Havildar (Hindi language: हविलदार (Devanagari) حوِلدار (Perso-Arabic)) was the military commander of a fort during the times of the Maratha Empire. In the British Indian Army it was equivalent rank to sergeant, next above naik, and is still used in the modern Indian Army and Pakistan Army. The cavalry equivalent is daffadar. Like a British sergeant, a havildar wears three rank chevrons.
Havildars may also hold appointments, based on seniority and merit, for which they receive additional appointment pay. In order of rising seniority, these are:
- Company quartermaster havildar; equivalent to a company quartermaster sergeant, who assists the quartermaster in managing the company stores. The insignia is three chevrons with an Ashoka lion emblem above.
- Company havildar major; the most senior non-commissioned officer in a company (equivalent to a company sergeant major). The insignia is an Ashoka emblem worn in a leather strap on the right wrist.
- Regimental quartermaster havildar and regimental havildar major; equivalent to regimental quartermaster sergeant and regimental sergeant major respectively. The last two appointments have fallen out of use in the majority of units, the duties being taken up by the naib subedar quartermaster and subedar adjutant, both of whom are junior commissioned officers.
The appointments of company quartermaster havildar and company havildar major also existed in the British Indian Army.
|
The original article can be found at Havildar and the edit history here.