Greetings to our forces stamp – India, 1972 was launched on 15th August to celebrate 25 years of Indian independence.
The armed forces of India
The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force. Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces are supported by the Central Armed Police Forces, Assam Rifles, Indian Coast Guard and Special Frontier Force and various inter-service commands and institutions such as the Strategic Forces Command, the Andaman and Nicobar Command and the Integrated Defence Staff. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces but the executive authority and responsibility for national security is vested in the Prime Minister of India and their chosen Cabinet Ministers. The Indian Armed Forces are under the management of the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India. With strength of over 1.4 million active personnel, it is the world’s second-largest military force and has the world’s largest volunteer army. It also has the third-largest defence budget in the world. The Global Firepower Index report lists it as the fourth most-powerful military.
Contribution of the Indian armed forces towards the security of India
India fought four major wars with its neighbors Pakistan in 1947, 1965, 1971 and 1999, and with China in 1962 and 1967. Indian victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war, helped create the free country of Bangladesh.
About the stamp Greetings to our armed forces – India, 1972
The stamp has the emblems of Army, Navy and Air Force together. It also has the colours of all the three forces printed along with their logos.
The red signifies Indian Army, Dark blue for Indian Navy and light blue for Indian Air Force. There was a war between India and Pakistan which ended on December 16, 1971.
The stamp was launched on the Indian Independence Day of the subsequent year to honor the contributions of the Indian armed forces in defending the country.