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.

This article is about an infantry regiment in the Pakistan Army. For the regiment of the same name in the Indian Army, see Punjab Regiment (India). For other uses, see Punjab Regiment.

Punjab Regiment
Active1759–present
Country
Branch
TypeInfantry
Size74 battalions
Regimental CentreMardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Colours[1]    
AnniversariesDefence Day: September 6
Engagements
Commanders
Colonel-in-ChiefGeneral Khalid Shameem
Colonel CommandantLieutenant-General Shahid Mirza

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.[2] 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.[3]

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 British applied the martial races theory, following which North Indian troops overwhelmingly replaced the South Indians. The regiment was eventually renamed to the Punjab Regiment. Currently, it has 76 battalions.

British Raj

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.

Punjab Regiments allocated to Pakistan in 1947 (now part of the Pakistan Army Punjab Regiment)

The line up for the new regiment was:[2]

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.

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:

  1. Captain Muhammad Sarwar, 2nd Punjabis (1910 – July 27, 1948)
  2. Major Tufail Muhammad, 13th Punjabis (1914 – August 7, 1958)
  3. Major Aziz Ahmed, 17th Punjabis (1928 – September 10, 1965)
  4. Naïk Muhammad Mahfuz, 15th Punjabis (1944 – December 17, 1971)

As a form of respect, deceased recipients are given the honorary title of Shaheed (Arabic: شهيد‎; šahīd), which denotes martyrdom, whilst living recipients are dubbed Ghazi (Arabic: غازي‎; ġāzī), the Islamic term for warrior.

Notable former personnel

Field Marshal Ayub Khan, former President of Pakistan

Alliances

See also

Notes

  1. "Punjab Regiment – Pakistan Army". www.pakistanarmy.gov.pk. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  2. Rizvi, Brig SHA. (1984). Veteran Campaigners – A History of the Punjab Regiment 1759–1981. Lahore: Wajidalis.
  3. Qureshi, Maj MI. (1958). The First Punjabis: History of the First Punjab Regiment, 1759–1956. Aldershot: Gale & Polden.
  4. Stokes, Cyril Lovesy Lawrence. "Commonwealth War Graves". Commonwealth War Graves.
  5. "Army can defend every inch: Musharraf" Archived 2008-06-11 at the Wayback Machine Daily Times, March 22, 2003
  6. "General Khalid Shameem Wynne promoted to Col-in-Chief : AsiaNet-Pakistan". asianetpakistan.com. Archived from the original on 14 January 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  7. Younger brother of Khan Abdul Majid Khan Tarin, Khan-Sahib, OBE

Further reading

  • Brig. Syed Haider Abbas Rizvi (Ret.) (1984). Veteran campaigners: a history of the Punjab Regiment, 1759–1981 (Pakistan Army). Lahore: Wajidalis. A comprehensive and detailed history of the Punjab Regiment.
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