The Gajaba Regiment (GR) is an elite

infantry regiment Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

of the

Sri Lankan Army The Sri Lanka Army (; ) is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. The army was officially established as the Ceylon Army in 1949, though the army traces its roots back in 1881 when Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers was created; t ...

. Formed on 14 October 1983 at the Saliyapura Camp in

Anuradhapura Anuradhapura (, ; , ) is a major city located in the north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central Province, Sri Lanka, North Central Province and the capital of Anuradhapura District. The city lies north of the cur ...

, it is named after the famous Sinhalese

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Gajabahu the First. It consists of 14 regular battalions and 6

volunteer Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency ...

battalions.

History

The 1st battalion, Gajaba Regiment was formed on 14 October 1983 with the amalgamation of officers and men of the 1st Rajarata Rifles and the 1st Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Vijaya Wimalaratne at Saliyapura Camp with a strength of 36 officers and 752 other ranks. The 2/3 (

Volunteer Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency ...

) Rajarata Rifles was reconstituted as the 2nd (

) battalion, Gajaba Battalion at Fort Fredrick in

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; , ; , ), historically known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast o ...

on the 14 October 1983 under the command of the Lieutenant Colonel W.R. Wijerathna. The Cap badge of the Gajaba Regiment was designed with a shield, two Keteri (

battle axe A battle axe (also battle-axe, battle ax, or battle-ax) is an axe specifically designed for combat. Battle axes were designed differently to utility axes, with blades more akin to cleavers than to wood axes. Many were suitable for use in one ha ...

s) and a Kandian powder flask. The newly formed regular infantry battalion was deployed for internal security duties in the

Jaffna peninsula The Jaffna Peninsula (, or ) is a region in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is home to the capital city of the province, Jaffna, and comprises much of the former land mass of the medieval Jaffna Kingdom. The peninsula was historically ...

from 1983 to 1984 and again in 1985, where it sustained casualties in counter-insurgency operations. With the escalation of the Sri Lankan Civil War and Sri Lanka Army expanded and to cope with the demand of operational needs, a multi-battalion structure was introduced. A second regular infantry battalion was formed as the 3rd battalion in January 1986. Both regular battalions took part in the Vadamarachchi Operation in May 1987. With the start of the

1987–1989 JVP insurrection The 1987–1989 JVP insurrection, also known as the 1988–1989 revolt or the JVP troubles, was an armed revolt in Sri Lanka, led by the Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, against the Government of Sri Lanka. Th ...

, both regular and volunteer units of the regiment were deployed in the southern part of the island for counter-insurgency operations. The regiment took part in all major offensives of the civil war and was involved in many major battles were the Gajaba units involved suffered over 80% casualty rates such as the 3rd battalion (149 killed and 115 missing) in the Battle of Pooneryn and the 8th battalion in the

Second Battle of Elephant Pass The Second Battle of Elephant Pass (code-named Operation Unceasing Waves III (ஓயாத அலைகள் மூன்று) by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam), was fought from December 1999 to April 2000 for the control of the Sri ...

. By the end of the Sri Lankan Civil War, the regiment had 27 battalions and 3,500 of its officers and men had been killed in action. The regiment was awarded President's colours by President

Mahinda Rajapakse Mahinda Rajapaksa (; ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the sixth President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015; the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2005, 2018, and 2019 to 2022; the ...

on 11 January 2007. In 2008 a detachment from the regiment was sent to take part in the

United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti The United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (), also known as MINUSTAH, an acronym of its French name, was a UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti from 2004 to 2017. It was composed of 2,366 military personnel and 2,533 police, supported by int ...

Sports

; Gajaba Supercross Since 1999, the Gajaba Regiment organizes the annual Gajaba Supercross in association with the Sri Lanka Association of Racing Drivers and Riders. ; Gajaba Cricket In 2021 the regiment built the ''Gotabaya Rajapaksa Cricket Stadium'' commissioned

Thisara Perera Narangoda Liyanaarachchige Thisara Chirantha Perera (; born 3 April 1989), popularly known as Thisara Perera, is a former Sri Lankan international cricketer who played all formats for the national team. He also captained the team in limited-over ...

as an officer.

Units

Recipient of the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

K. W. T. Nissanka * Warrant Officer II H.B. Pasan Gunasekera *

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

P. N. Punsiri *

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

W.M.I.S.B. Walisundara

Commanders

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Shavendra Silva General Shavendra Silva, (, ) is a retired Sri Lanka Army officer who served as Chief of Defence Staff, the head of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2024. He also served as the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army fro ...

, WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, ndc, psc - 23^rd

Commander of the Sri Lanka Army The Commander of the Army () is the title of the professional head of the Sri Lanka Army. The current Commander of the Army is Lieutenant General Lasantha Rodrigo. The post's precursor was known as Commander of the Ceylon Defence Force. Se ...

Vikum Liyanage, RWP, RSP, USP, - 24^th

Chiefs of Staff

* Major General U.B.L. Fernando - 39^th Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army * Major General W.H.K.S Peiris - 63^rd Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army * Major General Chandana Wickramasinghe - 66^th Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army

Deputy Chiefs of Staff

* Major General S. T. T. (Sathis) Jayasundera - 8^th Deputy Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army * Major General K.A.S. Perera - 25^th Deputy Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army * Major General Nirmal Dharmaratne - 32^nd Deputy Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army * Major General Rasika Fernando - 33^rd Deputy Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army * Major General C.D Ranasinghe - 41^st Deputy Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army * Major General Chandana Wickramasinghe - 45^st Deputy Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army

Notable members

* Major General Vijaya Wimalaratne, RWP, RSP, VSP, USP - Founder of the Gajaba Regiment.Commander Security Forces Headquarters Jaffna (SF HQ (J)). * Lieutenant Colonel

Gotabhaya Rajapaksa Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa, (; ; born 20 June 1949) was a Sri Lankan politician and military officer who served as the eighth President of Sri Lanka from 18 November 2019 until his Resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, resignation on 14 July 202 ...

, RWP, RSP - 8^th

President of Sri Lanka The president of Sri Lanka ( ''Śrī Laṅkā Janādhipati''; ''Ilaṇkai janātipati'') is the head of state and head of government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The president is the chief executive of the union governm ...

Kamal Gunaratne General (Sri Lanka), General G. D. H. Kamal Gunaratne, Weera Wickrama Vibhushanaya, WWV, Rana Wickrama Padakkama, RWP, Rana Sura Padakkama, RSP, Uttama Seva Padakkama, USP is a retired Sri Lankan army general. He was the Ministry of Defence (S ...

, WWV, RWP, RSP, USP, ndc, psc -

Permanent Secretary A permanent secretary is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are ...

to the Ministry of Defense and GOC 53rd division in Eelam war IV * Major General Sumedha Perera, WWV, RWP, RSP, USP, ndc - Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Mahaweli, Agriculture, Irrigation & Rural Development * Major General Jagath Dias, WWV, RWP, RSP, USP, ndc - Adjutant General of Sri Lanka Army and GOC 57th division in Eelam war IV * Major General Seevali Wanigasekara RWP, RSP VSV, USP, psc *

Shantha Wijesinghe - commanded the defense of Kokkilai and gained the first

Battlefield promotion A battlefield promotion (or field promotion) is an advancement in military rank that occurs while deployed in combat. A standard field promotion is advancement from current rank to the next higher rank; a "jump-step" promotion allows the recipient ...

in the army * Warrant Officer I Dinesh Priyantha - Sri Lankan paralympic track and field athlete *

Sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

Maheesh Theekshana - Sri Lanka National Cricketer *

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

Ranjith Premasiri Madalana - Sri Lankan army sniper

Order of precedence

References

External links and sources

Sri Lanka Army

Gajaba Regiment
{{Sri Lanka Army Regiments * Infantry regiments of the Sri Lankan Army Military units and formations established in 1983