Indian Army: A Regiment like no other “Sikkim Scouts- Guardians of Honour” – God of Small Thing

Sikkim Scouts: 

The regiment of Indian Army which grew and recruited from Sikkim has been titled as Sikkim Scouts. It is one of the strongest arms of the Indian Army. In 2013 the seeds of Sikkim Scout were sown by Pawan Kumar Chamling, the Chief Minister of Sikkim. He was the one who requested the Ministry of Defense to form a separate regiment which has young faces of Sikkim.

The recommendation became stronger because all the other Himalayan Border States had similar forces (Ladakh Scouts and Arunachal Scouts) of localities.

In 1975 Sikkim got the identity of an Indian state. But still, China does not clearly accept that Sikkim is an Indian state. In the year 2000, China finally had to accept that people of Sikkim consider themselves as part of India. This was evident when the pledge to add a new regiment of Sikkim was shown the green flag by the Ministry of Defense.

The Indian Army and ITBP stationed its several units to Sikkim for peace.  2015 became an important year for the Indian army as Sikkim Scouts became operational. It holds the title of the youngest regiment in the Indian Army. Sikkim Scouts is an active infantry (soldiers in the foot) regiment.

Sikkim Scouts is one of its kind regiment?

The strength of Sikkim Scouts is counted as 2 battalions each battalion having 300 to 800 soldiers of every rank. The key role of this regiment is on mountain warfare. The regiment is responsible to fight for the country in rough terrains. Rough terrain combat is considered as one of the most dangerous combat as every soldier has to fight two enemies one being the people who cross the border and other is the extreme weather.

Sikkim Scouts and their areas of operations:

The youngest regiments hold the safety of the 222km border with the most poisonous neighbor, China. Supporting the proposal of Chamling, Defense Ministry added a stone to the wall of the country’s safety. Moreover, the regiment was created on the policy of ‘Sons of Soil‘ that is bolstering its defense wall by associating locals into them.

The cost of raising the regiment was 32.5 crore which is slightly higher than the normal cost. This raising cost made Sikkim Scouts powerful hand of the Indian Army.  In 2011 Defense Ministry issued a policy of banning tattoos for Indian Army personnel, which became a major problem in recruiting the army personnel from Sikkim as the maximum Sikkimese men had tattoos.

First Batch of Sikkim Scouts: 

In 2013, the first batch was recruited for the new Sikkim regiment.  On 24th May 2013 the first Army Chief of Sikkim Scout was honored with the flag of the regiment at Lucknow. The first regiment had 319 soldiers which gradually increased till date. The Sikkim Scout is affiliated with the 11th Gorkha Rifles. They have been tasked to guard the borders of Sikkim with China especially in the rough mountain areas since it is the easiest way for the enemies to enter.

The Question by a Men will make you think over again and again !! Who will Stand For Us?-INDIAN Army

With the introduction of a new regiment to the Indian Army, the threat and terror in the minds of enemies has increased. Godofsmallthing salutes every soldier of every regiment for their incredible support and for providing us harmonious sleep.