93rd Burma Infantry | |
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Active | 1903 - 1922 |
Country | British India |
Branch | British Indian Army |
Type | Infantry |
Size | 1 Battalion |
Uniform | Red; faced black; yellow in 1882 Drab; faced yellow in 1897 |
Engagements |
Second Anglo-Maratha War 1803-05 Travancore War 1808-09 Third Anglo-Maratha War 1817-19 Indian Rebellion of 1857 Pacification of Upper Burma 1890-96 First World War 1914-18 (France & Flanders, Egypt, Palestine, Mesopotamia) |
The 93rd Burma Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment was raised in 1800 as a battalion of Madras Native Infantry. It was designated as the 93rd Burma Infantry in 1903 and became the 5th (Burma) Battalion 8th Punjab Regiment in 1922. In 1947, it was allocated to the Pakistan Army, where it continues to exist as 5th Battalion of The Baloch Regiment.
The regiment was raised on 1 January 1800 at Guntur, in South India as the 1st Battalion 17th Regiment of Madras Native Infantry by Colonel George Wahab, and was known as Wahab ki Paltan (Wahab's Battalion). It was composed mostly of Muslims, Tamils and Telugus. In 1803, it took part in the Second Anglo-Maratha War, while in 1809, at Cochin, it repulsed a force of 3000 rebels during the Travancore War. In 1817, the battalion operated against the Pindaris during the Third Anglo-Maratha War. In 1824, it was redesignated as the 33rd Regiment of Madras Native Infantry. During the Great Indian Rebellion of 1857, it again operated against the Marathas in Central India.
In 1890, the 33rd Madras Infantry was reconstituted with Punjabi Muslims, Pathans and Sikhs, and permanently based in Burma. Its designation was changed to the 3rd Regiment of Burma Infantry, and in 1891, to the 33rd Regiment (3rd Burma Battalion) of Madras Infantry. In 1901, its title was changed to the 33rd Burma Infantry. The Burma Battalions were units raised to police the new territories acquired in the Third Anglo-Burmese War and pacify the rebellious hill tribes inhabiting the frontier regions of Burma. From 1891 to 1893, the regiment operated in the Kachin State in northern Burma, quelling various outbreaks of rebellion.