The Chamar Regiment was an

infantry regiment Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

formed by the British during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Raised on 1 March 1943, the regiment was initially assigned to the

268th Indian Infantry Brigade The 268th Indian Infantry Brigade is an infantry formation of the Indian Army, previously of the British Indian Army. History It was initially formed as 268th Indian Armoured Brigade at Sialkot in July 1942, with three regiments of the Indian Ar ...

. The regiment was disbanded in 1946.

History

The Regiment Raised on 1 March 1943, the regiment was initially assigned to the

, which was part of 43rd Armoured Division in July 1943 and when the division was broken up to form the 44th Armoured Division the Chamar Regiment was included in the new division. During this time the regiment did not take part in any fighting.

World War II

Later, the Chamar Regiment became part of

23rd Indian Infantry Division The 23rd Indian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II. It fought in the Burma Campaign. It was then reformed as a division of the independent Indian Army in 1959. History The division was raised on 1 ...

. In mid-1944, the regiment's 1st Battalion was committed to the Burma Campaign to fight against

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

. The fighting lasted over three months, during which time the regiment took part in the Battle of Kohima. The Chamar regiment distinguished itself in the field of battle. It was part of the force that lifted the siege of Imphal and advanced against the Imperial army by liberating Burma along with other units of the army. They also took part in the assault on Kamo, Tokyo, Imphal, Mandla, Burma, Rangoon and cleared the city of Japanese troops. By mid 1945 the Chamar regiment had helped free entire Burma from Japanese occupation. The dropping of the Atomic bombs on Japan , brought about the surrender of Japan. The Indian army accepted the surrender of Japanese troops in SE Asia> Chamar Regiment defeated Japan on LAND and United States of America defeated Japan on SEA and AIR.

Engagements

● Battel of Kohima ● Battel of Kamo ● Battel of Tokyo ● Battle of Imphal ● Battel of Mandla ● Battel of Rangoon ● Battel of Singapore ● Battle of Burma Shoulder_title,_Chamar_Regiment,_1943-1946_from_back

Shoulder_title,_Chamar_Regiment,_1943-1946_from_back

Shoulder_title,_Chamar_Regiment,_1943-1946

Awards and decorations

* 5

British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown. The current honour was created in 1922 to ...

* 3

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...

* 3

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

* 4

Pacific Star The Pacific Star is a military campaign medal instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945 for award to British and Commonwealth forces who served in the Pacific Campaign from 1941 to 1945, during the Second World War. One clasp, Burma, was ...

* 7 Burma Star * 4

War Medal A war medal is a military decoration awarded in time of war, as opposed to a service medal. It may refer to, for example: *War Medal (Norway) *Campaign medal *Global War on Terrorism Service Medal *British War Medal, British Empire medal for servi ...

* 26 Mentioned in dispatches * 1 battle honour

Battle honour

World War II

Battle of Kohima 1944, 1st chamar

Disbandment

During the 2nd world war, the British Indian Government pitted the Chamar Regiment against the Japanese Imperial Army and Indian National Army, headed by Mutaguchi Renya and

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose ( ; 23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945 * * * * * * * * *) was an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Imperi ...

. Many Indian Prisoners of War before first March 1943 (formation of Chamar Regiment) joined Netaji; the most prominent member from the Chamar Regiment was Captain Mohan Lal Kureel. However British Indian Army never faced defeat since formation of Chamar Regiment, i.e. 1 March 1943. In 1946 the regiment denied to fight against subash chandra bose headed Indian national party that led to its disbanding by the British government.. However On 15 August 1945, Japan surrendered, with the surrender documents finally signed at Tokyo Bay on the deck of the American battleship USS Missouri on 2 September 1945, ending the war. Since then, many Dalit and non-Dalit leaders like Chandrasekhar Azad Ravan,

RJD The Rashtriya Janata Dal ( RJD; translation: ''National People's Party'') is an Indian political party, based in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Kerala. The party was founded in 1997 by Lalu Prasad Yadav. The party's support base has tradit ...

leader

Raghuvansh Prasad Singh Raghuvansh Prasad Singh (6 June 1946 – 13 September 2020) was an Indian socialist politician. In the Lok Sabha, he represented the Vaishali constituency of Bihar and was the national vice president of the Rashtriya Janata Dal political par ...

, Congress lawmaker Udit Raj, and Rajesh Bagha, the Chairman of Punjab S.C Commission, have suggested that the Chamar Regiment be re-raised.

References

British Indian Army infantry regiments Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1946 Indian World War II regiments the Chamar Regiment became part of

. In mid-1944, the regiment's 1st Battalion was committed to the Burma Campaign to fight against

.{{Cite web, url=https://hindi.news18.com/news/delhi/story-of-chamar-regiment-army-day-british-army-ina-dlop-1654131.html, title=चमार रेजीमेंट ने क्यों किया था ब्रिटिश आर्मी और अंग्रेजों से विद्रोह...!, date=2019-01- On August 23, 1945, Tokyo Radio reported that Bose was arriving in Saigon on a large bomber plane when his plane crashed near Taihoku (Japanese language: 臺北帝國大學, Taihoku Teikoku Daigaku) airport on August 18. Japanese General Shodei, Pilot and some others were killed on board the plane. Netaji was seriously burnt. He was taken to Taihoku Sainik Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. According to Col. Habibur Rahman, his last rites were performed in Taihoku. In mid-September, their bones were stored and placed in the Rankoji Temple in Tokyo, the capital of Japan. According to a document received from the National Archives of India, Netaji died on August 18, 1945 at 21.00 pm at Sainik Hospital in Taihoku.