Rajputana Rifles

The Rajputana Rifles
The Rajputana Rifles Insignia
Active	10 January 1775 - Present
Country	India
Branch	Indian Army
Type	Infantry Regiment
Role	line infantry
Size	23 battalions
Motto(s)	Veer Bhogya Vasundhara (वीर भोग्य वसुंधरा ) "The Brave Shall Inherit the Earth" Raja Ramchandra Ki Jai "Hail Lord Raja Ramachandra"
Battle honours	Poonch, Charwa, Basantar and Myanamati

The Rajputana Rifles is the most senior rifle regiment of the Indian Army. It was originally raised in 1921 as part of the British Indian Army, when six previously existing regiments were amalgamated to form six battalions of the 6th Rajputana Rifles. In 1945 the numeral designation was dropped from the title and in 1947 the regiment was transferred to the newly independent Indian Army. Since independence, the regiment has been involved in a number of conflicts against Pakistan, as well as contributing to the Custodian Force (India) in Korea under the aegis of the United Nations in 1953-54 and to the UN Mission to the Congo in 1962. As a rifle regiment it uses a bugle horn as its insignia - the same as the British Light Division, but unlike its British counterparts, marches in the same march pace used in the Indian Army as a whole.

The name Rajputana Rifles is derived from the Rajput a Hindu clan and the word Rajputana which was the old name of Rajasthan. It is based on the Sanskrit word Rajaputra meaning son of a king. Rajputana (räj'pʊtä'nə) is a historic region in NW India, roughly coextensive with the modern Indian state of Rajasthan. The name means "land of the Rajputs." Rajput tribal power rose here between the 7th and 13th centuries, and the princes resisted the early Muslim incursions, which began in the 11th century. Rajput power reached its peak in the early 16th century, but the area fell to the Mughals when Akbar captured the Chittorgarh Fort in 1568. From their seat at Ajmer the Mughals ruled Rajputana until the early 18th century. The Marathas held feudatories in the region from c. 1750 to 1818, when it passed to Great Britain. Under the British, Rajputana included more than 20 princely states, notably Bikaner, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, and Ajmer. The internal autonomy of many of the states was guaranteed. Most of these states were incorporated into Rajasthan after India gained independence in 1947.