Jat Regiment

The Jat Regiment 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 Victoria Cross, 2 George Cross, 8 Mahavir Chakra, 8 Kirti Chakra, 34 Shaurya Chakras, 39 Vir Chakras and 253 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. Numerous battalions of the Jat Regiment, including the 14th Murray's Jat Lancers, fought in the First World War.

History


The Regiment claims its origins from the Calcutta Native Militia that was raised in 1795, which later became an infantry battalion of the Bengal Army. The 14th Murray's Jat Lancers was formed in 1857. After 1860, there was a substantial increase in the recruitment of Jats into the British Indian Army. The Class Regiment(The Jats) was initially created in 1897 as infantry units from old battalions of the Bengal Army. In January 1922, at the time of the grouping of the Class Regiments of the Indian Army, the 9th Jat Regiment was formed by merging four active battalions and one training battalion into a single regiment.

The 1st Battalion was raised as the 22nd Bengal Native Infantry in 1803. The 2nd and 3rd Battalions were raised in 1817 and 1823 respectively. All three battalions had distinguished records of service, including the winning of many honours during World War I.

Battle cry
The battle cry, adopted in 1955, in Hindi, is जाट बलवान, जय भगवान (IAST: Jāt Balwān, Jai Bhagwān) (The Jat is Powerful, Victory Be to God!).

Composition and recruitment
Soldiers of the Jat Regiment are recruited 89% from the Jat community and rest from other castes of North India.


 * 21 Regular infantry battalions
 * 4 Rashtriya Rifles battalions (5 RR, 34 RR, 45 RR and 61 RR)
 * 2 Territorial Army battalions (114 and 151)

Regimental battalions


The Jat regiment has 21 regular battalions, 4 Rastriya Rifles battalions and 2 territorial army battalions, as of August 2020.

Pre-1947

 * Nagpur & Afghanistan, 1839
 * Ghuznee (Ghazni, Ali Masjid & Kandahar), 1842
 * Cabool (Kabul), 1842
 * Maharajpore, Sobraon, Mooltan, Goojrat (Gujarat), Punjab & China, 1858–59
 * Kandahar 1880
 * Burma 1885–87
 * Afghanistan 1879–80
 * China 1900
 * La Bassée 1914
 * Festubert 1914–15
 * Shaiba, Ctesiphon, Khan al Baghdadi & Kut al Amara, 1915
 * Neuve-Chapelle, France & Flanders, 1914–15
 * Kut al Amara 1916
 * Mesopotamia 1914–18
 * North-West Frontier Province 1914–15 & 1917
 * Afghanistan 1919
 * Razabil & Burma, 1942–45
 * Jitra, Kanglatongbi & Malaya, 1941–42
 * Ninshigum, the Muars & North Africa, 1940–43

Post-1947

 * Zoji La & Rajauri, 1947
 * Jammu and Kashmir 1947–48
 * Phillora & Dograi 1965
 * Jammu and Kashmir & East Pakistan 1971

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
 * 7th battalion, J&K 1997, J&K 2003 & Operation Rhino 2016
 * 11th battalion, Operation Rakshak 2011
 * 34th battalion Rashtriya Rifles, J&K 1997
 * 17th battalion, Operation Vijay 1999
 * 16th battalion, Operation Rakshak 2005 & 2011
 * 21st battalion, Operation Rhino 2009
 * 22nd Battalion (JAGUARS), Operation Rakshak 2018

Victoria Cross

 * Risaldar Badlu Singh, 14th Murray's Jat Lancers attached to 29th Lancers (Deccan Horse), Palestine 1918.
 * Havildar Abdul Hafiz, 9th Jat Regiment, Imphal 1944.

George Cross

 * Lance Naik Islam-ud-Din, 9th Jat Regiment, Burma 1945
 * Havildar Abdul Rahman, 9th Jat Regiment, Java 1946

Maha Vir Chakra

 * Brig. (later Lt. Gen.) Joginder Singh Bakshi, 16 Jat, 1971
 * Lt. Col. (later Brig.) Desmond Hayde, 3 Jat, Dograi 1965
 * Maj. Asaram Tyagi, 3 Jat, 1965
 * Capt. Anuj Nayyar, 17 Jat, Kargil 1999
 * Capt. Kapil Singh Thapa, 3 Jat, 1965

Vir Chakra

 * Brig. Umesh Singh Bawa, 17 Jat, Kargil 1999
 * Lt. Col Raj Kumar Suri, 4 Jat, 1971 war
 * Maj. Sukhpal Singh, 4 Jat, 1971 war
 * Maj. Harish Chandra Sharma, 4 Jat 1971 war
 * Maj. Narain Singh, 4 Jat 1971 war
 * Maj. Deepak Rampal, 17 Jat, Kargil 1999
 * Havildar Kumar Singh Sogarwal, 17 Jat, Kargil 1999
 * Havildar Shish Ram Gill, 8 Jat, Kargil 1999
 * Lance Havildar Ganga Dhar, 4 JAT, 1971
 * Sep Dharajit Singh Chahar, 4 Jat, 1988
 * Sub (later Capt.) Pahlad Singh, 2 Jat, 1971 war


 * Sub Brijendra Singh, 4 Jat, 1971 war

Ashok Chakra

 * Maj Sudhir Kumar Walia, 4 Jat (parent unit), 9 Para (Special Forces)
 * Col Jojan Thomas, 45 Rashtriya Rifles
 * Maj Dinesh Raghu Raman, 34 Rashtriya Rifles, PU 19 Jat,
 * Lance Naik Nazir Ahmad Wani, 34 Rashtriya Rifles

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.

Battles fought
After the Battle of Kabul (1842), Governor General Lord Ellenborough had ordered Major General William Nott, who was commanding British-Indian forces, to recover a set of ornate gates known as the Somnath Gates, which had been looted from India by the Afghans and hung at the tomb of Sultan Mahmud II. A whole sepoy regiment, the 43rd Bengal Native Infantry—which later became the 6th Jat Light Infantry after the Indian Rebellion of 1857—was tasked with carrying the gates back to India. In 1965 India-Pakistan War, 3 soldiers from Jat regiment under Lt Col (now Brig Retd) Desmond Hayde on 1 September and then again on 21–22 September, crossed the Ichhogil Canal and in the Battle of Dograi captured Dograi right up to Batapore-Attocke Awan, advancing towards Lahore. In the 1999 Kargil War, five of the regiment's battalions took part. The regiment has also contributed battalions to UN missions in Korea and Congo. It was also involved in counter-insurgency operations that have kept the Indian Army busy ever since independence.
 * The Regiment saw a great deal of fighting in North Africa, Ethiopia, Burma, Malaya, Singapore, and Java-Sumatra. A large number of gallantry awards including a Victoria Cross and two George Crosses were won.
 * Gates of Somnath temple
 * WW1
 * WW2
 * 1947 Indo-Pakistani War
 * 1962 Sino-Indian War
 * 1965 India-Pakistan War
 * Battle of Dograi
 * 1971 India-Pakistan War
 * Battle of Beriwala Bridge
 * Kargil War