A Gunners Day tribute to the regiment of artillery

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By Group Captain Praveer Purohit (retd)

When Babur embarked upon his endeavour to conquer parts of North India, he was challenged by the then reigning king of the Delhi Sultanate- Ibrahim Lodi. This led to the First Battle of Panipat in 1526. Babur and his army suffered setbacks in the fight and were on the verge of defeat. Two things changed the course of history. First, was Babur’s leadership wherein he motivated his troops and infused in them the “will” to win. Second and equally important was the employment of artillery. The field artillery of Babur, introduced for the first time at such a large scale in the sub-continent, changed the course of the battle and defeated the larger army of Ibrahim Lodi. Artillery had arrived and in style! Thereafter it became a ‘must have’ element in not just Mughals but also amongst their challengers such as Marathas.

The present Regiment of Artillery of the Indian Army traces its origins to the Royal Indian Artillery (RIA) of the British Indian Army. It was raised on September 28, 1827 as part of the Bombay Army. It is for this reason that September 28 is celebrated as Gunners Day. Later renamed as 5 Bombay Mountain Battery, it participated in the First Anglo-Afghan War between 1839 and 1842. Artillery units comprising Indians served extensively in World War I in places such as Gallipoli, Mesopotamia (present Iraq) and Palestine. The first three Indian field regiments were raised on 15 January 1935. Called the ‘Indian Regiment of Artillery’, it was later renamed ‘The Regiment of Indian Artillery’ on 01 November 1940. In recognition of its success and role in World War II, it was prefixed with ‘Royal’ in October 1945. At the time of independence, Indian Artillery consisted of Field,