163 Medium Regiment (India)

163 Medium Regiment
Active	1963 till date
Country	India
Allegiance	India
Branch	Indian Army
Nickname(s)	The History Creators
Motto(s)	Sarvatra Izzat-O-Iqbal (Everywhere with Honour & Glory) Vinay Aur Veerta (Courtesy & Valour)
Colors	Red & Navy Blue
Anniversaries	1 October (Raising Day)
Engagements	1965 Indo-Pak War 1971 Indo-Pak War Op Rakshak Kargil war Op Parakram
Decorations	GOC-in-C Northern Command (Army) Unit Citation, January 2025
Insignia
Identification symbol	Regimental logo

163 Medium Regiment is part of the Regiment of Artillery of the Indian Army.

Formation and History

The regiment was raised as 163 Field Regiment on 1 October 1963 at Jalandhar. The first commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel Milkha Singh Mann. The unit was constituted from the Sierra batteries of three existing regiments. The regiment at formation had a fixed class composition with a battery each of Rajputs, Sikhs and Ahirs. The regiment was converted from field to medium on 18 September 1992, back to field on 8 July 2008 and is presently back as a medium regiment. ^{[1] [2]} It consists of 1631, 1632 and 1633 medium batteries.

Operations

The regiment has taken part in the following operations ^[1] –

• Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 – The newly formed regiment took part in Operation Riddle and Operation Ablaze in the Rajouri sector of Jammu and Kashmir under 15 Corps, 25 Infantry Division. ^[3] During operations in the Kalidhar range, the regiment lost one of its battery commanders Major J Pratap on 14 October 1965. On the same day, the area was captured by the Indian forces. During the war, the regiment also lost Lance Naik Harjinder Singh and Gunner Bhoor Singh. ^[4]
• Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 – The regiment took part in Operation Cactus Lily in the Ajnala sector on the Western front. It was allotted to 15 Artillery Brigade under 15 Infantry Division. ^[5] The regiment lost Gunners Gundhari Singh Kaurav and Rambir Singh during the war. ^[6]
• Operation Rakshak – The regiment took part in counter-terrorist operations in Jammu and Kashmir between October 1989 and September 1992. Subsequently, it took part in Operation Kasba in Poonch sector.
• Operation Vijay – The regiment took part in Kargil war and was instrument in moving its guns from Zoji La to Kargil under heavy enemy fire on 7 June 1999. These guns were used to replenish the guns of 286 Medium Regiment. ^[7]
• Operation Parakram – During its tenure in Kupwara for counter-terrorist operations, the regiment took part in Operation Parakram and Operation Vajra Prahar. It was actively involved in firing at enemy gun positions during the operations.

Military Decorations, Awards

The Unit has won the following gallantry awards ^[1]

• Veer Chakra = 2
• 1. Major J Pratap, 1965, Posthumous
• 2. Col HK Chopra, 1971
• Param Vishisht Seva Medal = 1
• 1. Lt Gen Vijay Kumar Ahluwalia
• Ati Vishisht Seva Medal= 2
• 1. Lt Gen Vijay Kumar Ahluwalia, Bar
• Yudh Seva Medal = 1
• 1. Lt Gen Vijay Kumar Ahluwalia
• Vishisht Seva Medal = 2
• 1. Brig SK Pasricha, 1982
• 2. Lt Gen Vijay Kumar Ahluwalia
• Chief of Army Staff Commendation Card = 5
  • Major G Srinivas, 2002
  • Subedar (TA) Wirsa Singh, 2006
  • Gunner Jaswir Singh, 2006
  • Major G Srinivas, 2008
  • Lieutenant Colonel Diler Singh Jakhar, 2017
  • Naik Mahender Singh, 2024
• Vice Chief of Army Staff Commendation Card = 1
  • Subedar Major Balkar Singh, 2009 ^[8]
• General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Commendation Card = 26
  • Havildar Nirmal Singh, 1999
  • Gunner Shrikant Yadav, 2006
  • Gunner Sunil Rajput, 2007
  • Colonel Amit Kumar Jha, 2025
  • Major Desmond Cyril, 2025

Commanding officers

• 1. Lieutenant Colonel Milkha Singh Mann
• 2. Lieutenant Colonel Jabar Jang Singh Grewal
• 3. Lieutenant Colonel KO George
• 4. Lieutenant Colonel Satish Chandra
• 5. Brigadier SN Gulati
• 6. BrigadierSK Pasricha
• 7. Colonel SS Dogra
• 8. Brigadier Melville Desouza
• 9. Colonel BS Dhillon
• 10. Lieutenant Colonel PK Chaturvedi
• 11. Colonel Pushpinder Singh Grewal
• 12. Lieutenant Colonel Amar Deep Singh
• 13. Lieutenant General Vijay Kumar Ahluwalia PVSM, AVSM & Bar, YSM, VSM
• 14. Lieutenant Colonel K Venu Gopal
• 15. Colonel Nand Kumar PS
• 16. Colonel Satnam Singh Bagga
• 17. Brigadier Rajeev Sharma
• 18. Colonel Cyril Padmanabhan
• 19. Brigadier Gurbir Singh
• 20. Colonel Sameer Sardana
• 21. Colonel Vikas Pandey
• 22. Colonel Amit Kumar Karnwal
• 23. Colonel Amit Jha

See also

• List of artillery regiments of Indian Army

References

1. "163 Field Regiment Golden Jubilee APO postal cover". 2013-10-01. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
2. "Army organises inter-school quiz competition". 2022-09-30. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
3. "Chapter 5" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-06-01.
4. "Amar-Jawan - A database of Indian Armed Forces Martyrs 1947-1997" . Retrieved 2023-06-01.
5. Singh, Jagjit (1994). Indian Gunners at War: The Western Front 1971. Spantech & Lancer. ISBN   978-1897829554.
6. Azad, Salam (2006). Contribution of India in the War of Liberation of Bangladesh. Bookwell Publications. p. 338.
7. "Artillery: The battle winning factor in Kargil". 2016-07-25. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
8. "List Of Personnel Being Awarded Vice Chief Of Army Staff Commendation Card On The Occasion Of Army Day-2009". 2009-01-15. Retrieved 2023-06-01.