Hello Warriors! Many a times when we feel like demotivated for joining the armed forces, we look up to our fathers, uncles or relatives who are serving/had served in the armed forces for inspiration; while some others look up to the passing out parades of the academies. Speaking the unspoken, no one can define that feeling when we see the young officers marching with the best foot forward. It is the factor for defence lovers which give them goosebumps and a shiver in the spine.
Many a times, successful celebrities join the defence and many a times, people who joined defence becomes celebrities. Here I bring you some of them who makes the Indian Armed Forces worth joining and gives a reason to live for the motherland.
-
Wing Cdr Rakesh Sharma:
-“Upar se bharat kaisa dikhta hai apko?”
-“Bina kisi jhijhak ke keh sakta hoon, sare jahan se achcha.”
There is no Indian who couldn’t recognise these words from then Sqn Ldr Rakesh Sharma while being asked about how India looks from space by the then PM Indira Gandhi.
Wng Cdr Rakesh Sharma was an air warrior of the Indian Air Force. He became the first Indian to goto the space while the IAF gave him the platform.
-
Milkha Singh, The Flying Sikh:
Milkha Singh wanted to join the Indian Army but was rejected thrice. He finally got in the fourth time after he enrolled in the engineering department. He joined the EME Centre in Secunderabad in 1951.
It was here that his talent as an athlete was discovered. Singh trained hard, often racing against the meter-gauge trains that went past Secunderabad. He used to practice at night. When his superior officers saw his talent, they converted his “fatigue time” (time when jawans do odd jobs) into his training time.
-
Paan Singh Tomar:
In fact, another celebrated runner, Paan Singh Tomar, on whose life Tigmanshu Dhulia made a film, was also from EME Centre in Secundrabad. The bollywood film “Paan Singh Tomar” is based on the life of the runner.
For a matter of fact, Paan Singh Tomar was the junior of Milkha Singh. The Sikh apparently once defeated Tomar in a long-distance race.
-
Vijay Kumar:
The Indian Army shooter made India proud by winning the silver medal in the 25-metre rapid fire pistol event at the London Olympics. Vijay had earlier won three gold medals and one silver at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
He was promoted as Subedar Major and given a cash award of Rs.30 lakh with Army Chief General Bikram Singh promising all help to elevate him to the rank of an officer.
-
Abhinav Bindra:
India’s only individual Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra was bestowed with the honorary army rank of Lieutenant Colonel. The then President Pratibha Devisingh Patil had granted the honorary rank of lieutenant colonel in the territorial army to Indian ace shooter.
Bindra won the first ever individual gold for India in the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008. He is also an Arjuna Award winner and has been given the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna. Abhinav bindra had now become brand ambassador of the Indian Army.
6. MS Dhoni:
On 1 Nov 2011, Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni become the latest high profile celebrity to get an honorary commission in the Territorial Army as Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army with the army chief, Gen. V.K. Singh, pipping his rank on his shoulders. The then President Pratibha Patil had approved the grant of honorary commission to the illustrious sportsperson on Sep 13 in recognition of their achievements in their respective sports. Dhoni was commissioned into the elite Para Regiment in the presence of the Colonel of the Regiment, Lt. Gen. Vinod Bhatia.
Gen.V.K Singh complemented Dhoni on the remarkable performance of the Indian team in winning the World Cup and praised the quality of leadership of the young captain, sources in the Army said.
Dhoni led India to victory in the cricket World Cup earlier this year and was instrumental in taking the team to the top spot in Test rankings for the first time last year. He had also led the team to victory in the inaugural T20 World championship in 2007.
Other such recipients include Kapil Dev and Sachin Pilot.
-
Group Capt Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar:
The ‘god of cricket’ was conferred with the Indian Air Force’s honorary rank of Group Captain to honour his achievements in the sport. He also became the first sportperson to be conferred a rank by IAF and the first personality with no aviation background to receive the honour.
With the association, IAF had aimed to motivate the younger generation to take up a career in Air Force to serve the nation.
I hope that these people motivates you to join the Indian Armed Forces to serve the nation and die gallantry for the motherland. So, go on and chase your dreams to be an officer in the armed forces. It’s never too late!
