Lineage and Origin

1.      The JAT Regt traces its origin to July 1795, when Captain Henry De Castro raised a levy “The Calcutta Militia” for garrison duties in Calcutta. This unit had an unbroken history of service ever since, albeit under different names and got amalgamated into the JAT Regt Group in 1922.

2.      Inf in the British Indian Army (Bengal Presidency only) began to be organized into pure class/caste/religion based Bns after an Army order on the subject in 1892. Then Inf Bns like the Armd and Arty Regts of today, were then also called ‘Regiments’.

3.      17 Inf Bns (then also called Regiments) of the Bengal Army which were considered loyal to the British since they had not revolted in 1857 and had not been disbanded were selected for the experiment of conversion to pure class/caste composition Bns in 1892. This was to give fillip to the theory of ‘Martial Races’ propounded in the late 1889 by the then Commander-in-Chief, Gen Sir Robert Frederick. Out of these 18 Inf Regts, two were converted to all Brahmins, (the 1st and 3rd Inf Regt), eight to all Rajputs, (the 2nd, 4th, 7th, 8th, 11th, 13th and 16th Inf Regt), three to 'Musalman Rajputs’ Regt (the 5th, 17th and 18th Inf Regt) two to pure Hindu Jats, (the 6th and 10th Inf Regt), two to pure ‘Sikhs’ (the 14th Ferozpur Sikhs and 15th Ludhiana Sikh Inf Regt) and the 12th Sikh Pioneers. The 9th Inf Regt which is not mentioned here was the 9th Bhopal Infantry.

4.       Just before the WW I, the Indian Inf had 130 Inf Regt with the following class/caste compositions:-

(a)          Brahmins.

(b)          Rajputs from Hindustan.

(c)          Rajputs from Rajputana.

(d)          Musalman Rajputs.

(e)          Jats.

(f)           Sikhs.

(g)          Punjabis.

(h)          Gorkhas.

(i)           Garhwalis.

(j)           Baluchis.

(k)          Pathans.

(l)           Dogras.

(m)         Madrasis (Carnatics).

(n)          Maratha.

(o)          Mahar.

(p)          Other mixed class Regiments.

5.       During the WW I, a total of 43 new Inf Regts were raised. Some of the older Regts started newer “Bns of Line”, where second and third units were also raised from the original Regt. In our case, 6 JAT (LI), now 2 Mech JAT (LI) and 10 JAT (now 3 JAT) both raised second Bns which were called 2/6 JAT (LI) and 2/10 JAT. While 2/10 JAT was disbanded after the WW I, 2/6 JAT (LI) remained.

The Evolution of the Regimental System

6.       The Regt System being followed in the Indian Army today dates back to the 1920’s. After the end of the WW I, it was decided to club a number of Inf Regts into groups. Each group was to have 05 regular Bns with a liability to serve anywhere in the British Empire, one “Territorial Force” Bn for duties within the Indian sub-continent and one centralized Trg Bn for recruitment, trg and depot functions. All regular Bns were to be serial numbered from 01. The Trg Bns of all the groups was to be numbered 10 and the “Territorial Force Bn” from 11 onwards. The pure class composition experiment started in 1892 was discontinued after this reorganisation of 1922 because a pure class Musalman Rajput Regt (5 LI) Infantry had revolted in Singapore in 1914 and had to be later disbanded. The refusal of the Sikh and Punjabi troops to fire on Indians during the 'Gaddar movement’ and the use of Gorkha troops in ‘Jallianwala Bagh’ was another reason why only Gorkhas, who then mostly hailed from Nepal, were kept pure in the reorganization of 1922. The ‘Regt Groups’ were more of an administrative reorganization rather than on pure caste lines. So, there were a total of six Regt groups of the Punjabi’s namely the 1st, 2nd, 8th, 14th, 15th and 16th PUNJAB Regt Groups. Insofar as the JAT Regt was concerned, the new gp was to be formed with the fwg class composition:-

     (a)         Hindu Jats.

     (b)         Punjabi Muslims.

     (c)         Musalman Rajputs (Rangaras) from Haryana.

     (d)         Kumaonis.

7.       Out of the four reg Bns of the newly formed JAT REGT GROUP, two were to be from erstwhile pure JAT Bns 1/6 JAT (LI) (now 2 Mech) and 10th JATs (now 3 JAT). 2/6 JAT (LI) the second Bn of line raised from 6 JAT (LI) during the WW I merged with 18 Musalman Rajput Inf and became the 10th Bn (Trg Bn) of the JAT Regt Group and 2/6 JAT (LI) vanished from the Army list. Two other regular Bns of the Jat Regt group were the erstwhile 119th Infantry which traced its origins to the Bombay Presidency Army (later rechristened as 2 JAT in 1922). The 4th Regular Bn, namely 4 JAT was formed initially by merging troops from the 18th Musalman Rajputs, 1/50 and 2/50 Kumaon Rifles.

Training Bn of the JAT Group

8.       2/6 JAT (LI) initially started functioning as the Trg Bn of the JAT group from the 01 Jan 1922 at Bareilly. 18th Infantry which was a Musalman Rajput Bn was merged initially with the newly raised 4th Bn / 9thJAT Regt. Later 4 JAT was disbanded wide I.A.O 649 date 11.09.1923 with an instruction that 18 Infantry (Musalman Rajputs) would now merge with 2/6 JAT (LI) and the seniority of 18th Infantry would pass on to the new unit which was to be called 10th Bn The 9th JAT Regt. After this merger of 18th Musalman Rajput, the name of 2/6 JAT (LI) vanished from the Army List and the Regt Centre we know of today began to be called the Trg Bn of the JAT Regt Group. An Army order was promulgated that all the Trg Bns of the Regt Groups would prefix the numeric 10 before them. This is how we can explain the lineage of the Regt Centre being referred to as the 10th Trg Bn from 1923 to 1942. The reason why the Regt celebrates its Raising Day on the 20 Nov is because of its link with 2/6 JAT (LI) which was raised on 20 Nov 1917 in Agra. The reason why the Regt traces its origin to 1795 is because of the link of the Centre with 18th Infantry Musalman Rajput which was raised in 1795. These facts above clearly establish the reasons as to why we trace our origin to 1795 and celebrate 20 Nov every year as the Regt Centre’s Raising Day. The Jats, as a community started joining the East Indian Company’s Army only after the mid-1857 when they were recruited to quell the Gurjar rebellion in and around Delhi in 1857 - 58. This 10th Trg Bn of the group subsequently upgraded to a REGT CENTRE in 1942 because of the expansion to cater for trg of recruits for the eight new Bns during the WW II.

9.     Indian Territorial Force Unit Battalion-1922. The first JAT Territorial Army unit was raised as the 11th Bn, 9th JAT Regt, Indian Territorial force in 1922 at Meerut as the depot of the 6 JAT (LI) and 10 JAT (now 3 JAT) was in Meerut and the infrastructure of the JATS was readily available for use. This unit was later shifted and quartered in Bareilly in the beginning of 1939.  

Association with Kumaonis – 1922-1924.

10.     Two Kumaon Rifle Bns (1/50 and 2/50) were made a part of the new JAT Regt Gp in the reorganization of 1922. In a bid to give further credence to the unscientific theory of “Martial Races” propounded in 1885, the British were systematically reducing troops from the old Madras and Bombay Army areas even after 1922. However, in 1923, vide I.A.O. number 229 dated 27.03.1923, 2 Kumaon Rifles was disbanded. A plan was put in place to replace troops of the Hyderabad Regt based in the South with Kumaonis. Accordingly, 1 Kumaon Rifles was transferred to the Hyderabad Regt from the JAT Regt 01 Feb 1924.

The other Regular Bns of the Jat Regt – 1924-1929.

11.      Out of the initial three active Bns of the 9th JAT Regt, the first active Bn of the Regt, 1 JAT (LI) traces its origin to 1st/ 2nd Bengal Native Infantry Bn which was raised in 1803.The second Bn of the Regt traces its origin to 1st/10th Bombay Native infantry and was raised in 1817. The third Bn was raised for exclusive overseas service as 1st / 33rd Bengal Native Infantry in 1823. Incidentally, 3 JAT is the oldest bn of the Regt which has had Jat troops in its ranks since 1890’s.

Perpetuation of Martial Races Theory 1925-29.

12.     The British continued to perpetuate the theory of ‘Martial Races’ and therefore slowly began to cut to size the Regts from the South, Peninsulas and Western India. The Madras Regt was disbanded in 1927. The Maratha Regt was reduced to three Bns. The Bombay Gdrs was also cut to size. Three Bns of the 4th Gdr Gp were disbanded and only two senior bns (1 and 2) which were senior than the existing JAT Bns, were merged with the JAT Regt. Troops in these two Bns also were now to be recruited from amongst North Indian Areas including the Rajputana. No troops from other areas under the erstwhile Bombay Presidency were to be recruited.

Association with the Gdrs Regt

13.     In pursuance of the theory of ‘Martial Races’ which favoured maximum recruitment from North India and Himalayas, in 1930, the Trg Bn of the Jats was amalgamated with the Trg Bn of the 4th Bombay Gdrs and was re-designated as 10th Bn 4th / 9th Regt. The 4th Bombay Gdrs Trg Bn was again separated in 1941 when more Trg Bns were needed to train recruits for the expansion during WW II. The Trg Bn was again renamed as 10th Bn 9th JAT Regt. In 1942, it was named the IX JAT Regl Centre and in 1945 the numeric IX was dropped and it finally became the JAT Regl Centre, as it is known today.

Affiliation with Rampur State Force

14.     The cordial relations between Rampur and the JAT Regt go back to the mid-1920s. The Nawab of Rampur was made a Honorary Member of the JAT Officers’ Mess even before 17 Dec 1927, as there is an entry of Nawab Mohammad Jamshed Ali Khan on that date. Later, the then ruler of Rampur state, his Excellency Ali Martabat Nawabzada Syed Jafar Ali Khan Bahadur was made a Honorary (Colonel) of the Territorial Army (TA) Bn, as the Rampur State was adjacent to Bareilly.

New Raisings during the WW II

15.     A total of seven regular Bns were raised during the WW II. Out of these seven Bns (7,8,9 and 14 were converted from TA Bns, one was newly raised as a Machine Gun (MG) Bn and 4 JAT was raised as a new regular unit. 15 JAT was converted to a regular Bn from a Grn Bn. Their details are given below:-

(a)    4th JAT was raised as a new regular Bn on 05 Jul 1940, one new TA Bn, the 12th, was also raised in Faizabad on 05 Jul 1940.

(b)    A new Machine Gun (MG ) Bn was raised on 15 Aug 1941

(c)   11th TA Bn was converted to a regular Bn (7 JAT) on 15 Sep 1940.

(d)  The newly raised 12th TA Bn on 05 Jul 1940 converted to a regular Bn (8th JAT) on 15 Sep 1941.

(e)     Two TA Bns namely the 11th TA (Gurgaon ) and the 12th TA both of the 14th PUNJAB Regt Group converted to regular Bns, of the JAT Regt Group namely 9 JAT and 14 JAT respectively, on 15 Sep 1941.

(f)      The 25th Garrison Bn raised in 1941 was converted to a regular Bn (15 JAT) on 15 Aug 1943.

Raising of Grn Bns, Coys and Association with Madrasis

16.     The 25th Garrison Bn which was raised, converted to a regular Bn (15 JAT) on 15 Aug 1943. The 26th Grn Bn was raised on 01 Mar 1942. 17thand 40th Grn Coys were amalgamated and formed into the 27th Grn Bn on 15 Oct 1942 at Jabalpur. The Grn Bns were basically raised to thwart a possible Japanese invasion by sea and stationed in Madras. During this time more than 200 recruits came from present day Tamil Nadu to train in Bareilly to staff the Madras Grn Bn.

Downsizing of the British Indian Army, After WW II

17.     4, 7, 8, & 14 Bns and 25th, 26th and 27th Grn Bns raised during the WW II, were disbanded after termination of the WW II. In 1946, 15 JAT was amalgamated with 2 JAT which was in suspended animation after the surrender of Singapore in 1942 and took the name of 2 JAT in June 1946 and the name of 15 JAT was removed from Army List.

The Regiment during Independence

18.     During the time of India’s independence, the Regt had four Bns with the Regt Centre at Bareilly. The class composition of the Regt then was 50% Muslims (25% Punjabi Muslims and 25 % Hindustani Muslims) and 50% Hindu Jats. Just prior to India’s independence, all personnel of the British Indian Army were given the choice to exercise their option and choose between joining either the Indian or the Pakistani Army after Independence. Most Muslims (both Hindustani and Punjabis) exercised their option to join Pakistan and the Hindus chose the Indian army. This led to a lot of despatches and receipt of personnel from both the sides.

19.     The Jat Regt sent 2443 Muslim personnel from the Regt to the 2nd and 4th Frontier Force Rifles, 1st, 7th, 8th Bn and 16th PUNJAB Regt Group and the 16th PUNJAB Regt Centre, 1st, 3rd, 8th and the 6th PUNJAB Regt Groups remained with Pakistan and formed their (Pak) PUNJAB Regt. The JAT Regt received a total of 1078 Hindu personnel from the Pakistani PUNJAB Bn. The personnel were from 1st, 2nd,3rd, 4th, 6th Bn of 15 PUNJAB Regt Group, 15 PUNJAB Regt Centre and the 7th Bn of the 16 PUNJAB Regt. In addition, the JAT Regt shed 19 pipers, 14 buglers, 34 from the Boys Coy and 5 personnel from the Jat Memorial School. The last 642 Hindustani Muslims troops and their families who had opted for the Pakistani Army and had assembled in the Centre to escape the carnage in the rest of India, left the Centre on 17 Nov 1947, a good three months after the birth of two new nations in a special train to Bombay and then via ship to Karachi, as the land route over Haryana and Punjab was fraught with danger.

Integration of the Rampur State Force 1949

20.     The Rampur State Forces amalgamated into the Indian Army wef 01 Jan 1949. A total of 09 officers of the Rampur Infantry including one ADC from the personal staff served for a period ranging from 10 months to 2 years and 08 months plus before retiring. While most of the men were discharged by mid-1951, there are records to indicate one JCO served till 01 Jan 1962. 08 cannons, old muskets, rifles, swords, brass pots, vases and other items were received from the Rampur State Forces on its amalgamation. These adorn various locations in our Centre today. The museum has prominently displayed some of these artefacts.

The Regt Insignia

21.     The Regt insignia is the Roman numerical nine, representing its ninth position in the Regt Hierarchy of the Indian Army Inf Regts in the reorg of 1922. The crown above the numerical IX was replaced by the Ashoka in 1954. The insignia also has a bugle indicating the Lt Inf antecedents of the two of its original bns (1 & 2/6 JAT LI).

The Second and subsequent Expansion of the Regt

22.     The Regt went through its second major expansion between Dec 1959 to Oct 1966 when it added 9 active Bns and one TA Bn. Other Bns built up slowly through the 70s and up to Aug 80s. Four Rashtriya Rifle Bns and one TA Bn were added between 1990 and 2004. The youngest Bn of the Regt, 23 JAT was raised on 1st Jul 2016. The Regt today has twenty regular, four Rashtriya Rifles and two TA Bns. 

Class Composition of the Regt

23.     The Jats as a community started joining the British Indian Army only after mid 1857 when they were first recruited around Delhi to quell the Gurjar rebellion. By 1890’s there were sizeable Jats to form them into Coy gps. By 1920’s there were about four to six Inf Bns (then also called Inf Regts) which had sizeable JAT Troops. During the time of Independence, the JAT Regt had 50% Hindu Jats and 25% Punjabi and 25% Hindustani Muslims. After the departure of Muslim troops to Pakistan, the Regt had pure Hindu Jats troops. As the recruitment policy of the Army changed to accommodate a factor / ratio called the RECRUITABLE MALE POPULATION to provide central govt jobs on a more equitable basis across the country the number of pure Hindu Jats reduced. The Regt today has 89% troops from the Hindu Jats community and the balance are from other castes of North India.

24.     The glorious history of the JAT Regt is in keeping with the motto ‘SANGATHAN WA VEERTA’ which means Unity and Valour. The Battle Cry of the Jats “JAT BALWAN – JAI BHAGWAN” truly signifies the spirit and fighting qualities of a JAT soldier.

25.     Raising Days and Place of Raising of All Bns.

BATTLE HONOURS PRE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE 9^TH JAT REGT 1800-1857 UNDER EAST INDIA COMPANY

BATTLE HONOURS OF THE JAT REGT (AUG 1947-PRESENT) POST 1947

THEATRE HONOURS OF THE JAT REGT AFTER INDEPENDENCE (POST 1947)

SUMMARY OF BATTLE AND THEATRE HONOURS

PRE INDEPENDENCE

Battle Honours     :         28

Theatre Honours   :         11

POST INDEPENDENCE

Battle Honours     :         05

Theatre Honours  :         06