Marking the beginning of a series of ceremonies at the National Police Memorial in New Delhi, the Border Security Force (BSF) on Saturday, February 11, put up a mesmerising band display and a perfectly orchestrated retreat ceremony in a befitting homage to the martyrs.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju was the chief guest at the band display and retreat ceremony. The minister and other distinguished guests also paid tributes to the police martyrs.
In a charged atmosphere, the memorial site came alive with the outstanding band display by BSF. The martial tunes played and different formations display by the brass and pipe band teams of BSF was followed by crisp retreat ceremony by the Seema Praharees, who stand as the impregnable wall of India's first line of defence on Pakistan and Bangladesh borders.
On February 1, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had decided that a band display as well as a retreat ceremony will be conducted at the National Police Memorial on every Saturday. It is a monthly event for all Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs). BSF has the distinguished honour of initiating this solemn ceremony for times to come.
Mandated to serve motherland and to save the society from external and internal vices, police forces of India have proven their mettle braving all odds. Every year, October 21 is observed as the Police Commemoration Day. On this day in 1959, a group of Indian policemen led by Karam Singh was attacked by the Chinese Army at Hot Springs in Ladakh while on the lookout for a missing reconnaissance party. Ten policemen were killed and seven were taken as prisoners. Subsequently, in January 1960, October 21 was officially designated as the Police Commemoration Day.
A memorial service is conducted every year at Hot Springs in Ladakh by representatives of all police forces. Since 2012, it is observed at a national-level at National Police Memorial in south Delhi's Chanakyapuri.
