The Jat Regiment Insignia during British India(Pre-1947)
The Regiment claims its origins from the Calcutta Native Militia that was raised in 1795,[6] which later became an infantry battalion of the Bengal Army. The 14th Murray's Jat Lancers was formed in 1857.[6] After 1860, there was a substantial increase in the recruitment of Jats into the British Indian Army. The Class Regiment(The Jats) was initially created in 1897 as infantry units from old battalions of the Bengal Army. In January 1922, at the time of the grouping of the Class Regiments of the Indian Army, the 9th Jat Regiment was formed by merging four active battalions and one training battalion into a single regiment.[citation needed]
The 1st Battalion was raised as the 22nd Bengal Native Infantry in 1803.[citation needed] The 2nd and 3rd Battalions were raised in 1817 and 1823 respectively. All three battalions had distinguished records of service, including the winning of many honours during World War I.[citation needed]
The British had a policy of recruiting the martial Indians from those who had less access to education as they were easier to control, so the British raised regiments of those martial races who were considered politically subservient, intellectually inferior, lacking the initiative or leadership qualities to command large military formations.[7][8] According to modern historian Jeffrey Greenhunt on military history, "The Martial Race theory had an elegant symmetry. Indians who were intelligent and educated were defined as cowards, while those defined as brave were uneducated and backward". According to Amiya Samanta, the martial race was chosen from people of mercenary spirit (a soldier who fights for any group or country that will pay him/her), as these groups lacked nationalism as a trait.[9]
14th Murray's Jat Lancers (Risaldar Major) by AC Lovett (1862–1919)
Battle cry
The battle cry, adopted in 1955, in Hindi, is जाट बलवान, जय भगवान (IAST: Jāt Balwān, Jai Bhagwān) (The Jat is Powerful, Victory Be to God!).[10]
Composition and recruitment
Soldiers of the Jat Regiment are recruited 89% from the Jat community and rest from other castes of North India.[11][12][13]
After the Battle of Kabul (1842), Governor General Lord Ellenborough
had ordered Major General William Nott, who was commanding British-Indian forces, to recover a set of ornate gates known as the Somnath Gates, which had been looted from India by the Afghans and hung at the tomb of Sultan Mahmud II.[31] A whole sepoy regiment, the 43rd Bengal Native Infantry—which later became the 6th Jat Light Infantry after the Indian Rebellion of 1857—was tasked with carrying the gates back to India.[32]
In 1965 India-Pakistan War, 3 soldiers from Jat regiment under Lt Col (now Brig Retd) Desmond Hayde on 1 September and then again on 21–22 September, crossed the Ichhogil Canal and in the Battle of Dograi captured Dograi right up to Batapore-Attocke Awan, advancing towards Lahore.
In the 1999 Kargil War, five of the regiment's battalions took part. The regiment has also contributed battalions to UN missions in Korea and Congo. It was also involved in counter-insurgency operations that have kept the Indian Army busy ever since independence.[citation needed][34]
^Philippa Levine (2003). Prostitution, Race, and Politics: Policing Venereal Disease in the British Empire. Psychology Press. pp. 284–285. ISBN978-0-415-94447-2. The Saturday review had made much the same argument a few years earlier in relation to the armies raised by Indian rulers in princely states. They lacked competent leadership and were uneven in quality. Commander in chief Roberts, one of the most enthusiastic proponents of the martial race theory, though poorly of the native troops as a body. Many regarded such troops as childish and simple. The British, claims, David Omissi, believe martial Indians to be stupid. Certainly, the policy of recruiting among those without access to much education gave the British more semblance of control over their recruits.
^Amiya K. Samanta (2000). Gorkhaland Movement: A Study in Ethnic Separatism. APH Publishing. pp. 26–. ISBN978-81-7648-166-3. Dr . Jeffrey Greenhunt has observed that " The Martial Race Theory had an elegant symmetry. Indians who were intelligent and educated were defined as cowards, while those defined as brave were uneducated and backward. Besides their mercenary spirit was primarily due to their lack of nationalism.
^Raghavan, V.R. (1997). Infantry in India. India: Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd. ISBN8125904840.
^Sachdeva, Sujata Dutta (6 November 2005). "SUNDAY DEBATE: Should there be reservation in the Indian Army?". Times of India. Archived from the original on 17 February 2017. It recruits under two broad categories. The first comprises various regiments such as the Jat, Sikh, Garhwal and Kumaon Regiment. These are made up of soldiers with a similar background. For example, the Jat Regiment recruits only Jats, the Garhwal Regiment recruits only Garhwalis and so on.
^Mohan, Vijay (6 July 2016). "Jat Regiment raises new battalion". The Tribune. Archived from the original on 6 May 2020. The Jat Regiment, which draws its manpower primarily from the state of Haryana and its adjoining areas, ...
War Services of the 9th Jat Regiment by Lieutenant Colonel W. L. Hailes details the military history of the Jat Regiment and of the Jat people between 1893 and 1937.
British India (1795–1947)
India (1947–present)
British Indian Army (1795–1947)
Indian Army (1947–present)
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