Different Salutes Used by the Indian Armed Forces
In military’s salute is considered as a kind gesture to pay respect to their superiors. But there is a slight variation between the salutes of all the 3 forces.
In military’s salute is considered as a kind gesture to pay respect to their superiors. But there is a slight variation between the salutes of all the 3 forces. They all possess different salutes. Though salute is considered to have existed since the Roman Empire , another study suggests that it originated in Europe. On the other hand, it is used by many civilian organisations too. But, it contains more values in the armed forces. In today’s story, we’ll learn about different types of salutes across different armed forces in India & their significance.
1. Indian Army–Open palm facing the person in front
In the Indian Army, a salute is executed by an open palm gesture with the weapon hand, with fingers and thumb together and the middle finger almost touching the eyebrow. It not only establishes trust among the personnel but also proves that the person saluting has no bad intentions and no weapons hidden up anywhere. It should be noted that the Indian Paramilitary forces such as CRPF, ITBP and other reserved forces used to salute in the same way as the Indian Army.
2. Indian Navy–Open palm facing the ground
In the Indian Navy, a salute is executed with the palm facing the ground at a 90 degree angle to the forehead. Basically, the reason behind this is to hide the hands of sailors that get dirty due to oil or grease stains while working on the ship. Dirty hands will look disrespectful to the senior and hence this method of saluting has been adopted.
3. Indian Air Force–Open palm at a 45-degree angle to the ground
In March 2006, Indian Air Force issued new salute norms to its personnel. This new salute involves the palm at a 45-degree angle to the ground. It is a mid-way between the Army and Navy salute. Before March, 2006, the IAF hand salute was just like the Army one.
Did you know about these different kinds of salutes used by the Indian forces? Do mention your thoughts in the comment section below.
