Bihar Regiment
The Bihar Regimental Crest contains three-headed lions of Ashoka. The crest was selected by the then Officiating Commanding Officer 1st Bihar Battalion Captain M Habibullah Khan Khattak in 1941. The Bihar regiment has made a significant contribution in safeguarding India from its enemy, its acts of immense courage and valor have added glory in the pages of the Indian army. The regiment fought bravely in the recent clash with China’s Peoples Liberation Army at the Galwan Valley in Ladakh, losing 12 soldiers including the Commanding Officer of its 16th Battalion Colonel Bikkumalla Santosh Babu. The regiment has several achievements and victories on the battlefield against its name and has been at the forefront of many successful military operations.
REGIMENTAL CENTRE: The Bihar Regimental Centre (BRC) is located at Danapur Cantonment, Patna. Danapur is one of the oldest and biggest cantonments in India.
WAR CRY: The War Cry of the Bihar Regiment when their troops go into the battlefield to face the enemy is Jai Bajrang Bali (Victory to Bajrang Bali) and Birsa Munda Ki Jai (Victory to Birsa Munda).
REGIMENTAL MOTTO: The regimental motto of the Bihar Regiment Is ‘Karam Hi Dharam’, which means ‘Work Is Worship’.
REGIMENTAL INSIGNIA: The Ashoka Lion.
History of Bihar Regiment
The Bihar Regiment was raised by the British East India Company as the ‘Bengal Native Infantry’. In fact, the British were so impressed with the valor and tenacity of the Bihari soldiers that in 1758 when Lord Robert Clive became the first British Governor of the Bengal Presidency, the 34th Sepoy Battalion was raised entirely with soldiers recruited from Bhojpur district of Bihar. The other areas from where the soldiers were primarily recruited included Shahabad and Munger districts of present-day Bihar.
These troops scored spectacular victories during Buxar, Karnatic, and Maratha Wars. They even proved their worth overseas in Malaya, Sumatra, and Egypt.
But the Bihari troops also showed their fearless attitude and strict principles by being the first to revolt against the introduction of greased cartridges and preferred being blown by the guns than lose their faith during India’s First War of Independence (1857).
Fearing their war-waging capabilities and the damage they caused during the 1857 First War of Independence, the British disbanded all 18 Bihar battalions, and all the recruitment from the state was stopped.
Babu Kunwar Singh and Birsa Munda are the two legendary figures of the independence struggle. While Babu Kunwar Singh was one of the heroes of 1857, Birsa Munda, from the Munda tribe of present-day Jharkhand, gave a tough time to the British.
Large-scale recruitment of soldiers from Bihar started once again during the Second World War and they joined the 19th Hyderabad Regiment. 1 Bihar Regiment was raised on September 15, 1941, and owes its origin to the 11/19 Hyderabad Regiment.
Latest News: On 15 June, at least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in violent clashes with Chinese troops at the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh. A majority of these soldiers, including the Commanding Officer, were from 16 Bihar a unit of the Bihar Regiment. The loss even as it gave a new twist to the ongoing tensions at the Line of Actual Control is only the latest chapter in the history of the fairly new yet decorated Bihar Regiment. In a video released after the Galwan clash, the Army paid tributes to the soldiers of the Bihar Regiment saying, “Born to fight. They are not the bats. They are Batman.”
GALLANTRY AND DISTINGUISHED AWARDS
The Bihar Regiment has won six military crosses before Independence and three Ashok Chakras, two Maha Vir Chakras, and numerous other gallantry and distinguished service awards post-independence.
BATTLE AND THEATRE HONOURS
The Bihar Regiment has won many battle and theatre honors on account of the bravery and valor exhibited by its battalions in capturing key features while in active operations in the India-Pak 1948 War, 1965, and 1971 Indo Pak Wars, and 1999 Kargil War.
Battle Honour: Haka, Gangaw and Batalik
Theatre honors: Burma (1945), Akhaura (1971), Kargil (1999).
MOST NUMBER OF RASHTRIYA RIFLES (RR) BATTALIONS
The regiment also distinguishes itself by having the highest number of Rashtriya Rifles battalions (4 battalions: 4RR, 24RR, 47RR, 63RR) among all regiments of the Indian Army.
INS Vikramaditya, the Indian Navy’s largest ship and its sole aircraft carrier is affiliated to the Bihar Regiment.
In the end, salute to all the personnel who have given their lives to serve our motherland.
Here are some of the names of martyred soldiers:
1. Col B Santosh Babu- Hyderabad
2. Nb Sub Nuduram Soren- Mayurbhanj
3. Nb Sub Mandeep Singh- Patiala
4. Nb Sub Satnam Singh- Gurdaspur
5. Hav K Palani-Madurai
6. Hav Sunil Kumar-Patna
7. Hav Bipul Roy-Meerut City
8. Nk Deepak Kumar- Rewa
9. Sep Rajesh Orang-Birgham
10. Sep Kundan Kumar Ojha- Sahibganj
11. Sep Ganesh Ram-Kanker
12. Sep Chandrakanta Pradhan-Kandhamal
13. Sep Ankush-Hamirpur
14. Sep Gurbinder-Sangrur
15. Sep Gurtej Singh-Mansa
16. Sep Chandan Kumar-Bhojpur
17. Sep Kundan Kumar-Saharsa
18. Sep Aman Kumar-Samastipur
19. Sep Jai Kishore Singh-Vaishali
20. Sep Ganesh Hansda-East Singhbum
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