Jat Regiment


The Jat Regiment, also known as The Royal Jats, is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army, of which it is one of the longest-serving and most decorated regiments. The regiment has won 19 Battle Honours between 1839 and 1947, and post-independence it has won five Battle Honours, including 2 Ashok Chakra, 1 Victoria Cross, 2 George Cross, 11 Kirti Chakra, 8 Mahavir Chakra, 3 Military Medal, 53 Shaurya Chakras, 38 Vir Chakras and 343 Sena Medals. During its 200-year service history, the regiment has participated in various actions and operations in India and abroad, including the First and the Second World Wars.

History

Image:The Jat Regiment Insigna British India.JPG|right|upright|thumb|200px|The Jat Regiment Insignia during British India
The Regiment claims its origins from the Calcutta Native Militia, that was raised as a garrison unit for local guard duties in 1795, which later became an infantry battalion of the Bengal Army. Following the Indian Rebellion of 1857, many of the units of the Bengal Army were disbanded. Jats from the areas of today's western Uttar Pradesh and areas around Delhi were recruited to put down the Gurjar rebellion towards the end of 1857 and the beginning of 1858. After 1860, there was a substantial increase in the recruitment of Jats into the British Indian Army. From 1892, there was a move to convers infantry battalions to pure class/caste composition battalions. Two battalions of Hindu Jats - the 6th Regiment of Bengal Infantry and 10th Jat Infantry Regiment were formed from the 6th Bengal Infantry and 10th Bengal Infantry. Following World War I, there was an expansion in the number of battalions and both the regiments raised an additional battalion. Following the war, the composition of the Jat regiments were changed to 50% Hindu Jats, 25% Punjabi Mussalmans and 25% Rajput Mussalmans.
Image:WW1-Jat Army Officer's Button-of the 9th JAT Regiment.jpg|right|thumb|200px|A World War I Jat Army Officer's Brass Button
Following the reorganisation of 1922, the 9th Jat Regiment was formed by merging four active battalions and one training battalion into a single regiment. The oldest battalion joining the Regiment was the 18th Infantry Regiment, which traced its unbroken history to the Calcutta Native Militia, raised in 1795. The prefix 9th came from this battalion, which was ninth in the seniority of raising of still surviving battalions raised by the East India Company.
The new Jat Regiment received Muslim troops from the disbanded 5th Light Infantry and 17th Loyal Infantry Regiment in January 1922. 2/6 Royal Jat LI, which was raised from within 6 Jat was designated the training battalion and the depot and started functioning in Bareilly from 1 January 1922. Troops from 1/6 Royal Jat LI, 2/6 Royal Jat LI and 10th Jats were distributed to the two other new battalions. The fifth Battalion of the Regiment was raised by amalgamating elements of two disbanded battalions of the Bombay Army, the 2nd and 3rd/150th Infantry Regiment, and adding troops from the 6th Jat Light Infantry. 119 Infantry Regiment (Mooltan) of the erstwhile Bombay Army formed the 2nd battalion. Its class composition was 50% Meo Rajputs from Rajputana and the balance being Hindu Gurjars and Muslims from the Deccan and the United Provinces. Since its class composition was different from the 9th Jat Regiment, all the existing personnel were posted out and troops from 21 different units were posted-in to form a composition of 50% Hindu Jats and 25% Muslim Rajputs, and 25% Punjabi Muslims.
The reorganisation plan included raising one territorial battalion for protection of home territories, the first TA battalion was raised in Meerut on 11 March 1922 as the 11th Bn/9th JAT Regiment, Indian Territorial Force. By mid 1924, the organisation stabilised with the presence of three regular, one TA and one training battalion. In 1930, two battalions of the Grenadiers were added to the Regiment and the 10th Training Battalion of the 9th Jat Regiment was renamed the 10th Battalion, 4th/9th Regiments. With World War II, there was an expansion of the army and training of recruits for the Grenadiers was moved out of Bareilly on 15 July 1941 to Nasirabad. The Jat Centre reverted to its old designation of the 10th Battalion, the 9th Jat Regiment. During the war, the TA battalion converted to a regular battalion and designated as 7/9 Jat. New units of were raised between July 1940 and August 1943. Most of them were disbanded after the war between March and December 1946. Vide the Indian Army Order number 134/S/45, the prefixed numeral of 'Ninth' was dropped of on 28 November 1945 and the regiment was designated simply as "The Jat Regiment". Post partition, the Muslim troops left for the newly formed Pakistani army ; with the Jat Regiment taking in Hindu Jat troops from the Punjab Regiments allotted to Pakistan.

Composition and recruitment

Soldiers of the Jat Regiment are recruited predominantly from the from the Hindu Jat community of Northern India and the rest from Sikh Jats. These Jats are from Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh, with the exception of three battalions whose ethnic make-up is as follows -
  • 12 Jat – All India All Class battalion
  • 15 Jat – This battalion recruits from Ahirs, Jats, Gujars and Rajputs - four classes with a common heritage.
  • 20 Jat - This was raised as a mixed class composition of Jats, Dogras, Garhwalis, and Marathas following the mutiny by single class regiments in 1984. Between 1998 and 1999, the battalion reverted to being a 100% Jat unit.
Under the Agnipath Scheme, recruitment from other classes would happen.

Regimental insignia and traditions

;Regimental Crest and uniform
The regimental insignia presently consists of The Roman numeral nine representing its ninth position in the regimental hierarchy of the Indian Army of the 1920s. It is surmounted by the national emblem of India – the Ashoka lion capital, while a scroll below bears the title 'Jat Regiment' in capitals. The insignia also has a bugle indicating the light infantry antecedents of two of its battalions, 1 and 2/6 Jat LI. The shoulder titles are in brass with the word 'Jat' in capitals. Prior to 1955, the shoulder titles had the words '9 Jats' in capitals mounted by the tudor crown. The present uniform of the Jat Regiment includes a dark blue lanyard on the left shoulder.
;Regimental motto and war cry
The motto of the regiment is Sangathan Va Veerta, which translates to Unity And Valour. The battle cry, adopted in 1955, in Hindi, is जाट बलवान, जय भगवान .
;Regimental Colours
The regimental colours - blue, yellow and green represent the colours of the flags of 3rd, 2nd and 1st battalions of the Jat Regiment respectively.
;Mauji Ram
In the 1920s, when the offices of the Eastern Command headquarters were moving from the winter headquarters in Lucknow to its summer headquarters in Nainital, the GOC-in-C of Eastern Command, General Sir George de Symons Barrow and his wife Sybilla Barrow halted en route at Bareilly. Sybilla Barrow who wanted to draw a ideal young Jat, painted the Subedar Major of the Jat Regimental Centre - Mauji Ram and made another one as she imagined how he would have looked as a young recruit. These paintings are now displayed at the Jat Regimental Centre, Bareilly. Subedar Major Mauji Ram's image is an iconic symbol and is often displayed as a regimental symbol.

The Jat Regimental Centre

The Jat Regimental Centre is located in Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh. It traces its origins to the raising of Calcutta Native Militia on 10 July 1795. It went through the following changes - 1859 - The Alipore Regiment, 1861 - 22nd Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry, 1861 - 18th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry,
1864 - 18th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry, 1885 - 18th Regiment of Bengal Infantry, 1902 - 18th Musalman Rajput Infantry, 1903 - 18th Infantry, 1922 - 10th Bn, the 9th Jat Regiment as the Training Centre, 1923 - Amalgamation with the elements of the disbanded 4th Bn, the 9th Jat Regiment, with the Training Battalion receiving the identity and seniority of the 18th Infantry, 1930 - 10th Bn, the 4th/9th Regiments, 1941 - 10th Bn, the 9th Jat Regiment, 1942 - Regimental Centre, the 9th Jat Regiment and finally in 1945 as The Jat Regimental Centre.

Regimental battalions

The Jat Regiment has 27 Battalions including 21 regular infantry battalions, 4 Rashtriya Rifles battalions and 2 Territorial Army battalions, as of August 2020. -
UnitRaising locationRaising dateRemarksReferences
Jat Regimental CentreCalcutta1795Erstwhile The Calcutta Native Militia
1 Jat Fatehgarh9 November 1803Raised as 1st Battalion, 22nd Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry, 1824 - 43rd Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry, 1843 - 43rd Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry, 1861 - 6th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry, 1885 - 6th Regiment of Bengal Infantry, 1897 - 6th Regiment of Bengal Infantry, 1901 6th Jat Light Infantry, 1921 - 6th Royal Jat Light Infantry, 1922 united with 119th Infantry, 10th Jats, and 18th Infantry, to form 1st Bn, 9th Jat Regiment. Given the title 'Light Infantry' in 1842 and 'Royal' in 1921. Converted to 2 Mechanised Infantry Regiment in 1981. Battle honours - Nagpore, Afghanistan, Candahar 1842, Ghuznee 1842, Cabul 1842, Maharajpore, Sobraon, Ali Masjid, Afghanistan 1878-79, China 1900 and Afghanistan 1919.
2 JatBombay29 October 1817Raised as 1st Bn, 10th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry, 1824 - 19th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry, 1885 - 19th Regiment of Bombay Infantry, 1901 - 19th Bombay Infantry, 1903 - 119th Infantry (The Mooltan Regiment), 1922 - 2nd Bn, the 9th Jat Regiment, 1945 - 2nd Bn, the Jat Regiment. Battle honour Rajouri.
3 JatDinapore23 June 1823Raised as 1st Bn, 33rd Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry, 1824 - 65th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry, 1861 - 10th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry, 1885 - 10th Regiment of Bengal Infantry, 1897 - 10th Regiment of Bengal Infantry, 1901 - 10th Jat Infantry, 1903 - 10th Jats, 1922 - 3rd Bn, the 9th Jat Regiment, 1945 - 3rd Bn, the Jat Regiment. Battle honours Zoji La and Dograi.
4 JatBareilly15 January 1962First raising July 1795 at Calcutta. Amalgamated with the 10th Training Battalion in 1922. Reraised 15 July 1940 at Jhelum. Disbanded after surrender at Singapore on 14 February 1942. Re-raised by Lieutenant Colonel Amar Singh, nicknamed Saviours of Fazilka.
5 JatVaranasi1 February 1941Raised by Lieutenant Colonel WM Morgan MC as 5th Bn, the 9th Jat Regiment. Theatre honour Burma, Rajouri, Ladakh and Punjab, and battle honour Phillora. Nicknamed Phillora Captors.
6 JatBareilly1 February 1941Raised by Lieutenant Colonel DA Brett GC, OBE, MC as 6th Bn, the 9th Jat Regiment. Nicknamed Gallant Sixth.
7 JatBareilly15 November 196211th TA Battalion was converted to a regular battalion and named 7 Jat on 15 September 1940. Disbanded after World War II. Re-raised by Lieutenant Colonel Sangram Singh.
8 JatBareilly14 December 195912th TA Battalion was converted to a regular battalion and named 8 Jat on 15 September 1941. Disbanded after World War II. Re-raised by Lieutenant Colonel Kushal Singh.
9 JatBareilly1 January 196311th TA Battalion of 14th Punjab Regiment was converted to a regular battalion and named 9 Jat on 15 September 1941. Re-raised by Major KS Rawat.
11 JatBareilly1 April 1964Raised by Major BR Saharan.
12 JatBareilly6 February 1970Raised by Lieutenant Colonel Nand Lal as 31 Jat for counter-insurgency operations in the North East. Converted to a standard infantry battalion in 1972.
14 JatBareilly1 October 196312th TA Battalion of 14th Punjab Regiment was converted to a regular battalion and named 9 Jat on 15 September 1941. Disbanded after World War II. Re-raised by Major Daljeet Singh.
15 JatBareilly15 May 197625th Garrison Battalion raised in 1941 was converted to a regular battalion and named 15 Jat on 15 August 1943. Amalgamated with 2 Jat after World War II. Re-raised by Lieutenant Colonel JS Choudhary.
16 JatBareilly1 October 1964Raised by Major SS Hasabnis VSM, the first commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel JN Sen. COAS unit citation in 2005 and 2011.
17 JatJabalpur1 June 1966Raised by Lieutenant Colonel PA Patole. Theatre honour Kargil and battle honour Mushkoh.
18 JatSecunderabad1 October 1966Raised by Lieutenant Colonel Jagwant Singh Sindhu.
19 JatBareilly1 August 1980Raised by Lieutenant Colonel AS Reddy.
20 JatBareilly27 February 1985Raised by Colonel NS Gill.
21 JatBareilly1 November 1987Raised by Colonel AK Mehra
22 JatBareilly1 December 2013Raised by Colonel AK Butail. Nicknamed Jaguars.
23 JatBareilly1 July 2016Raised by Colonel TS Hothi.
24 JatBareilly1 September 2020Raised by Colonel JS Gill.
5 Rashtriya RiflesRanikhet15 October 1990Raised by Colonel HC Sah.
34 Rashtriya RiflesBareilly1 September 1994Raised by Colonel RJS Dhillon YSM, VSM. Bravest of the Brave.
45 Rashtriya RiflesBareilly1 July 2001Raised by Colonel SD Mehta.
61 Rashtriya RiflesBareilly1 July 2004Raised by Colonel Sanjeev Dogra.
114 Infantry Battalion Dehradun1 October 1960Raised by Lieutenant Colonel MS Sehgal.
151 Infantry Battalion Muzaffarpur18 January 2001Raised by Colonel AK Gupta.

Battle honours

Pre-1947

Post-1947

;Theatre honours
;Battle honours

Unit citations

When a unit is decorated for counter-insurgency operations, unit citations are given instead of battle or theatre honours.
  • 4th battalion, Nagaland 1995
  • 6th battalion, Operation Rhino 2003
  • 7th battalion, J & K 1997, J & K 2003 & Operation Rhino 2016
  • 11th battalion, Indian Army operations in [Jammu and Kashmir#Operation Rakshak|Operation Rakshak] 2011
  • 16th battalion, J & K 2005, 2011
  • 17th battalion, Operation Vijay 1999
  • 19th battalion, J & K 2003
  • 20st battalion, J & K 2020
  • 21st battalion, J & K 2004, Operation Rhino 2009
  • 22nd Battalion, Operation Rakshak 2018
  • 34th battalion Rashtriya Rifles, J & K 1997

Gallantry awards

;Pre independence
;Post independence
  • Ashok Chakra
  • *Major Dinesh Raghu Raman ϯ, 34 Rashtriya Rifles, 2007
  • *Colonel Jojan Thomas ϯ, 45 Rashtriya Rifles, 2008
  • Maha Vir Chakra
  • *Naik Sishpal Singh, 2 Jat, J & K 1948
  • *Havildar Fateh Singh, 3 Jat, J & K 1948
  • *Major Ajit Singh, 5 Jat, Indo-China 1962
  • *Lieutenant Colonel Desmond Hayde, 3 Jat, Dograi 1965
  • *Major Asa Ram Tyagi ϯ, 3 Jat, 1965
  • *Captain Kapil Singh Thapa ϯ, 3 Jat, 1965
  • *Brigadier Joginder Singh Bakshi, 16 Jat, 1971
  • *Captain Anuj Nayyar ϯ, 17 Jat, Kargil 1999
  • Kirti Chakra
  • *Naib Subedar Daya Nand, 7 Jat, Nagaland 1974
  • *Captain Harpal Singh Ahluwalia ϯ, 7 Jat, Nagaland 1974
  • *Major Mohinder Singh Kadyan, 7 Jat, Nagaland 1974
  • *Major Ram Singh Saharan, 11 Jat, Manipur 1982
  • *Subedar Nopa Ram ϯ, 18 Jat, Op Rakshak 1992
  • *Captain Dilip Kumar Jha ϯ, 7 Jat / AOC, Op Rakshak 2003
  • *Lance Naik Sohanvir ϯ, 7 Jat, Op Rakshak 2003
  • *Sepoy Sarwan Kumar Dhukiya ϯ, 34 RR / 15 Jat, Op Rakshak 2003
  • *Sepoy Suresh ϯ, 17 Jat, Op Rakshak 2008
  • *Major Shatrujeet Kotwal, 34 RR / 3 Jat, Op Rakshak 2008
  • *Major Tushar Gauba, 20 Jat, Op Rakshak 2019
  • Vir Chakra
  • *Subedar Pahlad Singh, 2 Jat, East Pakistan, 1971
  • *Naib Subedar Umed Singh ϯ, 2 Jat, East Pakistan, 1971
  • *Havildar Hem Chander, 3 Jat, West Pakistan, 1971
  • *Lance Havildar Ganga Dhar ϯ, 4 Jat, Fazilka, 1971
  • *Major Harish Chandra Sharma, 4 Jat, Fazilka, 1971
  • *Lieutenant Colonel Raj Kumar Suri, 4 Jat, Fazilka, 1971
  • *Major Sukhpal Singh, 4 Jat, Fazilka, 1971
  • *Subedar Brijendra Singh, 4 Jat, Fazilka, 1971
  • *Major Narain Singh ϯ, 4 Jat, Fazilka, 1971
  • *Captain Kuldip Singh Rathi ϯ, 8 Jat, Poonch, 1971
  • *Major Harpal Singh Grewal ϯ, 9 Jat, Chhamb, 1971
  • *Second Lieutenant Baljit Singh Gill, 12 Jat, East Pakistan, 1971
  • *Subedar Nanji Ram, 12 Jat, East Pakistan, 1971
  • *Company Havildar Major Krishan Singh ϯ, 14 Jat, East Pakistan, 1971
  • *Naib Subedar Ram Singh, 14 Jat, East Pakistan, 1971
  • *Havildar Amar Singh, 11 Jat, Naushera, 1971
  • *Sepoy Dharajit Singh Chahar ϯ, 4 Jat, Op Pawan, 1989
  • *Captain Alok Singh, 12 Jat, Op Pawan, 1989
  • *Havildar Sis Ram Gill ϯ, 8 Jat, Op Vijay, 1999
  • *Colonel Umesh Singh Bawa, 17 Jat, Op Vijay, 1999
  • *Major Deepak Rampal, 17 Jat, Op Vijay, 1999
  • *Havildar Kumar Singh ϯ, 17 Jat, Op Vijay, 1999
ϯ - indicates that the award was given posthumously.

Affiliations

The Jat Regiment is affiliated to INS Trishul of the Indian Navy on 20 January 2009. It was affiliated with the No. 24 Squadron of the Indian Air Force on 19 November 2010.

Operations

Operations following the designation as a Jat Regiment -World War I - The Regiment saw heavy casualties in the Great War, the 1st were in action in France and Mesopotamia, the 2nd and 3rd fought in the Mesopotamian campaign and the 3rd in the North-West Frontier.World War II - The Regiment saw a great deal of fighting in North Africa, Burma, Malaya, Singapore, and Java-Sumatra. India-Pakistan War, 1947-48 : 2nd battalion saw action in Nowshera and was awarded the battle honour Rajouri. 3rd battalion was instrumental in the capture of Zoji La connecting the Kashmir valley with Ladakh, it was awarded the battle honour Zojila.Operation Polo, 1948 : 6th battalion took part in the operations to annex the princely state of Hyderabad.Sino-Indian War, 1962 : 5th battalion battled Chinese aggression in Ladakh.Operation Ragini, 1964 : 7th battalion took action against the Pakistani forces and evicted them after they crossed the Line of Control and established a border post in Tangdhar.India-Pakistan War, 1965 : 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 7th battalion took part in the operations. 3 Jat won the battle honour Dograi by valiantly capturing the village on the outskirts of Lahore. 5 Jat captured the village of Phillora in Shakargarh sector, earning it a battle honour Phillora. 1st Jat took part in operations in the Ranian sector in Punjab. 6 and 7 Jat took part in the operations of 26 Infantry Division in the Jammu-Sialkot sector.India-Pakistan War, 1971 : 13 battalions took part in the war to liberate Bangladesh, with eight in the western sector and five in the eastern sector. The latter took part in the battles of Madhumati, Comilla, Maynamati and Kumira. 12 Jat took part in the surrender of Pakistani forces in Chittagong on 17 December 1971. 3 Jat saw action in Jaisalmer and Barmer in Rajasthan. 4 Jat took part in the defence of Fazilka, 8 Jat fought in Poonch, 9 Jat defended Manawar Tawi in Chhamb sector, while 11, 16 and 17 Jat defended the Line of Control.Indian Peace Keeping Force, 1987-90 : 4th, 12th, 14th battalions and 114th battalion took part in Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka.Kargil War, 1999 - 4th, 8th, 12th, 17th, and 18th battalions took part in Operation Vijay.UN Missions -

Others

  • The Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar – 2010 was awarded to 21st Battalion, the Jat Regiment.
  • The launch of the 'Maujiram helpline' by the Jat Regiment Centre in June 2013.