Active 1877 - Present | Type Line Infantry | |
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Motto(s) Kartavyam Anvatma (Duty Before Death) |
The Dogra Regiment is an infantry unit of the Indian Army, formerly the 17th Dogra Regiment when part of the British Indian Army.
Contents
Formation
The regiment recruits from the Dogra people of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and the hill regions of Punjab. The current regiment was formed in 1922 through the amalgamation of three separate regiments of Dogras as the 17th Dogra Regiment. They were:
The 41st Dogras were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It could trace its origins to 1900, when it was raised as the 41st (Dogra) Bengal Infantry. After World War I, the Indian government reformed the army, moving from regiments with a single battalion to multi battalion regiments. It dropped '17th' from its title in 1945 and was allocated to India upon its independence in 1947.
Enlisting in the army is seen as an honourable pursuit for Dogras, with the earnings of the soldiers of the regiment forming a sizeable part of the local economy. The regiment currently has 18 battalions. The 1st Battalion was reroled in 1981 to become the 7th Battalion, Mechanised Infantry Regiment.
Soldiering has not only become a substantial part of the economic structure of the Dogra Hills, but created social and cultural traditions built on the people's association with the army. The regiment has produced one Army Chief, General Nirmal Chander Vij. The General also served as the 10th Colonel-in-Chief of the Dogra Regiment and the Dogra Scouts.
In the pre-Independence era, the Dogras had to their credit three Victoria Crosses and 44 Military Crosses besides 312 other awards. Two battalions of the 17th Dogra Regiment (the 2nd and 3rd), also fought in the Malayan Campaign. After the Fall of Singapore, a large number of the captured troops later went on to join the Indian National Army.
Units
Battle honours
Pre-Independence combined battle honours of 37th (Prince of Wales's Own) Dogras, 38th Dogras, 41st Dogras:
Post Independence
"The total collapse of the Pakistan Army's resistance is one of the most intriguing puzzles of the war in the East" wrote the Sunday Times on December 7, 1971 as Pakistan surrendered. The credit for the fall of Suadih, a small village but a strong bastion of the Pakistan army's most fortified position in Bangladesh, went to 9 Dogra. This led to the ultimate liberation of East Pakistan and a victory for the Indian Army. For this herculean task, the battalion was awarded the battle honour of Suadih. The Dogra Regiment also fought in 1999 Kargil war for tiger hill mission. which is also called as "OPERATION VIJAY".The 5TH DOGRA Regiment was part of it.