- 14th Battalion, Maratha Light Infantry
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14 MARATHA LI 
The Regimental Insignia of the BattalionActive 1941–1945
1971–PresentCountry India Branch Army Type War Service Infantry Battalion
(1941–45)
Regular Infantry Battalion
(1971-till date)Role Light Infantry Nickname Fearless XIV Motto Duty, Honour, Courage Hindi: कर्तव्य मान साहस
March SINHGARH Anniversaries 01 February (Raising Day 14/5th)
01 June (Raising Day 14th)Engagements Mesopotamia (as a War Service Battalion) OP RAKSHAK (Punjab)
OP HIFAZAAT (1997–1999)
OP RAKSHAK III (2003–2005)
OP MEGHDOOT
OP PARAKRAM
OP CACTUS LILYCommanders Current
commanderCLASSIFIED Colonel of
the RegimentCLASSIFIED Notable
commandersUnknown Insignia Identification
symbolA bugle and cords with a pair of crossed swords and a shield. The 14th battalion of the Maratha Light Infantry[1] regiment (Hindi: १४वी बटॅलियन, दी मराठा लाइट इन्फेंट्री) of the Indian Army was initially raised as the 14th/5th Mahratta Light Infantry on 1 February 1941, at Ambala by Lieutenant Colonel ES Storey-Cooper, OBE, MC,[2] – a British Officer who joined the regiment as a Staff Captain with 2nd/5th Mahratta Light Infantry on 1 April 1933[3][4]. The battalion proceeded to Dacca, in Eastern Bengal, for a term of internal security duty in the autumn of the same year. In February 1942 the 14th Battalion moved across India to undergo a period of training at Campbellpore (now known as Attock, Pakistan).
In October 1942 the 14th Battalion embarked for service in the Indian Ocean as the defence garrison of the tiny Attu Atoll, which was a base vital to the air patrol of the sea routes and a possible object of Japanese attack.
At the end of 1943 the Battalion returned to India for a period of special training, in the Ahmednagar and Bombay areas, in amphibious operations with the role of Beach Group to the 33rd Indian Corps. It was during this period, and following the disastrous explosion of April 1944, that the Battalion performed notable service in clearing away the debris from the wrecked Bombay Docks.
In the last weeks of the war in Europe, during February 1945, the 14th Battalion proceeded overseas for service in Iraq (Mesopotamian campaign).Soon after the completion of its tour of duty there, the battalion was diembodied following the end of the Second World War.
Thereafter, the battalion was re-raised as a regular Infantry Battalion, designated the 14th Battalion The Maratha Light Infantry at Belgaum on 1 June 1971, a few months prior to its induction into the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Lieutenant Colonel RK Dutt was the first Commanding Officer of the battalion. Since its re-raising, 14 MARATHA LI has served in almost every conceivable type of terrain and operation. The unit has been deployed in the icy heights of North Sikkim, as also the arid Thar desert. The soldiers have earned a name for themselves and their regiment in every exercise or operation they have been a part of.
Contents
Awards and recognitions
Award Number Details AVSM 01 Awarded to a Former Commanding Officer. Shaurya Chakra 01 (Post) IC-48157 Major Santosh Prabhakar was killed in action while the battalion was deployed in OPERATION HIFAZAT in Tripura (Dec 1997 to May 1999). Sena Medal 03 1. Major (now Lt Col) Rohit Singhal, while on deputation to Assam Rifles.
2. Major Mrinal Shekhar, while on deputation to Assam Rifles.[5]
3. Sepoy (now Company Havildar Major) Bhairu Patil (C Company), while serving with a Rashtriya Rifles battalion.Vishisht Seva Medal 01 Awarded to a Former Commanding Officer. COAS CC 11 incl several awarded to unit personnel for Gallantry, in addition to those awarded for Distinguished Service. GOC-in-C EC CC 05 GOC-in-C SC CC 01 Sarvottan Jeevan Raksha Padak 01 Lance/Naik (now Subedar (Retired)) Shivaji Pathare – for rescuing a drowning girl from the Mulla-Mutha River in Pune (1984). Order of British Empire 01 (Known) Lieutenant Colonel ES Storey-Cooper, OBE, MC (of the original 14th/5th "War Service Battalion") Military Cross (MC) 01 (Known) Lieutenant Colonel ES Storey-Cooper, OBE, MC (of the original 14th/5th "War Service Battalion") 
A Soldier from 14 MARATHA LI
Military bugle in B♭ – these bugles now replace the erstwhile "Long Bugle" used by Maratha soldiersSoldiers of the Battalion
Small of stature and casual of appearance, the wiry Mahratta comes of hard stock, is capable of enduring great hardships and privations which they have repeatedly proved in the hardships of the Abyssinian War, in the privations of Mesopotamia, or on the long marches of Allenby’s advance through Palestine, and more recently, on the bullet-swept heights of Keren, the mountains of Italy and the jungles of Assam and Burma. The Marathas have an enviable reputation for gallantry and loyal service. They tie the military turban with one fold which falls about the head and down the neck of the soldier in the most capricious convolutions. The Marathas trace their descent to the great 17th Century warrior Shivaji. The Marathas later formed a confederacy and campaigned across vast swathes of India, watered their horses in the Indus, harried the borders of Mysore, and set the scared citizens of Calcutta to digging the Mahratta Ditch.
In recognition of their unsullied reputation for loyalty the Mahratta Light Infantry was, in 1930, formed into a completely class Regiment, one of only three in the British Indian Army of that time, a matter of justifiable pride throughout the Regiment.
The present troop composition of the 14th battalion is made up of a high percentage (96%) of Marathas from Maharashtra and parts of the Indian state of Karnataka, a feature which distinguishes them from many other mixed class battalions of the Indian army. The Soldiers are trained at the Maratha Light Infantry Regimental Centre (MLIRC) at Belgaum.
Commanding officers
Name of the Commanding Officer From To Station/Operation Lt Col RK Dutt 1971 1973 Raising ... 1973 ... ...table still under construction (details/permission awaited) The Uniform
The 14th Battalion of the Maratha Light Infantry conforms to all dress regulations that are applicable to other sister battalions of the regiment (less 5 MARATHA LI, which wears a blue lanyard on the right shoulder). The officers and men of the unit also wear a Green and Red hackle atop their headgear (when in Working Dress (Berets) only).
14 MARATHA LI organizing firing for NCC Cadets of Gwalior DivisionOther Notable Activities
The battalion has to its credit, the conduct of a major camp for the NCC, while at Gwalior.
Unit Locations
From To Station/Operation Details 1971 1972 Belgaum Raising 1972 1974 – ...table still under construction (details/permission awaited) Sources
- Official battalion history: Ministry of Defence.
- Library archives on Maratha Light Infantry, Mumbai.
- First hand information.
Bibliography
References
- ^ Bharat Rakshak Page on MARATHA LI
- ^ Book "Burma Star Association – a brief history of the Mahratta Light Infantry" by Major JS Barr
- ^ The London Gazette of 23 June 1933, reflecting Capt ES Storey-Cooper's Posting to the 2nd Battalion
- ^ British Order of Battle dated 03 September 1939, reflecting Major ES Storey-Cooper's posting as DAQMG (Directorate of Farms)
- ^ List of gallantry award winners 2011
External links
Categories:- Regiments of the Indian Army
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