Jatt Regiment
The Jat Regiment is part of the infantry of the Indian Army, of which it is one of the longest-serving and most-decorated regiments. The regiment has won 19 battle honors between 1839 to 1947 and post-independence 5 battle honors, 8 Mahavir Chakra, 8 Kirti Chakra, 32 Shaurya Chakras, 39 Vir Chakras, and 170 Sena medals. The motto of the regiment is Sangathan Wa Veerta which truly signifies a spirit of unity and valor.
During its service of over 200 years, the regiment has participated in various actions and operations both in pre-and post-independence India and abroad, including the First and the Second World Wars. Numerous battalions of the Jat regiment fought in the First World War including the 14th Murray’s Jat Lancers
Regimental Centre: Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh
Motto: Sangathan Va Veerta (Unity And Valour)
War Cry: Jat Balwan, Jai Bhagwan (The Jat is powerful, Victory to god!)
Regimental Insignia: The Roman numeral nine representing its ninth position in the regimental hierarchy of the Indian Army of the 1920s. The insignia also has a bugle indicating the Light Infantry antecedents of two of its battalions.
History
Primarily farmers throughout history, the Jats led a fairly autonomous political life. Even during the Mughal period, the rule of the state was limited.
The first opposition to Aurangzeb’s autocratic rule came from the Jats of Mathura. In 1669, the sturdy and hard-working peasantry of Jats under the leadership of Gokla, zamindar of Tilpat, rose against and killed the Imperial Faujdar Abdun-Nabi. It took more than one year for the powerful Mogul forces to subdue the Jats. Gokul was killed and his family forcibly converted to Islam. But this did not deter the Jats and they once again rose in rebellion in 1685 under the leadership of Raja Ram. Akbar’s tomb in Sikandra was plundered by them in 1688. Finally the Jats were defeated and Raja Ram was slain in 1691. But the brave Jats again got organized under the leadership of Churamal and revolted. They continued a strong-armed resistance against the Mughals after Aurangzeb’s death.
Towards the end of Aurangzeb’s reign, bands of Jats under individual leaders like Rajaram, Bhajja, and Churamal carried out depredations around Delhi and Agra. They slowly increased their power. But whatever they had achieved was lost when Sawai Jai Singh II captured Churaman’s stronghold of Thun in 1721. Till this time Jats were never united and they followed their individual village headsmen. But all this was changed by Badan Singh, the son of Churaman’s brother, Bhao Singh. Even in the face of great difficulties, Badan Singh established his authority over almost of Agra and Mathura by wisdom, versatility, and marriage alliances with powerful Jat families. Badan Singh died on 7 June 1756. His successor was Suraj Mal.
Known for their military prowess, many Jats were recruited into the British-India Army during World War I. Before that, they served as fighters in the Persian army. A large number of Jats serve is in the Indian Armed Forces and form one of the largest ethnic groups in the army.
Colonel Hoshiar Singh won India’s highest military medal, the Param Vir Chakra. Lt Gen Khem Karan Singh was another great Jat soldier from Haryana and won the Maha Vir Chakra. Other Jats from Haryana who won the Maha Vir Chakra award are Captain Devinder Singh Ahlawat, Lt Col Dharam Singh, Major M. S. Chaudhary, Havildar Fateh Singh, Naik Shishpal Singh, Lance Naik Hari Singh, Sepoy Man Singh, and Major General S. S. Kalaan.
History 1947 to the Present
1947 saw the Regiment undergoing a great deal of change at last becoming a one-class Regiment of Jats, as it should have been from the beginning. The Punjabi Musalmans and Hindustani Mussalmans/Ranghars left for Pakistan being replaced by the Jats from the 15th Punjab Regiment, a Pakistan Regiment. Though 50% of the Regiment left for Pakistan and there were insufficient numbers of Jats to replace them someone in Army HQ had the foresight to give the Jats their due and make the Jat Regiment, at last, a true image of the proud yeoman peasantry it represented.
In free India, the Jats maintained the high reputation they had created for themselves on the battle-fields of France and Flanders, Libya, Malaya, and Burma to name a few. In Jammu and Kashmir 1947–48, the China War 1962, the conflicts with Pakistan in 1965 and 1971, and in Sri Lanka and Siachen, they have added to the laurels of the Regiment and the Army. Recently in the 1999 Kargil Conflict, five of the Regiment’s battalions took part and once again displayed the soldierly qualities that have made the Jats so well known in the community of fighting men. Earlier during the closing phase of the 1965 War with Pakistan, a memorable night attack was launched by the 3rd Battalion and the tactically important hamlet of Dograi wrested from the enemy laying open the way to Lahore, Pakistan’s second-largest city and emotionally very close to them. The performance of the Regiment’s Battalions during the UN missions in Korea and Congo has been in keeping with its high standards. Again, it performed very well in the Counter-Insurgency Operations that have kept the Indian Army busy ever since Independence. Nowadays it fights the foreign mercenaries in Kashmir with its traditional martial spirit.
Class Composition
The Jat Regiment’s class composition is 100% Jats from Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh except for 3 Battalions whose ethnic make-up is as follows:
12th: All India All Class
15th: The AJGAR Battalion recruiting Ahirs, Jats, Gujars, and Rajputs the classes with a common heritage. This was done as an experimental measure to test whether the mixing of these inter-linked classes could lead to the fulfillment of the dream of a section of the politico-bureaucratic hierarchy; a mixed Army. This perception is shared by some of the Army's top brass also.
20th: One of the Vaidya Battalions. Raised as an unthinking measure by Gen. Vaidya the then Army Chief after the events of 1984 with a mixed class composition of Jats, Dogras, Garhwalis, and Marathas.
Regimental battalions
- 1st Battalion (now 2nd MECH)
- 2nd Battalion (former 15th Jat)
- 3rd Battalion(former 10th Jats)(Battle of Dogri)
- 4th Battalion
- 5th Battalion (Phillora Captors)
- 6th Battalion
- 7th Battalion (former 11th Jat)
- 8th Battalion
- 9th Battalion
- 11th Battalion
- 12th Battalion
- 14th Battalion
- 15th Battalion
- 16th Battalion
- 17th Battalion (Kargil)
- 18th Battalion
- 19th Battalion
- 20th Battalion
- 21st Battalion
- 22nd Battalion (Jaguars)
- 23rd Battalion
- 5th Battalion of the Rashtriya Rifles
- 34th Battalion of the Rashtriya Rifles(Bravest of the Brave)
- 45th Battalion of the Rashtriya Rifles
- 61st Battalion of the Rashtriya Rifles
- 114 Infantry Battalion (TA) Jat
- 151 Infantry Battalion (TA) Jat
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