11 Gorkha Rifles The 11 Gorkha Rifles is a Gorkha regiment of the Indian Army that was re - raised after independence . The regiment consists of primarily the Rais and Limbus of north - eastern India . The Rais and Limbus are supposed to be fierce tribal warriors of and are considered to be most sturdy and tough . They are direct descendents of the mythological Kirant tribes who fought and defeated legendary warrior Arjuna in Mahabharata . Though it is considered to be the youngest of the Gorkha Regiments it has a lineage which is as old as the history of the 7th Gurkhas and 10th Gurkhas . First Regiment . The 11th Gurkhas was raised as an ad hoc unit in 1918 with troops and officers being drawn from the various Gurkha Regiments . This regiment saw service in both Palestine and Mesopotamia at the end of the First World War , as well as during the Third Afghan War in 1919 , before being disbanded in 1922 and the troops being reverted to their original units . There were no separate insignias authorized for this regiment and the personnel wore the badges of distinction of their parent units , though there have been instances where unofficial badges were made and worn by some personnel . Second Regiment . Following India ' s independence in 1947 , the Gurkha regiments of the British Indian Army were divided between the new Indian Army and the British Army . A referendum was held among the soldiers of the four regiments ( 2nd , 6th , 7th and 10th Gurkhas ) that would transfer to the British as to whether they wished to join the British Army , as the decision to do so was made entirely voluntary . Of the four regiments one battalion ( 4 / 2 GR ) opted " en masse " to join the Indian Army and became part of the 8th Gurkha Rifles as their 5th Battalion and is presently on their strength as 5 / 8 GR . In the event , large numbers of men from the 7th Gurkha Rifles and the 10th Gurkha Rifles , which recruited predominantly from Eastern Nepal , opted to join the Indian Army as against the British Army to whom their regiments were alloted . So , in order to retain a contingent from this area of Nepal , the Indian Army made the decision to re - raise the 11th Gorkha Rifles . Incidentally the Rais and Limbus are considered to be the most short tempered , fierce and sturdy amongst the hill warrior tribes . The Kirantis dominate even the traditional Nepalese Army and the British Army as well . The 11 Gorkha Rifles was officially re - raised on January 1 , 1948 , with the regimental centres at Palampur and Santa Cruz , Mumbai the regimental centre was subsequently shifted to Jalapahar in Darjeeling , then moved to Lucknow where it was firmly established . The regiment was raised predominantly with the manpower from the non - optees of the 7th Gurkha Rifles and the 10th Gurkha Rifles . As the regiment was raised by the Indian Army after independence , it was decided not to retain the honours and traditions of the first 11th Royal Gurkha Rifles of the British Indian Army . Today , the regiment has a total of six regular and one Territorial Army battalions . The regiment took part in all major military operations India has undertaken since independence including the 1947 India Pakistan War , 1948 Operation Polo , 1965 India Pakistan War , 1971 India Pakistan War , and in the Kargil War . In the Indo - Pakistani war of 1971 the 5th battalion was instrumental in liberating Bangladesh , in fact the battle honour Bogra and theater honour East Pakistan was bestowed to the 5th only . In the operations of East Pakistan , the 5th had secured the Bogra town for 20 mountain division , in one of the most daring operations Lt Teja Bedi had single - handedly captured the headquarters along with the Commanding Officer and RMO of the prestigious Baluch Regiment of East Pakistan , the regimental flag of 52 Baluch Regiment is still hung upside down in the officers mess of the 5th and is one of the prized possession . Soon after the war , General Gopal Gurunath Bewoor of the regiment was appointed Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army . He held the post from January 15 , 1973 to May 31 , 1975 . During the 1999 Kargil Conflict Manoj Kumar Pandey received the Param Vir Chakra ( PVC ) , which is India ' s highest military award . The 3rd , 4th and the 5th battalions are the oldest battalions of the Regiment . However the 4th Battalion was disbanded subsequently . The 5th battalion retains the honour of producing the maximum numbers of Lieutenant Generals within the Regiment . The regiment has won a Param Vir Chakra which was won by Lt Manoj Kumar Pandey of the 1st Battalion during the 1999 Kargil Conflict , 1 Victoria Cross Ganju Lama , the highest gallantry award of the British army , 6 Military Crosses , 2 Mahavir Chakras , 3 Ashok Chakras Capt M B Rai , 5th Battalion , Rfn Sal Bahadur and Capt Punit Nath Dutt , 7 PVSMs , 9AVSMs , 11 VSMs , 11 Vir Chakras , 5 Shaurya Chakras and 35 Sena Medals . The units of the Regiments have participated in a number of UN missions abroad . The regiment has following battalions : Battle and theatre honours . The battle honours of the regiment are Bogra , East Pakistan 1971 , Shingo River Valley , Jammu and Kashmir 1971 and Batalik , Op Vijay J & K 1999 . Theater honours are East Pakistan 1971 Jammu and Kashmir and Kargil for Op Vijay 1999 .