3rd Dogra Regiment’s Raising Day celebrated in Hamirpur

Our Correspondent

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Hamirpur, October 12

Retired soldiers and officers of the 3rd Dogra Regiment celebrated the 117th Raising Day here today.

Speaking on the occasion, Brig SK Verma (retd) said the regiment was raised on this day in 1900 in Jalandhar by Lt Col ET Gastrell. He said in the post-Independence period, the then President Dr Zakir Hussain bestowed the colours on the battalion on November 8, 1968.

Detailing history of the battalion, he said immediately after its raising, the battalion was part of the Allied Forces that went to China to quell the Boxer Rebellion. He said during World War I in Mesopotamia (now Iraq), the 35th Composite Brigade as part of the British Indian Army was to attack the Turkish lines. In this aggression Lance Nayak Lala of medical corps of the battalion was decorated with the Victoria Cross for his act of splendid gallantry under extreme battle conditions, he added.

SK Verma said it was this regiment of the Indian forces that protected aerodrome from the enemies in under the command of Lt Col ML Hayne at Kota Bharu in Malaya. He said 3rd Dogra halted the advancement of Japanese to the airfield and were confined to an ice land that was later heavily bombarded.

He said the battalion lost Major GC Verma who was wounded in the head and he refused to be evacuated and breathed his last on seeing the success signal being fired from pistol by Sub Rattan Singh.