Ninth Gorkha Rifles commemorate its 200 years of service

The Ninth Gorkha Rifles, one of the oldest and highly decorated regiment of the Indian Army commemorated its 200 years of service to the nation with the bicentenary celebrations held from November 8 to November 11 at 39 Gorkha Training Centre, Varanasi Cantonment.

A series of events were conducted on the occasion with pomp and gaiety and were attended by a large number of serving and retired officers, veterans and Veer Naris.

Chief of Army Staff General Bipin Rawat and the President Gorkha Brigade also graced the occasion by his presence on November 9 to November 10, along with the former's wife, Madhulika Rawat.

A galaxy of senior officers both serving and retired, along with over 500 veterans mainly from far-flung areas in Nepal attended the celebration with their families.

During the event, General Rawat interacted extensively with veterans and laid a wreath at the war memorial to pay homage to martyrs of the Regiment. He also released the First Day Cover to mark the occasion.

A magnificent parade followed by felicitation of Veer Naris was conducted on the occasion. Other events included scintillating display on motorcycles by Daredevils, Combat Free Fall, Para Motor Flight and mass band display. The regimental bonds were further strengthened due to the presence of twelve members of the family of Veteran British Gorkha Officers, who had arrived from the UK for the celebrations.

Various events conducted over two days provided an excellent opportunity to cement the bond between the present generation and veterans.