Havildar

---

title: "Havildar" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["urdu-language-words-and-phrases", "hindi-words-and-phrases", "military-of-the-mughal-empire", "pakistan-army-ranks", "military-ranks-of-british-india", "military-ranks-of-the-indian-army"] description: "Rank in the Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani armies" topic_path: "history/military" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havildar" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Rank in the Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani armies ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox military rank"]

Field	Value
name	Havildar
image
caption	Indian and Pakistani rank insignia
country	India
Pakistan
service branch	Army
rank group	Enlisted rank
higher rank	Naib subedar
lower rank	Naik
equivalents	Sergeant
Daffadar
::

| name = Havildar | native_name = | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = Indian and Pakistani rank insignia | image2 = | image_size2 = | alt2 = | caption2 = | image3 = | image_size3 = | alt3 = | caption3 = | country = India Pakistan | service branch = Army | abbreviation = | rank group = Enlisted rank | rank = | NATO rank = | Non-NATO rank = | pay grade = | formation = | abolished = | higher rank = Naib subedar | lower rank = Naik | equivalents = Sergeant Daffadar | history =

Havildar or havaldar (Hindustani: हविलदार or हवलदार (Devanagari), {{Nastaliq|حوالدار}} (Perso-Arabic)) is a rank in the Indian and Pakistani armies, equivalent to sergeant. It is not used in cavalry and armoured units, where the equivalent is daffadar.

Like a British sergeant, a havildar wears three rank chevrons.

History

"Havildar" is a Persian word in origin and means "person in charge", or more loosely "chief", from the Arabic حواله ("charge", "responsibility") and the Persian دار (dâr, "holder"). Historically, a havildar was a senior commander, being in charge of a fort during the times of the Mughal Empire. It was used as the equivalent of a sergeant in the British Indian Army, which has led to its current usage.

Appointments

Indian Army

Havildars could be further appointed to positions of higher authority. The appointments of company quartermaster havildar and company havildar major existed in the British Indian Army. However, havildars are now promoted directly to junior commissioned officer rank, as the duties of these historical appointments are now carried out by JCOs.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Company_Quartermaster_Havildar.gif" caption="archive-date=28 July 2013}}"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Company_Havildar_Major.gif" caption="company]], equivalent to a [[company sergeant major]]. The insignia was an Ashoka lion emblem."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Regimental_Quartermaster_Havildar.gif" caption="60px]]The regimental quartermaster havildar (RQMH) was equivalent to a [[regimental quartermaster sergeant]]."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Regimental_Havildar_Major.gif" caption="60px]]The regimental havildar major (RHM) was equivalent to a [[regimental sergeant major]]."] ::

Pakistan Army

Senior havildars might also be appointed company quartermaster havildar, company havildar major, battalion quartermaster havildar or battalion havildar major in the Pakistan Army. All of these appointments have different insignia and may vary from unit to unit.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/04.Pakistan_Army-SSG.svg"] ::

Company quartermaster havildar

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/05.Pakistan_Army-SFC.svg"] ::

Company havildar major

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/06.Pakistan_Army-MSG.svg"] ::

Battalion quartermaster havildar

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/07.Pakistan_Army-SGM.svg"] ::

Battalion havildar major

References

References

1. "Indian army ranks". Ranks of the army.
2. "JCOs, WOs, OR AND NON-COMBATANTS (ENROLLED)".
3. "Info".
4. M K Sunil Kumar. (16 May 2012). "Rules of the Raj hindering havildars' promotion". The New Indian Express.
5. "Data".
6. (28 April 2002). "India Military Ranks". Ravi Rikhye.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::