The Rajputana Rifles


The Rajputana Rifles is the oldest rifle regiment and one of the senior-most regiments of the Indian Army. It was originally raised in 1921 as part of the British Indian Army, when six previously existing regiments were amalgamated to form six battalions of the 6th Rajputana Rifles. In 1945 the numeral designation was dropped from the title and in 1947 the regiment was transferred to the newly independent Indian Army. Since independence, the regiment has been involved in a number of conflicts against Pakistan, as well as contributing to the Custodian Force (India) in Korea under the aegis of the United Nations in 1953-54 and to the UN Mission to the Congo in 1962. As a rifle regiment it uses a bugle horn as its insignia, the same as the British Light Division, but unlike its British counterparts, the Rajputana Rifles march at the same march pace used in the Indian Army as a whole.


The name Rajputana Rifles is derived from northwest, and the word Rajputana (räj'pʊtä'nə), a historic region in northwest India that is roughly coextensive with the modern Indian state of Rajasthan, as well as small sections of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. It is based on the Sanskrit word Rajaputra, meaning "son of a king". The name Rajputana means "land of the Rajputs". The Aravalli Range crosses the southern part of the region from northeast to southwest. The northwestern part is largely the Thar desert, but to the southeast, the land is extremely fertile. Rajput tribal power rose here between the 7th and 13th centuries, and the princes resisted the early Muslim incursions, which began in the 11th century. Rajput power reached its peak in the early 16th century, but the area fell to the Mughals when Akbar captured the Chittor Fort in 1568. From their seat at Ajmer the Mughals ruled Rajputana until the early 18th century. The Marathas held feudatories in the region from c. 1750 to 1818, when it passed to Great Britain. The Rajput princely states came under British protection by treaties in the early 19th century; most of the area was formed into Rajasthan state in 1948. Under the British, Rajputana included more than 20 princely states, notably Bikaner, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, and Ajmer. The internal autonomy of many of the states was guaranteed.

The Rajputana Rifles recruit mainly from the Rajput and Jat community, and has an equal mix between Rajputs and Jats.

In 1817 the 4th battalion met the Marathas at the Battle of Khadki. The defence earned the regiment the battle honor of "Khadki". In 1856–57 the 1st, 2nd, and 4th battalions were together in the Persian theatre of operations. In 1856 Capt. John Augustus Wood of the 2nd battalion (then the 20th Bombay Native Infantry) was awarded the Victoria Cross for storming Bushire Fort. This was the first Victoria Cross to be won in an Indian unit. Sub. Maj Mohammed Sharief and Sub. Peer Bhatt were recommended for the Victoria Cross for their actions in the same battle but were turned down as at that time the medal category was not open to Indians.

In 1878–1880, during the Second Afghan War, the 1st battalion marched 145 miles in 5 days from Quetta to Kandahar and laid siege to the city. In 1900–1902, the 3rd battalion was part of a force used to contain the Boxer Rebellion in China.

World War I saw the regiment fight in battlefields from France to Palestine. The 5th battalion was in all theatres of the war and participated in General Allenby’s march to recapture Jerusalem.

During World War II the regiment was expanded to thirteen battalions and served in the Middle East, Burma and Malaya. The 4th battalion had the distinction of earning two Victoria Crosses during this conflict.

Over the course of its existence, members of the regiment have received six Victoria Crosses, two Military Crosses, one Param Vir Chakra, three Ashok Chakras, one Padma Bhushan, fourteen Param Vishisht Seva Medals, ten Maha Vir Chakras, eleven Kirti Chakras, 18 Ati Vishisht Seva Medals, two Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, 50 Vir Chakras, 28 Shaurya Chakras, 122 Sena Medals (including Bar), 39 Vishisht Seva Medals, three Yudh Seva Medals, 85 Mentions-in-Dispatches and 55 Arjun Awards.

The Rajputana Rifles Regimental Museum is located in the heart of Delhi in the Rajputana Rifles Centre. The museum covers the rich history of the regiment in the most modern fashion. The museum is around 7000 square feet in size and covers the history of the regiment from its inception. The museum exhibits weapons and uniforms and narrates the history through large format images and audiovisual film. The museum was designed and conceived by a Delhi-based design studio which specializes in designing museums and exhibitions. Col. M. S. Niranjan of the 19th battalion was the director of the museum project. It is rated as the finest military museum in India and even compared to the Imperial War Museum in London.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Indian Army Uniforms

Image
  A  uniform  is a type of  clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, security guards and many others. Today we will be talking about different types of uniforms in Indian army. General Duty : These are different for winters and summers. For winters, the officers wear a peach color shirt, black tie and an olive green blazer along with a beret or a peak cap. In summers, all ranks wear the popular Olive Greens which is also a standard  uniform  in all peace areas.   BluePatrol : Blue Patrol is the dress code for ceremonial uniform during winters. The blue patrol is worn with a ‘bandgala’ coat. The shoulder pips are embroidered along with ranks on the coat except for armored  corps officers who wear a chain mail along ...
Read more

Operation Vijay 1999 | Indian Army | Indian Defence | Kargil War | Heroes of Kargil

Image
  July 26. It was on this day  the Indian Army recaptured all the Indian posts in Kargil that had been occupied by Pakistan's army . Since then, July 26 has been observed annually to commemorate the sacrifices made by soldiers in this war. Here's all you need to know about the Kargil war : * The war took place between May and July of 1999 in Jammu and Kashmir's Kargil district. * The conflict is believed to have been orchestrated by the then Pakistan army chief General Pervez Musharraf without the knowledge of the then Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. * It began with the infiltration of both Pakistani troops and terrorists into Indian territory. * The infiltrators positioned themselves in key locations that gave them a strategic advantage during the start of the conflict. * Based on information from local shepherds, the Indian Army was able to ascertain the points of incursion and launch " Operation Vijay ". The Army declared the mission successful on...
Read more

South Western Command (India) | Indian Army | Indian Defence Forces

Image
The South Western Command of the Indian Army was established on 15 April 2005 and became fully operational on 15 August 2005. It is headquartered at Jaipur, Rajasthan. Lieutenant General Alok Singh Kler is the present commander. The command's operational units include I Corps, formerly under Central Command, and X Corps, likewise transferred from Western Command. By early 2005 the Army worked to restructure formations based along the Indo-Pak border to carve out the new South-Western Command to bolster strike capabilities. The Army was working to establish the new operational command, the South-Western Command, to operate in conjunction with the Udhampur-based Northern Command and Chandimandir-based Western Command. With the formation of the South-Western Command, there are six operational commands, and the seventh major command is Army Training Command (ATRAC). Sources disagree as to the composition of South Western Command. Jane's World Armies, Issue 19, 2006, p.319, rep...
Read more