Lessons in Ukraine war, Army must be future-ready: Rajnath

Rajnath also said India’s reputation has increased significantly in the international fora as was seen after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to leaders of Ukraine and Russia to ensure the safe evacuation of stranded Indian students.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Ukraine President ( Volodymyr) Zelenskyy, Russian President (Vladimir) Putin and US President Joe Biden and the war was stopped for a few hours during which students were safely evacuated,” he said.

“Earlier, when India used to speak, no one would take it seriously, but now when we speak, the world listens to us carefully,” he added.

It was the first time the Army Day parade was held outside the national capital. Singh said organising the Army Day in Karnataka is a tribute to the people of the state who laid down their lives for India’s freedom.

“This is also a tribute to Field Marshal KM Cariappa who was from Karnataka. Our Army has stood up to the challenges. If our country is known for a few things, I would say the Indian Army is one of them… If any catastrophe happens and people get to know that the Army personnel have reached, they have a sense of belief that things would normalise,” he said.

With PTI inputs