242 youth join Army at Srinagar parade

A woman embraces her brother during the pipping ceremony after the passing-out parade of the Army at the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry Regimental Centre in Srinagar on Saturday. — PTI

As many as 242 fresh recruits were on Saturday inducted into the Army’s Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry (JAKLI) regiment at a passing out parade here.

The glittering passing out parade was held at the JAKLI regimental centre at Rangreth on the outskirts of summer capital Srinagar amid a rendition of the song Balidanam Veer Lakshnam. Lt Gen. Satish Dua, the general officer commanding (GOC) of Srinagar-based Chinar (15) Corps, who recently assumed the reins of the regiment as its 15th colonel, said he was delighted to see these 242 Jammu and Kashmir youngsters transforming from being recruits of the JAKLI regiment to now being soldiers for the nation.

He expressed satisfaction over the turnout of locals in recruitment rallies in the militancy-infested border state, and complimented the young soldiers for the high standard of the parade.

He said their joining the ranks would encourage more youth from J&K to come forward to join the Army and other security forces. He also expressed gratitude to their parents for their playing a “vital role” in motivating their wards to join this “noble profession”.

The recruits, hailing from different parts of the state, were inducted into the regiment after 11 months of rigorous training in various activities including tactics, firing, physical fitness and mental robustness, defence spokesperson Lt Col N.N. Joshi said. “Their joining their respective units soon would find echo in numerous acts of selfless courage and compassion in various parts of the country and even abroad,” he asserted.

The parents of these soldiers were, as a mark of gratitude, presented with the Gaurav Padaks instituted by the Army.

This was the 103rd recruit course of the JAKLI Regiment Centre. Lt. Gen. Dua while speaking to reporters said the number of local youth joining the Army has been “definitely” increasing. “Last year, I recall a newspaper headline saying more than 20,000 youth turned up for 55 vacancies in a particular rally. So that is the kind of response we are seeing,” he said. He said, “All I can say is that the response to recruitment in the Army in different regiments is very enthusiastic”, adding that in 2015 two Territorial Army battalions were raised in Kashmir Valley and Jammu which was not there earlier.