They come from the land of the braves. The Rajputs have an illustrious and extremely rich history of courage, and have displayed indomitable spirit and resoluteness in extreme adversity. They constantly thwarted Islamic invasions before the eventual conquest of the nation by the invaders. Yet even the invaders recognised the valour of the Rajputs and formed alliances with them. As time progressed, the Rajputs became part of the British Indian Army before eventually finding their rightful place in the Indian Army.
Here we present you facts about the brave Rajputana Rifles:
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1. The Rajputana Rifles was raised in 1921 as 6th Rajputana Rifles.
The numeral was dropped in 1945.
2. It is India’s first rifle regiment.
A rifle regiment is so called because all infantry troops in the regiment are armed with rifles. This was at a time when most soldiers fought with muskets or swords. The soldiers of a rifle regiment were known as riflemen. But rifle regiments also have certain distinct traditions which distinguish them from the infantry regiments.
(Source: Wikimedia Commons)
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3. The 5 Rajputana Rifles (Napier’s) was part of the Custodian Force of India (CFI) in Korea during the Korean War of 1950-53.
Indian Soldiers in Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War. (Source: Chosun Ilbo)
4. The 4 Rajputana Rifles were part of the replacement troops during the 1961-64 Congo crisis.
Indian soldiers in Congo during the 1961-64 Congo crisis.
(Source: thecoolimages.net)
5. They have also participated in nearly all conflicts against Pakistan.
Lt Gen Jagjit Singh Aurora, GOC-in-C Eastern Command, talks to jawans and officers at Comilla in Bangladesh during the war on December 8, 1971 (Source: PIB)
6. Rajputs were originally recruited in 1775 when the British East India Company realised their valour and thus recruited them to protect their interests.
(Source: Wikimedia Commons)
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7. It was called 6th Rajputana Rifles because it was formed by merging six British Indian Army regiments.
Various Rajputana Infantry Regiments of the British: Subadar-Major of the 113th Infantry; Subadar-Major of the 104th Wellesley’s Rifles; Subadar of the 119th Infantry (The Multan Regiment); Lance Naik of the 123rd Outram’s Rifles; Subedar of the 112th Infantry; Member of the 109th Infantry; Member of the 122nd Rajputana Infantry. (Source Wikimedia Commons)
8. One of the main regiments which later became part of Rifles was 5th Bombay Sepoys, which underwent a name change 6 times till 1921.
9. 1999 Kargil War: 2 Rajputana Rifles was the first of seven Indian Army units to receive an official citation for their bravery.
10. Its motto is ‘Veer Bhogya Vasundhara’ which means ‘The brave shall inherit the Earth’.
11. The battle cry of the Rajputana Rifles is “Raja Ramchandra ki Jai” (Hail Lord Rama).
12. The Regiment has an almost equal number of Rajputs and Jats.
(Source: PTI/Vijay Verma)
13. In the First and Second World War, a total of 30,000 soldiers of Rajputana Rifles lost their lives.
Men of the 6th Rajputana Rifles driving a Japanese armoured carrier “So-Da”. (Source: Pinterest)
14. Their bravery earned the Rajputana Rifles six Victoria Crosses in pre-independence India, including the first given to an Indian unit.
15. Being a rifle regiment, it uses a bugle as its insignia, along with the medieval Rajput weapon called Katar.
British Light Divisions, too, have bugles as insignias.
16. Rajputana refers to the more than 20 princely states, notably Bikaner, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, and Ajmer, during the British rule.
All these states merged with the Indian Union following independence in 1947.
(Source: Wikimedia Commons)
17. The Rajput Regiment and Rajputana Rifles are two different army regiments.
The soldiers of Rajput Regiment wear red ceremonial turbans while those of Rajputana Rifles wear black.
The Rajput Regiment marching contingent during the 60th Republic Day Parade-2009, in New Delhi on January 26, 2009.
18. The 5th Battalion of the Regiment is allied to the Cheshire Regiment of the British Army.
Soldiers of 1st Battalion Cheshire Regiment patrolling around the Local Government Headquarters Building in Basra. Iraq. (Source: National Army Museum)
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19. There are 19 battalions in the regiment.
(Source: Kikali.in)
20. They captured the Tololing Top, the highest peak in the Dras-Kargil sector, during the 1999 Kargil War.
Half of the total casualties in the war happened during the capture of this peak.
(Source: @ADGPI/Twitter)
21. India’s finest military museum is the Rajputana Museum in Delhi which showcases their rich history.
22. Company Havaldar Major Piru Singh Shekhawat of the 6th Battalion Rajputana Rifles was the 4th recipient of the Param Vir Chakra.
He was posthumously awarded the PVC for his exemplary bravery in Tithwal sector during the Indo-Pak war of 1948.
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