NatishaMooring9 at 20:19, 27 August 2025

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{{short description|Infantry regiment of the erstwhile British Indian Army}}
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name=30th Punjabis
| image=Badge of 30th Punjabis.jpg
| image_size = 135
|caption=
|dates=1857 - 1922
|country={{flag|British India}}
|branch={{army|British India}}
|type=Infantry
|size=4 Battalions
|command_structure=
|garrison=
|ceremonial_chief=
|ceremonial_chief_label=
|colonel_of_the_regiment=
|nickname=
|motto=
|colors=Red; faced white
|colors_label=Uniform
|march=
|mascot=
|battles=[[Indian Rebellion of 1857|Indian Mutiny]] 1857-58 <br>[[Bhutan War]] 1864-66<br> [[Second Afghan War]] 1878-80 <br> [[First World War]] 1914-18
|notable_commanders=
|anniversaries=
}}
The '''30th Punjabis''' were an infantry regiment of the [[British Indian Army]]. It was raised in 1857, as the 22nd Regiment of Punjab Infantry. It was designated as the 30th Punjabis in 1903 and became 1st Battalion [[16th Punjab Regiment]] in 1922. In 1947, it was allocated to the [[Pakistan Army]], where it continues to exist as '''13th Battalion The [[Punjab Regiment (Pakistan)|Punjab Regiment]]'''.<ref name="Rizvi 1984">Rizvi, Brig SHA. (1984). ''Veteran Campaigners – A History of the Punjab Regiment 1759-1981''. Lahore: Wajidalis.</ref><ref name="Lawford 1967">Lawford, Lt Col JP, and Catto, Maj WE. (1967). ''Solah Punjab: The History of the 16th Punjab Regiment''. Aldershot: Gale & Polden.</ref>

==Early history==
The regiment was raised during the upheaval of the [[Indian Mutiny]], by Captain ROT Nicholls at [[Ludhiana]] on 10 June 1857, as the 22nd Regiment of Punjab Infantry. The men were mostly drawn from other infantry and police battalions in the [[Punjab region|Punjab]] and their class composition was Punjabi Muslims, [[Sikh]]s and [[Dogras|Dogra]]s. For the next two years, the regiment remained engaged in suppressing the rebellion. The regiment took an active part in the [[Bhutan War]] of 1864–66, the [[Second Afghan War]] of 1878–80, the [[Chitral Expedition]] of 1895, and the [[Tirah Campaign]] of 1897.<ref name="Lawford 1967"/><ref name="Lawford 1972">Lawford, James. (1972). ''30th Punjabis''. London: Osprey.</ref>

Subsequent to the [[Kitchener Reforms|reforms]] brought about in the Indian Army by [[Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|Lord Kitchener]] in 1903, the regiment's designation was changed to 30th Punjabis.<ref name="Gaylor 1991">{{cite book|last=Gaylor|first=John|title=Sons of John Company: The Indian and Pakistan Armies 1903–91|publisher=Stroud: Spellmount|year=1991}}</ref>
During the [[First World War]], the 30th Punjabis served with distinction in the [[East African Campaign (World War I)|East African Campaign]], while their 2nd Battalion, raised in 1918, served in the Palestine Campaign and fought in the [[Battle of Megiddo (1918)|Battle of Megiddo]]. During the war, 30th Punjabis raised two more battalions, which stayed in India. All war-raised battalions were disbanded after the war.<ref name="Lawford 1967"/><ref name="Lawford 1972"/>

==Subsequent history==
In 1921–22, a major reorganization was undertaken in the British Indian Army leading to the formation of large infantry groups of four to six battalions. Among these was the 16th Punjab Regiment, formed by grouping the 30th Punjabis with the [[31st Punjabis|31st]], [[33rd Punjabis|33rd]] and [[46th Punjabis]], and the [[9th Bhopal Infantry]]. The battalion's new designation was 1st Battalion 16th Punjab Regiment. During the [[Second World War]], the battalion fought in the [[Burma Campaign]] with great distinction.<ref name="Lawford 1967"/><ref name="Gaylor 1991"/> In 1947, the 16th Punjab Regiment was allocated to Pakistan Army. In 1956, it was merged with the [[1st Punjab Regiment|1st]], [[14th Punjab Regiment|14th]] and [[15th Punjab Regiment]]s to form one large [[Punjab Regiment (Pakistan)|Punjab Regiment]], and 1/16th Punjab was redesignated as 13 Punjab. In 1948, the battalion fought in the war with India in [[Kashmir]], while during the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War, it fought in the Chhamb-Jaurian Sector. In 1971, it served in [[Sialkot]] Sector.<ref name="Rizvi 1984"/>[[File:30th and 20th Punjabis, Lovett 1910.jpg|thumb|right|30th and 20th Punjabis. Watercolour by Major AC Lovett, 1910.|230px]]

==Genealogy==
*1857 22nd Regiment of Punjab Infantry
*1861 34th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
*1861 30th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
*1864 30th (Punjab) Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
*1885 30th (Punjab) Regiment of Bengal Infantry
*1901 30th Punjab Infantry
*1903 30th Punjabis
*1918 1st Battalion 30th Punjabis
*1922 1st Battalion 16th Punjab Regiment
*1956 13th Battalion The Punjab Regiment

==See also==
*[[16th Punjab Regiment]]
*[[Punjab Regiment (Pakistan)|Punjab Regiment]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Lawford, Lt Col JP, and Catto, Maj WE. (1967). ''Solah Punjab: The History of the 16th Punjab Regiment''. Aldershot: Gale & Polden.
*Lawford, James. (1972). ''30th Punjabis''. London: Osprey.
*Rizvi, Brig SHA. (1984). ''Veteran Campaigners – A History of the Punjab Regiment 1759-1981''. Lahore: Wajidalis.
*Cardew, Lt FG. (1903). ''A Sketch of the Services of the Bengal Native Army to the Year 1895''. Calcutta: Military Department.
*{{cite book|last=Gaylor|first=John|title=Sons of John Company: The Indian and Pakistan Armies 1903–91|publisher=Stroud: Spellmount|year=1991|isbn=978-0-946771-98-1}}
*{{cite book|last=Barthorp|first=Michael|last2=Burn|first2=Jeffrey|year=1979|title=Indian Infantry Regiments 1860-1914|publisher=London: Osprey|isbn=0-85045-307-0}}
*{{cite book|last=Sumner|first=Ian|title=The Indian Army 1914-1947|year=2001|publisher=London: Osprey|isbn=1-84176-196-6}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}

[[Category:Punjab Regiment (Pakistan)]]
[[Category:British Indian Army infantry regiments]]
[[Category:Indian World War I regiments]]
[[Category:Indian World War II regiments]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1857]]
[[Category:1857 establishments in British India]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1922]]

30th Punjabis - Revision history

NatishaMooring9 at 20:19, 27 August 2025