The regiment traced their origins to 1857, when the Meena Battalion was raised during the Indian Mutiny.
This battalion was the nucleus for the infantry of the Deoli Irregular Force which in May 1861, numbered eight companies.
A cavalry detachment was added to the regiment by 1865 and continued to form part of it until at least 1886.
In the Indian Army List of January 1919 the recruitment basis was described broadly as "four companies of Rajputana Hindus and Musalmans".
[2] Both battalions remained in India for internal security duties during the war but a single company of Meenas was posted to Mesopotamia.