Introduction

            Instructions were received from Army HQ  to raise 11 Gorkha Rifles with one Regimental Centre and two active Battalions. With the decision to raise 11 GR at PALAMPUR, the non-optees of HMG from 7 and 10 GR, started concentrating at PALAMPUR. Thus the Regiment  was raised by Lt Col H S Chauhan on 01 Jan 1948 at Palampur  along with 3/11GR and 4/11 GR  and has the honour of being the First Regiment to be raised in Independent India.

            (a) 1/11 GR The Bn was raised on 01 Sep 1960 at Clement Town, Dehradun by    Lt Col KG Tewari and Sub Maj DB Limbu.

            (b) 2/11 GR 2/11 GR was raised on 11 Jan 1963 at Clement Town, Dehradun by   Lt Col Onkar Singh Dikhit and Sub Maj Uttar Man Rai, IDSM.

            (c) 3/11 GR . 3/11 GR was raised on 01 Jan 1948 at Santa Cruz, Bombay by        Lt Col JN Ghose and Sub Maj Nardhoj Rai, IDSM.

            (d) 4/11 GR was raised at PALAMPUR and remained attached to the Centre till 17 February 1948 when Lt Col R P Yadava assumed the command. This battalion got three months to organise itself, and left, PALAMPUR on 29 April 1948 for duty along the borders of INDIA and PAKISTAN. Later, the Battalion demobilized on 31 Jan 1951.

            (e) 5/11 GR. 5/11 Gorkha Rifles was raised on 08 May 1948 at Palampur by Lt Col Mani Lal Barua and Sub Maj Balbir Rai.

            (f) 6/11GR. 6/11 GR was raised on 01 Oct 1963 at  Clement Town, Dehradun by Lt Col Uttam Singh Raj and Sub Maj JB Limbu.

            (g) 7/11 GR. 7/11 was raised on 01 Jan 1965 at Clement Town by Lt Col Vishnu Sharma and Sub Maj I B Rai.

            (h) 107 INF BN (TA) 11 GR. 107 Inf Bn (TA) 11 GR is the only 'Gorkha Terrier     Bn' and was raised on 01 Oct 1960 at Katapahar - Darjeeling by Lt Col HS Kapoor and Sub Maj Prasad Singh Limbu of 5/11 GR.

            (i)  1ST BN SIKKIM SCOUTS. 1st Bn Sikkim Scouts was raised on 01 Oct 2013 at 11 GRRC, Lucknow by Col SS Pundir and Sub Maj (Hony Capt) Bikash Rai and  the       Bn move to Sikkim on 04 Dec 2014.

            During WW-1, four Battalions of  Gurkha Rifles i.e 1st , 2nd, 3rd , and 4th were raised in1814 and later demobilized after the war in 1922.

            A conference in the regimental Centre took place on 15 April 1948 at PALAMPUR.

            The following officers attended the conference:-

                        Lt col H S Chauhan                        -           11 GRRC

                        Lt Col J N Ghose                           -           3/11 GR

                        Lt Col R P Yadava                          -           4/11 GR

            Important decisions were taken to standardise the Regimental Flag and the Regimental Dress. This important requirement had to be decided without a formal conference. Subsequently, in other regular conferences all these points were further discussed and a pattern of dress and other Regimental requirements were evolved and finalised.

The Crest

               The Regimental  Crest was created out of compulsion, rather than by design. On 11 Jan 1948, the Comdt, Col HS Chauhan realized that with the moving out of Seventh Gurkha Rifles Regimental Centre, the QG of the newly raised 11 Gorkha rifles was bare-with no gong and no flag. Immediately, rifle green cloth was ordered an on this was stitched two kukris cut out of white cloth, on the pattern of the Seventh Gurkha Rifles Crest. This was declared as the flag of the new Indian Gurkha Regt-the 11 GR. Later the Regimental crest developed further. A Roman eleven was placed between the crossed Khukris, points upwards and cutting edges inwards. There was no intention to claim descent from the 11 GR raised during the Great War, hence, the Ashok emblem was added on top of the Roman numerals to delink the Regiment from British legacy. Army headquarters approved the crest, However, due to designing problems the Ashoka emblem did not form part of the first badges fabricated by the Regiment, The Ashoka emblem was gradually forgotten, never to become a part of the Regimental Crest. The khukris as they appear on the crest have a greater curvature than real life khukris. The design is ‘different’ as are the men of this valiant Regiment.

                          1947                                                  AS Approved                                            In Use

Regimental Flag

          The Regimental Crest was created out of compulsion, rather than by design. On 11 Jan 1948, the Comdt, Col HS Chauhan realized that with the moving out of Seventh Gurkha Rifles Regimental Centre, the QG of the newly raised 11 Gorkha Rifles was bare-with no gong and no flag. Immediately, rifle green cloth was ordered an on this was stitched two kukris cut out of white cloth, on the pattern of the Seventh Gurkha Rifles crest. This was declared as the flag of the new Indian Gurkha Regt-the 11GR. The Regimental Flag,1.80m  x 1.20m is of Rifle Green background with the 11 GR Crest in the Centre.

After the affiliation of Sikkim Scouts with the Regiment, logo of Sikkim Scouts was embossed alongside the Kukris Crest.

The Battle Cry

               At  the time of raising, the three Battalions Vis 3/11 GR, 4/11 GR and       5/11 GR  adopted “Ayo Gorkhali” followed by ‘Charge’ as their battle cry. When 2/11 GR was raised at Clement Town an 11 Jan 1963, its CO designate, Lt Col Onkar Singh Dikhit desired that the Unit’s Battle Cry should be “Jai Mahakali, Ayo Gorkhali” . He himself was not present on the raising day, but while raising the flag on the QG this cry was , for the first time, raised by Capt VK Jain, who was the first Adjutant of the Unit.

The Regimental Motto

                ‘Niswarth Kartavy’ i.e ‘Selfless Duty’ was adopted as the Regimental Motto. It expressed the belief, goals, ideals and the principles of the Regiment. However, as time passed, the need for a more inspiring motto befitting the character of the Regiment was felt. After the great deal of research and deliberation, Lt Gen JBS Yadava, PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM, Col of the Regt 11 GR, in consultation with Senior Officers  of the Regiment, COs and SMs coined a more appropriate motto in Sanskrit, “YATRAHAM VIJAY STATRA” translated in English it reads,  “ We the Metaphor for Victory” and in Hindi it means “ Main Jahan Vijay Wahan” .

The Regimental Song & March

          ‘100 Pipers’ used to be the regimental March. However, in 1985, “ Ver Kiranti ”  was adopted as Regimental Song and March. Today, strains of  “Veer  Kiratni ” imposed and enthuses every member of the fraternity.

COL HS CHAUHAN : FATHER OF THE REGIMEN

                 Born on 02 Jun 1916 at Gwalior to Shrimati Jeevan and Shri Harnath Singh Chauhan, Col Harnarain Singh Chauhan (fondly called Father of the Regiment) did his early education at Colonel Brown's School Dehradun, where he was adjudged as the best student while doing Senior Cambridge in 1933. He joined the Indian Territorial Force (7/11 Rajput Regt) in May 1937. After short stints with other Rajput Battalions, he joined 1/7 Rajput in 1944. Having served with Rajput Regiment up to 1947, he was given a unique responsibility and honour of raising the first and only Gorkha Regiment of Indian Army, after Independence.                                                                                      

            Col HS Chauhan was a visionary. He organized the Regiment into battalions and  obtained orders from Army Headquarters for raising of the Third & Fourth Battalions of 11 Gorkha Rifles in 1948. During his tenure, he established various Regimental Institutions and made personal financial contribution to ensure that they started functioning without any delay. The Regimental insignia, badge and the flag owe their existence to him.

           He Commanded the Centre from 01 Jan 1948 to 11 May 1949, 3/11 Gorkha Rifles from 12 Oct 1953 to 11 Jan 1956 and again the Centre from 10 Feb 1958 to 06 Jan 1962. He was Deputy Commandant of Military Training Team at Nepal and also served as AQ of Bihar, Bengal & Orrisa Area and GSO-1 of 20 Infantry Division at Calcutta. His only son, Kirti Narain Singh Chauhan, followed his father’s footsteps by joining the Regiment. He was commissioned into the Third Battalion. Lt Col HS Chauhan retired from service on 30 Jun 1968. He took active part in all Regimental activities till his demise on 25 Jan 2010 at Delhi.