The 6th Lancers is an
armoured regiment of the
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
.
Formation
6 Lancers was raised on 1 February 1984 at
Nabha,
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
as 6 Armoured Regiment.
The first Commanding Officer of the Regiment was Lt Col R S Deol, SM. The class composition is 'All India All Caste".
History
Initially, the Regiment was equipped with
Vijayanta tanks and was immediately immersed in maintaining law and order in Punjab during
Operation Blue Star. The regiment later served in Suratgarh, moving to Samba in 1988 and back to the Punjab in 1992 where it served during
Operation Rakshak-II.
It served in Operation Rakshak (in Jammu & Kashmir), Operation Vijay and Operation Parakram, during its deployment in Jammu and Kashmir state. The Regiment converted to modern Soviet/Russian
T-90
The T-90 is a third-generation Russian main battle tank. It uses a 125mm 2A46 smoothbore main gun, the 1A45T fire-control system, an upgraded engine, and gunner's thermal sight. Standard protective measures include a blend of steel and compos ...
main battle tank
A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension sys ...
s in 2002.
In February 2006, it was re-designated as 6 Lancers, but is not to be confused with the
6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers (Watson's Horse), a cavalry regiment of the British Indian Army, which was allotted to
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
during the
Partition
Partition may refer to:
Computing Hardware
* Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive
* Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job
Software
* Partition (database), the division of a ...
.
The first Colonel of the Regiment was Lt Gen Ajai Singh,
PVSM
Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (IAST: ) is a military award of India. It was constituted in 1960 and since then it is awarded in recognition to peace-time service of the most exceptional order and may be awarded posthumously. All ranks of the ...
,
AVSM (Retd) of the
Poona Horse
The Poona Horse is an armoured regiment in the Armoured Corps of the Indian Army. The regiment, known before independence as The Poona Horse (17th Queen Victoria's Own Cavalry), was raised as a regular cavalry regiment in the Bombay Presidency a ...
.
The Regiment celebrated its Silver Jubilee in 2009. The Regiment was presented the President's Standard along with four other Armoured Regiments of the
1 Armoured Division on 27 November 2011 by the then President of India Mrs
Prathiba Patil, while at
Patiala
Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, India, Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak, Patiala, Qila Mubarak ...
.
Regimental Insignia
The cap badge of the regiment closely resembles that of its Pakistani counterpart, comprising a pair of crossed lances with pennons and the numeral 6 placed at the junction of the Lances, the whole badge being in white metal. The shoulder title is in brass and initially consisted of the numeral 6, connected to a right-handed armoured fist. After re-designation, the shoulder title now consists of the numeral 6 connected to the capital letter L. The cap badge and shoulder titles are worn by all ranks of the Regiment.
See also
*
6th Lancers (Pakistan)
References
Armoured and cavalry regiments of the Indian Army from 1947
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