| 77th Moplah Rifles | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1777-1907 |
| Country | Indian Empire |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Part of | Madras Army (to 1895) Madras Command |
| Colors | Red; faced white 1903 Green; faced Scarlet |
| Engagements | Carnatic Wars Second Anglo-Mysore War Third Anglo-Mysore War Third Burmese War |
The 77th Moplah Rifles were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1777, when they were raised as the 17th Carnatic Battalion.
The regiment's first action was during the Carnatic Wars followed by the Battle of Sholinghur in the Second Anglo-Mysore War. They also took part in the Battle of Nagpore. [1]
In 1902 the basis of recruitment for this regiment and one other (the 78th Moplah Rifles) was changed from Madrasis to Moplahs. The latter were Muslim immigrants of Arab origin who had settled along the coastal region of Malabar. In initial encounters the British had found the Moplars to be a warlike race [2] and in 1901 it was decided to try and recruit them for the Indian Army. [3] The 77th and 78th Moplar Rifles were accordingly raised as battalion-sized units
A problem from the beginning was that with a population basis totalling only one million the number of Moplah males available for recruitment was limited. In addition few British officers were immediately familiar with the language and culture of the community. [4] While the 77th MR remained in Madras on garrison duty the 78th were assigned to active service on the North West Frontier in 1905. Used to a moist and humid environment the Moplah sepoys encountered difficulty in acclimatising to the harsh dry climate of the frontier region.
The two regiments of Moplah Rifles were assessed negatively in their final annual reports for both field and garrison service. Accordingly both were disbanded between April and July 1907 and their British officers reassigned. [5]
The Arab origin of both Moplar regiments was reflected in the adoption of red fezs - an unusual item of uniform in the Indian Army of the period where turbans of various patterns were the norm. The uniforms of the 77th MR from 1903 to 1907 were of dark green serge with scarlet facings. [6] The 78th MR revereded this pattern with scarlet jackets faced in green.
After the regiment's disbandment, the military colours of the 77th Moplah Rifles was buried within the west wall of St. Mark's Cathedral, Bangalore. There is also a memorial for the lives lost in the Moplah revolt. [7]
The 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles) was a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army before being transferred to the British Army on India's independence in 1947. The 4th Battalion joined the Indian Army as the 5th Battalion, 8th Gorkha Rifles (Sirmoor Rifles), where it exists to this day. As part of the British Army, the regiment served in Malaya, Hong Kong and Brunei until 1994 when it was amalgamated with the other three British Army Gurkha infantry regiments to form the Royal Gurkha Rifles. It is the only Gurkha regiment which did not have a khukuri on its cap badge.
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The 78th Moplah Rifles was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment's origin could be traced to 1794, when it was raised as the 35th Madras Battalion. At the beginning of the 20th century the basis for recruitment was changed from Madrasis to Moplahs - who are Muslims of Arab origin located along the coast of Malabar. The Moplahs had a reputation as an aggressive race and it was hoped to make use of their martial skills in the Indian Army. A problem from the beginning was that the population numbers available for recruitment were limited. In 1907, shortly before disbandment, the regiment numbered only 350 men.
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