THE MAHAR REGIMENT

THE MAHAR REGIMENT

Mahars have a long and proud tradition of bearing arms. They were the respected members of Shivaji's and later of the Maratha armies. Mahars formed part of the Bombay Presidency Army. They had distinguished themselves in the battle for the defence of Koregaon in 1818. A Mahar battalion was raised in 1917 and took part in the Great War, but was later merged with another regiment. The Mahars had persistently sought a regiment for themselves. These efforts resulted in the Mahar Regiment being raised in 1941. Its Regimental Centre is Saugor, Madhya Pradesh and its Regimental insignia is a pair of crossed Vickers medium machine guns, mounted on a tripod with a dagger. The dagger was initially the Pillar of Koregaon, where the combined British and Mahar troops defeated the overwhelming Maratha Army. The pillar was subsequently removed and was replaced with a dagger. Its Regimental motto is ‘Yash Sidhi’ (Success and Attainment) and its war cry is ‘Bolo Hindustan Ki Jai’ (Say Victory to India).