The 16th Rajputs (The Lucknow Regiment) was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and m ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

of the

Bengal Army The Bengal Army was the army of the Bengal Presidency, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire. The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company (EIC) until the Govern ...

and later of the united British Indian Army. It can trace its origins to 1857, during the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

when it was formed from men of the 13th, 48th and 71st Bengal Native Infantry regiments that remained loyal to the British. Named The Lucknow Regiment they were responsible for guarding the Bailey Gate in the

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and divisio ...

Residency. Over the years they were known by a number of different titles the 16th Bengal Native Infantry in 1861, the 16th (The Lucknow) Bengal Native Infantry 1864, the 16th (The Lucknow) Bengal Infantry 1885, the 16th (The Lucknow) Rajput Bengal Infantry 1897, the 16th Rajput Infantry (The Lucknow Regiment) 1901 and finally 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 cou ...

of the Indian Army the 16th Rajputs (The Lucknow Regiment). During this time the regiment took part in the Duffla Hill Expedition, the Second Afghan War, the Third Anglo-Burmese War, the Siege of Malakand and the Campaign against the Bunerwals. During World War I they served in the Mesopotamia Campaign with the Jubbulpore Brigade 5th (Mhow) Division. After World War I the Indian government reformed the Indian Army again moving from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments.Sumner p.15 The 6th Rajputs (The Lucknow Regiment) now became the 10th Training Battalion, 7th Rajput Regiment. After Independence this was one of the regiments allocated to the new Indian Army.

References

* * British Indian Army infantry regiments Honourable East India Company regiments Military units and formations established in 1857 1857 establishments in India {{BritishIndia-mil-stub