Cap badge, Bihar Regiment, post-Independence India

White metal badge in the form of Ashoka lions over a scroll bearing the word, 'BIHAR'.

The Bihar Regiment was raised in 1941, during World War Two (1939-1945). It was formed from the 11th (Territorial) Battalion of the 19th Hyderabad Regiment. The 1st Battalion fought in the Burma campaign and the 2nd Battalion, raised in 1942, saw action in Malaya.

Following Indian independence the regiment expanded and by the outbreak of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 it totalled 11 battalions. The Lion Capital of Ashoka, a sculpture featuring Asiatic lions, was adopted by India as an official emblem in 1950.

From the Field Marshal Sir John Chapple Indian Army Collection.