The Rajarata Rifles was a former

rifle regiment A rifle regiment is a military unit consisting of a regiment of infantry troops armed with rifles and known as Rifleman, riflemen. While all infantry units in modern armies are typically armed with rifled weapons the term is still used to denote r ...

of the

Sri Lanka 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; ...

. It was one of only three geographically based regiments in the Sri Lanka army. The cap badge of the Raja Rata Rifles shows the figure of a ''Bherunda Pakshiya'' (

Double-headed eagle The double-headed eagle is an Iconology, iconographic symbol originating in the Bronze Age. The earliest predecessors of the symbol can be found in Mycenaean Greece and in the Ancient Near East, especially in Mesopotamian and Hittite Empire#icon ...

First Rajarata Rifles

Raised along with Ruhunu Regiment in 1954, by Prime Minister Colonel Sir

John Kotelawala General (Sri Lanka), General Sir John Lionel Kotelawala (; 4 April 1897 – 2 October 1980) was a Sri Lankan statesman, who served as the 3rd Prime Minister of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) from 1953 to 1956. Born to a wealthy landholding and mining f ...

with officers and men from the Charley Company of the 2nd(Volunteer) Battalion,

Ceylon Light Infantry Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian peninsula by ...

under the command of Lieutenant Colonel S.D. Ratwatte in

Kandy Kandy (, ; , ) is a major city located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy from 1469 to 1818, under the Kingdom of Kandy. The city is situated in the midst of ...

. In 1956, Prime Minister

S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike (8 January 1899 – 26 September 1959), also known as "The Silver Bell of Asia" (ආසියාවේ රිදී සීනුව), was a Sri Lankan statesman who served as the fourth Prime Minister of ...

had the Rajarata Rifles and Ruhunu Regiment disbanded fearing personal loyalty of the regiments to Sir John Kotelawala. The Rajarata Rifles were disbanded and its personnel transferred to form the 2nd(Volunteer) Battalion, Ceylon Sinha Regiment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel S.D. Ratwatte in

Second Rajarata Rifles

The second regiment called the Rajarata Rifles was formed at Saliyapura in 1980 under its first commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel W. K. Nanayakkara, with Captain

Gotabaya 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 ...

serving as its

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

. In 1983, following a mutiny the regiment was disbanded with its remaining officers and men amalgamated with the 1st Battalion of the Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment in 1983 to form the

Gajaba Regiment The Gajaba Regiment (GR) is an elite infantry regiment of the Sri Lankan Army. Formed on 14 October 1983 at the Saliyapura Camp in Anuradhapura, it is named after the famous Sinhalese King Gajabahu the First. It consists of 14 regular battali ...

Notable members

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

A. F. Lafir, PWV, RWP, RSP - Commanding Officer of the 1st Special Forces Regiment * 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, GR –

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 ...

and former

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 Defence, Public Security, Law & Order * Major General

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 ...

- former General Officer Commanding, 53 Division

References

{{Sri Lanka Army Regiments Disbanded regiments of the Sri Lankan Army Infantry regiments of the Sri Lankan Army Rifle regiments Military units and formations established in 1954 Military units and formations disestablished in 1983