Rajnath to lead celebrations on Armed Forces Veterans' Day

New Delhi, Jan 13 (IANS) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will lead the 8th Armed Forces Veterans’ Day nation-wide celebrations on Sunday (January 14).

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that this year, the event is being celebrated by the three services at 10 locations across the country, namely Srinagar, Pathankot, Delhi, Kanpur, Alwar, Jodhpur, Guwahati, Mumbai, Secunderabad and Kochi.

For this celebration, an ex-servicemen rally is being organised at Air Force Station. The Defence Minister will also lay a wreath at the War Memorial to pay homage to the bravehearts for their supreme sacrifice and dedicated service to the nation. an official said.

The event at Secunderabad will be presided over by Union Minister of State, Defence Ajay Bhatt. The event in New Delhi will be held at the Manekshaw Centre and attended by Chief of the Air Staff, Chief of the Naval Staff and Vice Chief of the Army Staff, the official added.

MoD said that as a part of scaling up of the Veterans’ Day, the Chief Ministers, Lieutenant Governors have been urged to celebrate the day in their respective states and Uunion territories. During the event, the veterans will be felicitated with a medal, souvenir, recognition certificate etc. As part of the celebrations, 'We for Veterans' Anthem, an ode to the Veterans, will also be played.

The Armed Forces Veterans’ Day is celebrated on January 14 every year as it was on this day in 1953 that the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army Field Marshal KM Cariappa, who led the forces to victory in the 1947 war, formally retired from the service. The day was first celebrated in 2016 and it is commemorated every year since then by hosting such interactive events in the honour of the Ex-Servicemen, the official said.