RAS question
The 78th Army Day Parade was held in Jaipur on January 15, 2026. Army Day commemorates the appointment of which officer as the first Indian Commander-in-Chief?
Correct answer: (A) General K.M. Cariappa.
Army Day commemorates the 1949 appointment of K. M. Cariappa as the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army.
Explanation
Army Day is observed on 15 January because it marks the 1949 transition in which K. M. Cariappa became the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army. The Press Information Bureau release states that Cariappa took over from the last British commander, making the date a symbol of Indian leadership replacing colonial command in the Army. That is why the commemoration is tied to Cariappa's appointment, not simply to a parade, a display, or a later military achievement. The 2026 Army Day event mentioned in the question is a current-affairs hook, but the tested fact is the historical reason for observing Army Day on 15 January.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw is not the officer who became the first Indian Commander-in-Chief in 1949.
- (C) General K.S. Thimayya is not linked to the 15 January 1949 transition commemorated as Army Day.
- (D) General Rajendra Sinhji is a plausible Army-history distractor, but K. M. Cariappa was the first Indian Commander-in-Chief.
Concept
This tests the Modern India theme of post-Independence institutional transition, where control of key state institutions passed from British to Indian leadership. RAS often uses current events such as Army Day parades to ask static-history facts with constitutional or national-institution significance.