With a glorious history of two centuries, the 16th Light Cavalry is today the oldest armoured regiment of the Indian Army. It commands the respect of a head of the family in the Armoured Corps fraternity of the Indian Army. It was the first unit to be Indianised and has the distinction of providing two Chiefs of Army Staff–late JN Chaudhuri and Gen VN Sharma. It also has the distinction of having produced twentyfour Generals.

The regiment was raised at Arcot near Vellore in Tamil Nadu. It consisted of troops from four south Indian states. The regiment has held various designations till 1931 when finally it was designated as the 16th Light Cavalry. It has proved its mettle in various battlefields over the past two centuries and has earned several battle and theatre honours. The soldiers of this regiment participated in various wars and operations including the Mysore War, Afghan War, World War I, World War II, 1965 war, 1971 war, operations Rakshak and Vijay. Moreover, the regiment came to the aid of civilian authorities many a time.

Soon after its raising in 1780, the regiment was awarded the battle honour Sholinghur. It is the oldest honour held by any armoured regiment of the Indian Army. During the first World War (1914-1918), the regiment was employed for defence of North West Frontier Province, where it saw action in Persia, Dasht-I-Arjan and Main Kotal. It was in Quetta (now in Pakistan) where the regiment was converted from horses to Armoured Corps in the year 1942.

In 1922, the class composition of the regiment was changed to Rajputs, Jats and Kaim Khanis. In 1946, it was once again changed to South Indian classes. During the Indo-Pak conflict in 1965, the regiment led the 1 Armoured Division into Pakistan in the Sialkot sector upto Gadgor. It was during this venture that the regiment won one Vir Chakra, one Sena Medal, eight Mention-in-Dispatches and three COAS Commendation Cards. During 1971 war, ‘A’ squadron saw action in Sialkot sector in Ikhlaspur-Shakargarh area under 89 Infantry Brigade. During these operations, ‘A’ squadron won two Sena Medals, six Mention-in-Dispatches and one COAS Commendation Card.

The regiment celebrated its bi-centenary in March, 1976. On this occasion, the then President of India, late Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed presented the regiment with two new guidons.

The regiment is the first armoured regiment to be deployed at Zinakot for operation Rakshak in 1998-99. It also has the unique distinction of being the only armoured regiment to be employed in operation Vijay to provide firm base for attacks on Tololing and Tiger Hill. In a purely unconventional role, the regiment was occupying picquets at high altitudes ranging from 13000 to 16500 ft. Here also the Thambies of 16 Cavalry came upto the expectations of the formation commanders.