Read these facts about Indian Army which you might not be aware of

• India controls the highest battlefield in the world, the Siachen glacier, at 5000 metres above Mean Sea Level (MSL).
• India has the biggest "volunteer" army in the world.
• India covertly tested its nuclear arsenal in the early 1970s and late 1990s without the CIA even knowing what was happening.
• Unlike other government organisations and institutions in India, there are no provisions for reservations based on caste or religion.
• In the Battle of Longewala, on which the famous Bollywood movie “Border” is based, there were only two casualties on the Indian side.
  The Battle of Longewala was fought in December 1971 between India and Pakistan, in which just 120 Indian Soldiers with 1 jeep mounted M40 recoilless rifle held the fort against 2000 Pakistani soldiers backed by 45 tanks and 1 mobile infantry brigade. Despite being so heavily out-numbered, the Indian soldiers held their ground throughout the night and with the help of the Air Force, were able to completely rout the aggressors.
• Operation Rahat (2013) was one of the biggest civilian rescue operations ever carried out in the world.

• The Ezhimala Naval Academy in Kerala is the largest of its kind in Asia.
• The Indian army has a horsed cavalry regiment. It is one of the last three remaining of such regiments in the world.
• The Indian Air Force has an out-station base in Tajikistan and is seeking another in Afghanistan.
• The Indian Army built the highest bridge in the world.
  The Bailey Bridge is the highest bridge in the world. It is located in the Ladakh valley between Dras and Suru rivers in the Himalayan mountains. It was built by the Indian Army in August 1982.
• The Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 ended with the surrender of about 93,000 combatants and officials of the Pakistani Army.
  This is the largest number of POWs taken into custody since World War II. The war resulted in the creation of the independent nation of Bangladesh.

• No fauji (armed forces) mess, anywhere, for jawans (soldiers) or officers will ever serve you non-vegetarian food on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as a mark of respect to Lord Hanuman and Pir baba, respectively. There is also a mandatory mandir ("temple", literally; "prayer", in a practical sense) parade held in all units of the Indian army on weekly basis, where the entire unit assembles, families included, to pray to their respective deities for the well being of everyone in the regiment.

• India's indigenous nuclear-capable ICBM (Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile) AGNI-V puts India into the Elite Club consisting of USA, China, France and Russia.