The 5 Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force)

The 5 Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force) is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army comprising Gurkha soldiers of Nepalese origin. The regiment was raised in 1858 as the 25th Punjab Infantry, also known as the "Hazara Goorkha Battalion". The soldiers of the regiment originated from the Kingdom of Nepal and in 1861 it was renamed the 5th Gurkha Regiment. The regiment's first major action was during the Second Afghan War, where they were awarded their first battle honour at Peiwar Kotal and Captain John Cook was awarded the Victoria Cross. In 1891 the regiment was afforded the prestigious title of a Rifle regiment and became 5th Gurkha (Rifle) Regiment which was shortened to 5th Gurkha Rifles in 1901.

The regiment spent most of its time up to the end of the 19th century based in the Punjab as part of the Punjab Frontier Force (PFF or Piffers), and its regimental centre was at the frontier hill town of Abbottabad, in the Hazara region of North-West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan). This connection was reflected when in 1903, the regiment was renamed the 5th Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force).

On Independence, the 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles was one of the six Gurkha regiments that remained part of the new Indian Army; they were renamed the 5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force) in 1950. The Regiment now has a total of six Battalions and has, participated in virtually every major action the Indian Army has undertaken in its four wars with Pakistan , including the first heliborne operations undertaken by the army during the 1971 war. The Regiment has participated in the following actions:

Indo-Pak War of 1947–48

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965

Battle of Topa (Jammu and Kashmir)

Battle of Atgram (East Pakistan) 1971

Battle of Sylhet (East Pakistan) 1971

Battle of Gazipur (East Pakistan—Bangladesh) 1971

The 4th Battalion was also a part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force which served in Sri Lanka and fought against the LTTE. During this deployment, the battalion's commander, Lieutenant Colonel Bawa, was injured and later died, along with many of his officers and soldiers. The regiment's present headquarters are at Shillong, in North-Eastern India.