66th Punjabis The 66th Punjabis was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army . It was raised in 1761 as the 7th Battalion of Coast Sepoys . It was designated as the 66th Punjabis in 1903 and became 2nd Battalion 1st Punjab Regiment in 1922 . In 1947 , it was allocated to the Pakistan Army , where it continues to exist as 2nd Battalion The Punjab Regiment . Early History . The regiment had its antecedents in the old Madras Army of the British East India Company , which was largely responsible for the British conquest of south and central India . It was raised by Captain Cowper at Trichonopoly in July 1761 , as the 7th Battalion of Coast Sepoys . The men were mostly enlisted from South India and consisted of Muslims and Hindus . For the next forty years , the regiment was engaged in constant warfare against the Sultans of Mysore . In 1810 , it took part in the expeditions to Bourbon Island and Mauritius in the Indian Ocean . In 1840 , the regiment took part in the First Anglo - Chinese War , where as a reward for its excellent performance , it was authorized to bear a golden dragon wearing the imperial crown upon its regimental colours . In the latter part of the 19th century , the regiment did not see much action except for a stint in Burma during 1888 - 91 . In 1902 , the regiment , now designated as the 6th Madras Infantry , was reconstituted with Punjabi Muslims , Sikhs and Rajput s . Next year , as a result of the reforms brought about in the Indian Army by Lord Kitchener , all Madras units had 60 added to their numbers , and the regiment ' s designation was changed to 66th Punjabis . During World War I the 66th Punjabis were dispatched to Mesopotamia as part of the 12th Indian Division in 1915 . After taking part in the Battle of Shaiba , where the Turkish counter - attack was repulsed , the regiment participated in the operations in Persia n Arabistan . In October , the 66th Punjabis joined Major General Charles Townshend ' s 6th Indian Division in its advance towards Baghdad . It fought in the Battle of Ctesiphon and then retired towards Kut al Amara , where it was besieged by the Turks with the rest of the 6th Division . The regiment resolutely resisted all Turkish attempts to overwhelm the defences of Kut al Amara for 150 days , but after the failure of the British to relieve them , the starving garrison of Kut was forced to surrender on 29 April 1916 . The 66th Punjabis became prisoners of war and suffered terrible privations during their long captivity . Out of the 538 officers and men present in the regiment on 14 March , only about a quarter returned home after the war . The 66th Punjabis were re - formed at Jhelum on 31 December 1916 . They served on the North West Frontier of India and took part in the Third Afghan War of 1919 . On 5 October 1918 , the regiment raised a second battalion at Sitapur , which was disbanded in 1921 . Subsequent History . After the First World War , the 66th Punjabis were grouped with the 62nd , 76th , 82nd and 84th Punjabis , and the 1st Brahmans to form the 1st Punjab Regiment in 1922 . The battalion was redesignated as 2nd Battalion 1st Punjab Regiment . During the Second World War , 2 / 1st Punjab served in Burma , fighting with great gallantry in the First and Second Arakan Campaigns and in numerous actions during the Reconquest of Burma . The battalion received more gallantry awards than any other Indian Army unit . These included a posthumous Victoria Cross to Subedar Ram Sarup Singh for gallantry in action on Kennedy Peak in 1944 . After the war , 2 / 1st Punjab served in the Dutch East Indies as part of the Allied occupation forces . In 1947 , the battalion was allocated to Pakistan Army . During the 1948 war with India in Kashmir , the battalion again distinguished itself and Captain Muhammad Sarwar became the first recipient of Nishan - i - Haider , Pakistan ' s highest gallantry award . In 1956 , the 1st Punjab Regiment was merged with the 14th , 15th and 16th Punjab Regiment s to form one large Punjab Regiment , and 2 / 1st Punjab was redesignated as 2 Punjab . The battalion ' s remarkable record of service was maintained in the Indo - Pakistan War of 1965 , where it fought with great gallantry in the Battle of Chawinda . In the Indo - Pakistan War of 1971 , it served in Kasur Sector .