Maratha Light Infantry


The Maratha Light Infantry is a light infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It traces its lineage to the Bombay Sepoys, raised in 1768, making it the most senior light infantry regiment in the Indian Army.

Recruitment

The class composition of the regiment was and is primarily formed by Maratha recruits from the former Maratha Empire. The men were mostly drawn from all over the state of Maharashtra, with some percentage from Marathi-speaking areas of Karnataka including Coorg. As of 2000, the recruitment pattern is as follows–
Tradesmen are recruited from all Indian classes.

History

Pre-independence

The Maratha Confederacy was a potent force in India from the 17th to 19th centuries. Their military qualities were brilliantly optimised in their historical campaigns against the Mughal Empire under the leadership of the Chhatrapati Shivaji and succeeding Maratha rulers. Maratha armies, comprising both infantry and light cavalry, and the Maratha Navy had dominated the military scene in India for three centuries. The 1st battalion of the regiment, known as Jangi Paltan, was raised in August 1768 as the 2nd Battalion, Bombay Sepoys, to protect the British East India Company's possessions on the islands of Bombay.
The second battalion known as Kali Panchwin followed the next year as the 3rd Battalion, Bombay Sepoys. These two battalions were at the forefront of virtually every major engagement fought on the west coast from Surat to Cannanore during the last quarter of the 18th century. Prominent amongst these were the historic battles of Seedaseer and Seringapatam, where in the words of Richard Wellesley their conduct and success were seldom equalled and never surpassed.
The turn of the 19th century was witness to the expansion of the regimental group with the raising of the 3rd battalion as the 2nd battalion, 5th Regiment of the Bombay Native Infantry in 1797. The Maratha Light Infantry Regimental Centre was raised in March 1800 as the 2nd battalion, 7th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry; the 4th battalion in April 1800 as the 2nd battalion, 8th Regiment Bombay Infantry and the 5th battalion from the Bombay Fencibles as the 1st battalion, 9th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry in December 1800.
In the second half of the 19th century, the battalions fought in various campaigns from the Middle East to China. In recognition of the gallant conduct of its detachments at the siege of Kahun and the defence of Dadar, in Baluch territory during the First Anglo-Afghan War in 1841, the Kali Panchwin was created Light Infantry. Later, this honour was also bestowed on the 3rd and 10th Regiments of the Bombay Infantry for their gallantry in Sir Robert Napier's Abyssinian Campaign of 1867–1868. The regiment assumed the title 5th Mahratta Light Infantry 1922.
Three Maratha battalions distinguished themselves during the First World War in the long drawn-out Mesopotamia campaign. The 117th Mahrattas was made into a Royal battalion for its conspicuously distinctive service during its campaign in Mesopotamia, particularly in the events leading to enemy capitulation after the bitter 146-day siege at Kut-el-Amara. The battalion was mostly composed of Marathas from the Khandesh region and Nashik district. For some unclear reasons even after winning, the regiment did not return to India. The 114th Mahrattas was awarded 28 gallantry awards for their performance in the battle of Sharquat, the highest earned by any unit in a single action. The other Maratha battalions, namely the 105th Mahratta Light Infantry, 110th Mahratta Light Infantry and 116th Mahrattas also acquitted themselves in Palestine and Mesopotamia. The 105th lost its commanding officer in action.
The Second World War saw the Marathas at the forefront in almost every theatre of operations from the jungles of Southeast Asia to the deserts of North Africa, and the mountains and rivers of Italy. The war also saw the expansion of the regiment when thirteen new war service battalions were raised. Most of these were later demobilised after the war, whilst two were converted into artillery regiments. During the war Naik Yeshwant Ghadge and Sepoy Namdeo Jadhav were decorated with the Victoria Cross in the Italian campaign, while 130 other decorations were awarded to the regiment.
The following battalions saw action during the war –
  • East Africa – 2/5th Mahratta Light Infantry, 3/5th Mahratta Light Infantry
  • Italy – 1/5th Mahratta Light Infantry, 3/5th Mahratta Light Infantry, 5/5th Mahratta Light Infantry,
  • Iraq and Persia – 1/5th Mahratta Light Infantry, 5/5th Mahratta Light Infantry
  • North Africa – 1/5th Mahratta Light Infantry
  • Burma – 4/5th Mahratta Light Infantry, 6/5th Mahratta Light Infantry, 17/5th Mahratta Light Infantry,
  • Java – 4/5th Mahratta Light Infantry, 6/5th Mahratta Light Infantry,

    Post-independence

saw the regiment reverted to the original five battalions, with the 3rd Maratha Light Infantry converting to the airborne role and becoming the 2nd battalion, Parachute Regiment in April 1952. With the integration of the erstwhile princely states, the 19th, 20th, 22nd battalions were amalgamated, from the state forces of Satara, Kolhapur, Baroda, and Hyderabad, with the regiment. The expansion of the Indian Army to meet the omnipresent threat to its borders has seen the regiment grow to its present strength of 18 regular battalions and two Territorial Army battalions whilst the period also saw the conversion of the 21st battalion into the 21st battalion, Parachute Regiment and the 115 Infantry Battalion being transferred to the Mahar Regiment.
Since independence, battalions of the Maratha Light Infantry have taken part in every Indian armed conflict — the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, the Annexation of Junagadh, the Annexation of Hyderabad, the Annexation of Goa, the Sino-Indian War, the Indo-Pakistani wars of 1965 and 1971, against the Chinese on the Sikkim watershed in 1956, Operation Pawan, the ongoing operations on the Siachen Glacier and in numerous counter insurgency operations.

Units

The Maratha Light Infantry consists of the following battalions -
BattalionRaising DateRemarksReferences
1st Battalion1768Nicknamed the Jangi Paltan. Raised as 2nd Battalion, Bombay Sepoys in 1768. Re-designated 1st Battalion, 2nd Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry in 1796, 3rd Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry in 1824, 3rd Regiment of Bombay Infantry – 1871, 3rd Bombay Light Infantry in 1901, 103rd Mahratta Light Infantry in 1903 and 1st Battalion, 5th Mahratta Light Infantry in 1922. Present designation in 1945. Battle honours – Mysore, Seedaseer, Seringapatam, Beni Boo Ali, Punjab, Mooltan, Goojerat, Abyssinia, Jamalpur.
2nd Battalion1768Nicknamed the Kali Panchwin and the Ashok Chakra Paltan. Raised as 3rd Battalion, Bombay Sepoys in 1768. Re-designated 1st Battalion, 3rd Bombay Native Infantry in 1796, 5th Bombay Native Infantry in 1824, 5th Bombay Native Infantry in 1841, 5th Bombay Infantry in 1885, 5th Bombay Light Infantry in 1901, 105th Mahratta Light Infantry in 1903 and 2nd Battalion, 5th Mahratta Light Infantry in 1922. Battle honours – Mysore, Seedaser, Seringapatnam, Beni-Boo-Ali, Siege of Kahun, China, Afghanistan, Burma, Mesopotamia, Kut El Amara, Baghdad, Palestine, Nablus, Sharon, Abyssinia, Keren, North Africa, Siege of Tobruk, Gubi and Hussainiwala.
4th Battalion1800Raised as the 2nd Battalion, 7th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry. Re-designated 16th Bombay Native Infantry in 1824, 16th Bombay Infantry in 1885, 116th Mahrattas in 1903. Battle honours – Afghanistan 1879–80, British East Africa 1901, N.W. Frontier, India 1914–15 '17, Mesopotamia 1914–18, Tengnoupal, Shangshak.
5th Battalion1800Raised as Bombay Fencible Regiment in 1800. Re-designated 1st Battalion, 9th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry in 1803, 17th Bombay Native Infantry in 1824, 17th Bombay Infantry in 1885, 117th Mahrattas in 1903 and 5th Royal Battalion, 5th Mahratta Light Infantry in 1922. Was designated Royal in recognition of its exemplary service in Mesopotamia in World War I, a rare honour for a single battalion. Battle honours – Shaiba, Battle Honour Suadih and Theatre Honour East Pakistan during 1971 war.
6th Battalion1962Raised at Mardan in 1940 by Lieutenant Colonel E Ross Magnetty, earned the battle honour Tengnoupal. Disbanded in 1947. Re-raised in 1962 by Lieutenant Colonel VK Menon at Belgaum.
7th Battalion1963Re-raised under Lieutenant Colonel ML Dixit at Belgaum.
8th Battalion1963Raised 1941 by Lieutenant Colonel LMC Bellamy in Belgaum. Converted to 4th Mahratta Anti-Tank Regiment in 1942. Re-raised in Belgaum in 1963.
9th Battalion1964Nicknamed the Ashok Chakra Paltan after the award to Colonel Vasanth Venugopal.
11th BattalionNicknamed Aakramak Akraa
12th Battalion1982
14th Battalion1971Initially raised as the 14th/5th Mahratta Light Infantry on 1 February 1941, at Ambala by Lieutenant Colonel E.S. Storey-Cooper, disbanded in 1945 following the end of the Second World War. Re-raised in 1971 at Belgaum by Lieutenant Colonel RK Dutt.
15th Battalion1966Raised by Lieutenant Colonel GS Dubhashi at Babina. Won the battle honour Burj and the theatre honour Punjab during the 1971 war. Called the Mahavir Chakra and Ashok Chakra Paltan following the awards to Sepoy Pandurang Salunkhe and Lieutenant Navdeep Singh.
16th Battalion1966Nicknamed Ashok Chakra Paltan after Colonel NJ Nair, who was posthumously awarded the Ashok Chakra in 1994
17th Battalion1962Raised by Lieutenant Colonel AO Kersey in 1941 at Belgaum. Battle honour Ru-Wya during the Burma campaign. Disbanded after World War II. Re-raised by Lieutenant Colonel E D'Souza in 1962 at Belgaum.
18th Battalion1976Raised by Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Ahmed Zaki
19th Battalion1949From Kolhapur State Forces. Raised as Kolhapur Fusiliers in 1845, redesignated as Kolhapur Infantry in 1846, renamed as Rajaram Rifles in 1941. After the merger of Kolhapur state with Union of India, became 19th Battalion, Maratha Light Infantry.
22nd Battalion1853Nicknamed the Hyderabadis, raised by Raja Rameshwar Rao of Wanaparthy Samsthanam, later became 4th Regiment of Hyderabad City troops and subsequently named Raja Paltan. Merged under 2nd Hyderabad State Infantry in 1948, joined the Maratha Light Infantry Regiment as 22 Maratha Light Infantry in 1953.
23rd BattalionNicknamed Teevra Teivees
24th Battalion
25th Battalion
26th Battalion1988Raised in 1942 by Lieutenant Colonel HS Pearson at Belgaum. Demobilised in 1946 after the war. Re-raised in 1988 by Lieutenant Colonel AB Sayyad.
Territorial Army Battalions
101 Infantry Battalion 1918Raised at Karwar as 2/103 Maharatta Light Infantry. Has undergone several transformations before being finally re-raised and re-designated as 101 Infantry Battalion Maratha Light Infantry in 1949 by Lieutenant Colonel B Dubal. Located at Pune.
109 Infantry Battalion Located at Kolhapur, Maharashtra
Former units
2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment 1797Raised as 2nd Battalion, 5th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry. Re-designated 10th Bombay Native Infantry in 1818, 10th Bombay Native Infantry in 1871, 10th Regiment of Bombay Infantry in 1885, 10th Bombay Light Infantry in 1901, 110th Mahratta Light Infantry in 1903, 3/5th Mahratta Light Infantry in 1922 and finally 3rd Battalion, Maratha Light Infantry
10th Battalion, Mechanised Infantry Regiment1949Formerly 20th Battalion, Maratha Light Infantry. Raised from 1st and 2nd Battalion of Baroda State Infantry. Absorbed into Indian Army and 20th and 21st Battalion of Maratha Light Infantry; later they were amalgamated to form 20th Battalion. It was re-designated 10th Battalion. Battle honour Bejai.
21st Battalion, Parachute Regiment 1985Raised as 21st Battalion, Maratha Light Infantry. Converted to Parachute Regiment in 1996. Nicknamed Waghnakhs.
Rashtriya Rifles
17 Rashtriya Rifles1994Raised by Colonel RS Nagal, operational in Banihal sector
27 Rashtriya Rifles1994Raised by Colonel B Ahobkirk at Belgaum, serving in areas south of the Pir Panjal Range
41 Rashtriya RiflesRaised by Colonel SV Chaudhari at Belgaum, deployed in North Kashmir
56 Rashtriya Rifles2000Raised by Colonel PK Singh at Belgaum, stationed in North Kashmir