Governor K. Sankaranarayanan inspects the Guard of Honour on the raising day of the 18 Battalion of the Bihar Regiment at old Artillery lines of Khojatoli in Namkom on Saturday. (Picture by Prashant Mitra)

Ranchi, Nov. 7: The flag of the 18th Battalion of the Bihar Regiment of the Indian Army was raised in the capital here today.

Jharkhand Governor K. Sankaranarayanan did the honours and unfurled the flag, with three equal stripes of green and scarlet and the regimental crest in the centre, at Khojatoli campus in Namkum.

The regimental crest of the Ashoka Lions is the pride of the battalion — also known as the Purvaiya. The regiment has a rich tradition in counter-insurgency operations and emergency assignments.

The programme began with the Guard of Honour commanded by Major Dipankar Bose. The flag was carried by Captain Anurag Pandey and presented to the Colonel of the Regiment, Major General Rajinder Singh. The flag was then handed over to the commanding officer of the newly raised battalion of Colonel Manoj Kumar.

This was the first raising day function of any battalion to be held in the capital.

The Bihar regiment, incidentally, was the first to adopt the Ashoka emblem as its crest, which was later adopted by the Bihar government and subsequently became the national emblem, said a senior army officer.

The battalion received its first silver trophy from the governor today.

The Purvaiya is the 18th Battalion of the Bihar regiment formed by Lord Robert Clive, known for its soldiers hailing from unified Bihar, Bengal and Orissa and for its valour and courage. The British exploited the might of these soldiers to win laurels, but it was also a reason for worry for the British as the regiment’s men were the first to jump into the fray of the revolt of 1857.

Mangal Pandey who ignited the sepoy mutiny against the British belonged to the Bihar regiment. Even today, Purvaiya’s men harbour similar sentiments of honour and pride of being Indian.

State’s First Lady Radha Sankaranarayanan who also attended the function cut the battalion raising day cake. The ceremony was followed by light refreshments.

Later in the day, a Sainik Sammelan was addressed by Lieutenant General J.K. Mohanty and Major General Rajinder Singh followed by a community meal for jawans and families.