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NO. 1 SQUADRON The first Indian Air Force unit raised was No.1 Squadron, Indian Air Force on April 1, 1933. Since then a number of Squadrons, Flights and Units were raised spanning the number range 1-224. With the exception of a few SA-2 Squadrons raised in the mid 60s, all other Squadrons operated either fixed wing aircraft or helicopters. No.1 Squadron Air Force was raised on  April 1, 1933 at Drigh Road, Karachi and equipped with 04 Westland Wapiti aircraft. The Indian element consisted of six officers and nine technicians then known as Hawai Sepoys. The early history of 1 Squadron is synonymous with the history of the Indian Air Force. It was formed on the day the Indian Air Force received its first batch of trained pilots from RAF Cranwell. The first batch of Indians at Cranwell were HC Sircar, Subroto Mukherjee (later Air Marshal and the first Indian Chief of the Air Staff), AB Awan, Bhupendra Singh, Amarjit Singh and J N Tandon. Its current location is Mah

SWASTIKA The Swastika is an extremely powerful symbol which is in use for over 3000 years. The image of swastika was used by many cultures around the world, including China, Japan, India and southern European countries. The symbol has many names: ‘wan’ in China, ‘flyflot’ in England, ‘hakenkeuz’ in Germany, ‘tertraskelion’ and ‘gammadion’ in Greece and ‘swastika’ in India. Native Americans also have long used the symbol of swastika. It is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. It remains widely used in Indian religions, specifically in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, primarily as a 'tantric' symbol to evoke 'Shakti' or the sacred symbol of good luck. The word 'swastika’ comes from the Sanskrit ‘svastika’ - ‘su’ meaning ‘good’, ‘asti’ meaning ‘to be’ and ‘ka’ as a suffix. It is the symbol which represents life, sun, power, strength and good luck.

SRI YANTRA ‘Sri Yantra’ or ‘Sri Chakra’ is a ‘yantra’ formed by nine interlocking triangles that surround and radiate out from the central (‘bindu’) point, the junction point between the physical universe and its unmanifest source. It represents the goddess in her form of ‘Shri Lalitha’ or ‘Tripura Sundari’. Four of the triangles point upwards, representing ‘Shiva’ or the masculine. Five of these triangles point downwards, representing ‘Shakti’ or the feminine. Thus, the Sri Yantra also represents the union of masculine and feminine Divine. Because it is composed of nine triangles, it is known as the ‘Navayoni Chakra’. Together the nine triangles are interlaced in such a way as to form forty-three smaller triangles in a web symbolic of the entire cosmos or a womb symbolic of creation. Together they express ‘Advaita’ or non-duality philosophy. This is surrounded by a lotus of eight petals, a lotus of sixteen petals and an earth square resembling a temple with four doors.