Territorial Army (India)


The Indian Territorial Army is a second line of defence after the Regular Indian Army; it is not a profession, occupation or a source of employment. It is only meant for those people who are already in mainstay civilian professions; in fact, gainful employment or self-employment in a civil profession is a prerequisite for joining the Territorial Army.
Volunteers of the Territorial Army usually serve in uniform for a few days every year, so that they can bear arms for national defence in times of dire need or national emergencies.

History

The Indian Defence Force, incorporating Europeans and Indians in separate sections, was formed by the British on 9 October 1917. It was established in order to release regular troops from garrison duties during the First World War. It was divided into British and Indian sections. Like the Indian Army of the time, units in the Indian section consisted primarily of British officers and Indian other ranks. Units in the British section were all British.
The Indians were volunteers, but many of the Europeans were conscripted, as the Indian Defence Force Act 1917 made military service compulsory for all Europeans permanently residing in British India between the ages of 16 and 50.
Boys between 16 and 18 were only obliged to undertake training and men over 40 only had to serve in their local district, but men between 19 and 40 were obliged to serve anywhere required within the country. Only the clergy were exempt.
The IDF was generally unpopular among the British conscripts. It was replaced by the Auxiliary Force and the Indian Territorial Force in 1920.
The modern Territorial Army was inaugurated by the first Indian Governor-General of India, C. Rajagopalachari, on 9 October 1949 after the Independence Territorial Army Act was passed in 1948. The annual Prime Minister's Territorial Army Day Parade takes place on 9 October.
The Territorial Army initially had various types of units such as armoured regiments, infantry battalions, air defence, medical regiments, engineers field park companies, signal regiments, Electrical and Mechanical Engineers workshops, coast batteries, Army Service Corps GT Coy, ASC Compo Pl, and AMC field ambulances.
By 1972, these units were either disbanded or converted to Regular Army units with the exception of infantry battalions.
Territorial Army units were actively involved in military operations in 1962, 1965 and 1971. The "Terriers" have also taken part in Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka, Operation Rakshak in Punjab & J&K, Operation Rhino and Operation Bajrang in the North East.
Departmental units came to the aid of the civil authorities during industrial unrest and natural calamities, most famous being earthquake in Latur, Uttarkashi in Garhwal Himalaya and the super cyclone in Odisha.
The Ecological units have arrested man-made environmental degradation by planting 2.5 crore trees over 20,000 hectare of land in Mussoorie hills and Pithoragarh, Bikaner and Jaisalmer and ravines of Chambal in Madhya Pradesh.

Force structure

The Territorial Army is a part of the regular Indian Army. The present role of the Territorial Army is to relieve the Regular Army from static duties and assist civil administration in dealing with natural calamities and maintenance of essential services in situations where life of the communities is affected or the security of the country is threatened, and to provide units for the Regular Army as and when required.
The Territorial Army has a strength of approximately 40,000 first-line troops comprising departmental Territorial Army units such as railway, IOC, ONGC, telecommunication and General Hospital, and the non-departmental Territorial Army units of infantry battalions and ecological battalions affiliated to various infantry regiments.

Group headquarters

Non-departmental units

Ecological Task Forces (Ecological Battalions)

Infantry training is carried out on urban and provincial systems.
;Urban systems of training
;Provincial systems of training