Indian armed forces march ahead with colonial past on shoulders

New Delhi: Despite 64 years of independence, the Indian armed forces continue to march ahead with the legacy of a long colonial past on their shoulders. While the three forces have replaced the crown of the British queen from their rank insignias, the Nelson ring of the Indian Navy, the stars of the Indian Army and the stripes of the Indian Air Force (IAF) draw heavily from the uniform of their colonial masters.

The three forces had adopted the uniforms of the respective Royal forces badges, brevets and insignia when they were formed and have followed the same pattern till date.

A naval official says: “We have replaced the Royal Crown Insignia with the Ashoka Symbol of Sarnath, the national emblem. But the Nelson ring (a golden ring) is in remembrance of Lord Nelson, a British and a former Royal Navy’s officer.”

Horatio Nelson is regarded as one of the greatest officers in the history of the Royal Navy. His reputation was build on a slew of remarkable victories, the final one being the Battle of Trafalgar, where he was killed in his moment of triumph. Nelson joined the navy at the age of 12 in 1770 and is sometimes referred as ‘Britannia’s God of War’.

“After independence all the Commonwealth countries adopted the Royal forces insignia. Many countries since then have changed but we continue to have the Nelson ring,” the official added.

The present Indian Armed Forces rank insignias have an uncanny similarity to that of their British counterpart. So much so that the Indian Army and Pakistan Army’s certain infantry and armoured regiments have same unit badges. According to a school of thought in the services we should have a common rank insignia for the three forces that would bring about the uniformity and be representative of the Indian armed forces in the true sense.

Lt. Gen. (Retd) Raj Kadyan, while conceding that we have replaced the crown with the national emblem, said: “We need to further Indianise our rank insignias.”

The military insignias are the reflection of a country’s ethos, values, culture and aspirations. As India is poised to play an important role in the global affairs, there is a need for a more distinct identity for its armed forces – a mix of rich traditions and present culture.

“It is not that India has not tried to introduce the national ethos. This is happening progressively. While certain things like an anchor would be used universally by all the navies, we should strive to internalize the insignias and I think gradually we will do it,” National Maritime Foundation’s former director Commodore (Retd) Uday Bhaskar opined.

Bhaskar added: “It (the Indianisation of the insignias) has to be done thoughtfully. If you observe we have not accommodated the Buddhist, Islamic and Christian traditions of India in our military that well. We are a country proud of its diversity so it should definitely be reflected in our military insignias as well.”