Dogra Regiment

The Dogra Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army, formerly the 17th Dogra Regiment when part of the British Indian Army.

History

Formation

The regiment has the Dogra people from the Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and the hill regions of Punjab. The current regiment was formed in 1922 through the amalgamation of three separate regiments of Dogras as the 17th Dogra Regiment. They were:

• 1st Battalion - Formerly the 37th Dogras
• 2nd Battalion - Formerly the 38th Dogras
• 3rd Battalion - Formerly the 1st Battalion, 41st Dogras
• 10th (Training) Battalion - Formerly the 2nd Battalion, 41st Dogras

The 41st Dogras were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1900, when they were raised as the 41st (Dogra) Bengal Infantry.After World War I the Indian government reformed the army moving from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments. It dropped 17th from its title in 1945 and was allocated to India upon its independence in 1947.

Enlisting in the army is seen as an honourable pursuit for Dogras, with the earnings of the soldiers of the regiment forming a sizeable part of the local economy. The regiment currently has 18 battalions. The 1st Battalion was reroled in 1981 to become the 7th Battalion, Mechanised Infantry Regiment.

Soldiering has not only become a substantial part of the economic structure of the Dogra Hills, but created social and cultural traditions built on the people's...
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