Sumedha Sharma
Gurugram, May 14
Under fire for allegedly duping the Ahir community by not getting the Ahir Regiment, the BJP has now promised Ahir Regiment in the Indian Army. BJP candidate from Gurgaon and three-time MP Rao Inderjit Singh said he has not given up on the promise but rather widened the ambit of beneficiaries. Singh said after the Independence, decision of the then government not to make any more caste-specific regiments obstructed the formation of the Ahir Regiment.
Region will get its due
There was a technical hurdle in the constitution of the Ahir Regiment but that doesn’t mean we are going to abort the idea. The region will get its due for their contribution to the armed forces. We are working on getting an Ahir Regiment that talks of the entire region. — Rao Inderjit Singh, BJP candidate, Gurgaon
“There was a technical hurdle in the constitution of the Ahir Regiment but that doesn’t mean we are going to abort the idea. The region will get its due for their contribution to the armed forces. We are working on getting an Ahir Regiment that talks of the entire region,” said Singh.
It may be noted that Singh had even requested the Central government to rename 11 and 13 Kumaon Regiments as Ahir Regiments as majority of soldiers in these regiments were Ahirs.
Like the previous Lok Sabha elections, this time too, the demand for an Ahir Regiment has once again found echo in many states of the country. Politicians cutting across party lines have supported the demand for a separate regiment for the Ahirs in the Indian Army. Ahirs in Haryana are key voters in Gurgaon constituency and Bhiwani- Mahendergarh and all parties are fighting it out for their support. While over 6 lakh Ahir voters are in Gurgaon, the number stands at 4 lakh in Bhiwani Mahendragarh.
It may be noted that former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda had asked the BJP and Rao Inderjit Singh to stop seeking Ahir votes as they had failed on the promise of Ahir Regiment.
In January 2023, the Minister of State (MoS) in its statement on Ahir Regiment in Parliament had said, “Proposal for the raising of Ahir Regiment is not under consideration. As per Government Policy on the subject, all citizens irrespective of their class, creed, region or religion are eligible for recruitment in the Indian Army. After Independence, it has been the policy of the Government not to raise any new regiment for a particular class/community/ religion or region. Adequate vacancies are being provided to all classes to ensure equitable opportunity for recruitment into the Indian Army”. The Ahir troops of Haryana caught national attention in 1962 Indo-China war. The Ahirs were part of 13th Battalion of the Kumaon Regiment and the community started demanding Infantry Regiment be named after them.”
The 50th anniversary of the 1962 War in 2012 gave a boost to this demand, which got intensified on the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Rezang La in 2022.
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