Post Independence
India gained its independence in 1947 and the regiment was one of six Gurkha regiments (out of 10) to be allocated to the Indian Army as part of the Tripartite Agreement between Britain, India and Nepal. The regiment retained its title until 1950 when India was proclaimed a Republic and the regiment became the 3 Gorkha Rifles. It remains in existence and consists of five battalions.
The Regiment won the Battle Honour 'Pir Kanthi' in the Uri Sector in the war of 1948 and 'Shingo' in the Kargil Sector in war of 1971. 1/3 GR has the distinction of being the first battalion in the post-independence period to carry out amphibious operations during the 1971 Indo-Pak War. Colonel J.R. Chitnis, CO 1/3 GR, was honoured with the Ashoka Chakra posthumously—India's highest peacetime medal for valour—in Nagaland in 1956.
On 3 December 1997, a statue was unveiled in London in honour of the Gurkhas. A quote from Sir Ralph Turner, a former officer in the 3rd Gurkhas, was inscribed on the memorial: "Bravest of the brave, most generous of the generous, never had country more faithful friends than you."
Read more about this topic: 3 Gorkha Rifles
Famous quotes containing the words post and/or independence:
“I had rather be shut up in a very modest cottage, with my books, my family and a few old friends, dining on simple bacon, and letting the world roll on as it liked, than to occupy the most splendid post which any human power can give.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“...there was the annual Fourth of July picketing at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. ...I thought it was ridiculous to have to go there in a skirt. But I did it anyway because it was something that might possibly have an effect. I remember walking around in my little white blouse and skirt and tourists standing there eating their ice cream cones and watching us like the zoo had opened.”
—Martha Shelley, U.S. author and social activist. As quoted in Making History, part 3, by Eric Marcus (1992)