# 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 3 Ashok Chakra, 2 Victoria Cross, 2 George Cross, 13 Kirti Chakra, 8 Mahavir Chakra, 3 Military Medal, 53 Shaurya Chakras, 39 Vir Chakras and 343 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 Hindu Jat community of Northern India and rest from Sikh Jats and other castes of North India.

## Battalions

Jat Regiment having a size of 27 Battalions in Indian Army. Numerous battalions of the Jat Regiment, including the 14th Murray's Jat Lancers, fought in the First World War.
* 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 25 regular battalions, 4 Rastriya Rifles battalions and 2 territorial army battalions, as of August 2020.
| Unit | Raising location | Raising date | Remarks |
| Jat Regimental Centre | Calcutta | 1795 | Erstwhile The Calcutta Native Militia |
| 1 Jat (LI) | Fatehgarh | 1803 | Now converted to 2 Mechanised Infantry Regiment |
| 2 Jat | Bombay | 29 October 1817 | former 119th Infantry (The Mooltan Regiment) |
| 3 Jat | Dinapur | 23 June 1823 | Former 10th Jats; Battle of Dograi |
| 4 Jat | Bareilly | 15 January 1962 | Re-raising; Saviours of Fazilka |
| 5 Jat | Varanasi | 1 February 1941 | Phillora Captors |
| 6 Jat | Bareilly | 1 February 1941 | |
| 7 Jat | Bareilly | 15 November 1962 | Re-raising, former 11th Jat |
| 8 Jat | Jabalpur | 14 December 1941 | |
| 9 Jat | Bareilly | 1 January 1963 | Re-raising |
| 11 Jat | Bareilly | 1 April 1964 | |
| 12 Jat | Bareilly | 6 February 1970 | |
| 14 Jat | Bareilly | 1 October 1963 | |
| 15 Jat | Bareilly | 15 May 1976 | Re-raising |
| 16 Jat | Bareilly | 1 October 1964 | |
| 17 Jat | Jabalpur | 1 June 1966 | Kargil |
| 18 Jat | Secunderabad | 1 October 1966 | |
| 19 Jat | Bareilly | 1 August 1980 | |
| 20 Jat | Bareilly | 27 February 1985 | |
| 21 Jat | Bareilly | 1 November 1987 | |
| 22 Jat | Bareilly | 1 December 2013 | Jaguars |
| 23 Jat | Bareilly | 1 July 2016 | |
| 24 Jat | Bareilly | 1 September 2020 | |
| 5 Rashtriya Rifles | Ranikhet | 15 October 1990 | |
| 34 Rashtriya Rifles | Bareilly | 1 September 1994 | Bravest of the Brave |
| 45 Rashtriya Rifles | Bareilly | 1 August 2001 | |
| 61 Rashtriya Rifles | Bareilly | 30 June 2004 | |
| 114 Infantry Battalion (Territorial Army) | Dehradun | 1 October 1960 | |
| 151 Infantry Battalion (Territorial Army) | Muzaffarpur | 18 January 2002 | |

## Gallantry awards
### Battle honours
#### 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
* Maj. Ajit Singh, 5 Jat, Indo-China 1962
* Capt. Anuj Nayyar, 17 Jat, Kargil 1999
* Capt. Kapil Singh Thapa, 3 Jat, 1965
* Havildar Fateh Singh, 3 Jat, J&K 1948
* Naik Sis Pal, 2 jat, J&K 1948

### 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

* 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

* 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
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.
* WW1
* WW2
* 1947 Indo-Pakistani War
* 1962 Sino-Indian War
* 1965 India-Pakistan War
** Battle of Dograi
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.
* 1971 India-Pakistan War
** Battle of Beriwala Bridge
* Kargil War
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.