This is the first scholarly study of the subject for twenty years, and the only one based on extensive archival research. The Indian Army conquered India for the British, and protected the Raj against its enemies within and without. In this evocative and compassionate work, David Omissi examines the origins, motives and protests of the several million Indian peasant- soldiers who served the colonial power.

The Sepoy Army was one of the pivots of Britain's overseas empire. After 1857, this army policed the subcontinent as well as Britain's extra-Indian overseas possessions. The importance of the Sepoy Army for the Raj could be gleaned from the fact that it consumed about 30 per cent of the government's revenue. For the colonised also, the colonial army was one of the largest government employers in India. Nevertheless, it remains an underdog both in Indian and the British-Imperial historiography. This volume focuses on recruitment and the mechanics of command. It attempts to answer pertinent questions like: who were recruited and why, how the recruits were conditioned into soldiers, etc. Recruitment was the product of two opposing ideologies: the Martial Race ideology and the Anti-Martial Race ideology. The Sepoy Army was the largest volunteer army in the world. The Indians joined the army and remained loyal to it mostly because of a host of tangible and intangible incentives offered to the soldiers and institutionalisation of the coercive apparatus by the British command. The Study begins at 1859 and ends at 1913. This is because after the 1857 Uprising, the Bengal Army experienced a sea change in its organisation and social architecture. And again, 1914 constituted a break since the army went through a fivefold expansion. The author attempts a cross-cultural comparative analysis with other armies in order to flesh out the specificity of the Sepoy Army. This much awaited study is invaluable for scholars of military and modern Indian history.

With a profusion of anecdotes conveying the character of India under British rule. Farwell offers a panoramic survey of the Indian army during the 90 years between the Sepoy Revolt and the births of independent India and Pakistan ...

Delve into the heart of one of the most significant rebellions in Indian history in 'The Sepoy Rebellion'. From the first stirrings of unrest in the Bengal army to the violent clashes and massacres that followed, this illuminating work provides a detailed and thorough account of this pivotal moment in colonial history. With primary source material and firsthand accounts, 'The Sepoy Rebellion' offers a unique perspective on this complex and fascinating period. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.