The 6th Rajputana Rifles regiment was an erstwhile infantry unit of the British Indian Army. In the year 1922, the British Indian Government re-established and re-numbered the regiments of the army in British India. As an outcome, several single infantry regiments were joined together in order to develop multi battalion infantry units that comprised of four to six battalions. The army unit was formed by the merger of 6 former British Indian battalions, namely 13th Rajputs (The Shekhawati Regiment), 125th Napier`s Rifles, 123rd Outram`s Rifles, 122nd Rajputana Infantry, 120th Rajputana Infantry and 104th Wellesley`s Rifles regiment.
After the former infantry units were amalgamated, each regiment was designated as a separate battalion. The 104th Wellesley`s Rifles became the 1st Battalion; the 120th Rajputana Infantry was designated as the 2nd Battalion; the 122nd Rajputana Infantry was established as the 3rd Battalion; the 123rd Outram`s Rifles was allocated as the 4th Battalion of the 6th Rajputana Rifles; the 125th Napier`s Rifles became the 5th Battalion; and the 13th Rajputs (The Shekhawati Regiment) was designated as the 10th (Training) Battalion.
The 6th Rajputana Rifles provided valuable military service during the Second World War. The unit was extended to 13 battalions during World War II. The troops of the unit were posted in Malaya, Burma and Middle East. The 4th Battalion was awarded with 2 Victoria Crosses for their valiant services.
After the withdrawal of the British Empire from India on 15th August 1947, the nation was divided with the occurrence of the Partition of India. Later, the regiments of the British Indian Army were also shared the 2 new nations, the Union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. The 6th Rajputana Rifles regiment was allocated to the modern Indian Army and was titled as the Rajputana Rifles.
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