Congress’s Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Singh Hooda has said that in view of the valor and sacrifice of Yaduvanshis in history, ‘Ahir Regiment’ should be established in the Indian Army. He has raised this demand in Parliament. He says that there is a need to understand the bravery story of Yaduvanshi society. He was never behind in defending the nation. For this he has made an incredible sacrifice. There must be an Ahir regiment in the Indian Army in his honor. He said that there are already many caste based regiments in the army, so setting up of another regiment will not make any difference. Said the government should consider this.
The people of South Haryana, popularly known as Ahirwal region, protested at Kherki Daula, Gurugram recently, demanding the formation of Ahir Regiment in the Indian Army. Union Minister of State Rao Inderjit Singh and Gurugram MP have also “fully” supported the demand for formation of ‘Ahir Regiment’ in the Indian Army. At the protest site in Kherki Daula, he said, “I fully support the demand for an Ahir regiment in the army. I have written a letter to the Defense Minister (Rajnath Singh) and also met him regarding this demand. I will continue to raise this issue in future.”
He told the protesters that meeting the demand would be a long battle. He also highlighted that there are several caste-based regiments in the Army and adding one more would not be a problem. He said, not only the people of Mahendragarh and Rewari (Haryana), but also the people of Uttar Pradesh are demanding the formation of Ahir Regiment. I have always supported this in the past and will continue to do so in the future. Apart from this, many other organizations are also involved in the movement.
After the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, the British government had planned caste- and region-based recruitment in the Indian Army and the Jonathan Peel Commission was tasked with identifying social groups and regions to recruit loyalist soldiers.