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

right|upright|thumb|200px|The Jat Regiment Insignia during [[British India (Pre-1947)]]

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.

right|thumb|200px|A [[World War I (1914–1918) 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. 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 (which replaced the crown after independence in 1954), 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.

thumb|right|250px|Flag of Jat Regiment

;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 an 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 (Honorary Captain) 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 (on conversion to Infantry of the line), 1861 - 18th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry,

1864 - 18th (The Alipore) 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 (along with 2nd Bn, 6th Jat Light Infantry Regiment and elements of 1/50th Kumaon) 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 (Combined training centre of the 4th Bombay Grenadiers and the 9th Jat Regiment), 1941 - 10th Bn, the 9th Jat Regiment (after the demerger of 4th Bombay Grenadiers’ training companies), 1942 - Regimental Centre, the 9th Jat Regiment and finally in 1945 as The Jat Regimental Centre. -

{| class="wikitable"

!Unit

!Raising location

!Raising date

!Remarks

!References

|-

|Jat Regimental Centre

|Calcutta

|1795

|Erstwhile The Calcutta Native Militia

|

|-style="background:#EEE8AA"

|1 Jat (LI)

|Fatehgarh

|9 November 1803

|Raised as 1st Battalion, 22nd Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry, 1824 - 43rd Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry, 1843 - 43rd Regiment of Bengal Native (Light) Infantry, 1861 - 6th Regiment of Bengal Native (Light) Infantry, 1885 - 6th Regiment of Bengal (Light) Infantry, 1897 - 6th (Jat) Regiment of Bengal (Light) Infantry, 1901 6th Jat Light Infantry, 1921 - 6th Royal Jat Light Infantry, 1922 united with 119th Infantry (The Mooltan Regiment), 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 Jat

|Bombay

|29 October 1817

|Raised 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 Mooltan Bn), the 9th Jat Regiment, 1945 - 2nd Bn (Mooltan), the Jat Regiment. Battle honour Rajouri.

|

|-

|3 Jat

|Dinapore

|23 June 1823

|Raised 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 (Jat) 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 Jat

|Bareilly

|15 January 1962

|First 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 Jat

|Varanasi

|1 February 1941

|Raised by Lieutenant Colonel WM Morgan as 5th Bn, the 9th Jat Regiment. Theatre honour Burma, Rajouri, Ladakh and Punjab, and battle honour Phillora. Nicknamed Phillora Captors.

|

|-

|6 Jat

|Bareilly

|1 February 1941

|Raised by Lieutenant Colonel DA Brett as 6th Bn, the 9th Jat Regiment. Nicknamed Gallant Sixth.

|

|-

|7 Jat

|Bareilly

|15 November 1962

|11th 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 Jat

|Bareilly

|14 December 1959

|12th 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 Jat

|Bareilly

|1 January 1963

|11th 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 Jat

|Bareilly

|1 April 1964

|Raised by Major BR Saharan.

|

|-

|12 Jat

|Bareilly

|6 February 1970

|Raised 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 Jat

|Bareilly

|1 October 1963

|12th 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 Jat

|Bareilly

|15 May 1976

|25th 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 Jat

|Bareilly

|1 October 1964

|Raised by Major SS Hasabnis , the first commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel JN Sen. COAS unit citation in 2005 and 2011.

|

|-

|17 Jat

|Jabalpur

|1 June 1966

|Raised by Lieutenant Colonel PA Patole. Theatre honour Kargil and battle honour Mushkoh.

|

|-

|18 Jat

|Secunderabad

|1 October 1966

|Raised by Lieutenant Colonel Jagwant Singh Sindhu.

|

|-

|19 Jat

|Bareilly

|1 August 1980

|Raised by Lieutenant Colonel AS Reddy.

|

|-

|20 Jat

|Bareilly

|27 February 1985

|Raised by Colonel NS Gill.

|

|-

|21 Jat

|Bareilly

|1 November 1987

|Raised by Colonel AK Mehra

|

|-

|22 Jat

|Bareilly

|1 December 2013

|Raised by Colonel AK Butail. Nicknamed Jaguars.

|

|-

|23 Jat

|Bareilly

|1 July 2016

|Raised by Colonel TS Hothi.

|

|-

|24 Jat

|Bareilly

|1 September 2020

|Raised by Colonel JS Gill.

|

|-style="background:#D0FFD0"

|5 Rashtriya Rifles

|Ranikhet

|15 October 1990

|Raised by Colonel HC Sah.

|

|-style="background:#D0FFD0"

|34 Rashtriya Rifles

|Bareilly

|1 September 1994

|Raised by Colonel RJS Dhillon . Bravest of the Brave.

|

|-style="background:#D0FFD0"

|45 Rashtriya Rifles

|Bareilly

|1 July 2001

|Raised by Colonel SD Mehta.

|

|-style="background:#D0FFD0"

|61 Rashtriya Rifles

|Bareilly

|1 July 2004

|Raised by Colonel Sanjeev Dogra.

|

|-style="background:#FFD0D0"

|114 Infantry Battalion (Territorial Army)

|Dehradun

|1 October 1960

|Raised by Lieutenant Colonel MS Sehgal.

|

|-style="background:#FFD0D0"

|151 Infantry Battalion (Territorial Army)

|Muzaffarpur

|18 January 2001

|Raised by Colonel AK Gupta.

|

|}

Battle honours

Pre-1947

  • Nagpur
  • Afghanistan, 1839
  • Ghuznee, 1839
  • Candahar, 1842
  • Ghuznee, 1842
  • Cabul, 1842
  • Maharajpore
  • Sobraon
  • Mooltan
  • Goojerat
  • Punjaub
  • Ali Masjid
  • China, 1858–59
  • Kandahar, 1880
  • Afghanistan, 1878-80
  • Burma, 1885-87
  • China, 1900
  • Afghanistan, 1919
  • La Bassée, 1914
  • Festubert, 1914
  • Festubert, 1915
  • Neuve Chapelle
  • France abd Flanders, 1914–15
  • Shaiba
  • Kut al Amara, 1915
  • Ctesiphon
  • Defence of Kut al Amara
  • Tigris, 1916
  • Khan Baghdadi
  • Mesopotamia, 1914–18
  • N.W. Frontier, India 1914–15 '17
  • Razabil
  • Burma 1942–1945
  • Jitra
  • Kanglatongbi
  • Malaya 1941–42
  • Nungshigum
  • Muar
  • North Africa. 1940–43

Post-1947

;Theatre honours

  • Jammu and Kashmir, 1947-48
  • Ladakh, 1962
  • Punjab, 1965
  • East Pakistan, 1971
  • Jammu and Kashmir, 1971
  • Kargil, 1999

;Battle honours

  • Rajouri, 2/9 Jat
  • Zoji La, 3/9 Jat
  • Dograi, 3 Jat
  • Phillora, 5 Jat
  • Mushkoh, 17 Jat

Unit citations

right|thumb|Commemorative stamp celebrating the Jat Regiment in uniforms - past and present, with the image of Subedar Major Mauji Ram in the centre. (1983)

When a unit is decorated for counter-insurgency operations, unit citations are given instead of battle or theatre honours.

  • 50px George Cross
  • Lance Naik Islam-ud-Din ϯ, 9th Jat Regiment, Burma 1945
  • Havildar Abdul Rahman ϯ, 3/9th Jat Regiment, Java 1946

;Post independence

  • 50px Ashok Chakra
  • Major Dinesh Raghu Raman ϯ, 34 Rashtriya Rifles (from 18 Jat), 2007
  • Colonel Jojan Thomas ϯ, 45 Rashtriya Rifles (from 11 Jat), 2008
  • 50px 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 (later Brigadier) Desmond Hayde, 3 Jat, Dograi 1965
  • Major Asa Ram Tyagi ϯ, 3 Jat, 1965
  • Captain Kapil Singh Thapa ϯ, 3 Jat, 1965
  • Brigadier (later Lieutenant General) Joginder Singh Bakshi, 16 Jat, 1971
  • Captain Anuj Nayyar ϯ, 17 Jat, Kargil 1999
  • 50px 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
  • 50px 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

thumb|right| 6th Jat Regiment Headquarters Group near [[Merville, Nord|Merville, France; July 1915]]

Operations following the designation as a Jat Regiment -

  • 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 (1 (mechanised), 3, 4, 8, 9, 11, 16 and 17 Jat) and five in the eastern sector (2, 5, 6, 12 and 14 Jat). 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.

thumb|The Jat Regiment marching contingent passes through the Rajpath during the 66th Republic Day Parade 2015. The Regimental contingent was adjudged as Best Marching Contingent in 1974, 2007 & 2021.|alt=|right

  • Indian Peace Keeping Force, 1987-90 : 4th, 12th, 14th battalions and 114th (TA) 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 -
  • Custodian Forces of India - Korea : 6 Jat (1953)
  • United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) : 2 Jat (1961)
  • United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) : 7 Jat (2006), 17 Jat (2010)
  • United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) : 16 Jat (2012), 21 Jat (2015)
  • United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) : 11 Jat (2018)
  • Counterinsurgency operations in North East, Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir.

Others

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

See also

  • List of regiments of the Indian Army
  • 20th Lancers
  • 9th Jat Regiment
  • Haryana - military contribution
  • Dev Samhita

References

Further reading

  • War Services of the 9th Jat Regiment by Lieutenant Colonel W. L. Hailes : details the military history of the Jat Regiment and of the Jat people between 1893 and 1937.
  • The Jat Regiment : A History of the Regiment, 1803-1947. Volumes 1-2 by Walter Leslie Hailes and John Ross (1967). The Jat Regimental Centre, Bareilly.
  • Brief History of the Machine Gun Battalion, The Jat Regiment - 1941-1946 by Lieutenant Colonel E Johnson, (1947)
  • History of the Jat Regiment, Volume IV. by Lieutenant General KK Khanna, (2022). The Jat Regimental Centre, Bareilly.
  • 6th Jat Light Infantry
  • Jat Regiment on Bharat-Rakshak