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Wikipedia / Bihar Regiment

The Bihar Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It traces its origins back to the British Indian Army. The Bihar Regiment was formed in 1941 by regularising the 11th(Territorial) Battalion, the 19th Hyderabad Regiment, and raising new battalions. The Bihar Regimental Centre (BRC) is located at Danapur Cantonment, Patna, the second oldest cantonment of India.

Bihari martial tradition

The martial tradition of Bihar troops in the era of British rule traces its origins to the 34th sepoy battalion raised in 1757 by Lord Clive of the British East India Company at Patna. The battalion was formed by men entirely from the Bhojpur (Arrah) district. Later battalions recruited from the entire Shahabad area (the present day districts of Bhojpur (Arrah), Buxar, Rohtas & Kaimur in Bihar). Their success in combat impressed Mir Kasim, the Nawab of Bengal from 1760 to 1763, who began raising units trained in western combat techniques. Bihari battalions raised by Mir Kasim defeated the British in some engagements. The Bihari, or Purbiya, soldiers thereafter made up the backbone of the Bengal Infantry of the British Colonial Army.

They were not only excellent soldiers but also quick to learn and apply the tactical drills with initiative. They were disciplined when led by good officers but capable of hostility when their beliefs and customs were disregarded. The Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the introduction of greased cartridges (thought to be done so with a mixture of beef and pork fat—abhorrent to Hindus and Muslims), was led by Bihari troops, who preferred being blown by the guns exploding to losing their faith. Thereafter, Biharis were not encouraged to enter military service by the British until after World War I.

Their victories at home including those of Buxar, Karnatic and Maratha Wars along with those in Malaya, Sumatra and Egypt won them laurels.

Composition and Recruitment

At raising, the class composition of the first battalion was - Adivasis from Bihar, Orissa, Bengal and eastern states, and Ahirs, Rajputs, Bhumihar's, Kurmi, and Mussulmans from Bihar. The regiment continued recruitment from the state of Old Bihar (Greater Bihar) (i.e. present-day Bihar and Jharkhand), along with a small number from Odisha. Most units presently have two companies of troops from Bihar and parts of Uttar Pradesh, and two companies with tribals, mainly from Jharkhand and Odisha — Mundas, Santhals, Hos, Oraons and others. Some units now have an all India, all class composition.

History

The present Bihar Regiment took its initial form in 1923, when an Indian Territorial Force Battalion named the 11/19 Hyderabad Regiment was formed with its headquarters at Dinapore Cantonment. The Bihar Regiment was formed in 1941 during World War II by regularising the 11th(Territorial) Battalion, 19th Hyderabad Regiment as the 1stBattalion, Bihar Regiment. The first commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel John Reginald Howard Tweed. The 2ndBattalion was raised in December 1942.

Bihar Regiment in World War II

The newly raised 1Bihar saw action in the Burma Campaign. The battalion was part of the famous Lushai Brigade and captured Haka on 19October 1944 and Gangaw on 11January 1945. 2Bihar formed part of Operation Zipper under Lieutenant Colonel (Later Lieutenant General) Sant Singh for the reoccupation of British Malaya.

In recognition of the gallant actions, the Battalion was awarded two Battle Honours namely Haka and Gangaw, and was also bestowed with the Theatre Honour of Burma.

Post Independence

Soon after independence, both battalions participated in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 in the Kashmir Valley during 1948–49.

During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, 7Bihar captured Bedori, paving the way for the capture of Haji Pir Pass. By the start of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, the Regiment had expanded to 11battalions. The sixth, seventh, eighth, tenth and eleventh battalions participated in operations in the eastern sector. 10Bihar was conferred the theatre honour 'East Pakistan' for the capture of Akhaura. On 15December 1971, a seaborne expedition was launched at Cox's Bazar to prevent Pakistani troops from escaping into Burma. 11Bihar formed part of this amphibious task force. In the Western theatre of the war, 3Bihar captured Wanjal.

4, 7, 9 and 15 Bihar took part in Indian Peace Keeping Force operations during Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka.

In the Spring of 1999, Pakistani soldiers posing as Kashmiri militants crossed the Line of Control (LoC) in Kargil and entered Indian territory. Operation Vijay was launched by the Indian Army to flush out the intruders. More than 10,000 soldiers and officers of the Bihar Regiment were deployed to Kargil. In a well-planned operation in the Batalik sector, soldiers of 1Bihar, in a fierce fight with the Pakistan Army, captured Point 4268 and Jubar Ridge in Kuker Thang area in the Batalik sector on the night 06/7 July 1999.

On the night of 15 June 2020, soldiers of 16 Bihar Regiment were involved in a bloody skirmish at Galwan Valley, in Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Twenty Indian soldiers were killed, including the commanding-officer of 16 Bihar Colonel B. Santosh Babu. According to Russian government owned TASS news agency, the fighting resulted in death of 45 Chinese soldiers. As per an American intelligence assessment the skirmish led to the death of 35 Chinese soldiers including a commanding officer.

Units of the regiment have also served in UN Peacekeeping operations in Somalia (UNOSOM), the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) and Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS) in 1993, 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2022

Deployments of units of the Bihar Regiment

Regimental Insignia and Traditions

  1. Regimental Crest

At raising, Lieutenant Colonel JRH Tweed selected an insignia that had the words “THE BIHAR REGT” in the centre with “ASOKA SHER SHAH” in a semi-circle below. Later on, when the army headquarters asked Tweed to create an emblem for the regiment, he chose one that depicted two rivers of Bihar. This was not very popular with either the officers or the men. Captain Habibullah Khan Khattak, as acting Commanding Officer, 1st Bihar Battalion (Later Major General in Pakistan Army) adopted the present crest from the three headed lions of Ashoka in 1941. In 1945, the then Governor of Bihar, Sir Thomas Rutherford when visiting 1st Bihar at Shillong was so impressed with the regimental crest, that he requested Lieutenant Colonel Khattak's permission to adopt the emblem for the Bihar Government. The Bihar Government then published gazette notification in May 1945 adopting the crest. Post Independence, the Government of India too adopted the three headed Ashoka lions as Government of India's Crest.

  1. Uniform

The present uniform of the Bihar Regiment includes a red and green lanyard on the left shoulder and the shoulder title Bihar (brass / green letters over scarlet background). The green beret (common to all infantry units in India) has the regimental crest on a scarlet oval base stitched to the beret. The regimental turban is worn by personnel during ceremonial occasions, parades, on guard duty and by those in the regimental band.

  1. Regimental Motto

In 1974, a decision was taken to formalise the motto of the Regiment as ‘Karm Hi Dharm’, which means ‘Work is Worship’. The decision was soon approved and published in Army Order No. 347/74.

  1. War Cries

The Bihar Regiment traditionally uses two powerful war cries-

  • Jai Bajrang Bali ("Victory to Bajrang Bali"—a name for Lord Hanuman)

  • Birsa Munda Ki Jai ("Victory to Birsa Munda"—a revered tribal leader and folk hero)

Bihar Regimental Centre (BRC)

The regimental centre was established on 1 November 1945, by Lieutenant Colonel RC Muller at Agra, following the conversion of the 3rd Training Battalion of the 19th Hyderabad Regiment's Regimental Centre. In April 1946, it relocated to Ranchi, and later that year, in November, moved to Gaya. The first Indian Commandant was Lieutenant Colonel Hardayal Singh Randhawa, who took over command in November 1947. Finally, in March 1949, it found its permanent home in Danapur, where it remains to this day.

Units

Affiliations

INS Vikramaditya, the Indian Navy's largest ship and one of its two aircraft carriers was affiliated to the Bihar Regiment in January 2018.

Decorations

Theatre Honours

Battle Honours

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Unit Citation

The following units were awarded the COAS unit citation-

Gallantry awards

The regiment is one of the highly decorated regiments of the Indian Army. The tally of awards, with prominent awardees till date are as under:-

  1. Pre independence

Distinguished Service Order (DSO) - 2

  • Lieutenant Colonel John Reginald Howard Tweed

Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) - 3

  • Major (temporary) Michael Sunil Chatterjee

  • Lieutenant Anil Behari Saran

Military Cross (MC) - 5

  • Major (temporary) Kenred Vernon Mitchell

  • Captain (temporary) David Farmer

  • Lieutenant Saiyed Anwar Hasan Rizvi

  • Lieutenant (temporary Captain) (acting Major) Michael Sunil Chatterjee

  • Jemadar Nehemias

  • Order of British India (OBI) - 4

Military Medal (MM) - 02

  • Havildar Qurban Mian

  • Sepoy Louis Toppo

  • Post independence

Ashoka Chakra (AC) - 4

Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) - 3

Kirti Chakra (KC) -14

References