The 7th Light Cavalry previously the 28th Light Cavalry, was a regular army cavalry regiment in the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1784 under the East India Company.
Lance Dafadar Gobind Singh, VC of the Indian Cavalry was awarded the Victoria Cross "for most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty in thrice volunteering to carry messages between the regiment and Brigade Headquarters, a distance of 1½ miles over open ground which was under the observation and heavy fire of the enemy. He succeeded each time in delivering his message, although on each occasion his horse was shot and he was compelled to finish his journey on foot." He was awarded the Victoria Cross.
The regiment later saw service on the North West Frontier and in World War I and World War II.
In 1922 reorganization saw the regiment renamed as the 7th Light Cavalry and the class composition was altered.
The same year the ‘Indianization’ of the Indian Army officer corps began in selected regiments. Initially in the cavalry the two units selected were the 7th Light Cavalry and the 16th Light Cavalry. Under this policy British officers would no longer be appointed to the regiment. Instead newly commissioned Indian officers, initially trained at Royal Military College, Sandhurst and from 1932 onwards at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun,would be appointed instead. The first Indian officer was appointed in December 1923. By September 1939, 16 of the 22 officers of the regiment were Indian.
In 1947 the regiment passed on to independent India. From late 1947 it played a key role in the Jammu & Kashmir operations, surmounting the heights of Zojila at 11,500 feet, and the break-through on 1 November 1948. The first troop leader was Capt Sharakdev Singh Jamwal. The commanding officer of the Regiment was awarded the coveted Maha-Vir-Chakra.
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