India's 73rd National Army Day- Here's Five Major Operations By Indian Army

India Observes its 73rd National Army Day on Saturday to honour the sacrifice of brave soldiers. On January 15, 1949, General KM Cariappa became the first Indian to take charge of the Army. He took over the charge from General Francis Butcher, who was the last British commander of the National Army. The historic day is celebrated with patriotic zeal at all Army Command Headquarters.

On this grand occasion, let's take a look back at the most important operations in the Indian Army.

Operation Black Tornado, 2008

During the terrorist attack in Mumbai, a special flight landed in Mumbai with a team of 200 commandos to bring down the terrorist on were on a spree of killing people and were untraceable. The commandos stormed into Nariman House, Hotel Taj, Oberoi Trident. The operation lasted three days and witnessed a lot of tragic scenes. On the first day, it rescued nine hostages and managed to rescue 300 and 250 hostages from Taj and Oberoi Trident, respectively. Havaldar Gajendra Singh Bishtand Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan made the supreme sacrifice.

Operation Vijay, 1999

In the Summer of 1999, Pakistani Troops in the disguise of Kashmiri migrants infiltrated the Indian side of LoC on finding out the Indian Army and Air Force launched Operation Vijay, which involved close to 35000 Indian Soldiers. The operation aimed at flushing out regular and irregular troops of the Pakistan Army. The operation was given a codename 'Operation Safed Sagar'. It is also the most recent example of high-altitude warfare in mountain terrain. Many bravAnuj Nayyar, Manoj Kumar Pandey and Vikram Batra became household names sons of the soil laid down their lives.

Operation Cactus November 1988

On November 3, 1988, Maldivian businessman Abdullah Luthfee and Ahmed "Sagaru" Nasir, along with Uma Maheswaran, leader of the Sri Lankan militant organisation, the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), and a group of 80 militants commanded by its leader Vasanthi, tried to overthrow the government of President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in the Maldives. President Gayoom requested assistance from India, and the parachute regiment of the Indian Air Force landed at the Male Airport and began the operation. Within hours the control of the capital was restored; mercenaries tried to flee on captured boats but were intercepted by Indian Navy frigates.

Operation Pawan 1987

In 1987, Indian Peace Keeping Force undertook a military operation to take control of the Jaffna Peninsula from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The operation resulted in higher casualties for the Indian forces but ended with IPKF victory. The aim of the operation was to destroy or seize the communication network. Raid LTTE camps and checkpoints, thereby diffusing the offensive capabilities of Tamil Tigers. It took an intense fight of two weeks to take over Jaffna and a Campaign of three years to restore peace in Sri Lanka.

Operation Meghdoot April 1984

Operation Meghdoot was undertaken by the Indian Army to seize control of Siachen Glacier in Kashmir, Precipitating the Siachen conflict. The Shimla Agreement was vaguely demarcated; hence both sides allowed mountaineering expeditions. Pakistan Army sent troops to stake their claim in the conflicted area to which the Indian Army confronted with Operation Meghdoot. In operation led by Captain Sanjay, Kulkarni secured Bilafond La, and the Soltoro Ridge was secured under the command of captain PV Yadav. Despite having more ground routes to the area, Pakistan could only manage to control Saltoro Ridge's western slopes and foothills, as per India Times.

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