India's Contribution towards the British War Effort in World War I and the Aftermath - Research Paper Example

?Role of Lower Caste Indians of British Indian Army in British War Effort of World War I Introduction The most important frontier for the British Army in the World War I was the Western Front against the German army but since the British Empire was included almost half of the world, many other frontiers were opened in various regions of the world which included the British colonies in the Middle East and India. Since the Ottoman Empire sided with the German forces, the Ottoman army started attacking various strategic positions (oil depots, ports and locations military importance) in the Middle East. Moreover despite the neutral role of the Shah of Afghanistan, the Ottoman army influenced some of the local tribesmen on the Indian-Afghan border in the North-West of India to who started attacking the British forces and captured some of the land and supply routes. The British Army was a mixture of races from different dominions and colonies of the British Empire and the British Indian army was one of them. 2 regiments of the British Indian Army were permanently stationed in various other British colonies before the start of WWI but in WWI it played pivotal role on various frontiers in Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. The Indian Army mainly comprised of the lower Castes of Hindus; the untouchables, the Shudras (artisans, craftsmen and service providers) and the Vaishyas (agriculturists, cattle traders, merchants and bankers) and also in Muslims the Ajlafs (the local converts) and the Arzals. The Indian people were not trained to become high ranked officers in the army and only served as soldiers commonly known as Sepoys (derived from Persian word Sipahi meaning soldier). In World War I the Indian Army fought against the German Empire in German East Africa and on the Western Front. The Indians also served on various other frontiers in Egypt, Gallipoli. The most remarkable of the efforts by the Indian army was in Mesopotamia where nearly 700,000 soldiers served against the Ottoman Empire. In addition to these foreign expeditions the Indian Army also defended the British Indian Empire at the North Western frontier and also in the South East at Burmese border. The Largest Volunteer Army The British established their first cantonment in India in 1757 at Goa to fight against the French forces in India and it marked the beginning of the inductions of Indians to the British Army. As the British invaded more and more land the Indian population in the army went on increasing and when in 1857 the Indian throne was brought under the British crown, the British Indian Army was formally established. The Sepoy mutiny of 1857 forced the British to limit the Indian inclusion in the army to lower rank soldiers and as a result mostly the lower castes joined the army. By 1914, the British Indian Army was the largest volunteer army in the world with a total strength of 240,000 men. The largest increase in the army happened during the WWI when the recruitment process was very fast and the Lower Caste Indians were more and more interested to join the army not only because of the incentives but also the sense of security for being in the British army was a big motivational force for a lower caste Indian who was treated in an inhumane manner. This large induction increased the number of Indians in the British army to almost 550,000 by November 1918. This large strength also increased the importance of the British Indian Army which was called upon to deal with incursions and raids on the North West Frontier. Moreover the Indian army was also deployed in the British Empire in China, Singapore and Egypt. Events during the War 1. The Indian army was sent to Marseilles on 30th September 1914 as reinforcement to the British Expeditionary Force but the Indian army was not familiar to the local conditions and climate and was poorly equipped to resist weather. Moreover the uneducated, less-trained lower caste soldiers from India could not learn to operate the new war equipment. This force took part in the four major battles namely Battle of Somme, Battle of Bazentin, Battle of Flers-Courcelette, advance to the Hindenburg Line and in the battle of Cambrai. 2. On request of the governor of British East Africa, Expeditionary Force comprising of Indian army was sent to Africa where it perished at the hands of the German forces and suffered major losses of life and equipment. 3. The largest Expeditionary Force from India operated in Mesopotamia which despite some early losses managed to march into Baghdad in March 1918. The forces also successfully guarded the British oil reserves in Basra and surroundings. 4. The Indian forces also took part in the Palestine Campaign and the Galipoli Campaign. The Suez offensive was also defended by 10th and 11th Indian Divisions along with the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade. 5. The 5th Light Infantry of the British Indian Army, comprising mainly of Punjabi Muslims was involved in a Mutiny against the British in Singapore during the war. Victoria Cross Recipients Some of the Indian soldiers from the British Indian Army were honored with the Victoria Cross. This was considered a great honor by the Indian soldiers because being the low caste members of the society they were never honored like this before. The soldiers included Darwan Singh Negi, Mir Dast, Kulbir Thapa, Lala, Shahamad Khan, Gobind Singh, Karan Bahadur Rana and Badlu Singh. All of these soldiers belonged to the lower castes. Major Setbacks to the War Effort 1. Although many Indians joined the British Indian army during the WWI but the general opinion was always against this act. The Hindu priests issued a religious verdict according to which the Hindus who travel by sea lose their dignity and honor. As a result, most of the higher caste Hindus never joined the army because of the fear of losing their higher castes; this was the reason behind large majority of lower caste Hindus in the army. Moreover the Hindus also started leaving the army after this verdict. 2. The case of the Muslims was also the same. There is no caste system in the Islamic belief but the Muslims formed some castes after living with Hindus for so many years. This was based on the origin of various groups, the groups who migrated from Afghanistan and Middle East considered themselves superior to the local converts and never joined the British Indian Army. 3. During the WWI, the Islamists leaders in India organized themselves and initiated an effort with the name Khilafat (Caliphate) Movement. The objective of this effort was to stop Muslims from joining the Indian army. The leaders of the movement urged the Muslim clergy who issued verdicts declaring the fighting against the Ottoman army against the religion. This resulted in several mutinies by Muslim soldiers of the British army in various areas during the war. The Aftermath Most of the soldiers in the British Indian Army were from the lower castes. The soldiers were divided into two groups after the war and this division started to take place during the war. The first group was the one which remained loyal to the British during the course of the war and fought bravely. These soldiers were recognized and honored after the war and most of them were given land possession in India and they became landlords when the British left India 30 years later. These soldiers were not respected by the local population and were considered traitors to the motherland and religion. The other group of the soldiers comprised of the ones who left the war effort or were involved in the mutinies against the British. These people were dealt very harshly by the British but earned a lot of respect among the local people who considered them heroes. Generally the soldiers earned respect; few earned it from the British government while the others earned it from the local population. The WWI resulted in the rise of the Indian nationalism in British India once again and the soldiers who left the army started armed struggle against the British (the Subhash Chandra revolution). The events during the war also created a divide in the Muslims and Hindus as the Muslims started considering themselves a separate nation and the result was the division of India after the British left. Works Cited Bond, Brian. THe First World War and the British Military History. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. Hoover, Karl. The Singapore Mutiny, 1915. N.p.: San Jose State Univesity Press, 1976. Print. Miller, Frederic, Agnes Vandome, and John McBrewster. British Indian Army. N.p.: VDM Publishing House Ltd., 2010. Print. Sumner, Ian. The Indian Army 1914-1947. N.p.: Osprey Publishing, 2001. Print. Read More