Hello, Warriors. A salute is a gesture of respect and trust among soldiers which encourages a pride in their ever-shining uniforms while at the same time elevates them in their own eyes by reminding them all of that is implied by the profession and its traditions of chivalry and courtesy.
The salute is the highest form of respect that the Armed Forces can display. The practice of saluting went through a number of transformations since the 1700’s Romans started it and gradually it came to be what it is today, as a stepped in tradition.
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Answering a question on Quora that why Indian Armed Forces have distinct salutes for its three services, you will surprised to know the history and meaning of salutes in the tri-services.
Indian Army – Open palm facing the person in front
The army’s salute is conducted with the palms open, facing the person being saluted to show that they are not carrying any weapons and that they can trust them.
A salute is executed by an open palm gesture with the weapon hand (which is standardised as the right hand), with fingers and thumb together and the middle finger almost touching the hatband or the eyebrow.
It is believed that it began in the late Roman times when a citizen who wanted to meet a public official had to raise his hand in order to show that he had no concealed weapon in his palm. This however grew into a means to show respect for armed forces all over the world.
Indian Navy – Open palm facing the ground
In Indian Navy, a salute is executed with the palm facing the ground at a 90 degree angle to the forehead. The reason behind this is to hide the hands of sailors that got dirty due to oil or grease stains while working on the ship.
In the olden days, since the sailors were always working on their sailing ships, their hands would get greasy and dirty. So they started saluting with their palms facing down, so as to not disrespect their seniors. Well the sailing ships are gone now but the tradition has remained.
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 and the right arm being sharply raised from the front by the shortest possible way. It is a mid-way between the Army and Navy salute and was standardised to make it more convenient for the IAF.
Earlier, IAF hand salute was just like the Army one. The new salute, with the edge of the hand pointing towards the sky, shows progression of the Air Warriors towards the sky.
So, the next time you see a person in uniform, don’t forget to salute!
