Madras Regiment

What it is: The Madras Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army. Its regimental centre is at Wellington, near Ooty in Tamil Nadu, where it moved in February 1947. It grew out of the Madras Levies of the East India Company. DT Next and GlobalSecurity credit Major Stringer Lawrence, hired in 1748 to defend Cuddalore, with forming the levies into two battalions in 1758. Salute magazine gives 4 December 1758 and names Robert Clive. The regiment is widely called the oldest in the Indian Army, though DT Next says the oldest surviving unit is its 9th Battalion, which goes back to Travancore. The elephant on its crest was awarded to the Madras Native Infantry after the battle of Assaye in 1803, fought under Arthur Wellesley.

Who commanded in 1984: A regiment has no single leader, so the names that matter here belong to June 1984. The Ninth Infantry Division was under Major General K. S. Brar. Brigadier D. V. Rao commanded 350 Infantry Brigade, which was part of that division, and Wikipedia's article on the regiment places 26 Madras in that brigade. India Today names the battalion's commanding officer as Lieutenant Colonel Pannikkar.

Key moments

• 1758: the levies are formed into regular battalions. Sources differ on the day and on who is credited, as above.
• 23 September 1803: the Madras Native Infantry fights at Assaye and later receives the elephant badge.
• June 1984: 26 Madras is brought in hastily from Jalandhar. India Today says it was to enter the Parikrama from the side of the serais while 10 Guards came in by the clock tower gate.
• The assault of 5 and 6 June: the steel gate on the serai side proved stronger than planned and a tank was used to knock it down. India Today says the Madras troops then met heavy fire, lost a young lieutenant to a sniper, and were briefly mixed up in the dark with a Kumaon company held in reserve.
• The same account says a batch of volunteers from the regiment, led by a young captain, were the first troops to reach Sri Akal Takht Sahib. Of ten, seven died, two crawled back badly wounded, and only the captain returned unhurt, after trying to bring out an injured junior commissioned officer.

The toll: In an affidavit in a suit brought by the Jodhpur detainees, Brigadier Rao gave the Army's figures: 83 soldiers dead (four officers, four JCOs and 75 other ranks), 249 injured, and 492 civilians dead inside the complex (The Tribune, 2007). These are the Army's own figures, given in court.

Where it stands: The regiment remains in service with its centre at Wellington. Its place in this history is the 1984 attack on Sri Harmandir Sahib and Sri Akal Takht Sahib.