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Poona Horse is an armored regiment of Indian army with traditions going back two centuries. In AngloPersian war of 1856-57, Poona Horse captured the standard of 1st Khushgai Regiment at the battle of Kooshab. A silver hand surmounted the standard and palm was engraved with Arabic words of 'Yad Allah fawquar aydihim' (the hand of God is above all things). Poona Horse was allowed to bear this standard and silver hand became part of regimental insignia.
After First World War, there was large scale demobilization of Indian army. In 1922-23, Indian army went through major reorganization. Several cavalry regiments were amalgamated and 33rd Queen Victoria's Own (QVO) Cavalry and 34th prjnce Albert Victor's Own (PAVO) Cavalry were amalgamated to form 17 Poona Horse. 33rd Bombay Cavalry originated as 3rd Bombay Light Cavalry and at the time of amalgamation had four squadrons; A Jat Squadron (mainly from Rohtak area), B Kaim Khani, C Muslim Rajput and D Sikh squadron. 34(TM) Cavalry originated as Poona Auxiliary Horse in early 1800s. Class composition of squadrons at the time of amalgamation was A and B Rathore Rajputs (mainly from Jodhpur), C Punjabi Muslim (mainly from Jehlum area) and D Kaim Khani squadron (mainly from Sheikhawati region of Jaipur). Amalgamation was done in Jhansi and Risaldar Major (RM) Hamir Singh; winner of Indian Distinguished Service Medal (IDSM) became the first RM of 17 Poona Horse. Rathore Rajputs of 34th Cavalry, Jats of 33rd Cavalry and Kaim Khanis from both 33rd and 34*h Cavalry (half squadron from each regiment) made it to 17 Poona Horse and final class composition of the new regiment was A Rathore Rajput, B Kaim Khani and C Jat squadron. Headquarter squadron was mixed. Remaining soldiers were sent to other regiments or cashiered.
17 Poona Horse has the honor of having the first Indian King Commissioned Officer (KCO) among its ranks. The first Indian graduate from Sandhurst Syed Iskander Ali Mirza was commissioned on July 16, 1920. Officers destined for Indian army spent their first year with a British battalion. Mirza was posted to Second Battalion of Scottish Rifles (Cameroonians). He was the first Indian officer to serve with British on equal basis and this caused uproar in some circles. This issue caused a prolonged struggle...