Facts

Salutes Of The Indian Armed Forces: How and Why Do They Differ?

The life of a soldier is attributed to diligence, hard work, sacrifices, orderliness, and discipline. They carry themselves in a sophisticated manner, and it is always spectacular to watch the parade and their salutes. You can view their salutes during the Independence day and Republic day parades when the three chiefs in command salute the President – The Supreme Commander of the Armed forces when the tank lowers close to his Dias at the Amar Jawan Jyoti, India Gate. But how many of us know about the different styles of saluting? The Army, Navy and the Air Force salute in different ways and the reason for it is mind-boggling. Continue reading to know the style of tribute and the reason behind it!

1. Army

Style of Salute: Open Palm, fingers close to each other, forearm perpendicular to the ground.
Reasons: The salute symbolises peace and the open palm signifies that they carry no weapons.

2. Navy

Style of Salute: Palm facing the ground, fingers close to each other, forearm perpendicular to the field.
Reason: Back in the olden times, the sailors who worked on the ship would get their hands dirty after working with grease and other lubricants. Since it is disrespectful to show your dirty palm to the senior officer, they hid their palm by making it face downwards. Thus, to this day, the palm of a navy soldier faces the ground during the salute.

navy salute indian armed force
Via: National Geography

3. Air Force

Style of Salute: Open palm, fingers close to each other, forearm at a 45-degree angle.
Reason: The salute of the Air Force is very similar to that of the Indian Army. The open palm symbolises peace and signifies that they do not carry any weapons. But the 45-degree angle is unique to the Air Force to show that the soldiers are ready to take off at any point in time. They are the guardians of the skies for a reason.

air force salute
Via: Xinhua Net

Salutes are considered to be the highest degree of respect paid to a soldier or the senior officials in the defence sector. Saluting wrong is equivalent to disrespecting them. So readers, next time you meet a defence personnel – be it the Army, Navy or the Air Force, salute right! This is one of our small ways of expressing our gratitude and respect to our Brave Guardians who keep invaders and Non-State actors at bay. So let us do it the right way!

Meghna Gopal

Meghna Gopal is a name synonymous with perfection, hardwork and dedication. She's very committed to her goals and is diligent with her work. While most people are debating whether she's a scary opponent because of her amazing skills to excel in any field or if she's the perfect friend because she's caring and helps everyone out, Meghna is out debating at prestigious competitions across the country. An avid debater, MUNner, singer and what not, her taking up the honour of taking up BBA honours. at Christ University is a sign that she's going to diversify herself while proving time and again why she's the best at what she does. This is yet another adventure that she's going to embark upon, to help not only herself but everyone she can find. Remember the name, Meghna Gopal because if you don't, you'll regret it later.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Back to top button