General

          Customs and Traditions in the Regt have been handed down through the ages. Maintenance of customs and traditions is a tremendous unifying and driving force. Glorious traditions set by the Regiment play an important part not only to bring respect to the Regimental but also to, ensure victory in Operations.

Quarter guard                                     

          The mounting of Quarter Guard is a ceremonial event. The Quarter Guard is mounted by the Adjutant and others on week days; on Saturdays and Sundays, it is mounted by the Duty JCO of the Day. The best  turned out Other Rank is selected as the Commanding Officer’s Stick Orderly who has the privilege of  accompanying the Commanding Officer wherever he goes. Pipers and  Drums do not from part of the Quarter Guard. If the Commanding Officer visits the Quarter Guard, it always turns out unless specifically ordered not to.

Salutation

          In the beginning the normal salutation or way of exchanging greeting with Others Ranks and Junior Commissioned Officers was ‘Jai Hind’ or ‘Ram Ram’. Slowly this gave way to ‘Jai Gorakh’, which has now become a common greeting in the Regiment. This form of salutation was recommended by Captain VK Jain (2/11 GR) sometime in 1968 upon this return from an assignment in Nepal and accepted by the Regiment.

Handing/Taking Over of the Baton

          A custom linked to the Quarter Guard is the visit of the incoming and outgoing Commanding Officers. The outgoing Commanding Officer turns out the guard, takes the salute, signs  the visitors book and returns the Commanding Officers’ Baton to its case. On his return, he is again given a salute. Thereafter, the new Commanding Officer, if present, takes the salute, signs the book and takes the Baton from its case. On return, he is also given a salute for the second time. The same drill is followed by  the outgoing and incoming Subedar Majors.

Forbidden

• when in uniform, sunglasses, umbrellas or caps in hand are not allowed.
• No one smokes while walking in uniform or driving a vehicle.
• Hands should be out of pockets, especially when talking  to a senior officer of  lady.
• Chewing of pan, supari, tobacco or gum is prohibited while in office, in uniform, in public places or in a senior’s presence.

 Rote : The Orderly, A custom unique to 11 GR  was that the orderlies were addressed as ‘Rote’. Over the years, It has changed to ‘Sahayk’, ‘Rote’, it is believed, was part of Second World War tradition where the  orderlies shared their ‘roti’ (bread)  with the officer or at least brought cooked food for him.

Grooming Young Officers

          A young officer is attached to all the officers to learn  his Job well. He is encouraged to learn  Nepali, attend company roll call, games, and  know all about the troops of his platoon. He is made to attend all the   promotion and training cadres and fire annual classification with the troops. He is made to read military history, especially the history of the Regiment, history of Mess Silver pieces, learn about the bugle calls and the drinks and how they are served, serving of wine on the dinner table , how  a formal dinner table is laid and the method of serving  food, as also the  tunes that are played by the band on dinner night. They are encouraged to write articles for Regimental and Gorkha Brigade Journal.

        An opportunity is given to them to visit the Regimental  recruitment areas in Nepal and attend the Regimental Biennial  Conference  Reunion as an invitee.

JCOs Visiting Officers’ Mess

         JCOs, accompanied by  the Sub Maj, are invited to the Officers’ Mess on Republic Day, on promotions, on grant of honorary rank or on superannuation.

Officers Visiting JCOs’ Mess

          The Subedar Major is the PMC of the JCOs Mess. All officers are honorary members of the JCOs Mess. It is very common to drop in for ‘Nibu Pani’, to the JCOs Mess after the games. On Independences Day, the JCOs  Invite all the Officers for a drink. Offices are presented with the JCOs Mess  bill every month for the drinks they enjoy in their company. These bills are received by the Officers’ Mess in bulk and paid without any questions. The amount is charged in the Officers ‘ Mess bill.

Visitors to the Unit

• Visitors are received with due courtesy at the main office.
• Suitable Liaison Officer (LO), with Regimental arm band, is detailed to escort/conduct the visitor.

Welcoming the Newly Inducted  Officers

          Newly inducted officers are cordially received and courtesy is extended to them and their family. Unit  Cdr/Adjutant sends a letter of welcome to such officers giving them details about the place and nature of job etc so as to facilitate their settling down.

Farewell Dinner on Superannuation

         All officers of the Regiment, prior to their retirement from service, are invited to the Centre, along with their spouse, for a farewell dinner by the Regt and suitable mementos presented to them. 60 days prior to his superannuation, the officer is required to info PRI, 11GRRC about the visit to obtain temp duty move section of Dte Gen of Infantry.

Line Leave

        An OR is sanctioned 11 days’ line leave in the event of the birth of child if  he is living with his family in unit family lines. He is permitted to keep the lights on after the lights out’ up to 30 days after the delivery in the family lines. Similarly, on the death in the family in unit lines, too, line leave is granted.

Playing by the Band

       Bands plays when the Chief Guest arrives for the Function. During the Barakhana, the Sub Maj speaks a few words and says “Jai Gorakh” whereafter, the proceedings commence.

Miscellaneous

• When a junior soldier addresses his senior, he suffixes “Guruji ” with his army number. A senior addresses his junior by his junior by his number or combining his name and number.
• A soldier without his headgear, when moving about in the lines, stops, comes to attention and raises his heels to pay his respects. Outside the Battalion premises, he turns his head to the right or left with both the arms moving. If riding a bicycle, he gets down and stands to attention, or straightens  his arms.
• While saluting on the move, the lift arm is kept straight down.
• All ranks report to their seniors at the double. All reporting follows the normal chain of command. A soldier salutes his senior when reporting irrespective of the rank of the senior.
• An order passed through the messenger is always repeated by the messenger. Also, he gives a completion report after passing the message.