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.
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
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
Kingdom of Mysore and the
Maratha Empire.[3]
The numbers and titles of the battalions changed during the successive reorganizations of the
MadrasPresidency 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.
Between 1903 and 1922, the
British Indian Army included 28 numbered
Punjabi Regiments. In 1922, these were amalgamated into six numbered regiments, namely:
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 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.
The Punjab Regiment holds the maximum number of War Medals (Decorations) in Pakistan Army. Following are the details:
Victoria Cross - 12
Nishan-e-Haider - 5
Hilal-e-Jurrat - 12
Sitara-e-Jurrat - 113
Sitara-e-Basalat - 67
Tamgha-e-Jurrat - 121
Tamgha-e-Basalat - 357
The above medals (decorations) are apart from hundreds of other citations.
Shuhadas of Punjab Regiment
The brave lions of the Punjab Regiment has laid their lives for the country :
War 1948 - 130 Shaheed
War 1965 - 408 Shaheed
War 1971 - 1292 Shaheed
Operation Al Mizan - 613 Shaheed
Internal/ External Security Duties - 677
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 five belonged to the Punjab Regiment:
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.
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.