Why class based regiments have survived test of time in Indian Army | Research News,The Indian Express
While on one hand, caste and community based recruitments are seen to be divisive in nature, experts and senior officials in the army note the historic context in which the system arose and say that altering it might affect the feeling of brotherhood that is necessary for the military to perform well in war.
On September 12, 1946, soon after taking oath as the minister of external affairs in India’s pre-Independence cabinet, Jawaharlal Nehru sent a letter to the commander-in-chief and defence secretary urging large-scale reforms in the Indian Army. In Nehru’s opinion, these reforms were necessary to safeguard the democracy that was about to be born. The need of the hour, argued Nehru, was to “transform the whole background of the Indian Army” and change its composition based on the martial classes recruited heavily from Punjab and a few other areas. Instead, the army needed to be opened up in ways that reflected the aspirations of the larger Indian nation.
The Congress party had been criticising the colonial policies of caste and community based recruitment in the Indian Army for years. The policy of ‘divide and rule’ had to be brought down now that they were in clear control of the country. Reforming the army in the delicate years following the Independence though was not easy. The continuing instability in several parts of the country, the war with Pakistan and the military action in Hyderabad made it imperative for the army to remain stable. Perhaps the biggest obstacle came from the senior officer corps who believed mixed class recruitment might make it difficult to control discipline in the army.
In the years that followed, although some mixed class regiments were formed, the infantry remained largely caste and community based. As of now, there are 26 class based regiments in the Indian Army. The recently announced Agnipath scheme of the Indian government is expected to transform the class based recruitment of the army and open them up on an “all India, all class” basis. Although the nature and extent of the reform are yet to be decided, if it goes through it would be a historic moment for the army. While on one hand, caste and community based recruitments are seen to be divisive in nature, experts and senior officials in the army note the historic context in which the system arose and say that altering it might affect the feeling of brotherhood that is necessary for the military to perform well in war.
When the British first came to India, they realised they did not have adequate white manpower for consolidating their rule in a foreign land. This was because of two reasons. First, European forces would be more costly and second, the Indian climate was too harsh for the white soldiers and most of them would want to leave too soon. Recruiting Indians in that sense was preferable since they were more acclimated to the geographical and social landscape and were more easily available.
Why were Indians willing to fight in the British Army is a question that scholars have been trying to understand for years now. Military historian Kaushik Roy in his article, The construction of regiments in the Indian army: 1859-1913 (2001), suggests that it was “managerial expertise that was the chief factor in enabling the British to structure a combat-effective and loyal army from the subcontinent’s manpower.” The regimental structure of the army, which was a product of the military revolution in the West, was key to the success of the British in incorporating Indian soldiers.
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