The regiment traces its history to 1 April 1948, when the 1st Battalion, The East Punjab Militia was raised at Amritsar.

[1] The regiment was ordered to be re-organised on the lines of an infantry battalion on 1 October 1950.

On 1 February 1951, it was designated 5 Border Scouts Battalion and was under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Anokh Singh.

The regiment in its early years was a mixed class unit with a Sikh majority.

It was converted to a single class unit on 1 January 1961 with Dogra troops.