The 11th Gorkha Rifles is a Gorkha regiment of the Indian Army.
First Regiment
The 11th Gurkhas was originally founded in 1918 through the amalgamation together of companies of the other Gurkha regiments and the Garwhal Rifles . This regiment saw service in both Palestine and Mesopotamia at the end of the First World War, as well as during the Third Afghan War in 1919, before being disbanded in 1922.
Second Regiment
Following India's independence in 1947, the Gurkha regiments of the British Indian Army were divided between the new Indian Army and the British Army. A referendum was held among the soldiers of the four regiments that would transfer to the British as to whether they wished to join the British Army, as the decision to do so was made entirely voluntary. In the event, large numbers of men from the 7th Gurkha Rifles and the 10th Gurkha Rifles, which recruited predominantly from Eastern Nepal, decided not to join their regiments as part of the British Army. So, in order to retain a contingent from this area of Nepal, the Indian Army made the decision to re-raise the 11th Gorkha Rifles. However, as this was a regiment raised by the independent nation of India, it was decided that it would not retain the honours and traditions of the former 11th Gurkhas of 1918. Today, the regiment has a total of six battalions. The regiment has won a single Param Vir Chakra, which was won by Lt Manoj Kumar Pandey of the 1st Battalion during the 1999 Kargil Conflict.
- Battle Honours
- Bogra, East Pakistan 1971, Shingo River Valley, Jammu and Kashmir 1971
Last updated: 08-26-2005 13:34:18