Guts, Grit and Glory | Braveheart’s Victory

Maj. Gen. Raj Mehta (retd)

Among the most decorated regiments, the Maratha Regiment has, in the pre-Independence era, earned two VCs, 72 MCs; four Bars to MCs, 49 IOMs and 128 IDSMs. Post-Independence, the Regiment has earned five ACs, 15 KCs, five MVCs, 44 VrCs, 64 SCs and three Bars to SCs.

During the 1971 Indo-Pak War, 14 regular and three TA battalions of ‘Ganpats’ (an affectionate name for soldiers of the Maratha Light Infantry) took part in both the Eastern and Western Theatres of war, earning three coveted Battle Honours. These were ‘Jamalpur’ to 1 Maratha LI (Jangi Paltan); ‘Suadih’ to 5 Maratha LI and ‘Burj’ to the newly-raised 15 Maratha LI along with Theatre Honour ‘Punjab’. 22 Maratha LI was awarded Theatre Honour ‘Hilli’.

An Ace, Newly-raised Battalion

One MVC was earned and 15 VrCs by the Maratha Regiment in 1971 of which 15 Maratha LI was awarded the MVC posthumously to deathless Sepoy Pandurang Salunke and 3 VrCs among major awards. The battalion was also given the sobriquet ‘Best Performing Battalion’ during the 1971 Indo-Pak War in the 11 Corps Zone by the GOC, Lt Gen. N.C. Rawlley, PVSM, AVSM, MC. This helps to place into true perspective what exactly this brave-heart Ganpat battalion did to earn such accolades.

15 Marathi LI has on its honour board, brave-heart Lt Navdeep Singh who was a Ghatak Platoon Commander at Gurais in August 2011 when he led an ambush of Afghan terrorists in which 12 of 17 were shot, Navdeep accounting for four before he was shot on his forehead. He was posthumously conferred with the Ashok Chakra, the peacetime equivalent of the Param Vir Chakra.

Left & Right: Sepoy Pandurang Salunkhe, Maha Vir Chakra ( Posthumous); Then Maj Ranbir Singh, VrC

Every military victory has a hero who was inspirational and central to the action that took place. In the case of Battle Honour Burj this person was Maj. (later Brig.) Ranbir Singh, AVSM, VrC, who carries with him, not just sepia memories of what he did but also a serious battle wound as a reminder of this battle that tested all he had on offer. Before we go on to recount what happened at Burj, a word about the Ganpat legacy where ‘Duty, Honour and Courage’ is a default DNA and Chattrapati Shivaji is recalled each time the Marathas remind the enemy that they are India’s oldest ‘Light Infantry’ and the fourth oldest in the world.

Ganpats are Special

Headquartered in Belgaum since 1922, the Maratha Light Infantry traces its proud lineage to 1768. In the founding years, Infantry Battalions had a ‘Light’ Company composed of hand-picked, wiry soldiers able to move swiftly to reinforce or surprise an enemy when the need or a chance arose, and these became ‘crack’ companies. Later, the title ‘Light Infantry’ came to be identified with soldiering excellence.

The hardy, frugal and disciplined Maratha recruits come mainly from Maharashtra with some sourced from Marathi-speaking areas of Karnataka including Coorg. The Regimental Battle Cry is ‘Bol Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Ki Jai’ in recall of the great Guerilla warrior. The story goes that while fighting the Italians at Gallabat, Sudan, in World War II, the Ganpats, till then on the receiving end, were electrified by Company Commander Capt Boomgart’s vocal recall reminding them of their world-class leader Chattrapati Shivaji and his deathless legacy of winning against adversity. The transformed Ganpats took the Italians out and have never looked back since.

Shivaji figures among the 100 best warriors of all time along with Alexander the Great, Lord Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, Emperor Akbar, General Hari Singh Nalwa and Maharaja Ranjit Singh among