As the Tricolour rose against the winter sky on India’s 77th Republic Day, its flutter carried more than ceremony. For one among many decorated soldiers who have fought three wars from the frontlines, it carried memory, muscle, and meaning. My eyes followed the marching columns not merely with pride, but with perspective—earned through decades of service, sacrifice, and transformation.
I vividly remember an Indian Army that fought more on grit than on gadgets.
In the early years of my career, logistics were often as decisive as firepower. Rifles were reliable but basic, artillery formidable but limited in reach, and communication lines vulnerable to both weather and terrain. I recall nights when messages were relayed by runners under shellfire, and equipment was repaired with ingenuity rather than spare parts. India, then, was largely an importer of arms—dependent on foreign suppliers for critical systems and constrained by global politics in moments of strategic urgency.
Yet, standing today amid the roar of modern military hardware rolling down Kartavya Path, I see a different India—one that no longer merely buys security, but increasingly builds it.
The last decade, especially, marks a turning point.
From indigenous artillery systems like Dhanush and ATAGS, to the induction of Rafale fighter jets and the growing strength of homegrown platforms such as Tejas, the Indian military’s modernization drive has reshaped its operational posture. Precision-guided munitions, network-centric warfare systems, real-time satellite intelligence, and advanced surveillance drones have redefined how India prepares for both conventional and asymmetric threats.
Perhaps most symbolic for me as a veteran is India’s shift from being a net importer of arms to an emerging exporter.
Missiles, patrol vessels, radar systems, and fighter aircraft components now find buyers across Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America. I see this not merely as economic success, but as a strategic assertion—a statement that India is stepping into the global defence ecosystem as a contributor, not just a consumer.
Yet my pride is tempered by realism.
Across the Himalayas stands China—an industrial and military colossus whose defence production scale, technological depth, and infrastructure development remain formidable. I acknowledge that the gap is not trivial, and that catching up will be neither quick nor easy. China’s ability to integrate civilian industry with military innovation gives it a momentum that few nations can match.
But I also believe history does not belong only to the fastest—it belongs to the most determined.
India’s advantage, I feel, lies in its democratic resilience, its battle-hardened forces, and its ability to innovate under pressure. Recent operational and technological milestones—what I would call our own “Sindoor moment”—have reinforced that belief. Whether in missile development, space-based defence applications, or indigenous manufacturing ecosystems, India’s progress now signals intent backed by capability.
For me, Republic Day is not about spectacle alone.
It is about the journey from a nation that once struggled to equip its soldiers adequately to one that now debates artificial intelligence in warfare, hypersonic systems, and joint theatre commands. It is about an army that once fought wars with limited global support, now conducting multinational exercises with some of the world’s most advanced militaries.
I watch the young officers marching past and see not just crisp uniforms and synchronized steps, but a generation inheriting a force more confident, more capable, and more connected to the world than ever before.
Yet I sincerely hope they inherit something else too—humility.
Because strength, as I believe, must be guided by restraint. Power, by principle. The Constitution that came into force on January 26, 1950, was not just a legal document—it was a promise that India’s might would always serve its people, not rule them.
As the flypast thunders overhead, the veteran stands a little straighter.
Seventy-seven years ago, India chose to define itself not by conquest, but by character. Today, as it builds missiles, exports technology, and modernizes its forces, I am confident that the true measure of success will lie in preserving that founding spirit of justice, sovereignty, and democratic resolve.
For me, this Republic Day is not just a celebration of how far India has come—
It is a reaffirmation of what it must always remain.
