THE RAJPUTANA RIFLES Volume I 1818-1920

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

THE RAJPUTANA RIFLES Volume I 1818-1920 THIRD BATTALION THE RAJPUTANA RIFLES Waffadar Paltan *** Volume I 1818-1920 THIRD BATTALION THE RAJPUTANA RIFLES Waffadar Paltan *** Volume I 1818-1920 Colonel Dr Narendar Singh, Ph.D Foreword by Gen (Dr) Vijay Kumar Singh PVSM, AVSM, YSM (Retd.) PENTAGON PRESS LLP Third Battalion: The Rajputana Rifles – ‘Waffadar Paltan’ Colonel Dr Narendar Singh, Ph.D ISBN 978-93-86618- First Published in 2019 Copyright © Reserved All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in the book are the individual assertion of the Author. The Publisher does not take any responsibility for the same in any manner whatsoever. The same shall solely be the responsibility of the Author. Published by PENTAGON PRESS LLP 206, Peacock Lane, Shahpur Jat, New Delhi-110049 Phones: 011-64706243, 26491568 Telefax: 011-26490600 email: [email protected] website: www.pentagonpress.in Cover conceptualized and made by Akanksha Bhutani Printed at Avantika Printers Private Limited. “Dedicated to Everyman who has been Part of the Family of 3rd Battalion The Rajputana Rifles without whom there would have been no History and in which Three Generations of my Family had the Privilege to Serve.” Contents Foreword xvii From the Tiger’s Desk xix Acknowledgements xxi Preface xxiii Chronological Table xxvii Abbreviations xxix 1 Background to Raising of the Army by the English in India 1 Name ‘India’ and ‘Native’ – Soldiers referred as sipahi or sepoy – Pervasive presence of the military within the decision-making process – Military is at the centre of Indian History – Bombay Gifted to English as Settlement- Sir Abraham Shipman permitted to raise a force of 400 men – First Mention of 150 Indian Troops Recruited – Bombay rented to The East India Company – Seat of government of the Presidency was trans- ferred from Surat to Bombay – Three chief fortified positions: The Island of Bombay, Fort St. George at Madras and Fort William at Calcutta – The three presidencies effec- tively independent of each other – Unsuccessful expedition against Gheriah – Regi- ment from Bombay sent to Fort St. David – Native Infantry Battalions organised along similar lines to the British Battalions – Formation of Grenadier Companies – 120 Protestant recruits and a complete company of Swiss soldiers under Captain de Zeigler- Reorganization of Bombay Army – The royal troops stationed in each Presi- dency enjoyed generally inferior conditions – Tension and jealousies amongst Royal Troops and Company Officers – “Battle of Colachel,” Defeat of Dutch – Early officers were soldiers of fortune and discontent was mainly over salary and prize money 16 – Major Shinger Lawrence; “The Father of the Indian Army,” – Sepoys had their own officers called Subedars – King’s Commissioned Officer took precedence over a Company’s Officer – Arrival of the first Royal Troops – Bombay got its ‘Lal Pultan’ and its first Sepoy Companies in 1760 – Major William Fraser recommended an establish- ment of 1500 sepoys – Introduction of Complete Set of Order’s – Indian Sepoys sent out of country – Discontent of the Company’s officers emerged – Governor of the Bengal Presidency became Governor-General-Lieutenant Colonel commanding the battalion was responsible for the recruitment and maintenance of discipline – Bombay Presidency involved in Maratha Politics – Married Indian women or kept them as mistresses – Banjaras employed to provide transport – Army Re-organisation of 1796 – Military College established at Baraset – An oath of fidelity was administered to each recruit in the presence of the ‘Regimental Colours’ – Regimental System was Intro- duced – The Expeditionary Force to Egypt included sepoys from Bombay Army – Presidency Armies developed individuality, form and character – Uniform and equip- 8 3rd Battalion: The Rajputana Rifles ment of the British line was copied without much consideration for climatic suitability – East India Company Military Seminary at Addiscombe – Soldiers Armed with Brown Bess Musket with Bayonet 2 Birth of the Regiment 32 Maratha War’s – Infantryman or a ‘pyada’ – Augmentation was dated to 1 January to commemorate the memorable defence, on that day, of the village Koregoan – Uniform of the new Regiment should be “dark green facings, gold epaulets and yellow buttons” – Battalion consisted of ten companies. Two of these, the Grenadier Company and the Light Companies, paraded on the right and left of the line respectively – Assemblage of men from all the parts of the country, mainly Konkan – Lieutenant Colonel J. Cunningham, from Poona Auxiliary Horse appointed first Commandant – The ‘Purabiyas’ – The Mahrattas – Fraush, Bhils and Kolis from Gujarat – Jews – Muslims – Purwarries – Pardesis – Instance of insubordination or disaffection in a corps never heard of – Incentive for acquiring adequate knowledge Hindustani and Mahratta– Physical exercises – Government issued a notice that passports were necessary for all Europeans – Ban on Smoking – The Hoondie System – Scarcity of Officers Presiden- cies Armies – Prelude to Subalterns Commanding Companies – Presentation of Colours by Lady Nightinghall, wife of General Sir Miles Nightingall Commander-in-Chief 38 – Amusements in The Regiment – November 6th, 1818, Mr. Elphinstone hosted a dinner at Poona – Pindari – Thugs in and around Bombay 41 – First action at Pritchetgad on 10 May 1818 – Native armies of those days were of huge dimensions, dragging in their train ten times the number of the fighting men in the shape of followers, and constituting a series of moving bazars – Safety of the ‘zenana’ would be more important than defeating enemy – The Difference between rank in the Regiment and Rank in the Army (Sale of Commissions) – Promotion to the Rank of Captain 46 – Appoint- ment of Subedars and Syrang Major – Officer’s Borrowing Money – Recruitment from Immediate Vicinity – Establishment of Military Stations‘Kucha’ and ‘Pukka’ – Poona 1819 – Boundaries of Poona Cantonment settled by Colonel Gifford – Satara 1820 – Murder of The Rajah of Kolhapur 1821 – Foiled attempt of the prisoners to effect general escape from Satara Goal – Release of Batta to Native Troops – Private Commercial Transaction in The Army Prohibited – East India Company was extremely wary of allowing any increase in the number of European women in India – The Commanding Officer had eighteen servants – The Bibi’s 3 Expansion of the Empire: Gujarat 1823–35 62 Surat January 1823 – Suvali or Swally Port – British Customs at Swally – Journey from Suvali to Surat – Surat flourishing centre for ship building Centre – The Maharaja Gaikwad of Baroda the third ranking prince in India – Maharaja of Baroda ceded to the British in Saurashtra and Mahi Kantha – Baroda October 1824 – Honourable Governor-General-in-Council had complaints on the Character of some of the Staff officers – Regiment Reviewed by Major General Wilson on 19th January 1824 – New Organization of the Indian Army and Renumbering of Regiments 1824 – Drummers and Fifers were only to be Europeans or half castes – Regiment of artillery, battalion of foot artillery, the Corps of Golandanze, and each regiment of Cavalry to have same number of officers as Infantry Regiment – Officers up to the Rank of Major on Regi- mental lists for Promotion – Every Officer in the actual Command is to receive 400 rupees per month in addition to his other allowances – Each battalion to Constitute a Regiment – Dress Infantry Regiments – Lieutenant Colonel Brackley Kennet appointed Contents 9 Commandant – British Cavalry to follow silladar system – No caste was excluded from enlistment – Native officers Lost Power – Native officers Lost Power – Move from Surat to Baroda – Pay and Allowances – Collection of ‘jamabandi’, ‘ghásdána’ and kamávisdáris – Bacha Jamadar and Resistance of Kolis – Mehavasi villages up in arms plundering over nearly whole of Mahi Kantha – British Political Agent was appointed for Mahi Kantha attached to Baroda Residency – Regiment suffered heavy losses in Operations and moved out prematurely – 22nd Regiment at Vengurla – Buasaheb Raja of Kolhapur and Baby Elephant – Demand to the rights of Forts of Kolhapur, Panhala, Pavangad – Move to Kutch December 1927 – Regiment found Palanwadia Kalis of North Gujarat ‘untameable plunderers’- Driving out Sind plunderers from Haba Hills, eighteen miles North of Bhuj – Action against Thugee and Brigands of earlier Pindari – Intrigues in the Region NO peace or stability – Smallpox Epidemic – Headquarters’ of the Northern Districts moved to Hursole from Kaira – 7th and 8th Companies of the Regiment Reduced – Command of Detachments – Trouble in Sind – Disturbances in State of Idar and move of Regiment to Ahmedabad – Disturbances in State of Baroda– Sati – A Pundit and a Maulvi Added to Every Regiment – Redress of Grievances – “Northern Division of the Army” – Change in the Military Uniform – Profits arising from regimental canteens appropriated in variance with the intention of the institu- tion – Alterations and Reductions in the Army Establishments – Charges being pre- ferred before court martials inferior to general, for crimes involving capital punishment 4 Stay at Belgaum 96 Camp equipage was carried by various means to Belgaum – Difficult to Move in For- mations – Saranjam – Kittur Desai Shivalingarudra Sarja helped British against Peshwa –
Recommended publications
  • Supplement to the London Gazette, 21 October, 1941 6089
    SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 21 OCTOBER, 1941 6089 No. N71679 Lance-Corporal Farah son of Isak, War Office, The Bang's African Rifles. 2ist October, 1941. No. 12211 Lance-Corporal Grimu Asayile, The King's African Rifles. The KING has been graciously pleased to No. N/IOI2 Lance-Corporal Guido Oreria, The approve that the following be Mentioned in King's African Rifles. recognition of gallant and distinguished services No. N/2697 Lance-Corporal Hanyago Musere, in the Middle East: — The King's African Rifles. ROYAL-ARMOURED CORPS. No. N/88i Lance-CprporaT Kibet arap Kiboit R.T.R. The King's African Rifles. Capt. (temp. Maj.) R. H. O. Simpson, No. N71723' Lance-Corporal Mohamed Shide, D.S.O. (38763). The King's African Rifles. No. N/I004 Lance-Corporal Petero Oye, The CORPS OF ROYAL ENGINEERS. King's African Rifles. Maj. (local Col.) J. B. Glubb, D.S.O., O.H.E., No. 11370 Lance-Corporal Samweri, The M.C. (1427) (Res. of Off.) attd. Arab Legion. King's African Rifles. No. 1872934 Pte. (actg. Corpl.) B. W. I. No. 1963 Private Boiyo arap Murgor, The Foster King's African Rifles. INFANTRY. No. 12408 Private Chande Musa, The King's R.W. Fus. African Rifles. Maj. (temp. Lt.-Col.) R. A. F. Hurt, No. N71513 Private Kibiego arap Chemirmir, D.S.O. (41162), attd. K.A.R. The King's African Rifles. Border R. No. N/1544 Private- Kimi arap Yano, The Maj. (actg. Lt.-Col.) J. S. Nichols, D.S.O., King's African Rifles. •-M.C.
    [Show full text]
  • F the INDIAN ARMY in AFRICA and ASIA, Implications for the Planning
    F \ THE INDIAN ARMY IN AFRICA AND ASIA, 1940-42: Implications for the Planning and Execution of Two Nearly-Simultaneous Campaigns A Monograph BY Major James D. Scudieri Ordance School of Advanced Military Studies United States Army Command and General Staff Coll Fort Leavenwoth, Kansas Second Term AY 94-95 Approved for Public Release; Distribution is Unlimited Approved for Public Release; Distribution is Unlimited SCHOOL OF ADVANCED MILITARY STUDIES MONOGRAPH APPROVAL Maior James D. Scudieri Title of Monograph: The Indian Armv in Africa and Asia, 1940-42: Implications for the Plannins and Execution of Two Nearlv-Simultaneous Campaiqns Approved by: /'--? Monograph Director Director, School of COL-Gregory ~btenbt,MA, MMAS Advanced Military Studies Director, Graduate Philip J .. Brookes, Ph.D . Degree Program Accepted this 5th day of May 1995 iii ABSTRACT THE INDIAN ARMY IN AFRICA AND ASIA, 1940-42: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PLANNING AND EXECUTION OF TWO NEARLY-SIMULTANEOUS CAMPAIGNS by MAJ. James D. Scudieri, USA, 64 pages. This monograph analyzes the Indian Army's experience in conducting nearly-simultaneous campaigns in Africa and Asia between 1940-42. The Indian Army planned to defend the famed North West Frontier (NWF) with Afghanistan as well as provide reinforcements to British units worldwide in accordance with peacetime agreements. The continued decline of Allied fortunes during the early war years necessitated greater British dependence on the Indian Army and the need to inaugurate a massive expansion while fighting one, then two, major regional conflicts (MRCs) in different parts of the world. The first MRC in the Near East went well; the second MRC in Asia was a disastrous failure.
    [Show full text]
  • Last Post Indian War Memorials Around the World
    Last Post Indian War Memorials Around the World Introduction • 1 Rana Chhina Last Post Indian War Memorials Around the World i Capt Suresh Sharma Last Post Indian War Memorials Around the World Rana T.S. Chhina Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research United Service Institution of India 2014 First published 2014 © United Service Institution of India All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior permission of the author / publisher. ISBN 978-81-902097-9-3 Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research United Service Institution of India Rao Tula Ram Marg, Post Bag No. 8, Vasant Vihar PO New Delhi 110057, India. email: [email protected] www.usiofindia.org Printed by Aegean Offset Printers, Gr. Noida, India. Capt Suresh Sharma Contents Foreword ix Introduction 1 Section I The Two World Wars 15 Memorials around the World 47 Section II The Wars since Independence 129 Memorials in India 161 Acknowledgements 206 Appendix A Indian War Dead WW-I & II: Details by CWGC Memorial 208 Appendix B CWGC Commitment Summary by Country 230 The Gift of India Is there ought you need that my hands hold? Rich gifts of raiment or grain or gold? Lo! I have flung to the East and the West Priceless treasures torn from my breast, and yielded the sons of my stricken womb to the drum-beats of duty, the sabers of doom. Gathered like pearls in their alien graves Silent they sleep by the Persian waves, scattered like shells on Egyptian sands, they lie with pale brows and brave, broken hands, strewn like blossoms mowed down by chance on the blood-brown meadows of Flanders and France.
    [Show full text]
  • Sapta Shakti Command Forever Victorious
    No. 03/2019 AN INDIAN ARMY PUBLICATION March 2019 SAPTA SHAKTI COMMAND FOREVER VICTORIOUS OP THUNDERBOLT (op viJAY 1999) Captain Haneef Uddin, Vir Chakra, 11 Rajputana Rifl es Operation THUNDERBOLT was launched in June 1999 in the Siachen Sector as part of Operation VIJAY. As was the case in Kargil, Dras and Batalik Sectors, Pakistan occupied unheld heights on the Sangarh Ridge with an aim to alter the Line of Control and threaten Turtuk Sector. A company of 11 RAJ RIF was deployed in Operation THUNDERBOLT at an altitude of 18,000 feet in the Turtuk region. Th eir mission was to capture a position in the region which would facilitate the Army to monitor the movements of the enemy troops better. Captain Haneef Uddin volunteered to lead the special mission patrol consisting of one Junior Commissioned Offi cer and three other ranks. Th e party made valiant endeavours to occupy the position on night of 04 and 05 June 1999. On 06 June 1999, advancing in sub-zero temperatures along the razor sharp edge from the South-Westerly direction, the party came as close as 200 meters of the position when it was fi red upon. Captain Haneef Uddin and two other ranks received the brunt of fi re. Inspite of the grave injury, Captain Haneef Uddin, without caring for his personal safety, took position and started fi ring to pin down the enemy to extricate his team members. In the ensuing fi ring from both sides, Captain Haneef Uddin was further hit by enemy artillery and small arms fi re.
    [Show full text]
  • Answered On:04.05.2000 Army Regiments Rasa Singh Rawat
    GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DEFENCE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO:5981 ANSWERED ON:04.05.2000 ARMY REGIMENTS RASA SINGH RAWAT Will the Minister of DEFENCE be pleased to state: (a) the names of different regiments in Indian Army as on date; (b) whether only the people of a particular caste and class are recruited in a particular regiment; (c) whether the Government propose to give equal recruitment opportunities to the people of all the communities; (d) if so, the reason for not recruiting the people of other communities in a regiment named under a particular community; (e) whether the Government have received any complaints in this regard; (f) if so, the details thereof and the steps being taken by the Government to remove this imbalance; (g) whether the Government have also received any proposals to raise some new regiments; (h) if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto; (i) whether in the past, there had been a regiment named as `Azmer Regiment`; and (j) if so, the reasons for disbanding the same? Answer MINISTER OF DEFENCE (SHRI GEORGE FERNANDES) (a) A list of names of 29 regiments of the Indian Army is enclosed. (b) No, Sir. The regimental vacancies are filled up based on the class composition of the regiment which need not be confined to a particular caste or community. Besides, the class composition of the regiment does not include officers, clerks, cooks, washermen, barbars, safaiwalas and other tradesmen who are recruited on all-India all class vacancies. (c) & (d): Recruitment to the Army is open to all Indian nationals irrespective of class, caste, creed, religion or region subject to educational qualification and physical fitness.
    [Show full text]
  • Anglo-Sikh Relations & the World Wars
    Anglo-Sikh Relations & The World Wars When this mortal life reaches its limits May I die fighting with limitless courage (Tenth Guru, Gobind Singh (1666 – 1708) Gurmukh Singh (Principal, UK Civil Service ret’d) A word by Dya Singh (Australia) Gurmukh Singh This study may be published with prior approval by the author. Contact: Gurmukh Singh [email protected] “There are 500,000 Sikhs in the United Kingdom. In the past, hundreds of thousands of Sikhs voluntarily fought with the British Army in the two World wars and many of them died in the cause of freedom. They were among the most highly decorated soldiers in history. Today, British Sikhs contribute a huge amount to the economy and to public life in the UK.” Prime Minister Tony Blair’s message of 1st November 2001, to the Maharajah Duleep Singh Centenary Trust. The need for this publication This compact study is for the busy reader and looks at the history of the Sikhs over the last two hundred years in the context of Anglo-Sikh relations. It is work in progress, as the author’s intention is to periodically add new material as it becomes available. Much has been written about the internal politics of India over the last 150 years. Historians have been mostly pre-occupied with the reformation movements in the second half of the 19th Century, with India’s struggle for independence in the first half of the 20th Century, and with India’s internal divisions and problems during the post-independence period. Too often, the sacrifices of thousands of jawans, who rose gallantly above short-term political considerations and gave their lives for the longer-term freedom of mankind, have been ignored.
    [Show full text]
  • C Entre for Land Warfare Studies
    BOOK REVIEWS Political Leadership and the Indian Armed Forces in Diplomacy and War Brigadier (Dr.) M. P. Singh Dehradun: Greenfield Publishers (2019) ISBN: 978-93-81089-39-2 D WA LAN RFA The supremacy of politicalOR leadership and apoliticalRE Indian Armed F S Forces can be tracedE back to history wherein in 1853T by an Act of British Parliament,R superintendence, direction and controlU of political T D leadership overN the Armed Forces was obtained. However,I Ethe mutiny of 1857 ledE to the realisation that differences between SGovernor C Generals and Commanders-in-Chief were responsible for the breakdown of discipline and administration, both civil and military. Soon after the mutiny was controlled, the efforts were made for re- establishment and improvement of civil administration. By 1895, the three Presidency armies were amalgamated and the resultant British Indian Army was placed under one Commander-in-Chief who was the sole executive head of the army. Throughout this period, the subordination of the army to CLAWSthe civil government was maintained. However, post-independenceV the C-in-C was replaced by the Defence IC ON Minister whose executiveTO powers are shared byI StheI Defence Minister, RY H V the three Service Chiefs and T HtheR ODefenceUG Secretary and has thus ensured the defence forces to be apolitical and subordinated them to civil government and the bureaucracy. The book has 9 chapters. The details have been covered very comprehensively with numerous examples from history. The book makes an interesting reading and brings out the importance of civil-military relations and apolitical nature of our armed forces.
    [Show full text]
  • 9 Colonial Era and the Indian Sepoy
    Module - III Colonial Era and the Indian Sepoy Military History of the Colonial Era 9 Note COLONIAL ERA AND THE INDIAN SEPOY From our previous lessons we learnt about how the military system came into existence in India and what changes took place over the centuries. In this lesson let us try to understand how the Europeans came into India and ruled our land and in the process laid the foundation for the Indian army, capable of fighting modern day wars. As you know, India has its natural mountain barriers in the North called the Himalayas and in the South flanked by the Arabian Sea in the West and the Bay of Bengal in the East, thus forming a peninsular India. It is a land of a multi cultural and multi ethnic society with a variety of religions and languages. After the Mughal rule the English started colonizing India. India then was not a one- nation country with a strong central army or King. This existence of many smaller states favored the European settlements. First came the Portuguese, followed by the French and the British. Objectives After studying this lesson you will be able to: explain the history of colonial rule in India; describe the establishment of the three Presidencies- Madras, Kolkata and Mumbai; identify the events leading to the formation of the 'Native Indian Army' by the English and trace the rank structure in the British army. 9.1 History of Colonial Rule From the military history point of view it is important to review the prevailing situation in India when the Europeans set foot here.
    [Show full text]
  • The Evolution of the Professional Structure in Modern India : Older and New Professions in a Changing
    C/83-5 THE EVOLUTION OF THE PROFESSIONAL STRUCTURE IN MODERN INDIA: OLDER AND NEW PROFESSIONS IN A CHANGING SOCIETY Rajat Kanta Ray Professor and Head Department of History Presidency College Calcutta, India Center for International Studies Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 August 1983 ,At Foreword This historical study by Professor Rajat Ray is one of a series which examines the development of professions as a key to understanding the different patterns in the modernization of Asia. In recent years there has been much glib talk about "technology transfers" to the Third World, as though knowledge and skills could be easily packaged and delivered. Profound historical processes were thus made analogous to shopping expeditions for selecting the "appropriate technology" for the country's resources. The MIT Center for International Studies's project on the Modernization of Asia is premised on a different sociology of knowledge. Our assumption is that the knowledge and skills inherent in the modernization processes take on meaningful historical significance only in the context of the emergence of recognizable professions, which are communities of people that share specialized knowledge and skills and seek to uphold standards. It would seem that much that is distinctive in the various ways in which the different Asian societies have modernized can be found by seeking answers to such questions as: which were the earlier professions to be established, and which ones came later? What were the political, social
    [Show full text]
  • Kargil Vijay Diavs ……
    KARGIL VIJAY DIAVS …… Kargil War Part of the Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts and the Kashmir conflict ❖ Period of Kargil War : Date3 May – 26 July 1999 (2 months, 3 weeks and 2 days) ❖Location : Kargil district, Jammu and Kashmir, India ❖Result Decisive : Indian victory ❖India regains possession of Kargil ❖Territorial changes - Status quo ante bellum Kargil War : Strength INDA PAKISTAN 30,000 5000 Kargil War :Commanders and leaders INDIA PAKISTAN K. R. Narayanan( President of India) Muhammad Rafiq Tarar( President of Pakistan) Atal Bihari Vajpayee(Prime Minister of India) Nawaz Sharif(Prime Minister of Pakistan) Gen Ved Prakash Malik (Chief of the Army Staff) Gen Pervez Musharraf( Chief of the Army Staff) Lt Gen Chandra Shekhar(Vice Chief of the Army Staff) Lt GenMuhammad Aziz Khan(Chief of the General Staff) ACM Anil Yashwant Tipnis(Chief of the Air Staff) ACM Pervaiz Mehdi Qureshi Chief of the Air Staff) Kargil War :Casualties and losses Indian official figures Independent figures 527 killed 700 casualties 1,363 wounded Pakistani figures 1 1 Pilot (K Nachiketa) held as prisoner of war 453 killed (Pakistan army claim) 1 fighter jet shot down Other Pakistani claims 1 fighter jet crashed 357 killed and 665+ wounded (according to Pervez Musharra) 1 helicopter shot down 2,700–4,000 killed (according to Nawaz Sharif) Pakistani claims Indian claims 1,600 (as claimed by Musharraf) 737-1,200 casualties1,000+ wounded Kargil War ❖The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan that took place between May and July 1999 in the Kargil district of Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LOC).
    [Show full text]
  • British Indian Army: Role of Punjab in the World War I
    201 B. Singh & B. Singh: British Indian Army British Indian Army: Role of Punjab in the World War I Bhupinder Singh and Bawa Singh Central University of Punjab, Bathinda ________________________________________________________________ The British Indian Army evolved out of the three presidencies of Bengal, Madras and Bombay, which had come under the control of the East India Company in the second-half of the eighteenth century. With the outbreak of the Sepoy mutiny 1857, both the administration and the Indian army were radically restructured. The Punjab’s strategic location, the onset of the ‘Great Game,’ and what was believed to be the martial character of local people played an important role in placing this region in the center of British planning. This paper examines the role of Punjab in providing soldiers as well as generous politico-economic support to the British Empire during the World War I. ___________________________________________________________________________________ The origins of the British Indian Army were modest. It began in the 17th century as the East India Company’s irregular force guarding a group of four factories with a few hundred men. A pioneer scholar of military history, Roy (2009), claims that with the passage of time, the colonial army became one of the largest employers in India. In the beginning, the presidencies of Bengal, Bombay and Madras contributed significantly to the building of the colonial army. This first phase was popularly known as Bengalization of the British Indian Army, owing to Bengalʹs substantial contribution. The prominence of Punjab and Punjabis in this Army began with the annexation of Punjab in 1849 and was reinforced by onset of the Great Game in general and World War I in particular.
    [Show full text]
  • Martial Races' and War Time Unit Deployment in the Indian Army
    W&M ScholarWorks Undergraduate Honors Theses Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 5-2019 Who Does The Dying?: 'Martial Races' and War Time Unit Deployment in the Indian Army Ammon Frederick Harteis Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses Part of the Comparative Politics Commons Recommended Citation Frederick Harteis, Ammon, "Who Does The Dying?: 'Martial Races' and War Time Unit Deployment in the Indian Army" (2019). Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 1417. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/1417 This Honors Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Undergraduate Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Who Does The Dying? ‘Martial Races’ and War Time Unit Deployment in the Indian Army Ammon Frederick Harteis Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori Frederick Harteis 1 Abstract During the Second World War, the Indian Army held back units and soldiers that were not from the so-called “martial races” from frontline combat service. The British “martial races” theory held that only a small number of communities in India were fit for military service and people from all “non-martial” communities should be excluded from the Army. Has the Indian Army, after gaining independence from British leadership, contended the Second World War practice of deploying “martial” units in combat while assigning “non-martial” units to non- combat roles? It has been conclusively demonstrated that “martial race” groups have contended to be overrepresented in the post-colonial Indian Army.
    [Show full text]