14th Reunion celebrations of Mahar Regiment organised at Saugor

 

 

 

The 14th reunion of the Mahar Regiment was organised at the Regimental Centre at Saugor on February 18 and 19. A Regimental Reunion is an age old tradition of the Indian Army which is carried out once in a span of five years to strengthen espirit-de-corps and camaraderie, two very essential battle winning factors. In addition, the Reunion celebrations also commemorate the victories and battles fought by the Regiment, and are also an occasion to honour the war heroes and Veterans of the Regiment. Many senior serving officers and veterans of the Mahar Regiment attended the Reunion Celebrations during the two day event. During the event, Lt Gen C Bansi Ponnappa, PVSM, AVSM, VSM. Adjutant General of the Indian Army and Colonel of the Mahar Regiment along with serving and retired soldiers of the Regiment paid rich tributes to the fallen-heroes at the War Memorial.

Various ceremonial and cultural events like Sainik Sammelan, Mahar Mela and Sainik Bhoj were conducted as per military customs and traditions. The Mahar Regiment comprises troops from all parts of the country and in spirit of its character of ‘Unity in Diversity’ for the first time, newly-recruited Agniveers gave an impressive display of their physical prowess through display of various martial arts like Malkhamb, Kalaripayattu, Gatka and Lezium. The Mahar Regiment commenced its journey on October 1, 1941, with the raising of the first Battalion and has now grown into a Regiment with 21 Regular Infantry Battalions, three TA Battalions and three RR Battalions.

The Regiment is awarded with Nine Battle Honours and 12 Theatre Honours. In addition the Regiment has won One Param Vir Chakra, One Ashok Chakra, Four Maha Vir Chakra, 30 Vir Chakra, Four Kirti Chakra, 39 Shaurya Chakra, 267 Sena Medal, 10 PVSM, 19 AVSM, Four YSM, 60 VSM, One Padma Shri, One DSO, 118 M-in-Despatch, 619 COAS-CC, 78 VCOAS-CC, 1127 GOC-in-CC, 10 COAS Unit Citation, two COAS Cert of Appreciation and 34 GOC-in-C Unit Citation. The Regiment has also contributed immensely in the field of sports. Many soldiers of the Regiment have represented the country in Asian Games and Olympics to include the current champions in boxing and steeplechase, Subedar Amit Panghal, VSM and Subedar Avinash Sable, VSM who had made the country proud by winning medals at the last Commonwealth Games and World Championships.