The captain of the aircraft was Wing Commander Ajay Rathore. The duration of the flight was 40 minutes; I participated in all flight actions. When I landed, there were many youth and media personnel. One young man asked me a question, “Mr. President, please tell me, since you have flown in the supersonic fighter aircraft at the age of 74, were you afraid anytime during the flight.” I told the young man, “All the 40 minutes of the flight, I was busy on the control and the instruments, and experiencing the “g” build up. I was advised by the captain to track the targets and also look at the ground using the synthetic aperture radar. In addition, I was observing the performance of the instruments developed indigenously. I was continuously busy in the flight operations and I didn’t have time to allow the fear to enter into me.” Now, dear young friends who have assembled in front of me and the nation, I have a message of Courage for you.

COURAGE TO GIVE

Courage to think different,

Courage to invent,

Courage to discover the impossible,

Courage to travel into an unexplored path,

Courage to share the knowledge

Courage to remove the pain

Courage to reach the unreached

Courage to combat the problems

And Succeed,

Are the unique qualities of the youth.

As a youth of my nation, I will work and work with courage to achieve success in all my missions.

My dear citizens, let me once again wish you a very purposeful and happy Republic Day.

May God bless you.

Jai Hind!

 

[Adux]

Jai Hind!!!

When does Pakistan celeberate its republic day

 

[A.Rahman]

Jai Hind!!!

When does Pakistan celeberate its republic day

I think its March 23. Not sure.

 

[EagleEyes]

We dont have a republic day, rather defence day on March 23rd.

Why do you guys say Jai Hind! Is it something to do with Jai Hinduisim? Jai Hindustan? Jai Hindus?

 

[Adux]

Webby,

Jai Hind = Jai Hindustan - (The Land, it got nothing to do with the religion)

The term Jai Hind is used in India to mean Hail, India!. It is often used by the Indian Army and the police, as well as by the citizens. Hindustan, the name was coined by the Mughal rulers of India.

Wikipedia

http://www.feldgrau.com/azadhind.html

Indian Volunteers in the German Wehrmacht Very Interesting read

History




The Battaglione Azad Hindoustan was created out of Centro I using both the ex- Indian Army personnel (The Indian Army was under British operational command) and Italians previously resident in India and Persia (Iran). The units of the Ragruppamento Frecce Rosse were intended to be delivered behind enemy lines by various means including infiltration on the ground, via submarine and by parachute; this last means of transport leading to the establishment of a Platone Paracadutisti (Parachute Platoon) within the Battaglione Azad Hindoustan, its members receiving their parachute training at the Parachute School at Tarquinia.[5] The soldiers of the Battaglione Azad Hindoustan were attired in standard Italian military uniform with the addition of a turban. Their Italian sahariana tunics were worn with collar patches with three vertical stripes in the saffron (orange), white and green colors of the Indian National Congress (the main focus of Indian opposition to British rule) the saffron stripe being closest to the wearers neck. Italians serving in the Battaglione Azad Hindoustan were distinguished by stars on their collar patches while Indian troops had none. Those members of the battalion sent to Tarquinia for parachute training wore their own collar patches above paratroop pattern patches (again with and without stars for Italians and Indians respectively), as well as the paratroop badge depicting an open yellow parachute embroidered in rayon thread on the left upper arm.[6]

The order of battle of the Battaglione Azad Hindoustan in August 1942[7] was as follows: Compagnie Fucilieri (a motorized rifle company consisting of Indians), Compagnie Mitraglieri (a motorized machinegun company consisting of Indians), Platone Paracadutisti (a parachute platoon consisting of Indians), and an Overseas Italian Platoon

However, despite their investment in the Indian's training the Italians considered the Indian troops of Battaglione Azad Hindoustan to be of doubtful loyalty and this view was confirmed when the Indians mutinied on learning of the Axis defeat at El Alamein in November 1942. Following this the battalion was disbanded and the Indians returned to their prisoner-of-war camps.[8]

Thus ended the disappointing Italian efforts to recruit Indians for service in the Axis armed forces. But their German partners, who began to recruit Indians earlier, were not put off by the negative Italian experience as they possessed a trump card not available to their Mediterranean allies.

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was a lawyer from Calcutta and an ex-president of the Indian National Congress who was a major rival to Mahatma Gandhi for the popular leadership of the movement to end British rule in India. Unlike Gandhi, however, Bose was a not averse to the use of violence in the achievement of Indian independence. Using the old adage that "my enemy's enemy is my friend", Bose saw war between Britain and Germany as an opportunity to advance the cause of India's independence from the British Empire.

Thus on 17th January 1941, Bose escaped from under British surveillance at his house in Calcutta and with the assistance of the Abwehr (Wehrmacht Military Intelligence) he made his way to Peshawar on India's North West frontier with Afghanistan. Their, supporters of the Aga Khan helped him across the border into Afghanistan where he was met by an Abwehr unit posing as a party of road construction engineers from the Organization Todt who then aided his passage across Afghanistan via Kabul to the border with Soviet Russia. Once in Russia the NKVD transported Bose to Moscow where he hoped that Russia's traditional enmity to British rule in India would result in support for his plans for a popular rising in India. However, Bose found the Soviets' response disappointing and was rapidly passed over to the German Ambassador in Moscow, Count von der Schulenberg. He had Bose flown on to Berlin in a special courier aircraft at the beginning of April where he was to receive a more favorable hearing from von Rippentrop and the Foreign Ministry officials at the Wilhelmstrasse.[9]

Almost immediately Bose commenced broadcasting for the Germans from the Azad Hind transmitter at Nauen and later used the good favor he had established with Hitler to have himself named as leader of the Indian "Government-in-exile" or "Indian National Congress".[10] But Bose was intent on more direct opposition to the British than merely radio propaganda and was handed an opportunity almost immediately when in April 1941 most of the members of the British 3rd (Indian) Motorised Brigade were taken prisoner by Generalleutnant Rommel's Deutsche Afrika Korps at El Mekili in Cyreniaca (Libya). On 15th May a Luftwaffe Major was sent to interview English speaking members of the prisoners with a view to recruiting men for a proposed German Army (Heer) unit of Indian troops.[11]

This initial approach led to 27 officers being flown to Berlin four days later, together with the establishment of a special camp for about 10,000 Indian POWs at Annaburg.[12] There, the Indian prisoners were visited by Bose and exposed to intensive propaganda with a view to their enlistment into the proposed unit, variously referred to as the Indian Legion, Azad Hind Legion or the more exotically sounding, Tiger Legion.[13] The first group of volunteers, recruited from ex-prisoners-of-war and Indian civilians resident in Germany left Berlin's Anhalter railway station on Christmas Day 1941 for a camp at Frankenburg near Chemnitz in order to receive future groups of released Indian POWs.[14] Despite the recruitment of only eight resolute volunteers at this stage, in January 1942 the German Propaganda Ministry felt able to announce the establishment of the, in the circumstances, rather grandly titled "Indian National Army" or "Jai Hind".[15]
Subsequently 6,000 of the Indian prisoners who were considered most receptive to Bose's ideas were transferred to the camp at Frankenburg[16] where military training was initiated by German officers and NCO's.[17] Officially a cover story was maintained that the Indians were merely to be used as a labor unit and to lend credence to this, the camp was designated Arbeitskommando Frankenburg. Of the 6,000 men at Frankenburg, 300 volunteers were transferred yet again to Künigsbrück near Dresden in Saxony[18] where German Army uniforms were issued with the addition of a specially designed national arm badge in the shape of the shield (worn in German Army style on the right upper arm) with three horizontal stripes in the saffron, white and green Indian national colors (as used previously by the Italians for the collar patches of the Battaglione Azad Hindoustan) and featuring a leaping tiger superimposed over the white band of the tricolor and with the legend "Freies Indien" in black characters on an integral white background above the tricolor. A saffron, white and green transfer may also have been used on the left side of their German steel helmets Uniforms were of the usual army feldgrau (field gray) in winter and German or Italian tropical khaki in the summer.[19] Those Sikhs in the Legion were permitted to wear a turban (of a color appropriate to their uniform) as dictated by their religion instead of the usual peaked field cap (einheitsfeldmütze).[20]

These men now constituted the Legion Freies Indien of the German Army and took their oath of allegiance in a ceremony on 26th August 1942. The ranks of the new Legion were swelled by hundreds of new members some of whose participation was far from voluntary until by mid-1943 it boasted approximately 2,000 members and was also referred to as Indisches Infanterie Regiment 950.[21]

 

[EagleEyes]

Personally, i dont believe it. It does has to do something with the relgion. It was an old time thinking. The land of hindus.

 

[Adux]

Personally, i dont believe it. It does has to do something with the relgion. It was an old time thinking. The land of hindus.

Honestly webby, I dont think i can convince you, I gave you links...I am not going to look for conspiracies. Hinduisim is a culture not a properly defined religion like Islam.
The word Hindustan was made by Muslims, So When an Indian says Jai Hind(short for Hindustan) it has religious undertones...laughable

 

[A.Rahman]

Jai Hind is a salutation most commonly used in India in speeches and communications pertaining to or referring to patriotism towards India (also known as Hind). It literally translates to Victory to India. The Indian freedom fighter Dr.Champakaraman Pillai, who was a national hero of India during the war of independence, introduced the salutation. Subhash Chandra Bose, popularly known as Netaji, followed his example and continued its use.

Currently army and paramilitary soldiers in India use this salutation to address the officers of superior rank.

 

[Adux]

Jai Hind is a salutation most commonly used in India in speeches and communications pertaining to or referring to patriotism towards India (also known as Hind). It literally translates to Victory to India. The Indian freedom fighter Dr.Champakaraman Pillai, who was a national hero of India during the war of independence, introduced the salutation. Subhash Chandra Bose, popularly known as Netaji, followed his example and continued its use.

Currently army and paramilitary soldiers in India use this salutation to address the officers of superior rank.

Thank you Rahman, that meant a lot

 

[Contrarian]

Personally, i dont believe it. It does has to do something with the relgion. It was an old time thinking. The land of hindus.

No webby, its Hind for Hindustan. As said above, it refers to the land and not religion. 'Jai Hind' is for every Indian, regardless of religion.

 

[Contrarian]

I liked the speech by President Kalam.
Anyway here's an article about the Indian Republic Day.

26th January 1950 is one of the most important days in Indian history as it was on this day the constitution of India came into force and India became a truly sovereign state. In this day India became a totally republican unit. The country finally realized the dream of Mahatma Gandhi and the numerous freedom fighters who, fought for and sacrificed their lives for the Independence of their country. So, the 26th of January was decreed a national holiday and has been recognized and celebrated as the Republic Day of India, ever since.

Today, the Republic Day is celebrated with much enthusiasm all over the country and especially in the capital, New Delhi where the celebrations start with the Presidential to the nation. The beginning of the occasion is always a solemn reminder of the sacrifice of the martyrs who died for the country in the freedom movement and the succeeding wars for the defense of sovereignty of their country. Then, the President comes forward to award the medals of bravery to the people from the armed forces for their exceptional courage in the field and also the civilians, who have distinguished themselves by their different acts of valour in different situations.

To mark the importance of this occasion, every year a grand parade is held in the capital, from the Rajghat, along the Vijaypath. The different regiments of the army, the Navy and the Air force march past in all their finery and official decorations even the horses of the cavalry are attractively caparisoned to suit the occasion. The crème of N.C.C cadets, selected from all over the country consider it an honour to participate in this event, as do the school children from various schools in the capital. They spend many days preparing for the event and no expense is spared to see that every detail is taken care of, from their practice for the drills, the essential props and their uniforms.

The parade is followed by a pageant of spectacular displays from the different states of the country. These moving exhibits depict scenes of activities of people in those states and the music and songs of that particular state accompany each display. Each display brings out the diversity and richness of the culture of India and the whole show lends a festive air to the occasion. The parade and the ensuing pageantry is telecast by the National Television and is watched by millions of viewers in every corner of the country.

The patriotic fervor of the people on this day brings the whole country together even in her essential diversity. Every part of the country is represented in occasion, which makes the Republic Day the most popular of all the national holidays of India.
http://festivals.tajonline.com/republic-day.php

 

[Contrarian]

Indian military might displayed at R-Day parade

India celebrated its 58th Republic Day here Friday with the traditional parade from Vijay Chowk to Red Fort highlighting the nation's achievements in various fields, its military prowess and diverse cultural heritage.

As per tradition, President APJ Abdul Kalam unfurled the tricolour at about 10 am at Vijay Chowk and took the salute -- with chief guest, Russian President Vladimir Putin, looking on along with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi, the three service chiefs and a host of ministers, bureaucrats and diplomats.

The parade was commanded by Major General PC Bhardwaj while General Officer Commanding, Delhi Area Brig Harvinder Pal Singh Dhillon was the parade second-in-command.

The armed forces showcased the Brahmos Supersonic Cruise Missiles, T-72 tanks Bofors and multi-barrel Rocket Launching System Pinaka in the parade.

Indian Air Force paraded the unmanned Aerial Vehicle Searcher-II and Indra-II Radar in the parade.

After the display of military might, the cultural part took over with a series of colourful tableaux depicting the many facets of India, performances by schoolchildren and folk dances.

The celebrations had begun early in the morning at the soldiers' memorial Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate with the prime minister leading the nation in paying homage to the martyrs by laying a wreath.

For the first time in the 58 years since India became a republic, a foreigner was given the honour of leading a unit of the army contingent. Captain Tunku Ismail Ibrahim, grandson of the Sultan of Johar, a state in Malaysia, led the mounted column of the Jaipur based 61st cavalry, which formed part of the army contingent at the 105-minute parade.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1912232,0008.htm

 

[Contrarian]

Putin guest at India Republic Day

India Republic Day
The parade marks the day India became a republic in 1950

Russian President Vladimir Putin has attended a grand parade in India's capital Delhi as the guest of honour on the country's Republic Day.

Indian PM Manmohan Singh and President APJ Abdul Kalam were also attending.

Security across the capital has been heavy, with at least 15,000 police and security personnel deployed.

A number of deals have been sealed on Mr Putin's visit, including the Russian construction of four nuclear power reactors in India.

Deepening ties

The parade through the heart of Delhi displays India's military power and cultural traditions and marks the day India became a republic in 1950.

Mr Singh began the celebrations by laying a floral wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyoti - Martyr's Memorial - near Delhi's famous landmark India Gate.

Vladimir Putin and Manmohan Singh
The two leaders have sealed a number of deals

The parade started with the playing of the Indian national anthem and a gun salute for presidents Kalam and Putin.

Tanks and soldiers on horseback led the parade.

Security was tight at airports, railway stations, embassies and tourist spots across the city.

Rail services were suspended and soldiers took up position on buildings overlooking the parade route.

Police checkpoints were set up across the capital.

Heavy security arrangements were also put in place in the cities of Mumbai (Bombay), Calcutta and Madras (Chennai) for Friday's celebrations.

Roads were sealed leading to a stadium where a parade was being held in Indian-administered Kashmir's capital, Srinagar.

Security personnel were also deployed in large numbers in the north-eastern state of Assam where militant groups have recently killed scores of people.

India and Russia have close ties, with Delhi remaining a top buyer of Moscow's weaponry.

The countries also have rapidly deepening co-operation in the energy sector.

Mr Singh and Mr Putin have signed a memorandum of understanding on the four new nuclear reactors.

The two countries have also signed two deals on the production and joint development of aircraft and fighter plane engines.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6298607.stm

 

[Contrarian]

MALAYSIAN CROWN PRINCE TO LEAD A UNIT ON REPUBLIC DAY

A Malaysian prince will be the first ever foreigner to lead a unit of the Indian army at the annual Republic Day parade in New Delhi, news reports said Tuesday.

Captain Tunku Ismail Ibrahim, grandson of the sultan of Johar in Malaysia, will lead a mounted column of the 61st cavalry which will be part of the army contingent in the parade to be held on Friday, PTI news agency reported.

India celebrates the adoption of its republican constitution on January 26, 1950 on the same day each year.

The highlight of the celebrations is a parade in New Delhi showcasing India's military might and joined by marching schoolchildren, folk dancers and tableaux from different regions.

Tunku was commissioned into the Indian army two years ago after passing out of the Indian Military Academy, PTI reported.

'It is a great honour to be part of such a great army and take part in the national parade. My father will come to watch,' he said.

Tunku said it was a tradition in his family to train in the armed forces. 'My grandfather was trained in the Malaysian army. My father, the crown prince of Johar received training in the United States,' he said.

 

[Bull]