Naga Regiment
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| Naga Regiments | |
|---|---|
| Head Hunter | |
 Regimental Insignia of the Naga Regiment | |
| Active | 1970–present |
| Country |  India |
| Branch |  Indian Army |
| Type | Line Infantry |
| Role | Infantry |
| Size | 3 battalions |
| Nickname(s) | The Head Hunters |
| War Cry | Jai Durga Naga (Hail Durga Naga) |
| Decorations | 1 Maha Vir Chakra, 4 Vir Chakras, 1 Yudh Seva Medal, 1 Vishisht Seva Medal, 10 Sena Medal,1 Kirti Chakra, 1 Shaurya Chakra[1] |
| Website | https://indianarmy.nic.in/Site/FormTemplete/frmTemp12PLM8C.aspx?MnId=dNQu6irFDbVvSeDEftUERQ==&ParentID=DW0WXiFNIxjB1YhSVlpdgg==&flag=8CKP966uzg96kLov0aWdfQ== |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Lt.Gen Rana Pratap Kalita |
| Colonel of the Regiment | Lt.Gen Rana Pratap Kalita |
| Insignia | |
| Regimental Insignia | A pair of crossed Naga spears and a dao (a cutting weapon used in Nagaland), with a shield bearing a mithun (bull) head.[2] |
The Naga Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It is among the youngest regiments of the Indian Army - the first battalion was raised in Ranikhet in 1970. The regiment recruits mainly from Nagaland, in northeast India.[3][4][5]
History[]
Formation[]
In 1957, when the Naga Hills area was simmering with insurgency, a convention of the Naga people took place and resulted in a charter of demands including statehood for Nagaland and a separate entity for the Naga people in the Indian defence forces. During 1960, the delegation of the Naga Peoples Convention put forward a proposal for a separate regiment to fulfill their desire of playing a greater role in the armed forces. Nagaland attained its statehood in 1963 and the Naga Regiment was formed seven years later. Nevertheless, a remarkable fact about its raising was that several ex-militants were given a fair chance to prove their newfound nationalism and made to join the Indian Armed Forces; many of them were directly appointed junior commissioned officers.[6] However, even before their training could be completed and the recruits were administered the oath of allegiance, insurgencies began in northeast India. Bypassing the training schedule, the Naga Regiment was ordered to move into the concentration areas. The regiment was pushed into counter-insurgency operations with barely any preparation.
The first battalion of the regiment (1 Naga) was raised at the Kumaon Regimental Centre, Ranikhet on 1 November 1970 under the command of Lt. Col. R.N. Mahajan, VSM. Being the only battalion, it was then designated as the Naga Regiment. The manpower to raise this battalion was provided by battalions of the Kumaon Regiment, Garhwal Rifles and 3 Gorkha Rifles. 69 Nagas were enrolled directly from rehabilitation camps of underground Nagas. However, the regiment's troops were to be 50% Nagas and 50% of an equal number of Kumaonis, Garhwalis and Gorkhas. Since many Kumaon battalions had been associated with Nagaland, particularly in the years preceding the raising of the Naga Regiment, it was affiliated to the Kumaon Regiment for all regimental matters. The second battalion (2 Naga) was raised on 11 February 1985 at Haldwani.
The traditional Naga weapons viz the Dao, the Spear and the prestigious Mithun have been integrated into the Regimental Crest. The regiment's colours are gold, green and red - the gold signifies the rising sun, the green signifies the infantry and red is the colour of authority among Nagas. 1 Naga was presented with 'Colours' on 6 May 1978 at Dehradun by Shri Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, the President of India and 2 Naga was presented with 'Colours' on 10 May 1990 by General V.N. Sharma, PVSM, ADC, the Chief of Army Staff.[2]
Operation Romeo[]
The 2nd battalion of the regiment (2 Naga) was inducted into Keran sector of Kupwara district, Jammu and Kashmir, where it was responsible for ensuring the sanctity of approximately 24 kilometres of Line of Control (LoC) and also to counter anti-national elements and their operations. It was in this sector that 2 Naga participated in one of the landmark operations - Operation Romeo. The goal of this operation was to dominate the LoC. The entire operation was carried out with clockwork precision and without any casualties to Indian troops.
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971[]
The 1st battalion (1 Naga) took part in operations in East Pakistan and earned a name for the regiment. It was awarded one Vir Chakra and three Sena Medals.
UN Mission[]
2 Naga has been deployed on the UN mission in Sudan and was awarded with UN Force Commander's Appreciation Card.[6]
Kargil War[]
2 Naga was deployed as part of Operation Vijay in order to push back Pakistani infiltrators who had crossed the LoC in Kargil, Jammu and Kashmir. It was one of the first units to be inducted into the theatre of conflict.[7] An assault group from 2 Naga attacked and destroyed a heavily guarded Pakistani mortar position and ammunition dump on Twin Bump in the Point 4875 complex, an action for which Sep. Imliakum Ao was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra.[7] 2 Naga also took part in the assault on Tiger Hill, where it attacked the mountain from its left flank.
Issues[]
Although two battalions of the Naga Regiment were raised as per the historic 16-point 1960 agreement that facilitated the formation of Nagaland state, as of 2001 there were complaints that there was no proper representation of Naga youths in the regiment, headquartered at Ranikhet in Uttarakhand. Nagaland comes under dispensation category and the education standard required for soldier general duty (GD) category is only class-V standard for tribal candidates.
The Army then conducted a special recruitment drive for all category of posts to recruit 325 Naga youths across the state. GOC Nagaland, Major General R. N. Kapur, said at least 3,000 Naga youths would be recruited in the Army, Assam Rifles and reserve battalions in 2014 and hoped the youth would avail the opportunity to join the armed forces.[6]
ZAPAD 2021[]
Indian army took part in theatre level exercise with 17 nations with 50% Naga regiment participating in it,[8][9]
Units[]
Decorations[]
- 1 Maha Vir Chakra
- 8 Vir Chakras
- 1 Kirti Chakra (), posthumous.
- 6 Shaurya Chakras
- 1 Yudh Seva Medal
- 1 Vishist Seva Medal
- 48 Sena Medals[1]
References[]
- ^ a b Webmaster I. "Bharat Rakshak :: Land Forces Site - The Naga Regiment". Retrieved 26 November 2014.
- ^ a b Webmaster I. "Bharat Rakshak :: Land Forces Site - The Naga Regiment". Retrieved 26 November 2014.
- ^ "The Naga Regiment - Bharat Rakshak - Indian Army & Land Forces".
- ^ "The Journal of the Kumaon Rgiment: Naga Regiment and Kumaon Scouts. by Issas, SK, editor-in-chief: Very Good Softcover (1983) | curtis paul books, inc". www.abebooks.com. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- ^ "Naga Regiment: Past of combating insurgency without preparation". News Riveting. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- ^ a b c John Pike. "Naga Regiment". Retrieved 26 November 2014.
- ^ a b "This Kargil War Hero, a Maha vir Chakra Awardee, Continues to Inspire the Nation". 14 August 2016.
- ^ "'ZAPAD 2021': India Army to take part in theatre level exercise with 17 nations". NewsOnAIR -. 2 September 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- ^ "Indian Army display firepower, air stunts at Zapad 2021; China & Pakistan watch". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- Infantry regiments of the Indian Army from 1947
- Military units and formations established in 1970