Mechanized Infantry Regiment
The Mechanised Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army, comprising 27 battalions dispersed under various armored formations throughout India. It is one of the youngest regiments in the army, and though it was formed as a result of lessons learned in the 1965 Indo-Pak War, to give infantry battalions greater mobility, it was the mastermind of late Gen K Sundarji who had the foresight to cater the needs of a modern army. Gen Sundarji was appointed the first Colonel of the Mechanized Infantry Regiment, the post he held till his retirement.
Initially, some of the older infantry battalions of various regiments were equipped with the BMP-1(Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty) armored personnel carriers. The need for something more concrete and viable was felt along with a need to develop a common philosophy with regards to the type of tactics. This helped in raising a totally new arm in the Indian Army, resulting in the various mechanized battalions being brought together under a single cap badge as the Mechanised Infantry Regiment in 1979.
Size 27 Battalions
Regimental Centre Ahmednagar, Maharashtra
Motto Valour & Faith
War Cry Bolo Bharat Mata Ki Jai (Victory to Mother India)
Operations:
The Mechanised Infantry Regiment has the distinction of participating in Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka, Operation Rakshak in Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir, and Operation Vijay in Jammu & Kashmir.
UN Peacekeeping Missions:
It has also contributed to the UN Peacekeeping Operations in Somalia, Congo, Angola, and Sierra Leone. The Regiment has its affiliation to INS Gharial, of the Indian Navy.
Why it was Raised
The 1965 India-Pakistan War saw hard-fought battles in attrition warfare style like the one at Dograi, in which large numbers of casualties were taken by the infantry battalions in their operations. Moreover, the infantry and armor battles during that war brought out the glaring deficiency of mobility to foot Infantry and lack of synchronization between the different arms in combat. A need was felt to give mobility with armored protection to infantry so that it could keep pace with armored formations. So began the search for a suitable ‘battle taxi’ in the form of armored personnel carriers (APCs), which had matching mobility with tanks, protection, and adequate floatation capability. APCs like M113 from the USA referred to as from the USA ``box on tracks” were ruled out for acquisition as they lacked firepower and had insufficient makeshift floating capability. Indian Army got more inclined towards choosing the Polish tracked TOPAS, in particular, and the Soviet wheeled BTR — 60ř and SKOT, in general, owing to their mobility, protection, and floatation capabilities. These APCs ideally fitted into the “battle taxi” concept envisaged by the Indian Army. Equipping Infantry Battalions with APCs entailed training of the core team on the selected equipment at the country of origin. A team of officers was earmarked for an APC course abroad at Czechoslovakia. The officers earmarked were required to undertake six weeks pre-course training on the basics of ‘A’ vehicles at Armoured Corps Centre and School (ACC & S), Ahmednagar. Two officers from infantry battalions earmarked for conversion, two officers from Armoured Corps, and one officer from Electronics and Mechanical Engineers formed the team to proceed to Czechoslovakia. The specialized training on Topas was conducted at Borno near Prague for three months in early 1970.
The decision to equip few infantry battalions was taken by Gen (later Field Marshal) SHFJ Manekshaw, the then Army Chief and Lt Gen Har Prasad, then Vice-Chief in 1969. The first tentative steps towards mechanization were taken by converting some of the finest infantry units by equipping them with Eastern bloc APCs, TOPAS, SKOT, and BTR.
Another reference about the conversion of select battalions is also found in the book ‘Surrender at Dacca’ by Lt Gen JFR Jacob as part of the chapter ‘Preparatory Moves and Training’. When former Army Chief Gen G.G. Bewoor, PVSM, was the Deputy Chief, he was tasked to select infantry battalions for conversion. Addressing the officers during his visit to the Mechanised Infantry Regimental Centre (MIRC), he interestingly made mention of the modus of a selection of the infantry battalions for mechanization, which was somewhat similar to that adopted by the British when they selected battalions for Indianisation in 1921. They initially selected the first battalions like 2/1 PUNJAB, 1/14 RAJPUT, and 1/14 PUNJAB. Subsequently, when they decided to Indianise more infantry battalions, they selected fifth battalions and that was how 5 Rajputana Rifles (RAJRIF), 5 BALUCH, and 5 SIKH were formed. Post-Independence, two regiments were raised, viz Brigade of Guards and Parachute Regiment. Hence only those Infantry regiments which had not provided battalions for the raising of Brigade of Guards and Parachute Regiment were considered for mechanization.
Battalions of the Mechanised Infantry Regiment
1st Battalion (former 1st Bn, The Madras Regiment)
2nd Battalion (former 1st Bn, Jat Light Infantry)
3rd Battalion (former 1st Bn, 8 Gorkha Rifles)
4th Battalion (former 1st Bn, Sikh Regiment)
5th Battalion (former 14th Bn, Kumaon Regiment)
6th Battalion (former 1st Bn, Garhwal Rifles)
7th Battalion (former 1st Bn, Dogra Regiment8th Battalion (former 7th Bn, Punjab Regiment)
9th Battalion (former 7th Bn, The Grenadiers)
10th Battalion (former 20th Bn, Maratha Light Infantry)
11th Battalion (former 18th Bn, Rajputana Rifles)
12th Battalion (former 8th Battalion, Parachute Regiment, previously 16th Bn, Mahar Regiment)
13th Battalion (former 18th Bn, Rajput Regiment)
14th Battalion (former 16th Bn, Jammu & Kashmir Rifles)
15th Battalion
16th Battalion
17th Battalion
18th Battalion
19th Battalion
20th Battalion
21st Battalion
22nd Battalion
23rd Battalion
24th Battalion (former 20th Bn, Rajput Regiment)
25th Battalion
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