Mahar Regiment’s Lt Gen C Bansi Ponnappa (2nd from left) shakes hands with 8 Squadron’s AVM MS Deswal after signing the “Charter of Affiliation”. (Photo: Indian Army)
New Delhi: The Indian Army’s Mahar Regiment and the Indian Air Force’s No. 8 Squadron entered an inter-services affiliation with each other, on Monday, at a ceremony at the Air Force station in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. The ceremony involved a joint Army-Air Force guard of honour and signing of “Charter of Affiliation” by Lieutenant General C Bansi Ponnappa, adjutant general and colonel of the Mahar Regiment, and Air Vice Marshal MS Deswal, commodore commandant, No. 8 Squadron of the Air Force.
In a statement, the Army said: “The affiliation of the Mahar Regiment and the No 8 Squadron will enable each other to develop a mutual understanding of joint ethos, capabilities, and core competencies through common appreciation of military tactical doctrines and concepts in the contemporary military environment.”
“This affiliation ceremony will further promote jointness and is a symbol of inter-services camaraderie that will go a long way in synergized execution of integrated operations in modern warfare,” it further said.
The Army’s Mahar Regiment was raised during the British Raj on October 1, 1941. It has fought several wars with distinction and honour. After Independence, in 1947, it emerged victorious on several battlefields and has been awarded nine Battle Honours and 12 Theatre Honours. The regiment has earned numerous gallantry awards including the Param Vir Chakra (PVC), the highest wartime gallantry award, and the Ashok Chakra (AC), the highest peacetime gallantry award.
The Air Force’s No. 8 Squadron was raised on 01 December 1942 and is one of the most senior squadrons of the service. The squadron has the distinction of being the first Air Force squadron to fight in the Burma Campaign during World War II. Currently, the squadron is presently equipped with the formidable Sukhoi-30 MKI fighters.
