Jat Regiment
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| The Jat Regiment | |
|---|---|
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| Active | 1795 - Present [1] |
| Country | India |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Line Infantry |
| Size | 18 Battalions |
| Regimental Centre | Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh |
| Motto | Sangathan Va Veerta (Unity And Valour) |
| War Cry | Jat Balwan, Jai Bhagwan (The Jat is powerful, Victory to god!) |
| Anniversaries | and East Pakistan - 1971 |
| Insignia | |
| Regimental Insignia | The Roman numeral nine representing its ninth position in the regimental hierarchy of the Indian Army of the 1920s. The insignia also has a bugle indicating the Light Infantry antecedents of two of its battalions. |
The Jat Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army, it is one of the longest serving and most decorated regiments of the Indian Army[2]. The regiment has won 19 battle honours between 1839 to 1947[3] and post independence 5 battle honours, eight Mahavir Chakra, eight Kirti Chakra, 32 Shaurya Chakras, 39 Vir Chakras and 170 Sena Medals[4].
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[edit] History
[edit] The Jats
Jats are known in Indian history for their skill with weapons and in combat. They had formed part of almost all successful armies of Indian feudal states. They offered a vigorous resistance to the Arab invaders. In 836 AD they were overthrown by Amran and used their arms to vanquish the Meds on INDUS river. In the reign of Abbasid Caliph Mansur (813-33 A.D.) they broke into a rebellion which it took him and his successor Mutasim 833-42 AD), the best part of 20 years to quell.
Ibn Khurdabah mentions 'Zutts' as guarding the route between Kirman and Mansura while Ibn Hawqal writes: "Between Mansura and Makran the waters from the Mehran form lakes and the inhabitants of the country are the south Asian races called 'Zutt'. The Chinese traveller Yuan Chwang who visited this region in the 7th century A.D. also mentioned Jats. The Persian Command Hurmuz used Jat soldiers against Khalid Bin Walid in the battle of 'salasal' of 634 A.D. (12 hijri). This was the first time that Jats were captured by the Arabs. The Persian King Yazdjard had also sought the help of the Sind ruler who sent Jat soldiers and elephants which were used against the Arabs in the battle of Qadisia.
According to Tibri, Hazrat Ali had employed Jats to guard Basra treasury during the battle of Jamal. "Jats were the guards of the Baitul Maal at al-Basra during the time of Hazrat Osman and Hazrat Ali." Amir Muawiya had settled them on the Syrian border to fight against the Romans. It is said that 4,000 Jats of Sind joined Muhammad bin Qasim's army and fought against Raja Dahir. Sindhi Jats henceforth began to be regularly recruited in the Muslim armies. Harun-ur-Rashid had recruited Jats to reinforce Cilician fortress against Romans.
[edit] History 1795 to 1947
The Regiment claims its origins from the Calcutta Native Militia raised in 1795[5], which later became an infantry battalion of the Bengal Army. The 14th Murray's Jat Lancers were formed in 1857.[6] After 1860, there was a substantial increase in the recruitment of Jats in the Indian Army, however the Class Regiment, The Jats, was initially created as infantry units in 1897 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 IX Jat Regiment was formed by bringing under a single regiment, four active and one training battalion.
The Jat people are the merged descendents of Indo-Scythian Central Asian tribes and Indo-Aryans. They have a renowned reputation par excellence as the quintessential soldier & warrior renowned for their valour and dour steadfastness in battle. In Mughal times, they preserved their independence & power in Delhi.
Jat society is a republican form of society, epitomized by the Sarv Khap, a body, a council, based at Shoron, district Muzaffarnagar, U.P, India, that united the Jats from the Punjab to Central India and organized the resistance to the feudal forces and the invaders.
They successfully formed principalities like Bharatpur, Dholpur, Gohad(Bhind), Patiala, Nabha, Jind, Kuchesar(UP), Bahadurgarh etc. As fighting men have established for themselves a reputation of being determined, sturdy, fierce and desperate fighters. Their background makes them single minded, hard working, honest and loyal – the essential qualities of good & warriors soldiers.
"Conservative by nature, the Jats rarely marry people from other ethnic groups. Great pride is placed in their ancestry. In fact, all the Jats in a particular village consider themselves to be the descendants of the man whom they believe founded it. Jats claim that the title Chaudhary is only their right to use. Now a days this title is used by any body who has a piece of land, money or power but originally the Jats used this title. Even today, a jat who even does not has bread for two times of the day, uses this title very proudly. Jats feel proud by forming and growing wheat rice, sugar cane etc, but feel shame to grow vegetables especially onion. they think that its the job of lower creed like Arain. In Pakistan, President Ayub Khan gave the right to purchase and own land to the casts other than Jats. Infect JAts were the owners of whole Punjab until President Ayub Khan gave the right to other creeds to own property and cultivate it.
The British in their quest for power and domination in India came into conflict with the Jat people and recorded that they caused them the maximum trouble along with the Jat Sikhs. So impressed were they by the soldierly qualities of the Jats that they soon started recruiting them in ever-increasing numbers into all branches of the Bengal Army. 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 WW1. The 1st Battalion in particular served with great distinction in France and Iraq (then Mesopotamia) and was conferred the signal honour of being declared ‘Royal’ in addition to being made Light Infantry.
War Services of the 9th Jat Regiment by Lieutenant Colonel W.L. Hailes, is a historically famous publication detailing the military history of the Jat Regiment and of the Jat people. The publication details the military history & fighting prowess of the Jat Regiment & Jat people from 1893 to 1937.
In the 1922 re-organization these Battalions along with the 18th Musalman Rajput Infantry were grouped together to form the 9th Jat Regiment with it’s class composition being fixed as 50% Jats from Punjab, 25% Punjabi Mussalmans from cis-Satluj States, Gujarat District and Ponchh District of J&K and Musalman Rajputs (Ranghars). World War 2 saw a large expansion in the ranks of the Regiment with a number of new battalions being raised. Owing to the large demands of manpower the Musalman Rajputs though still preferred were also augmented by the addition of Hindustani Mussalmans (Muslims from Haryana, UP, MP, Bihar, Rajasthan and the Deccan).
The Regiment saw a great deal of fighting with the Jats showing their mettle in North Africa, Ethiopia, Burma, Malaya, Singapore, and Java-Sumatra. A large number of gallantry awards were won including a Victoria Cross and two George Crosses. At the end of the war the Regiment, in company with other regiments of the Indian Infantry, dropped the numeral 9 from its title and became simply the Jat Regiment.
[edit] Post Independence
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1947 saw the Regiment undergoing a great deal of change at last becoming a one-class Regiment of Jats, as it should have been from the beginning. The Punjabi Musalmans and Hindustani Mussalmans/Ranghars left for Pakistan being replaced by the Jats from the 15th Punjab Regiment, a Pakistan Regiment. Though 50% of the Regiment left for Pakistan and there were insufficient numbers of Jats to replace them someone in Army HQ had the foresight to give the Jats their due and make the Jat Regiment at last a true image of the proud yeoman peasantry it represented.
In free India the Jats maintained the high reputation they had created for themselves on the battle-fields of France and Flanders, Libya, Malaya and Burma to name a few. In Jammu and Kashmir 1947-48, the China War 1962, the conflicts with Pakistan in 1965 and 1971, and in Sri Lanka and Siachen, they have added to the laurels of the Regiment and the Army. Recently in the 1999Kargil Conflict five of the Regiment’s battalions took part and once again displayed the soldierly qualities that have made the Jats so well known in the community of fighting men. Earlier during the closing phase of the 1965 War with Pakistan a memorable night attack was launched by the 3rd Battalion and the tactically important hamlet of Dograi wrested from the enemy laying open the way to Lahore, Pakistan’s second largest city and emotionally very close to them. The performance of the Regiment’s Battalions during the UN missions in Korea and Congo has been in keeping with its high standards. Again, it performed very well in the Counter-Insurgency Operations that have kept the Indian Army busy ever since Independence. Nowadays it fights the foreign mercenaries in Kashmir with its traditional martial spirit.
[edit] Battle Cry
The battle cry, adopted in 1955 is, "Hindi: जाट बलवान जय भगवान IAST :Jāt Balwān Jai Bhagwān" meaning the "Jat is Powerful, Victory be to God."
[edit] Current Strength
Currently the regiment has a strength of 18 battalions.
- 2nd Battalion (former 15th Jat)
- 3rd Battalion (old 10th Jats)
- 4th Battalion (old 18th Inf.)
- 5th Battalion (PHILLORA Captors)
- 6th Battalion
- 7th Battalion (former 11th Jat)
- 8th Battalion
- 9th Battalion
- 11th Battalion
- 12th Battalion (former 31st Jat)
- 14th Battalion
- 15th Battalion
- 16th Battalion
- 17th Battalion
- 18th Battalion
- 19th Battalion
- 20th Battalion
- 21st Battalion
[edit] Gallantry Awards
[edit] Battle Honours
Pre-1947
Nagpur, Afghanistan (1839) Ghuznee, Ali Masjid, Kandahar (1842) Cabool (1842) Maharajpore, Sobraon, Mooltan, Goojrat, Punjab, China (1858-9) Kandahar (1880) Burma (1885-87), Afghanistan (1879-80) China (1900) La Basee (1914) Festubert (1914-15) Shaiba, Ctesiphon, Khan Baghdadi, Kut al Amara (1915) Neuve Chappelle, France and Flanders (1914-15) Defence of Kut al Amara, Tigris (1916) Mesopotamia (1914-18) North West Frontier (India) (1914-15) (1917) Afghanistan (1919) Razabil, Kampar, Burma (1942-45) Jitra, Kanglatongbi, Malaya (1941-42) Ninshigum, The Muars, North Africa (1940-43)
Post-Independence
Rajauri Zoji La Dograi (1965) Phillora (1965) Unit Citations
Citations are given instead of Battle/Theatre Honours when a unit is decorated for Counter Insurgency Operations.
- 4th Battalion Nagaland 1995
- 7th Battalion J&K 1997
- 34th Battalion Rashtriya Rifles J&K 1997
- 17th Battalion Operation Vijay 1999
[edit] Victoria Cross Winners
- Jemadar Abdul Hafiz V.C. 9th Jat Regiment, awarded 6 April 1944, Burma.[7]
- Risaldar Badlu Singh V.C. 14th Murray's Jat Lancers attached 29th Lancers (Deccan Horse). Awarded 23 September 1918, Palestine (Posthumous).[8][9]
[edit] Maha Vir Chakra
- Capt. Anuj Nayyar won a Maha Vir Chakra during the Kargil Conflict. He was an officer from the 17th battalion JAT Regt.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Army's Jat Regiment Best Marching Contingent in Republic Day 2007 Parade | India Defence
- ^ Army's Jat Regiment Best Marching Contingent in Republic Day 2007 Parade | India Defence
- ^ http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/MONITOR/ISSUE3-4/bajwa.html .
- ^ Army's Jat Regiment Best Marching Contingent in Republic Day 2007 Parade | India Defence
- ^ The valiant Jat soldier - The Tribute
- ^ The valiant Jat soldier - The Tribute
- ^ We Were There - Medals and Awards - Victoria Cross Winners
- ^ Risaldar Badlu Singh, VC
- ^ We Were There - Medals and Awards - Victoria Cross Winners
[edit] External links
- Jat Regiment on Jatland.com
- 6th Jat Light Infantry
- Stamp on Jat Regiment
- The Jat Regiment
- Jat Regiment on Bharat-Rakshak
