Punjab Regiment (Pakistan)
The
Punjab Regiment is an
infantry regiment of the
Pakistan Army. It was raised in its current form
in 1956, following the amalgamation of the
1st,
14th,
15th and
16th Punjab regiments that were inherited by the
Dominion of Pakistan from the
British Indian Army upon the
Partition of India. Since then, the regiment has expanded in size to 74
battalions.
It is the oldest regiment in the Pakistan Army, tracing its lineage to as far back as 1751, during the reign of the
Mughal Empire. The regiment's battalions have a distinguished record of military service, spanning the rise and decline of
British colonial rule in
South Asia, both
World War I and
World War II, as well as post-independence
Pakistan.
Early history
General
Arthur Wellesley, later Duke of Wellington, directing the 2/12th Madras Native Infantry (10/1st Punjab), at the
Battle of Assaye, 1803. Painting by JC Stadler c. 1815.
The Punjab Regiment of Pakistan traces its origins back to the
Madras Army of the
British East India Company. The senior-most
battalion of the
1st Punjab Regiment (which existed separately before
1956) was raised in 1759 as the 3rd Battalion of Coast
Sepoys, and became the oldest-surviving
infantry battalion of the erstwhile
British Indian Army.
Their first major engagement saw a decisive victory at the
Battle of Wandiwash in 1760, when the British East India Company, led by
Sir Eyre Coote, effectively ended
French colonial ambitions in
South Asia. All of the regiment's battalions subsequently played an important role in the early military campaigns of the East India Company and were actively engaged in the wars against the French, the
Mysores and the
Marathas.
The numbers and titles of the battalions changed during the successive reorganizations of the
Madras Presidency Army, the British Indian Army and the Indian Army during the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The names changed from Coast Sepoys to Carnatic Infantry, Madras Native Infantry, Punjabis and finally to the Punjab Regiment. After the
Indian Rebellion of 1857, the new colonial administration applied the
martial races concept, following which
north Indian soldiers overwhelmingly supplanted the
south Indians. The regiment was eventually renamed to the
Punjab Regiment. Currently, it has 76
battalions.
British Raj
20th (Punjab) Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry (now 6 Punjab, Pakistan Army), Egypt, 1882.
Following the
British Crown's takeover of rule over
British India from the
East India Company in 1858, the Punjab regiments played a role in numerous conflicts across the world involving the
British Empire. Various
battalions were deployed to regions of British interest, ranging from modern-day
China,
Egypt,
Burma and erstwhile
Abyssinia.
Between 1903 and 1922, the
British Indian Army included 28 numbered
Punjabi Regiments. In 1922, these were amalgamated into six numbered regiments, namely:
These regiments would all play a prominent role during
World War II. From the
14th Punjab Regiment, the 1st and 5th battalions were deployed in
Malaya during the opening stages of the
Southeast Asian theatre. The 1st Battalion, under the command of
Lieutenant-Colonel James Fitzpatrick, was overrun by
Imperial Japanese forces at
Changlun during the
Battle of Jitra. With only 270 survivors, the 1st Battalion was not reformed during the rest of the campaign. The 5th Battalion, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Cyril Livesy Lawrence Stokes, performed relatively well in the
British invasion of Japanese Thailand in early December 1941.
However, Stokes died in Japanese captivity on 15 February 1942, following the
Battle of Slim River.
[4] The 5/14th Punjabis was forced to surrender along with the rest of the
British Commonwealth forces after the
Fall of Singapore to the
Empire of Japan on 15 February 1942. However, a number of the Indian troops from both battalions later joined the Japanese-backed
Indian National Army, and formed a part of the
Hindustan Field Force.
Partition of India and independence
33rd Punjabis Watercolour by Maj AC Lovett, 1910.
In 1947, the
British Raj announced the
independence of
British India, which would be split into two separate countries: a
Hindu-majority
India and a
Muslim-majority
Pakistan. Likewise, the
British Indian Army was also to be divided between the two states. Out of the six existing Punjab Regiments, the 1st Punjab, 8th, 14th, 15th and 16th were allotted to the newly raised
Pakistan Army, while the 2nd went to the
Indian Army.
The Punjab Regiment of the Pakistan Army was raised in its present form
in 1956, when four of the five Punjab Regiments allocated to Pakistan were merged into a unified unit.
Punjab Regiments allocated to Pakistan in 1947 (now part of the Pakistan Army Punjab Regiment)
The line up for the new regiment was:
Punjab Regiments allocated to India in 1947 (now part of the Indian Army Punjab Regiment)
The 1st Punjab's regimental centre was located in the city of
Jhelum. In early September 1947,
Pakistani personnel arrived from the 2nd Punjab's regimental centre in
Meerut (present-day
Uttar Pradesh, India) and
Indian personnel were dispatched to either the 11th Sikhs or the 6th Rajputanas regimental centres depending on whether they were
Sikhs or
Hindu Rajputs.
The Punjab Regiment at its height totalled 58 battalions; however, 11 were transferred in 1980 to the Pakistan Army's newly raised Sind Regiment.
Class and religious composition
Before the
Partition of India in 1947, the ethno-religious composition of the Punjab Regiment consisted of:
Punjabi Muslims (50%);
Punjabi Hindus (40%);
Punjabi Sikhs (10%). Following the regiment's transfer to the
Pakistan Army, it became largely religiously
homogenous, comprising mostly
Muslims with around 20% ethnic
Pashtuns and 80%
Punjabis.
Modern regiment
The Punjab Regiment is the largest
infantry regiment of the
Pakistan Army, consisting of 74
battalions; these range anywhere from
mechanized to
light anti-tank infantry battalions. Its regimental centre is located in
Mardan,
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The current
colonel commandant of the regiment is
Lieutenant-General Majid Ehsan.[
citation needed]
Since the
creation of Pakistan in 1947, the Punjab Regiment has seen the appointment of four
colonel-in-chiefs;
Recipients of the Nishan-e-Haider
The
Nishan-e-Haider is the highest
gallantry award awarded by
Pakistan to those who show an incredible amount of valour and courage on the battlefield in the face of staunch adversity. To date, only ten soldiers have been awarded this honour, of which four belonged to the Punjab Regiment:
- Captain Muhammad Sarwar, 2nd Punjabis (1910 – July 27, 1948)
- Major Aziz Bhatti, 17th Punjabis (1928 – September 10, 1965)
- Naïk Muhammad Mahfuz, 15th Punjabis (1944 – December 17, 1971)
