Top 5 Regiment in Indian Army:
In this article, we will learn about many remarkable facts about the Top Five Regiments of the Indian Army. To start with, I think we all know that the Indian Army is the 2nd largest and at rank 5 in the strongest Armed Forces in the world till date. The Indian Army is a land-based branch and also the biggest division of the Indian Armed Forces. Nearly all the Regiments of the Indian Army were formed before independence but were transferred to the Indian Army after Indian Independence Day in 1947. Today, we will discuss the Top 5 Regiments in the Indian Army.
Sikh Regiment
The highest decorated regiment of the Indian army, Sikh regiment has total 19 battalion strong force. The Sikh army regiment draws a bulk of its recruits from the Sikh community of the nation. The regiment has around 72 battle honors, 15 Theater Honors, and about 5 COAS unit Citations. There are 2 PVCs, 14 MVCs, 5 KCs, 67 VrCs and 1596 along with the further gallantry grants to the Sikh regiment. Regiment history has given us about 155 years of heroic work with determination and courage.
This is known as the most ornamented regiment in the Indian army. When the Commonwealth Games were held in 1979, the 1st Battalion was the most decorated with 245 pre-independence and 82 post-independence gallantry awards. The British East India Company raised the regiment’s first battalion officially on 1 August 1846 before Sikh Empire got seized. Earlier, the Center of the Sikh Regiment was located in Meerut, UP but has now relocated to Ramgarh Cant., Jharkhand.
The roots of the modern Sikh Regiment can be traced to the 11th Sikh Regiment of the British Indian Army. Just like the other regiments, the Sikh Regiment was transferred to Indian army and the numerical prefix 11 was removed from the name. Extra battalions were also established to meet the needs of the Indian Army.
The Garhwal Rifles
The famous and well-known regiment of the Indian Army. The Garhwal Rifles, was made in 1887. It has 19 battalions and the mesmerizing strength of about 25,000 soldiers. During the world wars and wars after the Indian Independence, the Garhwal Rifles showed outstanding courage and maintained their unique identity throughout the period. The regiment soldiers fought with extreme confidence and courage during any battle, especially the Kargil War. The 25,000 soldiers are currently protecting and ensuring the safety of the Nation’s motherland.
In Indian Army, The Garhwal Rifles is also among the most decorated infantry regiments. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, the regiment served during the frontier campaigns. They served during both the World Wars (I & II) and also many other wars after the Independence of India. It consists of Rajputs and Brahmin Garhwali Soldiers. It also has well-known records with the exceptional identity.
Rajput Regiment
Rajput Regiment was formed in 1778 and it is the one and only Regiment which was present during the World War I and World War II fights. It has about 20 battalions in total. When the Rajputs got associated with the British Indian Army in 1778, raising the 3rd battalion as 31st Regiment Bengal Native Infantry, fought against Hyder Ali and they succeeded in capturing the place Cuddalore (Now in Tamil Nadu). After this, the crossed katars as a badge was awarded for the gallantry to the Regiment.
Since then, pair of crossed Katars (Rajput daggers) award has been approved as the badge for courage in this Regiment. This battalion also fought in the 1803, battle of Delhi. The battle broke the power of the Marathas. In 1805, the Rajput battalion was in action for taking hold of Bharatpur. In this seize, 50% of 400 men that went into the assault became casualities. This infantry regiment is composed from the Rajputs, Brahmin, Negali, Gurjar, Muslim, Sikh, and Ahir communities. During World War 2, the regiment was composed of around half of Rajputs and the other half was of Muslims.
Mechanized Infantry Regiment
The youngest of all the regiments in the Indian Army, Mechanized Infantry Regiment was first formed in 1979. This infantry regiment of the Indian army has 27 battalions and has the ability to operate in high altitude areas such as the region of Ladakh and Sikkim. The battalions are spread all over India under multiple armored formations.
This youngest regiment of the Army was formed after the lessons learnt from the Indo-Pak War held in 1965. The goal was to give the battalions greater mobility. The mastermind behind this was Late Gen K Sundarji, who anticipated the needs of the Modern Indian Army. Then Later Gen Sundarji was appointed the first Colonel of this regiment. He held the post of Colonel until his retirement.
The famous infantry regiment has done its duties in Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka, Op Rakshak in Punjab and J&K. In J&K, they also participated in Operation Vijay. Apart from these, it is also active in Peacekeeping Operation by United Nations such as in Congo, Somalia, Angola and Sierra Leone. The Mechanized Infantry Regiment is also affiliated to INS Gharial of the Indian Navy. This regiment has the ability to operate even in high altitudes such as that of Ladhakh and Sikkim.
Rashtriya Rifles
The Rashtriya Rifles of the Indian Army comes under the established order and authorities of the MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs). The regiment is considered as the largest committed counter-insurgency force of the world. The Rashtriya Rifles were named as Paramilitary for designation around an army manpower ceiling.
Sometimes wrongly taken as part of the Paramilitary forces of India by many, is completely composed of Indian Army personnel. These personnel went under pre-induction training and has operations in the framework arrangements in dealing with radicals at high altitudes.
With this Top 5 Regiments in Indian Army list, we salute the bravery, determination and courage of the Indian Army which has been serving the nation with utmost dedication.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_regiments_of_the_Indian_Army
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