The 43rd Erinpura Regiment was a regiment of the British Indian Army. It originated in the three infantry companies of

Meena Meena () is a sub-group of Bhils. They speak Meena language. They started adopting the Brahmin worship system. Its name is also transliterated as ''Meenanda'' or ''Mina''. Historians claim that they belong to the Matsya tribe. They got the st ...

Bhil Bhil or Bheel is an ethnic group in western India. They speak the Bhil languages, a subgroup of the Western Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages. As of 2013, Bhils were the largest tribal group in India. Bhils are listed as tribal people of t ...

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...

of the Jodhpur Legion that stayed loyal to the British when the Legion revolted in 1857. (The Bhil companies had been raised in 1841.) They were incorporated in 1860 as the Erinpoorah (or Erinpura) Irregular Force by a Lt-Col J F W Hall. This force was composed of a squadron of cavalry, mainly Sikhs, numbering, 164 of all ranks, and eight companies of infantry, numbering 719. The British mostly enlisted Bhils and

Minas Minas or MINAS may refer to: People with the given name Minas * Menas of Ethiopia (died 1563) * Saint Menas (Minas, 285–309) * Minias of Florence (Minas, Miniato, died 250) * Minas Alozidis (born 1984), Greek hurdler * Minas Avetisyan (1928� ...

in the infantry to provide employment to people of the local tribes and thus ween them away from their lawless habits.''Imperial Gazetteer of India'', (1908–1931), v. 12, p. 27.
/ref> From end 1870 to 1881 the commandant was in political charge of the

Sirohi district Sirohi District is a district of Rajasthan state in western India. The city of Sirohi is the district headquarters. As of 2011 it is the third least populous district of Rajasthan (out of 33), after Jaisalmer and Pratapgarh. History In 1948 ...

and on several occasions he sent out detachments to support the police in patrolling disturbed areas and arresting

dacoits Dacoity is a term used for "banditry" in the Indian subcontinent. The spelling is the anglicised version of the Hindi word ''daaku''; "dacoit" is a colloquial Indian English word with this meaning and it appears in the ''Glossary of Colloqui ...

. In 1895 the strength of the cavalry squadron was reduced from 164 to 100 of all ranks. In 1897 the force, which had till then been under the Foreign Department of the Government of India, was placed under the Commander-in-Chief. After the

Kitchener reforms The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

of the Indian Army in 1903, it was renamed the 43rd (Erinpura) Regiment. The regiment was made up of four double companies of infantry recruited from Rajputana Hindus and Muslims. The regimental depot was at Erinpura in

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

throughout its history from 1860–1921. On the outbreak of World War I the 43rd was serving as part of the 5th (Mhow) Division. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the regiment served in the 15th Indian Division during the Mesopotamia Campaign. The first or regular battalion was employed mainly in escort duties and guarding line of communication, although it was present at the Second Battle of Ramada in September 1917. A second battalion was raised in 1917. As a war-time unit lacking experienced personnel it was employed mainly for guard and other security purposes in Bombay, before being disbanded in 1920. After World War I the Indian government reformed the army again moving from single-battalion infantry units to multi-battalion regiments. As part of this reorganisation nine infantry regiments were disbanded. The 43rd Erinpura Regiment was one of these and was disbanded in October 1921.Sumner p.15

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* * British Indian Army infantry regiments Honourable East India Company regiments Military units and formations established in 1860 Military units and formations disestablished in 1922 Bengal Presidency {{India-mil-unit-stub