It traces its lineage to the Bombay Sepoys, raised in 1768, making it the most senior light infantry regiment in the Indian Army.

The men were mostly drawn from all over the state of Maharashtra, with some percentage from Marathi-speaking areas of Karnataka including Coorg.

Their military qualities were brilliantly optimised in their historical campaigns against the Mughal Empire under the leadership of the Chhatrapati Shivaji and succeeding Maratha rulers.

These two battalions were at the forefront of virtually every major engagement fought on the west coast from Surat to Cannanore during the last quarter of the 18th century.

Prominent amongst these were the historic battles of Seedaseer and Seringapatam, where in the words of Richard Wellesley their conduct and success were seldom equalled and never surpassed.

In recognition of the gallant conduct of its detachments at the siege of Kahun and the defence of Dadar, in Baluch territory during the First Anglo-Afghan War in 1841, the Kali Panchwin was created Light Infantry.

The 105th lost its commanding officer in action (Lieutenant-Colonel Ernest Richard Inglis Chitty at the battle of Jebel Hamrin, 1917).

The Second World War saw the Marathas at the forefront in almost every theatre of operations from the jungles of Southeast Asia to the deserts of North Africa, and the mountains and rivers of Italy.

[11] On the occasion of the 221st Bastille day celebrations, a unit from the Maratha Light Infantry led the parade on the Parisian boulevard of Champs-Élysées on 14 July 2009, when the then Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was the guest of honour of the ceremony.

[39] The regimental insignia consists of a bugle and cords with a pair of crossed swords and a shield, mounted by the Lion Capital of Ashoka.

The Marathas and the 1st Battalion of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry fought alongside each other in the Mesopotamia war as part of the same brigade.

The exception is the 5th Battalion of the regiment, which wears a blue lanyard on the right shoulder, as an honour for the title "Royal", for its outstanding operations in Mesopotamia in World War I.