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“Swamiye Sharanam Ayyappa”, the war cry of an Indian Army missile regiment

January 19, 2021
The Commune

The 73rd Indian Army Day was observed across the nation on January 15 this year. The day marks Field Marshal Kodandera M. Cariappa’s (then a Lieutenant General) taking over as the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from General Fransis Bucher , the last British Commander-in-Chief of India, on 15 January 1949.

A parade was held to mark the occasion at the Cariappa Parade ground in Delhi cantonment.

Among others, the parade also showcased the 861 Missile Regiment and its BrahMos missile systems. In the parade, the detachment of the regiment was commanded by Captain Quamrul Zaman. Interestingly, the war-cry of the regiment is “Swamiye Sharanam Ayyappa!”

It is fitting that a missile regiment’s war-cry calls out to a deity whose popular iconography depicts him riding atop a tiger holding a bow and arrow.

The regiment’s war-cry resonates close to the hearts of the ārādhaka~s of the deity Ayyappa, whose most prominent shine is at Sabarimala, nestled in the hills of the Pathanamthitta of Kerala. The temple is situated on a hilltop amidst eighteen hills at an altitude of 1260 m (4,133 ft) above sea level, and is surrounded by mountains and dense forests. The dense forest, part of the Periyar Tiger Reserve (named after the Periyar river), around the temple is known as Poongavanam. Temples exist in each of the hills surrounding Sabarimala. Sabarimala is one of the largest annual pilgrimage sites in the world with an estimate of over 40 to 50 million devotees visiting every year. Sabarimala has of course been in the news for the past few years.

Coming to the 861 Missile Regiment, it was raised as the 863 Light Battery by amalgamating a nucleus of 121 (Independent) Heavy Mortar Battery (Congo) and a battery of 35 Heavy Mortar Regiment on 20 June 1963. Lieutenant Colonel Sewa Ram was the first Commanding Officer. 86 Light Regiment was eventually formed with three batteries – 121 Heavy Mortar Battery, 862 Light Battery and 863 Light Battery. This eventually evolved to become the 861 Missile Regiment.

The Regiment provided fire-power to 28 Infantry Brigade of 10 Infantry Division in the Battle of Chamb in the India-Pakistan War of 1971. The devastating shelling by the Regiment on 3 and 4 December 1971 helped beat back the enemy’s attack, and so did the shelling on 6 and 7 December 1971. The Regiment was awarded the battle honours “Laleali” & “Picquet 707”. The Regiment has also taken part in Operation Meghdoot, Operation Vijay and Operation Parakram.

The BrahMos missile system was developed in a joint venture between the Russian Federation’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya and India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), who together have formed BrahMos Aerospace. The missile system is based on the Russian P-800 Oniks cruise missile and other similar sea-skimming Russian cruise missile technology. The name BrahMos is a portmanteau of the names of two rivers, the Brahmaputra river of India and the Moskva river of Russia.

During the parade, the Indian Army also carried out a live demonstration of Drone Swarming capability using 75 indigenously designed and developed drones. The drones executed an array of Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled simulated offensive missions and close support tasks.