Mahar Regiment - Revision history

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2022-08-27T22:59:13Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:29, 28 August 2022
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	{{short description\|Indian Army infantry regiment}}		{{short description\|Indian Army infantry regiment}}
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	{{Use Indian English\|date=August ~~2022~~}}		{{Use Indian English\|date=August 2020}}
	{{Infobox military unit		{{Infobox military unit
	\| unit_name = Mahar Regiment		\| unit_name = Mahar Regiment
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	===Martial races theory and disbandment===		===Martial races theory and disbandment===
	{{Unreferenced section\|date=November ~~2022~~}}		{{Unreferenced section\|date=November 2016}}

	After the Revolt of 1857, the [[United Kingdom\|British]] officers of the Indian Army, particularly those who had served in the [[First Anglo-Afghan War\|First]] and [[Second Anglo-Afghan War\|Second Afghan Wars]], began to give currency to the [[Martial Race]]s Theory. This theory was that some races and communities among Indians were naturally warlike, and more suited to warfare than others. A major proponent of this theory was [[Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts\|Lord Roberts]], who became [[Commander-in-Chief, India\|Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army]] in the November 1885. There was a gradual "Punjabisation" of the Indian Army to the detriment of the other communities. The final blow for the Mahar [[troops]] came in 1892, when it was decided to institute "class regiments" in the Indian Army. The Mahars were not included in these class regiments, and it was notified that the Mahars, among with some other classes, were no longer to be recruited in the Indian army. The Mahar troops, who included 104 [[Viceroy's Commissioned Officer]]s and a host of [[Non-commissioned officers]] and Sepoys were demobilised. This event was regarded by the Mahars as a betrayal of their loyalty by a [[government]] they had served for over a hundred years.		After the Revolt of 1857, the [[United Kingdom\|British]] officers of the Indian Army, particularly those who had served in the [[First Anglo-Afghan War\|First]] and [[Second Anglo-Afghan War\|Second Afghan Wars]], began to give currency to the [[Martial Race]]s Theory. This theory was that some races and communities among Indians were naturally warlike, and more suited to warfare than others. A major proponent of this theory was [[Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts\|Lord Roberts]], who became [[Commander-in-Chief, India\|Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army]] in the November 1885. There was a gradual "Punjabisation" of the Indian Army to the detriment of the other communities. The final blow for the Mahar [[troops]] came in 1892, when it was decided to institute "class regiments" in the Indian Army. The Mahars were not included in these class regiments, and it was notified that the Mahars, among with some other classes, were no longer to be recruited in the Indian army. The Mahar troops, who included 104 [[Viceroy's Commissioned Officer]]s and a host of [[Non-commissioned officers]] and Sepoys were demobilised. This event was regarded by the Mahars as a betrayal of their loyalty by a [[government]] they had served for over a hundred years.
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	===Border Scouts===		===Border Scouts===
	{{Unreferenced section\|date=November ~~2022~~}}		{{Unreferenced section\|date=November 2016}}
	The Border Scouts were an irregular force formed by the people of the border villages in [[East Punjab]] during Partition. Hailing as they did from the erstwhile greater state of East Punjab (which included the present states of [[Haryana]] and [[Himachal Pradesh]]), the force had people hailing from a greater mix of ethnic, religious and caste backgrounds than was the norm in the Indian Army. They did some useful work defending villages from attacks during partition, and as a reward, were given a more permanent character as the East Punjab Frontier Scouts in 1948. They served along the border with Pakistan as border guards, and were regarded as a useful adjunct of the Punjab Armed Police. The unit was redesignated the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the Border Scouts in 1951, with recruitment from different North Indian communities. In 1956, the decision to convert this force into Machine-Gun Regiments was taken, and the three battalions were merged with the Mahar Regiment, the only Indian Machine Gun Regiment in existence at the time. They joined the Regiment as the 4th, 5th and 6th Battalions of the Mahar Regiment, and it is to these units that the Regiment traces its mixed-class composition. The three Battalions style themselves battalions of the Mahar Regiment (Borders) even today.		The Border Scouts were an irregular force formed by the people of the border villages in [[East Punjab]] during Partition. Hailing as they did from the erstwhile greater state of East Punjab (which included the present states of [[Haryana]] and [[Himachal Pradesh]]), the force had people hailing from a greater mix of ethnic, religious and caste backgrounds than was the norm in the Indian Army. They did some useful work defending villages from attacks during partition, and as a reward, were given a more permanent character as the East Punjab Frontier Scouts in 1948. They served along the border with Pakistan as border guards, and were regarded as a useful adjunct of the Punjab Armed Police. The unit was redesignated the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the Border Scouts in 1951, with recruitment from different North Indian communities. In 1956, the decision to convert this force into Machine-Gun Regiments was taken, and the three battalions were merged with the Mahar Regiment, the only Indian Machine Gun Regiment in existence at the time. They joined the Regiment as the 4th, 5th and 6th Battalions of the Mahar Regiment, and it is to these units that the Regiment traces its mixed-class composition. The three Battalions style themselves battalions of the Mahar Regiment (Borders) even today.
	===Operation Pawan===		===Operation Pawan===

Bot at 22:59, 27 August 2022

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Overview

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{{short description|Indian Army infantry regiment}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name = Mahar Regiment
| image = Mahar Regimental Insignia.gif
| caption = Mahar Regiment Insignia
| dates = 1815 – present
| country = {{flagicon|India}} [[India]]
| branch = [[File:Flag of Indian Army.svg|24px]] [[Indian Army]]
| type = Line Infantry
| role = [[Infantry]]
| size = 21 battalions
| garrison = [[Sagar, Madhya Pradesh]]
| garrison_label = Regimental Centre
| colors = ''Bolo Hindusthan Ki Jay''<br>''Say Victory to India''<ref>{{cite web |title=Mahar Regiment War Cry |url=http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/ARMY/units/114-Mahar-Regt.html}}</ref>
| colors_label = War cry
| current_commander = Lieutenant General Channira Bansi Ponnappa, AVSM, VSM
| current_commander_label =
| ceremonial_chief =
| ceremonial_chief_label =
| colonel_of_the_regiment =
| colonel_of_the_regiment_label =
| notable_commanders = [[General]] [[K. V. Krishna Rao]], [[PVSM]] <br> [[General]] [[Krishnaswamy Sundarji]], [[PVSM]]
| nickname =
| motto = ''Yash Sidhi''<br>''Success & Attainment''
| identification_symbol = A pair of crossed Vickers medium machine guns, mounted on a tripod with a dagger. The dagger was initially the Pillar of [[Battle of Koregaon|Koregaon]], where the combined British and Mahar troops defeated the overwhelming Peshwa Army. The pillar was subsequently removed and was replaced with a dagger.<ref name=autogenerated1>[http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Units/Infantry/114-Mahar-Regt.html Bharat Rakshak :: Land Forces Site – The Mahar Regiment] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011161008/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Units/Infantry/114-Mahar-Regt.html |date=2012-10-11 }}</ref>
| identification_symbol_label = Regimental Insignia
| march =
| anniversaries =
| decorations = 1 Param Vir Chakra, 4 Maha Vir Chakra, 32 Vir Chakra,1 Ashok Chakra, 4 Kirti Chakra, 39 Shaurya Chakra,1 Padam Shri, 9 PVSM, 3 UYSM, 16 AVSM,4 Yudh Seva Medals, 49 Vishisht Seva Medals and 221 Sena Medals,107 M-in-D,2 Jeevan Raksha Padak.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
}}

The '''Mahar Regiment''' is an [[infantry]] regiment of the [[Indian Army]]. Although it was originally intended to be a regiment consisting of troops from the [[Mahar]] community of [[Maharashtra]], today the Mahar Regiment is composed of different communities from mainly states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, [[Uttar Pradesh]], and [[Bihar]].

==History==

===Overview===

The [[Mahars]] are considered original inhabitant of [[Maharashtra]]. The community, also known as "Kathiwale" (Men with sticks), [[Bumiputera (Brunei)]] (Sons of the Soil), Mirasi ([[Landlords]]) by tradition has the role of defending village boundaries from outsiders, invading tribes, criminals, and thieves. They also used to play an important role in village administration system. The Mahars have a long and proud tradition of bearing arms, and the community has served as soldiers in various armies including the [[Deccan Sultanates]] Army,{{request quote|date=March 2021}} [[Bahmani Sultanate]]'s Army,{{request quote|date=March 2021}} [[Mughal Empire]]'s Army,{{request quote|date=March 2021}} [[Maratha Empire]]'s Army and [[United Kingdom|British]] Army.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mendelsohn|first1=Oliver|last2=Vicziany|first2=Marika|author-link2=Marika Vicziany|title=The untouchables : subordination, poverty and the state in modern India|date=1998|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge [u.a.]|isbn=0521553628|page=91|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FGbp9MjhvKAC&pg=PR10}}</ref>

===Martial races theory and disbandment===
{{Unreferenced section|date=November 2016}}

After the Revolt of 1857, the [[United Kingdom|British]] officers of the Indian Army, particularly those who had served in the [[First Anglo-Afghan War|First]] and [[Second Anglo-Afghan War|Second Afghan Wars]], began to give currency to the [[Martial Race]]s Theory. This theory was that some races and communities among Indians were naturally warlike, and more suited to warfare than others. A major proponent of this theory was [[Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts|Lord Roberts]], who became [[Commander-in-Chief, India|Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army]] in the November 1885. There was a gradual "Punjabisation" of the Indian Army to the detriment of the other communities. The final blow for the Mahar [[troops]] came in 1892, when it was decided to institute "class regiments" in the Indian Army. The Mahars were not included in these class regiments, and it was notified that the Mahars, among with some other classes, were no longer to be recruited in the Indian army. The Mahar troops, who included 104 [[Viceroy's Commissioned Officer]]s and a host of [[Non-commissioned officers]] and Sepoys were demobilised. This event was regarded by the Mahars as a betrayal of their loyalty by a [[government]] they had served for over a hundred years.

===Raising of the Mahar Regiment===

After the demobilisation of the Mahar troops, there were many attempts by the leaders of the Mahar community to persuade the Government to let them serve in the Army once again. Petitions to this effect were drafted by ex-soldiers such as [[Gopal Baba Walangkar]] in 1894, and Shivram Janba Kamble in 1904.<ref name="Basham">{{cite book|author=Ardythe Basham|title=Untouchable Soldiers: The Maharas and the Mazhbis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vNrwIinNdH0C&pg=PA5|year=2008|publisher=Gautam Book Center|isbn=978-81-87733-43-0|pages=33–38}}</ref>
These petitions were supported in principle by the politician and social reformer [[Gopal Krishna Gokhale]], who was opposed to the Martial Races theory. They were also supported by the [[Indian National Congress]], who were also opposed to the recruiting policies of the Army. The recruitment policies of the British Indian Army continued until the beginning of the [[First World War]] in 1914. The shortage of men forced the Government to begin more broad-based recruiting, and the Mahars were at last allowed to enlist in the Army. One battalion of Mahar troops, the [[111th Mahars]] was raised in the June 1917.<ref name="2008Basham">{{cite book|author=Ardythe Basham|title=Untouchable Soldiers: The Maharas and the Mazhbis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vNrwIinNdH0C&pg=PA5|year=2008|publisher=Gautam Book Center|isbn=978-81-87733-43-0|page=12}}</ref> However, the battalion did not see much service during the War, and in 1920 it was merged with the [[71st Punjabis]]. Finally, the battalion was disbanded in March 1921, and the Mahars were once again demobilised.

World War II forced the British to broaden their recruitment and the [[Mahar Regiment]] was raised in 1941.<ref name="2008Basham">{{cite book|author=Ardythe Basham|title=Untouchable Soldiers: The Maharas and the Mazhbis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vNrwIinNdH0C&pg=PA5|year=2008|publisher=Gautam Book Center|isbn=978-81-87733-43-0|page=12}}</ref> In that year B. R. Ambedkar was appointed to the Defence Advisory Committee of the Viceroy's Executive Council.He also appealed to the Mahars to join the Army in large numbers. In October, the Army gave in, and the 1st battalion of the Mahar Regiment was raised in [[Belgaum]] under Lt. Col. H.J.R. Jackson of the [[13th Frontier Force Rifles]] and Sub. Maj. Sheikh Hassnuddin. The 2nd battalion was raised in [[Kamptee]] in June 1942 under Lt. Col. J.W.K. Kirwan and Sub. Maj. Bholaji Ranjane. A cap badge was designed for the regiment by Capt. E.E.L. Mortlemans, an officer of the 2nd battalion. The badge featured the [[Battle of Koregaon|Koregaon Pillar]] over the word "Mahar". The third battalion, the 25th Mahars, was raised in [[Belgaum]] in the August 1942 by Lt. Col V. Chambier and Sub. Maj. Sardar Bahadur Ladkojirao Bhonsale, and the 3rd Mahars were raised in [[Nowshera, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa|Nowshera]] by Lt. Col. R.N.D. Frier and Sub. Maj. Bholaji Ranjane. During the [[Second World War]], the 1st and 3rd Mahars served in the [[North-West Frontier Province (1901–1955)|North-West Frontier Province]], while the 2nd and 25th were employed on internal security duties within the country. The 2nd battalion also saw service in the [[Burma Campaign]] as a part of the [[23rd Indian Division]], where they suffered 5 casualties and had one officer [[mentioned in dispatches]]. They also served in [[Iraq]] after the war as a part of PAIFORCE.

In 1946, the 25th Mahars were disbanded, along with many other garrison battalions of the Indian Army. Its officers and men were largely absorbed by the other three battalions of the regiment. In the October 1946, the regiment was converted into a [[machine gun]] regiment, and the regimental centre was established at Kamptee. Following the conversion, the cap badge was changed. The new badge had two crossed [[Vickers machine gun]]s over the Koregaon Pillar, over a scroll that said "The Mahar MG Regiment". The three surviving battalions of the regiment served as a part of the [[Punjab Boundary Force]], and took part in escorting refugees during the [[Partition of India]].
[[File:Stamp of India - 1981 - Colnect 526856 - 40th Anniv Mahar Regiment - Regimental Colours.jpeg|thumb|right|355x345px|1981 postal stamp on the 40th anniversary of the presentation of the Regimental Colours]]

===Border Scouts===
{{Unreferenced section|date=November 2016}}

The Border Scouts were an irregular force formed by the people of the border villages in [[East Punjab]] during Partition. Hailing as they did from the erstwhile greater state of East Punjab (which included the present states of [[Haryana]] and [[Himachal Pradesh]]), the force had people hailing from a greater mix of ethnic, religious and caste backgrounds than was the norm in the Indian Army. They did some useful work defending villages from attacks during partition, and as a reward, were given a more permanent character as the East Punjab Frontier Scouts in 1948. They served along the border with Pakistan as border guards, and were regarded as a useful adjunct of the Punjab Armed Police. The unit was redesignated the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the Border Scouts in 1951, with recruitment from different North Indian communities. In 1956, the decision to convert this force into Machine-Gun Regiments was taken, and the three battalions were merged with the Mahar Regiment, the only Indian Machine Gun Regiment in existence at the time. They joined the Regiment as the 4th, 5th and 6th Battalions of the Mahar Regiment, and it is to these units that the Regiment traces its mixed-class composition. The three Battalions style themselves battalions of the Mahar Regiment (Borders) even today.
===Operation Pawan===

Late on 25 November 1987, when a column of the Mahar Regiment under Major [[Ramaswamy Parameswaran]] (8 Mahar) was returning from a search operation in Sri Lanka, it was ambushed by a group of militants armed with five rifles. In response, Parameswaran encircled the militants from the rear and charged into them, taking them completely surprise. In the ensuing hand-to-hand combat, a militant shot Parameswaran in the chest. Undaunted, he snatched the rifle from the militant and shot him dead. Gravely wounded, he continued to give orders and inspired his command until he died. Five militants were killed and three rifles and two rocket launchers were recovered and the ambush was cleared. Parameswaran was posthumously awarded the [[Param Vir Chakra]], India's highest military decoration, for his bravery.{{Cn|date=January 2021}}
[[File: Major R Parameshwaran.jpg|upright|thumb|305x305px|Major R Parameshwaran, PVC]]

==Composition==
Battalions:<ref name=autogenerated1 />
*1st Battalion
*2nd Battalion
*3rd Battalion
*4th Battalion ([[Borders]])
*5th Battalion (Borders)
*6th Battalion (Borders)
*7th Battalion
*8th Battalion ([[Param Vir Chakra]])
*9th Battalion
*10th Battalion
*11th Battalion
*12th Battalion
*13th Battalion
*14th Battalion (formerly 31st Mahar) & (UN [[Military operation|Mission]] 2017 to 2018)
*15th Battalion (formerly 32nd Mahar)
*17th Battalion
*18th Battalion
*19th Battalion
*20th Battalion
*21st Battalion
*22nd Battalion

===Former battalions===
*25th Battalion (disbanded 1946).
*16th Battalion (formerly 8th Parachute Regiment) (converted to 12th Mechanised Infantry in 1981)

===Allied units===
*108th Infantry Battalion, Territorial Army (Sagar,Madhya Pradesh)
*115th Infantry Battalion, Territorial Army (based at Belgaum, Karnataka)
*136th Infantry Battalion, Territorial Army (Ecological) (based at Aurangabad, Maharashtra)
*1st Battalion, [[Rashtriya Rifles]]
*30th Battalion, Rashtriya Rifles
*51st Battalion, Rashtriya Rifles

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-6146.html The Martial Races at Country-Data.com]
* [http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/ARMY/units/114-Mahar-Regt. The Mahar Regiment], Bharat Rakshak

{{Indian Army Infantry Regiments}}

[[Category:Infantry regiments of the Indian Army from 1947]]
[[Category:British Indian Army infantry regiments]]
[[Category:Units of the Indian Peace Keeping Force]]