US Army band plays ‘Jana Gana Mana’ for Indian soldiers during joint exercise

An American army band played the Indian National Anthem, 'Jana Gana Mana', during a joint exercise between the Indian and US Army in Washington.

A video of the American soldiers playing the National Anthem on their trumpets was shared on social media on Thursday. It was the last day of the joint exercise on Wednesday.

A joint military exercise between India and the US began on Friday in Washington as part of the ongoing defence co-operation between the two nations. It is being conducted at the Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington.

Earlier, the Indian and American soldiers taking part in the joint military exercise were seen singing and dancing to the popular Indian marching song 'Badluram ka badan'. A video of the soldiers tapping their feet to the song went viral on the internet last week.

#WATCH USA: American Army band playing Indian National Anthem during the Exercise Yudh Abhyas 2019 at Joint Base Lewis, McChord. pic.twitter.com/J9weLpKD3X

— ANI (@ANI) September 19, 2019

This time the US Army band was seen playing the National Anthem for their Indian counterparts.

Named Yudh Abhyas, the exercise is one of the largest joint-running military training and defence co-operation endeavours between India and the US.

Officials said armies of India and the US will jointly train, plan and execute a series of well-developed operations for neutralization of threats of varied nature during the exercise.

At the end, a joint exercise will be undertaken by both countries in an operational setting under a UN mandate. Experts from both sides will hold academic and military discussions to share each other's experiences on varied topics for mutual benefit.

The exercise will provide an opportunity to the armed forces of both countries to train in an integrated manner at the Battalion level, with joint planning at Brigade level, whereby multiple scenarios will be rehearsed to understand each other's organisation structure.

The exercise, which is in its 15th edition, is conducted alternately in India and the US.