90 Armoured Regiment 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

90 Armoured Regiment was raised on 15 August 1979 by amalgamating three independent reconnaissance squadrons of the

Indian Army Armoured Corps The Indian Army Armoured Corps is one of the combat arms of the Indian Army. Tracing its origins from the first regiment formed in 1776, the present corps was formed in 1947 from two-thirds of the personnel and assets of the British Indian Army' ...

, the 90 Independent Reconnaissance Squadron 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 ...

regiment, 92 Independent Reconnaissance Squadron of

18th Cavalry The 18th King Edward's Own Cavalry was a regular cavalry regiment in the British Indian Army. Following the independence of India, the regiment was allotted to the Indian Army and redesignated as the 18th Cavalry. Formation Tracing its orig ...

regiment and 93 Independent Reconnaissance Squadron of the 65 Armoured Regiment. Though raised before a number of other armoured regiments, it took the number “90” from the senior-most among the reconnaissance squadrons that amalgamated to form this regiment. Lieutenant Colonel Manjit Singh Sawhney of 18 Cavalry was the first Commandant while Ris Maj Bhanwar Khan of 92 Indep Recce Sqn was the first

Risaldar Risaldar, meaning the commander of a ''risala'' or ''risalah'' (a body of horse, regardless if troop or regiment) in Persian, is a mid-level rank in cavalry and armoured units of the Indian and Pakistan Army. In other arms, such as the infantry, t ...

Major. The regiment was raised under 10th Infantry Division at Pawan Da Chak in

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

. The reconnaissance squadrons merged completely with their men and equipment.

History

Operations

All three squadrons took part in the

Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decemb ...

. 90 (Independent) Reconnaissance Squadron with AMX-13 tanks was under 16 Independent Armoured Brigade of 54 Infantry Division in

Shakargarh Shakargarh ( ur, ), the capital of Shakargarh Tehsil, is a city in the north-eastern part of Narowal District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It borders Jammu, India to the north and Sialkot to the west Its literacy rate is more than 85% wh ...

sector. 92 (Independent) Reconnaissance Squadron with their PT-76 tanks was part of the 163 Infantry Brigade and was in the Foxtrot (F) Sector. 93 (Independent) Reconnaissance Squadron, which was raised on 1 April 1970 with AMX-13 tanks was part of the 1st Armoured Division and saw action in the Punjab theatre. Major Balraj Sharma of the regiment, while attached to 10 Battalion of the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry, was part of a counter-insurgency operation at Mongbung,

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...

. He and his quick reaction team were responsible for killing seven insurgents on 18 November 1995. He was awarded the Shaurya Chakra for his gallantry.

Regimental Insignia

The Regimental insignia consists of crossed lances with

pennon A pennon, also known as a pennant or pendant, is a long narrow flag which is larger at the hoist than at the fly. It can have several shapes, such as triangular, tapering (square tail) or triangular swallowtail (forked tail), etc. In maritime ...

s of the regimental colours of steel grey and maroon. There is the numeral "90" inscribed on the crossing of the lances, mounted with the "mailed fist" or gauntlet and a scroll at the base with the Regimental Motto in

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental syste ...

script. The shoulder title consists of the numeral "90" in brass. The Regimental motto is सम्मान या बलिदान (Samaan Ya Balidaan). The old motto was "अपमान से पूर्व मृत्यु"(Apamaan Se Poorva Mrityu) which translated to "Death before dishonour".

References

{{Indian Army Armoured Corps , state=expanded Military units and formations established in 1979 Armoured and cavalry regiments of the Indian Army from 1947