The Mahar Regiment is an Infantry Regiment of the Indian Army. Although it was originally intended to be a regiment consisting of troops from the Mahars and other Backward Caste communities in Maharashtra, the Mahar Regiment is one of the only regiments in the Indian Army that is composed of troops from all communities and regions of India. Infantry of the Royal Irish Rifles during the Battle of the Somme in World War I. Infantry are soldiers who fight primarily on foot with small arms in organized military units, though they may be transported to the battlefield by horses, ships, automobiles, skis, bicycles, or other means. ... A regiment is a military unit, larger than a company and smaller than a division. ... The Indian Army is one of the armed forces of India and has responsibility for land-based military operations. ... Mahars constitute an important social group of Maharashtra state, India, and also of the adjoining Indian state of Goa. ... Backward caste people are generally a group of people in India who generally live off income derived from self employment on caste-dependent skills assignment. ...

History

The Mahars were recruited by the Maratha king Shivaji as scouts and fort guards in his army. They were also heavily recruited by the British East India Company, at one part forming one-sixth of the Company's Bombay Army. The Bombay Army especially favoured the Mahar troops for their bravery and loyalty to the Colours, and also because they could be relied upon during the Maratha Wars. They achieved many successes, most notably on the 1st of January 1818, when 500 men of the 2nd Battalion 1st Regiment of the Bombay Native Light Infantry along with 250 cavalrymen and 24 cannon defeated 20,000 horsemen and 8,000 footsoldiers of the Maratha Army in what would be called the Battle of Koregaon. This battle was commemorated by an obelisk, known as the Koregaon pillar, which featured on the Mahar Regiment crest until Indian Independence. The Bombay Army also saw action in the Indian Mutiny of 1857, and two regiments (the 21st and 27th) joined the revolt under the British. Shivaji Bhosle, also known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Raje Bhosle (Marathi: छत्रपती शिवाजी राजे भोसले) (19-02-1627 to 03-04-1680) was the founder of Maratha empire in western India in 1674. ... The British East India Company, sometimes referred to as John Company, was the first joint-stock company (the Dutch East India Company was the first to issue public stock). ... // The British Royal Navy and other navies of the Commonwealth of Nations call the flag-raising ceremony that happens every morning when a ship is in harbour Colours. ... The Anglo-Maratha Wars were three wars fought in India between the Maratha Empire and the British East India Company. ... An engraving titled Sepoy Indian troops dividing the spoils after their mutiny against British rule gives a contemporary view of events from a British perspective. ...

The Martial Races Theory and Disbandment

After the Revolt, the British officers of the Indian Army, particularly those who had served in the Afghan Wars, began to give currency to the Martial Races Theory. This theory basically held that some races and communities among the Indians were naturally warlike, and more suited to warfare than others. A major proponent of this theory was General Lord Roberts of Kandahar, who became Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army in the November of 1885. His service in the Afghan Wars had left him with the conviction that the taller, broader and more muscular men of Northern India, mainly from the Punjab and the North-West Frontier Province were far superior to the men from southern and eastern India. He believed that the Bengalis, Tamilians, Telugus, Marathas and Mahars who made up the armies of the erstwhile Bombay, Bengal and Madras Presidencies had become soft after years of peace, security and prosperity^[1]. This attitude led to a gradual "Punjabisation" of the Indian Army to the detriment of the other communities. The final blow for the Mahar troops came in 1892, when it was decided to institute "class regiments" in the Indian Army. The Mahars were left out of these class regiments, and it was notified that the Mahars, among with some other classes, were no longer to be recruited. The Mahar troops, who included 104 Viceroy's Commissioned Officers and a host of Non-commissioned officers and Sepoys were demobilised. For years, the Mahars regarded this event as a great betrayal of their loyalty by a government they had steadfastly served for over a hundred years. A series of three wars between the United Kingdom and Afghanistan in the 19th century and early 20th century was formerly called the Afghan Wars but is now referred to as the Anglo-Afghan wars perhaps to distinguish them from the civil strife in the 1980s. ... Martial Race or Martial races theory is an ideology based on the assumption that certain ethnic races were more martially inclined as opposed to the general populace or other races. ... Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts of Kandahar, Pretoria and Waterford, VC, KG, KP, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, PC (September 30, 1832–November 14, 1914) was a distinguished British soldier and one of the most successful commanders of the Victorian era. ... The list was taken from only one source [1]. Some checking had been done but the dates and the links to names need further work. ... 1885 (MDCCCLXXXV) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... 1892 (MDCCCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... A Viceroys Commissioned Officer (VCO) was a senior Indian member of the British Indian Army. ... A non-commissioned officer (sometimes noncommissioned officer), also known as an NCO or noncom, is a non-commissioned member of an armed force who has been given authority by a commissioned officer. ...

1892-1941

After the demobilisation of the Mahar troops, there were many attempts by the leaders of the Mahar community to persuade the Government to let them serve in the Army once again. Petitions to this effect were drafted by ex-soldiers such as Gopal Baba Walangkar in 1894, and Shivram Janba Kamble in 1904. These petitions were supported in principle by the politician and social reformer Gopal Krishna Gokhale, who was opposed to the Martial Races theory. They were also supported by the Indian National Congress, who were also opposed to the recruiting policies of the Army. 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (see link for calendar). ... Gopal Krishna Gokhale (गोपाल कृष्‍ण गोखले) born May 9, 1866, in Kolhat, Maharashtra, India was one of the founding social and political leaders during the Indian Independence Movement against the British Empire in India. ... Indian National Congress (also known as the Congress Party and abbreviated INC) is a major political party in India. ...

The narrow-minded recruitment policies of the British Indian Army continued until the beginning of the First World War in 1914. The War forced the Government to begin more broad-based recruiting, and the Mahars were at last allowed to enlist in the Army. One battalion of Mahar troops, the 111th Mahars was raised in the June of 1917. However, the battalion did not see much service during the War, and in 1920 it was merged with the 71st battalion of the Punjab Regiment. Finally, the battalion was disbanded in the March of 1921, and the Mahars were once again demobilised. Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... Year 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... The Punjab Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Pakistan Army. ...

The period between the wars saw increased efforts by the Mahars to persuade the government to let them enlist in the Army. One proponent of Mahar recruitment was Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, whose father, Sub. Maj. Ramji Maloji Sakpal had been a soldier in the British Indian Army. However, the proposed reorganisation of the Indian Army that was to occur in the 1930s was postponed because of a lack of funds in the Great Depression. In 1939, the Second World War broke out, and once again, the Army was forced to overlook its narrow minded recruitment policies in the face of harsh necessity. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (Marathi: बाबासाहेब भीमराव रामजी आंबेडकर) (April 14, 1891 — December 6, 1956) was a Buddhist revivalist, Indian jurist, scholar and Bahujan political leader who is the chief architect of the Indian Constitution. ... For other uses, see The Great Depression (disambiguation). ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

Raising of the Mahar Regiment

In the July 1941, B. R. Ambedkar was appointed to the Defence Advisory Committee of the Viceroy's Executive Council. He used this appointment to exert pressure within the military establishment for a Mahar regiment. He also appealed to the Mahars to join the Army in large numbers. In October, the Army gave in, and the 1st Battalion of the Mahar Regiment was raised in Belgaum under Lt. Col. HJR Jackson of the 13th Frontier Force Rifles and Sub. Maj. Sheikh Hassnuddin. The 2nd Battalion was raised in Kamptee in the June of 1942 under Lt. Col. JWK Kirwan and Sub. Maj. Bholaji Ranjane. A cap badge was designed for the Regiment by Capt. EEL Mortlemans, an officer of 2nd Mahar. The badge featured the Koregaon Pillar over the word "MAHAR". The third battalion, the 25th Mahars, was raised in Belgaum in the August of 1942 by Lt. Col V. Chambier and Sub. Maj. Sardar Bahadur Ladkojirao Bhonsale, and the 3rd Mahars were raised in Nowshera by Lt. Col. RND Frier and Sub. Maj. Bholaji Ranjane. During the War, the 1st and 3rd Mahars served in the NWFP, while the 2nd and 25th Battalions were employed on internal security duties within the country. The 2nd Battalion also saw service in the Burma Campaign as a part of the 23rd Indian Division, where they suffered 5 casualties and had one officer Mentioned in dispatches. They also served in Iraq after the War as a part of PAIFORCE. In 1946, the 25th Mahars were disbanded, along with many other garrisson battalions of the Indian Army. Its officers and men were largely absorbed by the other three battalions of the Regiment. In the October of 1946, the Regiment was converted into a Machine Gun Regiment, and the Regimental Centre was established at Kamptee. Following conversion of the Regiment to a machine-gun regiment, the cap-badge was changed. The new badge had two crossed Vickers Machine Guns over the Koregaon Pillar, over a scroll that said "The Mahar MG Regiment". The three surviving battalions of the regiment served as a part of the Punjab Boundary Force, and took part in escorting refugees during the Partition of India. , Belgaum (proposed to be renamed Belagaavi) (Kannada: ಬೆಳಗಾವಿ, Marathi: बेळगांव;  ), also known as Belgaon, is a city and a municipal corporation in Belgaum district in the state of Karnataka, India. ... Kamthi or Kamptee is located 9 miles north-north-west of Nagpur of the Central Provinces, in the state of Maharastra, India, just below the confluence of the Kanhan with the rivers Pench and Kolar (River); 10 m. ... , Belgaum (proposed to be renamed Belagaavi) (Kannada: ಬೆಳಗಾವಿ, Marathi: बेळगांव;  ), also known as Belgaon, is a city and a municipal corporation in Belgaum district in the state of Karnataka, India. ... Nowshera (Pashto: نوښار)(Urdu: نوشہرہ) - known locally as Now-khaar is the chief of city of Nowshera District in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. ... North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) is geographically the smallest of the four provinces of Pakistan. ... Combatants United Kingdom British India Republic of China United States Empire of Japan Indian National Army Burma National Army Thailand Commanders Louis Mountbatten William Slim Chiang Kai-Shek Joseph Stilwell Aung San(From 1944) Masakazu Kawabe Hyotaro Kimura Renya Mutaguchi Subhash Chandra Bose Aung San(until 1944) Strength Unknown Unknown... Mentioned in Dispatches (MID) is a military award for gallantry or otherwise commendable service. ... A machine gun is a fully-automatic firearm that is capable of firing bullets in rapid succession. ... This article is under construction. ...

The Border Scouts

The Border Scouts were an irregular force formed by the people of the border villages in East Punjab during Partition. Hailing as they did from the erstwhile greater state of East Punjab (which included the present states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh), the force had people hailing from a greater mix of ethnic, religious and caste backgrounds than was the norm in the Indian Army. They did some useful work defending villages from attacks during partition, and as a reward, were given a more permanent character as the East Punjab Frontier Scouts in 1948. They served along the border with Pakistan as border guards, and were regarded as a useful adjunct of the Punjab Armed Police. The unit was redesignated the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the Border Scouts in 1951, with recruitment from different North Indian communities. In 1956, the decision to convert this force into Machine-Gun Regiments was taken, and the three battalions were merged with the Mahar Regiment, the only Indian Machine Gun Regiment in existence at the time. They joined the Regiment as the 4th, 5th and 6th Battalions of the Mahar Regiment, and it is to these units that the Regiment traces its mixed-class composition. The three Battalions style themselves battalions of the Mahar Regiment (Borders) even today. This article details the Indian state of Punjab. ... , Haryana (Hindi: हरियाणा, Punjabi: ਹਰਿਆਣਾ, IPA: ) is a state in north India. ... , Himachal Pradesh   (Panjabi: ਹਿਮਾਚਲ ਪਰਦੇਸ਼,(Hindi: हिमाचल प्रदेश, IPA: ) is a state in the north-west of India. ...

Battalions of the Mahar Regiment

• 1st Battalion
• 2nd Battalion
• 3rd Battalion
• 4th Battalion (Borders)
• 5th Battalion (Borders)
• 6th Battalion (Borders)
• 7th Battalion
• 8th Battalion
• 9th Battalion
• 10th Battalion
• 11th Battalion
• 12th Battalion
• 13th Battalion
• 14th Battalion (formerly 31st Mahar)
• 15th Battalion (formerly 32nd Mahar)
• 17th Battalion
• 18th Battalion
• 19th Battalion

Former Battalions

• 25th Battalion (disbanded 1946)
• 16th Battalion (formerly 8th Parachute Regiment) (converted to 12th Mechanised Infantry in 1981)

Allied Units

• 108th Infantry Battalion Territorial Army (based at Saugor)
• 115th Infantry Battalion Territorial Army (based at Belgaum)
• 1st Battalion Rashtriya Rifles
• 30th Battalion Rashtriya Rifles
• 51st Battalion Rashtriya Rifles

The Rashtriya Rifles is a counterinsurgency force in India. ...

References

• ^  The Martial Races at Country-Data.com

External links

• Stamp on Mahar Regiment