President Released Commemorative Stamp on Bicentenary of 3rd Battalion Parachute Regiment (Special Forces)
The President of India, Shri Pranab
Mukherjee released a Commemorative Stamp on the occasion of Bicentenary
celebrations of the 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment (Special
Forces) at a function today (02.03.2013)at Rashtrapati Bhavan New Delhi.
The Stamp has been released in honour of
the significant contribution made by the Force in ensuring the security
of the nation and to inspire its men to tackle challenges which have in
the past and will in the future
continue to bring glory to the nation. Among the dignitaries present on
the occasion were Union Defence Minister, Chief of Army Staff along with
Secretary, Department of Posts.
The history of the Indian
Paratroopers dates back to October 1941 when 50 Indian Parachute
Brigade was raised in Delhi. The Paratroopers proved their mettle in
Sangshak and Elephant Point during World War II. They were later
expanded to form 44 Indian Airborne Division (later 2 Indian Airborne
Division), comprising of 50 Indian PARA, 77 Indian PARA and 14 Air Landing Brigades. In the post independence restructuring, the Indian
government only retained one Parachute Brigade, i.e 50 Independent
Parachute Brigade. This brigade comprised of three distinguished
battalions personally nominated by the then C-in-C, namely 1 PARA
(Punjab), 2 PARA (Maratha) and 3 PARA (Kumaon). During J&K
operations of 1947-48 these battalions had distinguished themselves with
glory in the battles of Shelatang, Naushera, Jhangar and Poonch, wherein they were awarded the respective Battle Honours.
On 15 April 1952, the three battalions
serving with the Parachute Brigade were taken away from their respective
Infantry Regiments to form the Parachute Regiment. Since then the
Parachute Regiment has grown to comprise ten battalions including
Parachute (Special Forces) battalions. In that while, 8 PARA became a
Mechanised Infantry Battalion, 21 PARA (Special Force) joined us from
Maratha LI. During their short but eventful existance so far, battalions
of the regiment have had extensive operational experience and singular achievements to speak of their level of professionalism.
Parachute battalions employed in the Counter Insurgency role, both in North East and J&K, have performed commendably, earning
eleven COAS Unit Citations. In these operations, the Ashok Chakra,
nations highest gallantry award in peace, has been awarded postumously
to Capt Arun Jasrotia, SM (1996), Major Sudhir Kumar Walia SM * (2000)
and Ptr Sanjog Chhetri (2003). Their unit 9 PARA (SF) has been conferred
the “Bravest of the Brave” honour in 2001.
In 1999 nine out of ten Parachute
battalions were deployed for OP Vijay in Kargil, which bears testimony
to the operational profile of the Regiment. While the Parachute Brigade
cleared the Mushkoh Valley intrustions, 5 PARA was actively involved in
the forgotten sector Batalik, where it exhibited great courage and tenacity, and was awarded the COAS Unit Citation.
Calls of international peacekeeping
have taken Parachute units to Korea (1953-54), Gaza (1956-58) and
Sierra Lone (2000). The latter was a daring rescue mission conducted by
the 2 PARA (SF) meanfully.
Courtesy : http://philamirror.info/2013/03/02/india-post-will-issue-stamp-on-3-para-todaPosted by: AIPEU-GDS (NFPE) Odisha Circle.
No comments:
Post a Comment