![]() įollowing the Indian Rebellion of 1857 the surviving East India Company regiments were merged into a new Indian Army under the direct control of the British Crown. This combination of factors led to the development of a sense of shared honour and ethos amongst the well drilled and disciplined Indian soldiery who formed the key to the success of European feats of arms in India and abroad. In addition local rulers usually expected their sepoys to arm themselves and to sustain themselves through plunder. Weapons, clothing and ammunition were provided centrally, in contrast to the soldiers of local kings whose pay was often in arrears. There was a commisariat and regular rations were provided. Advances could be given and family allotments from pay due were permitted when the troops served abroad. The salary of the sepoys employed by the East India Company, while not substantially greater than that paid by the rulers of Indian states, was usually paid regularly. The oath of fealty by the sepoy was given to the East India Company and included a pledge of faithfulness to the salt that one has eaten. These colours were stored in honour in the quarter guard and frequently paraded before the men. ![]() The izzat ("honour") of the unit was represented by the regimental colours the new sepoy having to swear an oath in front of them on enlistment. There were many family and community ties amongst the troops and numerous instances where family members enlisted in the same battalion or regiment. He was the mai-baap or the "father and mother" of the sepoys making up the paltan ("unit"). The commanding officer of a battalion became a form of substitute for the village chief or gaon bura. Recruitment was undertaken locally by battalions or regiments often from the same community, village and even family. In the Bengal Army however, recruitment was only amongst high caste Brahman and Rajput communities, mainly of the Uttar Pradesh and Bihar regions. ![]() Initially the British recruited sepoys from the local communities in the Madras and Bombay Presidencies, the emphasis being on recruits having adequate physique and being of sufficient caste. Sepoys in the Mughal EmpireĪ painting showing a sowar (cavalry equivalent of sepoy), 6th Madras Light Cavalry of British India. ![]() Close to ninety-six percent of the British East India Company's army of 300,000 men were native to India and these sepoys played a crucial role in securing the subcontinent for the company. It later generically referred to all native soldiers in the service of the European powers in India. Initially it referred to Hindu or Muslim soldiers without regular uniform or discipline. The term sepoy came into use in the forces of the British East India Company in the eighteenth century, where it was one of many, such as peons, gentoos, mestees and topassess used for various categories of native soldiers. In its most common application sepoy was the term used in the British Indian Army, and earlier in that of the British East India Company, for an infantry private (a cavalry trooper was a sowar). In the Ottoman Empire the term Sipahi was used to refer to elite cavalry troopers. The term "sepoy" or "sipāhi" is derived from the Persian word "sipāh" meaning "infantry soldier" in the Mughal Empire.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |