Ahir Regiment demand, Protest jams Delhi-Gurugram e-way – Free PDF Download

What has happened?

• An ongoing agitation by members of the Ahir community disrupted traffic on a 6-kilometre stretch of the Delhi-Gurgaon highway on Wednesday.
• The protesters have been camping near Kherki Daula toll plaza in Gurgaon since February 4, demanding an Ahir Regiment in the Indian Army.

Genesis of the demand

• The Ahirwal region, which includes the southern Haryana districts of Rewari, Mahendragarh, and Gurgaon, and is associated with Rao Tula Ram, The Ahir hero of the revolt of 1857, has traditionally contributed soldiers to the Indian Army in large numbers.
• The region has seen the loudest clamour for the creation of an Ahir Regiment, even though the demand has also been raised in other states with sizeable Ahir populations.

• The community was brought into national limelight after the story of the bravery of the Ahir troops of Haryana in the Battle of Rezang La in 1962 was widely known.
• Most of the soldiers of C Company of the 13th Battalion of the Kumaon Regiment perished fighting the Chinese onslaught, but broke the enemy’s advance to Chushul.
• Members of the community have long argued that the Ahirs deserve a full-fledged Infantry Regiment named after them, not just two battalions in the Kumaon Regiment and a fixed percentage in other regiments.
• The demand got a boost during the 50th anniversary of the 1962 War in 2012 when the saga of the Ahirs’ heroism was recounted repeatedly, and has received renewed traction in the 60th anniversary year.
• Various political parties have thrown their weight behind the demand in recent years.

Origin of regiment

• The origins of the Regiments of the Indian Army trace back to the colonial era under the British.
• The British needed to administer India and required locals to form a force under their command.
• They established Regiments on the lines of military history, race, and caste, giving each regiment a distinct identity by way of dress, tradition, ceremonies, and regimental pride.

Stance taken by political parties

• Over the past decade, support has come from parties across the spectrum, but especially from ones with a presence in Ahir areas of influence — in Haryana, UP, Bihar, and even Maharashtra.
• In 2018, then Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Rao Inderjit Singh had written to then Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asking her to consider the demand for an Ahir Regiment.
• On March 15, Congress MP Deepender Hooda told Rajya Sabha: “History of Yaduvanshi bravery does not need to be proven to anyone. The Ahirwal region of Haryana and Rajasthan have always been at the forefront of the defence of the nation…” Earlier on February 11, Shyam Singh Yadav, BSP MP from Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, had raised the demand for an Ahir Regiment.
• In Bihar, where the demand has been raised periodically, Raj Lakshmi Yadav, the daughter of Lalu Yadav and Rabri Devi, brought it up before the 2020 Assembly elections.
• The SP promised an Ahir Regiment in its manifesto ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Army’s response

• The Army has rejected the demand for any new class or caste based regiment.
• It has said that while the older regiments based on castes and regions like the Dogra Regiment, Sikh Regiment, Rajput Regiment, and Punjab Regiment will continue,
• No new demands on the lines of an Ahir Regiment, Himachal Regiment, Kalinga Regiment, Gujarat Regiment or any tribal regiment would be entertained.
• Lt Gen R S Kadyan (retd), former Deputy Chief of Army Staff who served in the Rajputana Rifles, said there was no need to tinker with the existing system.
• “Why whip a running horse? The Army is doing well with the present composition and therefore there is no need to add new regiments based on class or caste,” he said.
• Gen Kadyan said that while the military does not subscribe to the colonial theory of ‘martial races’, which led to the creation of single class or caste regiments,
• The regimental system has stood the test of time, and has acquired an Indian nationalist character.
• Politicians should not pursue “narrow political gains” using the Army, he said.

Q) Indian Navy’s largest multilateral exercise Milan 2022 was held at?

1. Andaman & Nicobar
2. Lakshwadeep
3. Visakhapatnam
4. Kochi

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