MohanLal to join Territorial Army today

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Malayalam Superstar and the completeactor of south india, Mohanlal is all set to join the Territorial Army(TA) after the cricketer Kapil Dev. Mohanlal will wear the Army's olive green uniform today at the ceremony in south block. The Territorial Army is the part-time citizen's force which functions as a `vital adjunct' to the regular Army.

Mohanlal will recieve the honours from the Army General Deepak Kapoor. The Ashoka Lion and star on Mohan Lal's shoulders by the Army Chief at the ceremony in South Block, to signify the actor's new rank of an `honorary' Lt-Colonel. Mohanlal is honoured for his brilliant performance in the movies such as `Kirti Chakra' and `Kurukshetra', as Major Mahadevan. The actor will be joining the 122 Infantry Battalion (TA) of Madras Regiment or `Kannur Terriers'. Officers said he had visited Kargil a couple of times in preparation to don the olive-green uniform.

Under the TA system, citizens from all walks of life can volunteer for `part-time military service' while pursuing their regular professions during peace-time. In the event of national emergencies, they may be called upon to become `full-time' personnel to act in a supporting role to regular Army units deployed to meet the country's defence and internal security requirements.

At present, TA has 42 infantry battalions, which includes the `home and hearth' units, eight ecological battalions, six railway-engineer, seven general hospital and three oil sector units.