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{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name=31st Punjabis
| image=Badge of 31st Punjabis.jpg
| image_size = 150
|caption=
|dates=1857 - 1922
|country={{flag|British India}}
|branch={{army|British India}}
|type=Infantry
|size=1 Battalion
|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 [[Bhutan War]] 1864-66 [[Second Afghan War]] 1878-80 [[Siege of Malakand|Malakand]] 1895-97 [[First World War]] 1914-18
|notable_commanders=Lt Gen [[Akhtar Hussain Malik]], [[Hilal-i-Jurat|HJ]] Lt Gen [[Abdul Ali Malik]], [[Hilal-i-Jurat|HJ]]
|anniversaries=
}}
The '''31st Punjabis''' was an infantry regiment of the [[British Indian Army]]. It was raised in 1857, as Van Cortlandt's Levy. The regiment was designated as the 31st Punjabis in 1903 and became 2nd Battalion [[16th Punjab Regiment]] in 1922. In 1947, it was allocated to the [[Pakistan Army]], where it continues to exist as '''14th 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 General Van Cortlandt at [[Ferozepur]] on 22 May 1857, as Van Cortlandt's Levy. Their class composition was Punjabi Muslims, [[Sikh]]s, [[Dogra]]s, Hill Rajputs and [[Gurkha]]s. The regiment took part in the [[Bhutan War]] of 1864-66, the [[Second Afghan War]] of 1878-80, and the [[Siege of Malakand]] in 1895-97.<ref name="Lawford 1967"/> At Malakand, Sir [[Winston Churchill]], who was covering the campaign as a war correspondent for ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', was temporarily attached with the regiment. The future Prime Minister of [[Great Britain]] cut an impressive figure on his grey charger, being in the thick of action everywhere. He, however, was disappointed when he was not allowed to take over the command of the regiment!<ref name="Qureshi 1985">Qureshi, Col HU. (1985). ''History of DoSolah: 14th Battalion The Punjab Regiment 1857-1985''. Published by the battalion.</ref>

==31st Punjabis==
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 31st 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 31st Punjabis served in [[Mesopotamia Campaign|Mesopotamia]] and [[Salonika]] in [[Greece]]. It then served at [[Istanbul|Constantinople]], [[Turkey]] as part of Allied occupation forces.<ref name="Lawford 1967"/>

==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 31st Punjabis with the [[30th Punjabis|30th]], [[33rd Punjabis|33rd]] and [[46th Punjabis]], and the [[9th Bhopal Infantry]]. The battalion's new designation was 2nd Battalion 16th Punjab Regiment. During the [[Second World War]], the battalion fought in the [[Malayan Campaign]] and was taken prisoner by the Japanese on [[Singapore Island]] following the British surrender on 15 February 1942. It was re-raised in 1946.<ref name="Lawford 1967"/> 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 2/16th Punjab was redesignated as 14 Punjab. In 1948, the battalion participated in the war with India in [[Kashmir]], while in 1965, it fought in the [[Operation Grand Slam|Chhamb-Jaurian]] and [[Sialkot]] Sectors. During the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971, 14 Punjab fought in the [[Battle of Chamb|Battle of Chhamb]] in [[Kashmir]].<ref name="Rizvi 1984"/><ref name="Qureshi 1985"/>

==Genealogy==
[[File:31st and 27th Punjabis, Lovett 1910.jpg|thumb|right|31st and 27th Punjabis. Watercolour by Major AC Lovett, 1910.|330px]]
*1857 Van Cortlandt's Levy
*1857 Bloomfield's Sikhs
*1857 23rd Regiment of Punjab Infantry
*1861 35th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
*1861 31st Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
*1864 31st (Punjab) Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
*1885 31st (Punjab) Regiment of Bengal Infantry
*1901 31st Punjab Infantry
*1903 31st Punjabis
*1922 2nd Battalion 16th Punjab Regiment
*1956 14th 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.
*Qureshi, Col HU. (1985). ''History of DoSolah: 14th Battalion The Punjab Regiment 1857-1985''. Published by the battalion.
*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:Military units and formations established in 1857]]
[[Category:1857 establishments in India]]

31st Punjabis - Revision history

Bot at 12:47, 19 April 2022