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Maratha Light Infantry
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| Maratha LI Crest |
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Maratha Light Infantry
The Maratha military qualities were brilliantly optimised in their historic campaigns against the Mughals and the British, under the leadership of Shivaji and succeeding rulers. Maratha armies, comprising both infantry and light cavalry, with the Maratha naval power had dominated the military scene in India for three centuries. The 1st Battalion of the Regiment, otherwise known as Jangi Paltan (The fighting unit), was raised in August 1768 as the 2nd Battalion Bombay Sepoys, to protect the British East India Company’s possessions on the islands of Bombay.
The second battalion known as Kali Panchwin followed the next year as the 3rd Battalion Bombay Sepoys. From then on the regiment grew from strength to strength. These two battalion’s where at the forefront of virtually every major engagement fought on the west coast from Surat to Cannanore during the last quarter of the 18th century. Prominent amongst these were the historic battles of Seedaseer and Seringapatam where in the words of Lord Wellesley their “conduct and success were seldom equaled and never surpassed”.
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The turn of the century was witness to the expansion of the Regimental group with the raising of 3rd Battalion as 2nd Battalion the 5th (Travancore) Regiment of the Bombay Native Infantry in 1797. The Maratha Light Infantry Regimental Centre was raised in March 1800 as the 2nd Battalion the 7th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry; the 4th Battalion in April 1800 as the 2nd Battalion the 8th Regiment Bombay Infantry and the 5th battalion from the Bombay Fencibles as the 1st Battalion the 9th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry in December 1800.
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In the second half of the nineteenth century, the battalions fought in various campaigns from the Middle East to China. In recognition of the gallant conduct of its detachments at the siege of Kahun and the defence of Dadar, in Baluch territory during the first Afghan War in 1841, the Kali Panchwin was created Light Infantry. Later, this honour was also bestowed on the 3rd and 10th Regiments of the Bombay Infantry (present 1 MARATHA LI and 2 PARA respectively) for their gallantry in Sir Robert Napier’s Abyssinian Campaign of 1867-1868. The Regiment assumed the title 5th Mahratta Light Infantry in 1922.
The Indian independence saw the Regiment reverting back to the original five battalions but with the 3rd Maratha Light Infantry now a parachute battalion. With the integration of the erstwhile princely states, the 19th, 20th, 22nd battalions were amalgamated, from the state forces of Kolhapur, Baroda, and Hyderabad, with the Regiment. The expansion of the Indian Army to meet the omnipresent threat to its borders has seen the Regiment grow to its present total of 18 battalions and two TA battalions whilst the period also saw the conversion of 20 into 21 Para (Special Forces) and the 115 Infantry battalion (TA) being grouped under the Mahar Regiment.
Since Independence, battalions of the MLI have taken part in every armed conflict – Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) operations in 1947-1948, entry into Junagarh, Liberation of Hyderabad, Goa, Daman and Diu, the Chinese aggression in 1961, conflicts with Pakistan in 1965 and 1971 against the Chinese on the Sikkim watershed in 1956, the operations in Sri Lanka, the on going operations in the Siachen glacier and in counter insurgency operations.
The conduct and performance of its troops in Korea, Laos and the Gaza strip as part of UN Peace keeping missions have drawn world wide acclaim. The Regiment has conducted itself creditably whenever called upon for peacetime duties and combating insurgency and terrorism and reposed the confidence and faith.
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(Gen JJ Singh is a 9 Maratha Light Infantry offr)
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The war cry of Maratha Light Infantry is, Bol Shri Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj ki Jai! ("Say Victory to King Shivaji!") This is a tribute to the Maratha king Shivaji Bhosle, a military genius and one of the most famous and powerful kings in Indian history.
2 Ashok Chakra, 10 Param Vishisht Seva Medals, 4 Maha Vir Chakra, 4 Kirti Chakra, 1 ACCL II, 14 Ati Vishisht Seva Medals, 34 Vir Chakra, 18 Shaurya Chakra, 4 ACCL III, 4 Yudh Seva Medals, 107 Sena Medals, 1 Shaurya Chakra & Bar, 23 Vishisht Seva Medals, 1 Padma Bushan, 1 Arjun Award and 3 Unit Citations.
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The Battalions:
- 1st Battalion (old 103rd Mahratta LI)
- 2nd Battalion (old 105th Mahratta LI)
- 4th Battalion (old 116th Mahrattas)
- 5th Battalion (old 117th Mahrattas)
- 6th Battalion
- 7th Battalion
- 8th Battalion
- 9th Battalion
- 11th Battalion (old Territorial battalion)
- 12th Battalion (old Territorial battalion)
- 14th Battalion
- 15th Battalion
- 16th Battalion
- 17th Battalion
- 18th Battalion
- 19th Battalion (former State Forces unit)
- 21st Battalion
- 22nd Battalion (former State Forces unit)
- 26th Battalion
- Old 3rd Battalion (former 110th Mahrattas) is now 2 Para (SF)
- Old 10th Battalion (former 114th Mahrattas) is now Maratha LI Regiment Centre
- 20th Battalion is now 10 Mechanised Infantry
- 21st Battalion is now 21 Para (SF)
Other Military Units with Maratha LI Affiliations:
- 101 Infantry Battalion (TA: Maratha LI)
- 109 Infantry Battalion (TA: Maratha LI)
- 17 Rashtriya Rifles
- 26 Rashtriya Rifles
- 41 Rashtriya Rifles
- 34 Medium Regiment
- 36 Medium Regiment
- INS Mumbai
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