The Parachute Regiment is the main airborne and special forces regiment of the Indian Army. It was raised in 1945 as part of the British Indian Army but was disbanded after World War II and was re-raised in 1952 as part of the Indian Army. Presently, it consists of fifteen regular Special Forces battalions, one Rashtriya Rifles battalion, and two Territorial Army battalions.

History World War II The first Indian airborne formation was the British Indian Army's 50th Parachute Brigade, which was raised during World War II on 29 October 1941, initially consisting of 151 Parachute Battalion (composed of British troops), 152nd Parachute Battalion (consisting of Indian troops) and 153rd Parachute Battalion (consisting of Gurkha troops) alongside other support units.

Colonel A.G. Rangaraj, MVC, of the Indian Medical Service and RMO of 152nd Parachute Battalion, became the first Indian, along with Hav. Maj. Mathura Singh to make a parachute descent. In 1942–43, the formation saw limited action at Nara against Pathan tribals in the North-West Frontier Province and conducted some intelligence-gathering missions in Burma, utilizing their somewhat limited airborne capabilities. In August 1943, the 154th Parachute Battalion was formed from troops from the 3rd battalion, 7th Gurkha Rifles and assigned to the 50th Parachute Brigade. In March 1944, the 151st Parachute Battalion was transferred to Britain, renamed as 156th Parachute Battalion, and assigned to the 4th Parachute Brigade of the 1st Airborne Division.

The 50th Parachute Brigade, without the 154th Parachute Battalion, then saw extensive action at Sangshak and later in the Imphal plains on the Burmese border against two reinforced Japanese divisions. 154th Parachute Battalion had not completed its air training, so it stayed back to attain airborne status. During the Battle of Sangshak (21–26 March 1944), which lasted six days, the brigade suffered extremely heavy casualties, totalling 40 officers and VCOs and other 545 ranks, winning the appreciation of Lt. Gen. William Slim, the commander of the British Fourteenth Army. The breakout on the night of 26 March 1944 saw the remnants of the once-proud parachute brigade fight their way south and then west through the Japanese-infested jungles to Imphal. It achieved its task of preventing the flanking Japanese forces from surrounding Imphal and destroying IV Corps. Despite the losses it suffered in Sangshak, the paratroopers formed ad hoc units and continued to participate in actions to destroy Japanese forces near and around Imphal until their withdrawal at the end of July.

Later in 1944, the brigade was expanded to form the 44th Indian Airborne Division as the original 9th Airborne Division was to be named because the 44th Armoured Division (whose services were no longer required in the Middle East theatre of war) was to be converted to an airborne unit. The two ad hoc brigades from the Chindit operations, the 14th and the 77th, were included to form the division. The original plan was to have a battalion each of British troops, Indian troops, and Gurkha troops in both the parachute brigades, with the 14th being converted for the airlanding role, though little is known about glider-borne training or operations in India. The 14th was later converted for the airborne role. The Governor General's Bodyguard (GGBG) joined the airborne fraternity and was named the 44th Airborne Division Reconnaissance Squadron. 9th Field Regiment (RIA) and other support units, too, were inducted. 60th Parachute Field Ambulance, which till then had been in Burma and performed well, was selected to augment the medical element for the formation.

In 1945, the 44th Indian Airborne Division was finally designated as the 2nd Indian Airborne Division. The plan was to raise an entire airborne corps with the British 6th Airborne Division of D-Day/Normandy fame to be brought to India as the second divisional formation, but the war ended before it could materialize. The Indian Army's Parachute Regiment was officially formed on 1 March 1945, consisting of four battalions and an equal number of independent companies. The regiment's first airborne action was towards the end of the war, when a reinforced Gurkha Parachute Battalion was parachuted into Burma at Elephant Point on 1 May 1945, as part of Operation Dracula. The battalion performed well, earning the respect of all, including the critics of airborne warfare. Despite the performance in Operation Dracula, the Parachute Regiment was disbanded in late 1945 as part of the reduction and restructuring of the post-war British Indian Army. However, they retained their airborne role and formed part of the airborne division.

Indian independence After independence and partition, the airborne division was divided between the armies of India and newly formed Pakistan, with India retaining the Divisional HQ and the 50th and 77th Parachute Brigades, while the 14th Parachute Brigade went to Pakistan. The 77th Parachute Brigade was later disbanded. Thus, the Indian Army retained only one airborne formation, the 50th Parachute Brigade. This brigade consisted of three distinguished battalions from different regiments: the 1st battalion, Punjab Regiment (Para), the 3rd battalion, Maratha Light Infantry (Para), and the 1st battalion, Kumaon Regiment (Para). These battalions had been carrying out parachute duties after the disbandment of the regiment in 1945 and had continued to wear the uniform of their parent regiments except for a change in headgear to the maroon beret, and to distinguish them from the other battalions of their regiments, the word 'Para' was added after their names.

Indo-Pakistani War of 1947

Both the 50th and 77th Parachute Brigades saw extensive action in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The three parachute battalions and the support units of the 50th Parachute Brigade saw extensive action. The three battalions distinguished themselves in the battles of Shelatang, Naushera, Jhangar, and Poonch, after which they were awarded the respective battle honours. The brigade commander, Mohammad Usman, was killed in action on 3 July 1948. He was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra posthumously.

60th Parachute Field Ambulance, as part of the 77th Parachute Brigade, also saw action in Kashmir, where it raised and maintained the now famous Cariappa Hospital, catering to the needs of numerous units in its vicinity (27th Indian Army and state Forces battalions along with other units) and constantly faced shortages due to the war situation and inclement weather conditions. The unit's performance, like other units of the parachute brigade, was beyond all expectations and resulted in the awarding of numerous gallantry awards, including a Vir Chakra to Captain V. Rangaswami, the surgeon.

60th Parachute Field Ambulance in the Korean War

With the North Korean invasion of South Korea in 1950, the UN sent out a call to the free world for assistance. India decided not to get involved militarily but contributed a medical unit, the 60th Parachute Field Ambulance (60th PFA), which served in Korea for a total of four years. Commander was Lieutenant Colonel A. G. Rangaraj and 60th PFA was involved in providing medical cover to the forces of the UN Command as well as the ROK Army and local civilians, and earned the title, "The Angels in Brown Berets" due to their iconic reddish-brown berets. The unit also looked after the North Korean POWs. They treated about 20,000Some news outlets announced that the 60th PFA treated about 200,000 wounded soldiers and civilians, but the total wounded soldiers of 16 United Nations Forces was about 100,000~110,000. According to South Korean Ministry of National Defense Institute for Military History statistics, 60th PFA treated about 20,000 wounded soldiers and civiliansThe Statistics of the Korean War, 391 Page - ROK Ministry of National Defense Institute for Military History, 2014 (E-BOOK) The Statistics of the Korean War, 391 Page - ROK Ministry of National Defense Institute for Military History, 2014 (PDF) wounded soldiers and civilians from November 1950 to February 1954.

The highlight of the tenure undoubtedly was when the unit provided their services during Operation Tomahawk on 21 March 1951 to the U.S Army's 187 Airborne Regimental Combat Team for which the unit was awarded two Maha Vir Chakras, one bar to Vir Chakra and six Vir Chakras, and a host of other Indian and international individual and unit decorations. These included the unit citations from the US and South Korean Army chiefs, commendations from the 1st Commonwealth Division, and British commanders. There was a special mention of the unit in the House of Lords in the British Parliament. The 12 members of the unit who participated in the airborne operation were also awarded the American Parachutist Badge. On their return to India, the unit was awarded the President's Trophy by the first President of the Republic of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, on 10 March 1955 at Agra, the first one of its kind and the only one to date. The troops of the unit were also awarded 25 Mentioned-in-Despatches.

Re-raising On 15 April 1952, the Parachute Regiment was re-raised by absorbing the three existing parachute battalions of the 50th Parachute Brigade. The 1st battalion, Punjab Regiment (Para) was redesignated as the 1st battalion, Parachute Regiment (Punjab). The 3rd battalion, Maratha Light Infantry (Para) was redesignated as the 2nd battalion, Parachute Regiment (Maratha). The 1st battalion, Kumaon Regiment (Para) was redesignated as the 3rd battalion, Parachute Regiment (Kumaon). The Parachute Regiment Depot and Records was raised at Agra on 15 April 1952, to coincide with the raising of the regiment. All personnel documents for troops who were serving in the three parachute battalions that were converted into the Parachute Regiment were transferred to Depot and Records from the Punjab Regiment, Maratha Light Infantry, and the Kumaon Regiment. Simultaneously, a Personal Accounts Office (PAO) for the regiment was raised at Mathura as part of PAO (OR) Artillery. Until 1952, the 50th Parachute Brigade had used the Pegasus with "India" written under it, as a formation sign. When the Parachute Regiment was raised, a new formation sign, a light blue Shatrujeet, a half-horse, half-man with wings and a bow and arrow in a ready position, signifying the operational readiness of the brigade, on a maroon background, replaced the Pegasus. Lt. General M.L. Tuli, of 3rd Para (Kumaon), designed the new cap badge and the formation sign.

In 1961, the raising of the 4th battalion augmented the strength of the regiment. After the Sino-Indian War of 1962, the regiment, as with the rest of the armed forces, saw expansion on an unprecedented scale, with the 5th battalion raised in 1962, the 6th battalion raised in 1963, and the 7th battalion raised in 1964, followed by the raising of the 8th battalion. A second parachute brigade, the 51st, was also raised to complement the 50th Brigade but was reverted to its normal infantry role in 1976. Of the original units of the 50th Parachute Brigade, only two exist as of date, namely 411th Parachute Field Company of the Bombay Sappers, the oldest parachute unit of the Indian Army, and the 50th Parachute Brigade Signal Company. The original medical unit, 80th Parachute Field Ambulance, became part of 14th Parachute Brigade and went over to Pakistan. At the same time, 43rd Para Fd Amb was disbanded, as with the other minor units of the 77th Para Brigade. Only one field ambulance, 60th Parachute Field Ambulance (now 60th Parachute Field Hospital), was retained in the airborne role. The other minor units followed suit. The Governor General's Bodyguard was retained in the pathfinder role.

Para (Special Forces)