The Maratha Light Infantry is a

light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often foug ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

of the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...

. It traces its lineage to the Bombay Sepoys, raised in 1768, making it the most senior light infantry regiment in the Indian Army. The class composition of the regiment was and is primarily formed by

Maratha The Marathi people ( Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed a ...

recruits from the former

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Sh ...

. The men are mostly drawn from all over the state of

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...

, with some percentage from Marathi-speaking areas of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

including

Coorg Kodagu (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State, at which point it was merged into an enlarged Mysore State. It occupies ...

. The regimental centre has been in

Belgaum Belgaum ( ISO: ''Bēḷagāma''; also Belgaon and officially known as Belagavi) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located in its northern part along the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Belagavi ...

, Karnataka, since 1922, which was part of the

Bombay Presidency The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...

at that time. The

battle cry A battle cry or war cry is a yell or chant taken up in battle, usually by members of the same combatant group. Battle cries are not necessarily articulate (e.g. "Eulaliaaaa!", "Alala"..), although they often aim to invoke patriotic or religious ...

of Maratha Light Infantry is, ''"Bola Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Ki Jai (Say Victory To King Shivaji)"''. The regiment has won over 60 battle honours, including 21 in World War I.

History

Pre-independence

The

s were a potent force in 16th, 17th, and 18th century India. Their military qualities were brilliantly optimised in their historic campaigns against the

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

under the leadership of the Emperor

Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adilsh ...

and succeeding Maratha rulers. Maratha armies, comprising both infantry and light cavalry, along with the

Maratha Navy The Maratha Navy was the naval wing of the armed forces of the Maratha Empire, which existed from around mid-17th century to mid-18th century in India. Formative years Historian Sir Jadunath Sarkar noted: In medieval India, the Muslim rul ...

had dominated the military scene in India for three centuries. The 1st battalion of the regiment, known as ''Jangi Paltan'' ("the fighting unit"), was raised in August 1768 as the 2nd Battalion, Bombay Sepoys, to protect the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

’s possessions on the islands of

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

. The second battalion known as '' Kali Panchwin'' followed the next year as the 3rd Battalion, Bombay Sepoys. These two battalions were at the forefront of virtually every major engagement fought on the west coast from

Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is ...

Cannanore Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and a municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the major port city and commercial ...

during the last quarter of the 18th century. Prominent amongst these were the historic battles of Seedaseer and

Seringapatam Srirangapatna is a town and headquarters of one of the seven Taluks of Mandya district, in the Indian State of Karnataka. It gets its name from the Ranganthaswamy temple consecrated at around 984 CE. Later, under the British rule the city wa ...

where in the words of Richard Wellesley their ''conduct and success were seldom equalled and never surpassed''. The turn of the 19th century was witness to the expansion of the regimental group with the raising of the 3rd battalion as the 2nd battalion, 5th (

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. A ...

) Regiment of the Bombay Native Infantry in 1797. The Maratha Light Infantry Regimental Centre was raised in March 1800 as the 2nd battalion, 7th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry; the 4th battalion in April 1800 as the 2nd battalion, 8th Regiment Bombay Infantry and the 5th battalion from the Bombay Fencibles as the 1st battalion, 9th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry in December 1800. Maratha Light Infantry Indian Army

In the second half of the 19th century, the battalions fought in various campaigns from the Middle East to China. In recognition of the gallant conduct of its detachments at the siege of Kahun and the defence of Dadar, in Baluch territory during the

First Anglo-Afghan War The First Anglo-Afghan War ( fa, جنگ اول افغان و انگلیس) was fought between the British Empire and the Emirate of Kabul from 1838 to 1842. The British initially successfully invaded the country taking sides in a succession di ...

in 1841, the ''Kali Panchwin'' was created Light Infantry. Later, this honour was also bestowed on the 3rd and 10th Regiments of the Bombay Infantry (present 1st battalion, Maratha Light Infantry and 2nd battalion, Parachute Regiment respectively) for their gallantry in Sir Robert Napier’s Abyssinian Campaign of 1867-1868. The regiment assumed the title

5th Mahratta Light Infantry The 5th Mahratta Light Infantry was a regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1922, when the Indian government reformed the army moving from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments. The regiment fought in World Wa ...

in 1922. Three Maratha battalions distinguished themselves during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

(1914–1918) in the long drawn-out

Mesopotamia campaign The Mesopotamian campaign was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the Allies represented by the British Empire, troops from Britain, Australia and the vast majority from British India, against the Central P ...

. The

117th Mahrattas The 117th Mahrattas were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment traces their origins to 1800, when they were raised as the Bombay Fencible Regiment. During World War I the regiment was attached to the 6th (Poona) Division ...

(present 5th battalion, Maratha Light Infantry) was made into a Royal battalion for its conspicuously distinctive service during its campaign in

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

, particularly in the events leading to enemy capitulation after the bitter 146-day siege at

Kut-el-Amara Kūt ( ar, ٱلْكُوت, al-Kūt), officially Al-Kut, also spelled Kutulamare or Kut al-Imara, is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about south east of Baghdad. the estimated population is about 389,400 people. It ...

. The battalion was mostly composed of Marathas from the

Khandesh Khandesh is a geographic region in Central India, which includes parts of the northwestern portion of Maharashtra as well as Burhanpur District of Madhya Pradesh. The use of Khandeshi Language (a.k.a. the Ahirani Language) is prevalent in t ...

region and

Nashik district Nashik district, also known as Nasik district, is a district in Maharashtra, India. The city of Nashik is the administrative headquarters of the district. Nashik is well known for the production of wine. Nashik is also known as Mini Maharashtra, ...

. For some unclear reasons even after winning, the regiment did not return to India. The

114th Mahrattas The 114th Mahrattas were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment traces their origins to 1800, when they were raised as the 2nd Battalion, 7th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry. During World War I they were attached to th ...

(present Regimental Centre) was awarded 28 gallantry awards for their performance in the battle of Sharquat, the highest earned by any unit in a single action. The other Maratha battalions, namely the 105th Mahratta Light Infantry, 110th Mahratta Light Infantry and

116th Mahrattas The 116th Mahrattas were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment traces their origins to 1800, when they were raised as the 2nd Battalion, 7th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry. During World War I the regiment was attache ...

also acquitted themselves in Palestine and Mesopotamia. The Second World War saw the Marathas in the forefront in almost every theatre of operations from the jungles of Southeast Asia to the deserts of

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

, and the mountains and rivers of Italy. The war also saw the expansion of the regiment when thirteen new war service battalions were raised. Most of these were later demobilised after the war, whilst two were converted into artillery regiments. During the war Nk.

Yeshwant Ghadge Yeshwant Ghadge (16 November 1921 – 10 July 1944) was an Indian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Detail ...

and Sep.

Namdeo Jadhav Namdeo Jadhav, PVSM, VC (18 November 1921 – 2 August 1984) was an Indian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. D ...

were decorated with the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...

in the Italian campaign, while 130 other decorations were awarded to the regiment. Apart from being the first light infantry battalion, of the Indian Army, Kali Panchwin was the first Indian battalion to participate in World War II, first to have lost its commanding officer in action (Col. Chitty at the battle of Jebel Hamrin, 1917) and the first Maratha battalion to participate in a United Nations mission. Later, it earned the Indian Army's first

Ashoka Chakra Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...

in India's

northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

Post-independence

Indian independence saw the regiment reverting to the original five battalions, with the 3rd Maratha Light Infantry converting to the airborne role and becoming the 2nd battalion, Parachute Regiment in April 1952. With the integration of the erstwhile princely states, the 19th, 20th, 22nd battalions were amalgamated, from the state forces of Satara,

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'. Kolhapur is ...

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

, and

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern Indi ...

, with the regiment. The expansion of the Indian Army to meet the omnipresent threat to its borders has seen the regiment grow to its present strength of 18 regular battalions and two Territorial Army battalions whilst the period also saw the conversion of the 21st battalion into the 21st battalion, Parachute Regiment (Special Forces) and the 115 Infantry Battalion (TA) being transferred to the Mahar Regiment. Since independence, battalions of the Maratha Light Infantry have taken part in every Indian armed conflict — the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, the Annexation of Junagadh, the

Annexation of Hyderabad Operation Polo was the code name of the Hyderabad "police action" in September 1948, by the then newly independent Dominion of India against Hyderabad State. It was a military operation in which the Indian Armed Forces invaded the Nizam-ruled ...

, the Annexation of Goa, the

Sino-Indian War The Sino-Indian War took place between China and India from October to November 1962, as a major flare-up of the Sino-Indian border dispute. There had been a series of violent border skirmishes between the two countries after the 1959 Tibet ...

, the Indo-Pakistani wars of

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in for a full term ...

and

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses ( February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events J ...

, against the Chinese on the

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Sil ...

watershed in 1956,

Operation Pawan Operation Pawan ( hi, कार्यवाही पवन ''Kãryvãhi Pavan'', lit. "Operation Wind") was the code name assigned to the operation by the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to take control of Jaffna from the Liberation Tigers o ...

, the ongoing operations on the

Siachen Glacier The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas at about , just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends. At long, it is the longest glacier in the Kara ...

and in numerous counter insurgency operations. The

awarded to Capt. Eric Tucker, Col. N.J. Nair, Col. Vasanth Venugopal and Lt. Navdeep Singh, the five

Maha Vir Chakra The Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) () is the second highest military decoration in India, after the Param Vir Chakra, and is awarded for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea or in the air. It replaced the B ...

s and the numerous other war and peacetime gallantry awards bear testimony to the front-line leadership and courage of the regiment's officers and soldiers. Gen.

Joginder Jaswant Singh General Joginder Jaswant Singh, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC (born 17 September 1945) is an Indian politician and former Army Chief. He was the 21st Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) of the Indian Army. He was appointed on 27 November 2004, and took ...

became the first Maratha Light Infantry officer to become the Chief of Army Staff in February 2005.

Units

* 1st Battalion - (former

103rd Mahratta Light Infantry The 103rd Mahratta Light Infantry were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1768, when they were raised as the 2nd Battalion, Bombay Sepoys. The regiment was first in action in the Mysore Campaign ...

) * 2nd Battalion - (former 105th Mahratta Light Infantry) (Ashok Chakra Paltan) * 4th Battalion - (former

) * 5th Battalion - (former

) * 6th Battalion * 7th Battalion * 8th Battalion * 9th Battalion (Ashok Chakra Paltan) * 11th Battalion * 12th Battalion * 14th Battalion * 15th Battalion * 16th Battalion (Ashok Chakra Paltan) * 17th Battalion * 18th Battalion * 19th Battalion - (former Kolhapur Raja Ram Infantry) * 22nd Battalion - (former 2nd Hyderabad State Infantry) * 23rd Battalion * 24th Battalion * 25th Battalion * 26th Battalion * 42nd Battalion * 101 Infantry Battalion Territorial Army (Maratha Light Infantry)

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

* 109 Infantry Battalion Territorial Army (Maratha Light Infantry)

Others: *3rd Battalion is now 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment *20th Battalion (former Baroda State Infantry) is now 10th Battalion,

Mechanised Infantry Regiment The Mechanised Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army, comprising 27 battalions dispersed under various armoured formations throughout India. Together with the 21 battalions of Brigade of the Guards, they form part of the ' ...

*21st Battalion is now 21st Battalion, Parachute Regiment (Special Forces)

Maratha Units in Rashtriya Rifles

Maratha Units in Rashtriya Rifles (RR) are: *The 17 (RR) *The 27 (RR) *The 41 (RR) *The 56 (RR)

Decorations

File:Naik Yeshwant Ghadge VC (1921-1944), 3-5th Mahratta Light Infantry, 1944.jpg, File:133308Bladin1947.jpg, File:Subadar Ganpat Patil receiving the Military Cross from General Sir Claude Auchinleck, 1944 (c).jpg, File:Naik Narayan Sinde, 5th Mahratta Light Infantry, receiving the Indian Distinguished Service Medal from General Sir Claude Auchinleck, 1945.jpg,

Bastille Day 2009

On the occasion of the 221st

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stor ...

day celebrations, a unit from the Maratha Light Infantry led the parade on the Parisian boulevard of Champs-Élysées on 14 July 2009. The military parade was opened with a detachment of 400 soldiers from the three defence services of India, who were attired in ceremonial uniforms. The Indian Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...

was the guest of honour of the ceremony, an invitee of the French President.

Notable Officers

* Gen J.J. Singh * Lt. Gen. D.B. Shekhatkar * Lt. Gen. Satish Nambiar * Lt. Gen. Harinder Singh * Lt. Ge. Jai Singh * Brig. S.S. Shekhawat * Col. N.J. Nair * Capt. C.P.K. Nair * Lt. Navdeep Singh

Gallery

File:117th Mahrattas at a fort, 1909.jpg, File:Dekhani Mahrattas and Konkani Mahrattas.jpg, File:Indian Army volunteers, 1943 (c).jpg, File:A sepoy of the 5th Mahratta Light Infantry, 1943 (c).jpg, File:Mahratta sniper in Italy 1943.jpg, File:1-5MahrattaLightInfantryFlorence1944.jpg, File:Indian troops advance across the Aquino aerodrome 1944.jpg, File:Brits-Indiërs van het 6th Battalion the Mahratta Light Infantry, Bestanddeelnr 100A-1-1.jpg, File:14MARATHANCC.png, File:Stamp of India - 2001 - Colnect 160746 - 4th Maratha Light Infantary - Bicentenary.jpeg, File:The Maratha Light Infantry Marching Contingent passes through the Rajpath, on the occasion of the 69th Republic Day Parade 2018, in New Delhi on January 26, 2018.jpg, The Maratha Light Infantry marching contingent passes through the Rajpath during the 69th Republic Day Parade, 2018 File:Indra 2017 closing ceremony 1.jpg,

soldiers of the Maratha Light Infantry during closing ceremony of Indra 2017 military exercise.

References

External links

Maratha Light Infantry - DefenceIndia.comMaratha Light Infantry Regiment , Regimental Officers Association
by the Maratha Light Infantry Band
Redetzky March I Maratha Light Infantry I Indian Army I The Peninsula Studios
{{Authority control Infantry regiments of the Indian Army from 1947 Military units and formations established in 1922 British Indian Army infantry regiments Units of the Indian Peace Keeping Force Monuments and memorials to Shivaji