INDIAN ARMY | MADRAS REGIMENT
“No matter how long you train someone to be brave, you never really know how they will respond until something real happens.”
Training has a way of revealing that.
It tests the body, but more importantly, it tests the mind. It teaches a soldier to continue when comfort says stop, to remain focused when fatigue takes over, and to perform the task because the situation demands it, not because the mood is right.
There is a logic to it.
You train when you are tired because the battlefield will not always wait for you to feel ready. You practise when the body hurts because the real test may come when you are already exhausted.
And that brings us to the Madras Regiment.
The Motto Behind the Mindset
“We've got a motto here, you're tougher than you think you are, and you can do more than you think you can.”
The words capture an important philosophy of military training.
Recently, Lieutenant General Pratik Sharma, Army Commander Northern Command and Colonel of the Madras Regiment, visited Madras Regiment units deployed in Manipur and interacted with the troops.
He commended the soldiers for their professionalism in contributing to peace and stability in the region and exhorted them to continue striving for excellence in all fields.
For a soldier, such words are not simply encouragement.
They are a reminder that physical strength is only one part of military capability.
The greater battle is often fought within.
The Madras Regimental Centre
The Madras Regimental Centre is located at Wellington in the Nilgiris of Tamil Nadu.
The centre serves as an important training and institutional base of the Madras Regiment and preserves the regiment's long military history, battle honours and traditions.
The regiment's motto is:
Its battle cry, “Veera Madrasi, Adi Kollu, Adi Kollu!”, reflects the fighting spirit associated with the regiment.
The regimental centre also houses a museum displaying the history, battle honours, gallantry awards and traditions of the regiment.
The Madras Regiment
The Madras Regiment is one of the oldest infantry regiments of the Indian Army, tracing its organised history to the eighteenth century.
Over more than two centuries, its soldiers have served in campaigns across the Indian subcontinent and overseas.
The regiment's history has passed through the Carnatic Wars, campaigns of the British Indian Army, the World Wars and, after Independence, the major conflicts and operations of the Indian Army.
Its soldiers have served in vastly different environments, from deserts and plains to some of the world's highest and most difficult mountain battlefields.
That history has created a regimental identity built around endurance, adaptability and service.
A Regiment Forged Through History
The early Madras formations developed during the eighteenth century as the East India Company's military presence expanded in southern India.
The troops were subsequently organised into numbered Madras battalions and participated in numerous campaigns.
The regiment fought in the Carnatic Wars and against forces led by rulers including Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan.
Its soldiers also served in campaigns in Burma, Egypt, Afghanistan and China during the era of the British Indian Army.
The regiment's history also includes association with prominent commanders such as Robert Clive and Arthur Wellesley.
The Battle of Assaye became particularly important to the regiment's traditions, with the elephant emblem becoming associated with its battle honours.
Reorganisation and Revival
The reorganisation of the Indian Army during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries significantly affected the Madras Regiment.
Several Madras units were reorganised or converted, while the regiment's strength was reduced considerably.
The Second World War brought a major revival.
New battalions were raised and the regiment again expanded, with its soldiers serving in the Burma campaign and other theatres.
Following Independence, the regiment consolidated into the formation known today as the Madras Regiment.
Post-Independence Service
After Independence, the regiment became an important part of India's military operations.
Its battalions served during the 1947–48 Jammu and Kashmir operations, the 1962 Sino-Indian War, the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak wars, and Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka.
The regiment has also served in counter-insurgency operations and some of the most demanding high-altitude deployments undertaken by the Indian Army.
Its history after Independence continued the tradition established over generations: adapting to changing battlefields while retaining its regimental identity.
1965 War
During the 1965 Indo-Pak war, battalions of the Madras Regiment fought in several important sectors.
The 1st Battalion fought in the Kalidhar sector and participated in the recapture of the Malla feature.
The 3rd Battalion operated in the Sialkot sector and participated in actions around Maharajke.
The 9th Battalion, associated with the former Travancore forces, took part in the assault on the Ichhogil Bund.
Other battalions were deployed in difficult sectors, including the Thar Desert.
The war demonstrated the regiment's ability to adapt rapidly to different operational environments.
1971 War
The Madras Regiment again played an important role during the 1971 Indo-Pak war.
Battalions served on both the eastern and western fronts.
One of the notable actions was the battle for Siramani in East Pakistan, where Madras troops participated in the assault against a strongly defended position.
The regiment's contribution to the campaign was recognised through battle and theatre honours.
Kargil War
The mountains presented a different kind of test.
During the 1999 Kargil War, units of the Madras Regiment served in high-altitude areas where extreme cold, steep terrain and difficult logistics added to the dangers of combat.
The soldiers had to operate at elevations where even routine movement demanded enormous physical effort.
The experience once again demonstrated that military strength is not simply about equipment or numbers.
It is about endurance.
It is about continuing the mission when the environment itself becomes an adversary.
Operation Sindoor
The Madras Regiment also remained part of India's operational readiness during Operation Sindoor in May 2025.
The operation involved a rapidly changing security environment requiring coordination across multiple military domains.
Units and formations associated with the regiment contributed to operational preparedness and the wider defence posture during the period.
The experience reinforced an enduring lesson for infantry formations: readiness must be maintained before the crisis begins.
The Bravehearts of the Madras Regiment
The history of the regiment is ultimately a history of its soldiers.
Among its post-Independence heroes was Major Avinash Singh Bhadauria, who made the supreme sacrifice during a counter-insurgency operation in Jammu and Kashmir and was awarded the Kirti Chakra posthumously.
Major Mohit Sharma, commissioned into the Madras Regiment before later serving with the Parachute Regiment Special Forces, became one of India's most decorated soldiers and was posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra.
Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad became a national symbol of endurance after surviving for days beneath the ice following the 2016 Siachen avalanche before succumbing to his injuries.
The stories of such soldiers demonstrate why regimental history cannot be reduced to dates and battle honours.
Behind every honour is a person.
Behind every name is a family.
And behind every story is a moment when someone was asked to do something difficult and chose to continue.
The Meaning of Training
Training is sometimes misunderstood as simply physical preparation.
It is much more than that.
A soldier learns to operate when tired.
To think under pressure.
To trust comrades.
To obey when hesitation can have consequences.
To remain calm when circumstances become chaotic.
And to keep moving when the body is asking for rest.
That is why the old question of whether one is “tough enough” has a different answer in the military.
Toughness is not always something a person possesses from the beginning.
It can be developed.
It can be strengthened through hardship, repetition, discipline and the example of those around you.
Tougher Than You Think
The statement, “You're tougher than you think you are, and you can do more than you think you can,” therefore becomes more than a motivational line.
It describes what training is supposed to reveal.
A person may believe that their limits have already been reached.
Then another kilometre has to be covered.
Another exercise has to be completed.
Another difficult position has to be held.
Another morning has to begin after a night of exhaustion.
And slowly, the limits begin to move.
That is the transformation.
The Final Lines
A champion is not necessarily the person who never struggles.
A champion is the person who gets up when the struggle tells him to stay down.
Military history is often written through battles, operations and honours. But beneath all of them lies something much simpler: the ability to continue.
The Madras Regiment has carried that lesson across generations.
From the historic traditions of Wellington to the battlefields of 1965 and 1971, from Kargil to Siachen and the demanding operational environments of today, its soldiers have repeatedly been required to discover what they are capable of when circumstances become difficult.
Perhaps that is the real meaning behind the motto:
You only discover it when you are willing to take the next step.
