Ever since 1949, Armed Forces Flag Day (or just Flag Day) has been a thing. Not too many people know how or why it started, or even that it has very little to do with the hoisting of a flag.
A Defence Committee was set up to find ways to manage the welfare of the families of soldiers who had lost their lives in the line of duty and retired armed forces personnel. They hit upon the idea of distributing flags, and the Indian Army has a whole host of flags, to the general public and collected small donations from them for the welfare of soldiers.
And that's how Flag Day became an annual fixture. The funds are usually collected by the Kendriya Sainik Board and is used in various ways to support the education and upkeep of families of defence personnel.
Here are 6 awesome things about our armed forces that may convince you to contribute:
Indian Army is the largest volunteer force in the entire world. Indian Constitution actually has the option of military conscription but never needed to implement it
Indian Army's HAWS (High Altitude Warfare School) is one of the most elite military training centres
Indian Air Force is the 4th largest air force in the world with USA, Russia and China taking the first, second and third positions respectively
Indian Air Force (IAF) is one of the strongest air forces in world with 170,000 active personnel
Indian Navy has a specially trained commando force known as MACROS. It is one of the very few units in this world capable of jumping mid-sea and out of aircrafts with a complete combat load. They also use the most advanced weapons in the Armed Forces
The only country in the entire world to be operating submarine-launched supersonic cruise missiles is India
