Raise army to cross India (5)
I believe the answer is:
hoist
'raise' is the definition.
(hoisting is a kind of raising)
'army to cross india' is the wordplay.
'army' becomes 'host' (host is a kind of army).
'to cross' indicates putting letters inside (some letters cross or go round others).
'india' becomes 'i' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'host' going around 'i' is 'HOIST'.
(Other definitions for hoist that I've seen before include "Lift with aid of block and tackle" , "Device for lifting, often attached to 5 down" , "Lift using pulley and ropes" , "elevator" , "Wind up" .)