Mahendra Singh Dhoni drew controversy after he wore wicket-keeping gloves with a certain insignia to which the International Cricket Council (ICC) took exception. They wrote to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to ask the former skipper to remove it from his gloves.
The insignia on Dhoni’s gloves is likely that of the Indian Army Special Forces (Para regiment) and it has a long and illustrious histrory. It is typically accompanied by the one-word slogan “Balidaan” (sacrifice/martyrdom) in the Devanagari script.
The logo was borrowed from the British Special Air Service (SAS), a special forces corps which specialises in counter-terrorism, reconnaissance and hostage rescue. The SAS logo is identical to the Special Forces Para Regiment’s, with the exception of the slogan; the latter has “Who Dares Wins” on it.
The SAS logo appears to be a dagger, pointing downward, with a pair of elongated wings and has often been referred to as the ‘Winged Dagger’. However, according to the BBC, this is incorrect; the symbol actually depicts King Arthur’s sword of legend, the Excalibur, wreathed in fire.
How this translates to the Indian context symbolically is unclear.
The Indian Para SF is an elite special operations force of the Indian Army, attached to the Parachute Regiment which has been deployed for use in wars, surgical strikes, counter-terrorist operations and hostage situations.
Although its history stems from before independence, when the 50th Indian Parachute Brigade was formed as part of the British Indian Army, the 9th Para SF, the first of eight such units, was raised in 1966 after the Indo-Pak war of 1965.
Like the rest of the Parachute Regiment, the SF personnel wear combat uniforms with maroon berets. They are distinguished by a “Special Forces” tab on each shoulder and the red ‘Balidaan’ badge on their chests.
Dhoni is an Honorary Lt Colonel in the Parachute Regiment.
(With inputs from BBC.)
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