04-10-2004, 05:45 AM
There was an interpellation on 15th September 1938, when the following questions were asked and replies as stated below were given:â
Arrangements for the Defence of India. 29[f.29]
Q. 1360: Mr.Badri Dull Pande (on behalf of Mr. Amarendra Nath Chattopadhya).
(a) x x x x
(B) x x x x
© x x x x
(d) How many Indians have been recruited during 1937 and 1938 as soldiers and officers during 1937-38 for the Infantry and Cavalry respectively? Amongst the soldiers and officers recruited, how many are Punjabi Sikhs, Pathans, Garhwalis, Mahrattas, Madrasis, Biharis, Bengalis and Hindustanis of the United Provinces and Gurkhas ?
(e) If none but the Punjabi Sikhs, Pathans and Garhwalis have been recruited, is it in contemplation of the Honourable Member to recruit from all the Provinces for the defense of India and give them proper military training ?
(f) Will the Defence Secretary be pleased to state if Provincial Governments will be asked to raise Provincial Regiments, trained and fully mechanised, for the defence of India? If not, what is his plan of raising an efficient army for the defence of India ?
Mr. C.M.G.Oglvie:
(a) The Honourable Member will appreciate that it is not in the public interest to disclose the details of such arrangements.
(B) 5 cadets and 33 Indian apprentices were recruited for the Indian Air Force during 1937-38.
© During 1937-38, 5 Indians have already been recruited to commissioned ranks in the Royal Indian Navy, 4 will be taken by competitive examination in October 1938, and 3 more by special examination of " Dufferin " cadets only. During the same period, 314 Indians were recruited to different non-commissioned categories in the Royal Indian Navy.
(d) During the year ending the 31st March 1938, 54 Indians were commissioned as Indian Commissioned Officers. They are now attached to British units for training, and it is not yet possible to say what proportion will be posted to infantry and cavalry, respectively. During the same period, 961 Indian soldiers were recruited for cavalry, and 7,970 for infantry. Their details by classes are not available at Army Headquarters and to call for them from the recruiting officers all over India would not justify the expenditure of time and labour involved.
(e) No.
(f) The reply to the first portion is in the negative. The reply to the second portion is that India already possesses an efficient army and so far as finances permit, every effort is made to keep it up-to-date in all respects. Mr. S. Satyamurti: With reference to the answers to clauses (d) and (e) of the question taken together, may I know whether the attention of Government has been drawn to statements made by many public men that the bulk of the army is from the Punjab and from one community ? Have Government considered those facts and will Government also consider the desirability of making the army truly national by extending recruitment to all provinces and communities, so as to avoid the danger present in all countries of a military dictatorship seizing political power ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie : I am not sure how that arises from this question, but I am prepared to say that provincial boundaries do not enter into Government's calculations at all. The best soldiers are chosen to provide the best army for India and not for any province, and in this matter national considerations must come above provincial considerations. Where the bulk of best military material is found, there we will go to get it, and not elsewhere. Mr. S. Saty'amurti : May I know whether the bulk of the army is from the Punjab and whether the Government
have forgotten the experience of the brave exploits of men from my province not very long ago in the Indian Army, and may I know if Madrasis are practically kept out and many other provinces are kept out of the army altogether ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie : Madras is not practically kept out of the army. Government gladly acknowledge the gallant services of the Madrasis in the army and they are now recruited to those Units where experience has proved them to be best. There are some 4,500 serving chiefly in the Sappers and Miners and Artillery.
Mr. S. Sayamurti : Out of a total of 120,000 ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie : About that.
Mr. S. Satyamurti : May I take it, that, that is a proper proportion, considering the population of Madras, the revenue that Madras pays to the Central exchequer, and the necessity of having a national army recruited from all the provinces ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie : The only necessity we recognise is to obtain the best possible army.
Mr. S. Satyamurti : May I know by what tests Government have come to the conclusion that provinces other than the Punjab cannot supply the best elements in the Indian Army ?
Mr. Ogilvie : By experience.
Dr. Sir Ziauddin Ahmed: May I ask if it is not a fact that all branches of Accounts Department are monopolised by the Madrasis and will Government immediately reduce the number in proportion to their numerical strength in India?
Mr. Ogilvie : I do not see how that arises from this question either, but the Government are again not prepared to sacrifice efficiency for any provincial cause.
Indian Regiment consisting of Indians belonging to Different Castes 30[f.30]
Q. 1078 : Mr.M.Anantasayanam Ayyangar (on behalf of Mr. Manu Subedar):
(a) Will the Defence Secretary state whether any experiment has ever been made under British rule of having an Indian regiment consisting of Indians recruited from different provinces and belonging to the different castes and sections, such as Sikhs, Mahrattas, Rajputs, Brahmins and Muslims ?
(B) If the reply to part (a) be in the negative, can a statement of Government's policy in this regard be made giving reasons why it has not been considered proper to take such action ?
© Is His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief prepared to take up this matter with His Majesty's Government ?
(d) Are Government aware that in the University Corps and in the Bombay Scout Movement, and in the Police Forces of the country, there is no separation by caste or creed ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie :
(a) No.
(B) Government regard it as a fundamental principle of organization that Military Sub-Units, such as companies and squadrons, must be homogeneous.
© No, for the reason just mentioned.
(d) Yes.
Mr. S. Satyamurti: May I know the meaning which Government attach to the word " homogeneous " ? Does it mean from the same province or the same community ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie : It means that they must belong to the same class of persons.
Mr. S. Satyamurti : May I ask for some elucidation of this point ? Do they make distinction between one class and another ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie : Certainly.
Mr. S. Satyamurti: On what basis ? Is it religious class or racial class or provincial class ? .
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie : Neither. It is largely racial class.
.Mr. S. Satyamurti: Which races are preferred and which are not preferred ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie: I refer the Honourable Member to the Army List. Recruitment to the Indian Army 31[f.31]
Q. 1162: Mr.Brojendra Narayan Chaudhary: Will the Defence Secretary please state :â
(a) Whether the attention of Government has been drawn to the address of the Punjab's Premier, the Hon'ble Sir Sikander Hyat Khan to his brother soldiers, in these words : " No patriotic Punjabi would wish to impair Punjab's position of supremacy in the Army," as reported by the Associated Press of India in the Hindustan Times of the 5th September 1938; and
(B) Whether it is the policy of Government to maintain the supremacy of Punjabis in the army by continuing to recruit the major portion from the Punjab ; or to attempt recruitment of the Army from all the provinces without racial or provincial considerations ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie :
(a) Yes.
(B) I refer the Honourable Member to replies I gave to the supplementary questions arising from starred question No. 1060 asked by Mr. Amarendra Nath Chattopadhyaya on 15th September 1938. Mr. S. Satyamurti : With reference to the answer to part (a) of the question, my Honourable friend referred to previous answers. As far as I remember, they were not given after this statement was brought before this House. May I know if the Government of India have examined this statement of the Punjab Premier, " No patriotic Punjabi would wish to impair Punjab's position of supremacy in the Army" ? May I know whether Government have considered the dangerous implications of this statement and will they take steps to prevent a responsible Minister going about and claiming provincial or communal supremacy in the Indian Army, which ought to remain Indian
first and Indian last ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie : I can only answer in exactly the same words as I answered to a precisely similar question of the Hon'ble Member on the 15th September last. The policy of Government with regard to the recruitment has been repeatedly stated and is perfectly clear. Mr. S. Satyamurti: That policy is to get the best material and I am specifically asking my Honourable friendâ1 hope he realises the implications of that statement of the Punjab Premier. I want to know whether the Government have examined the dangerous implications of any provincial Premier claiming provincial supremacy in the Indian Army and whether they propose to take any steps to correct this dangerous misapprehension ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie : Government consider that there are no dangerous implications whatever but rather the reverse.
Mr. Satyamurti : Do Government accept the supremacy of any province or any community as desirable consideration, even if it is a fact, to be uttered by responsible public men and do not the Government consider that this will give rise to communal and provincial quarrels and jealousies inside the army and possibly a military dictatorship in this country ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie : Government consider that none of these foreboding have any justification at all.
Mr. M. S. Aney : Do the Government subscribe to the policy implied in the statement of Sir Sikander Hyat Khan ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie : Government's policy has been repeatedly stated and made clear.
Mr. M. S. Aney : Is it the policy that the Punjab should have its supremacy in the Army ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie : The policy is that the best material should be recruited for the Army.
Mr. M. S .Aney : I again repeat the question. Is it the policy of Government that Punjab should have supremacy in the Army ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie : I have repeatedly answered that question. The policy is that the Army should get the best material from all provinces and Government are quite satisfied that it has the best material at present.
Mr. M. S. Aney : Is it not, therefore, necessary that Government should make a statement modifying the policy suggested by Sir Sikander Hyat Khan ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie: Government have no intention whatever of changing their policy in particular. Another interpolation took place on 23rd November 1938 when the question stated below was asked :â
Recruitment to the Indian Army from the Central Provinces and Berar 32[f.32]
Q. 1402 : Mr. Govind V. Deshmukh : Will the Defence Secretary please state :â
(a) The centres in the Central Provinces and Berar for recruiting men for the Indian Army ;
(B) The classes from which such men are recruited;
© The proportion of the men from the C. P. & Berar in the Army to the total strength of the Army, as well as to the population of these provinces ; and
(d) The present policy of recruitment, and if it is going to be revised; if not, why not?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie :
(a) There are no recruiting centres in the C. P. or Berar. Men residing in the C. P. are in the area of the Recruiting Officer, Delhi, and those of Berar in the area of the Recruiting Officer, Poona.
(B) Mahrattas of Berar are recruited as a separate class. Other Hindus and Mussalmans who are recruited from the C. P. and Berar are classified as " Hindus " or " Musalmans ", and are not entered under any class denomination.
© The proportion to the total strength of the Army is .03 per cent. and the proportion to the total male population
of these provinces is .0004 per cent.
(d) There is at present no intention of revising the present policy, the reasons for which were stated in my reply to a supplementary question arising out of Mr. Satyamurti's starred question No. 1060, on the 15th September 1938, and in answer to part (a) of starred question No. 1086 asked by Mian Ghulam Kadir Muhammad Shahban on the same date, and in the reply of His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief to the debates in the Council of State on the Honourable Mr. Sushil Kumar Roy Chaudhary's Resolution regarding military training for Indians on the 21st February 1938 and on the Honourable Mr. P. N. Sapru's Resolution on the recruitment of all classes to the Indian Army in April 1935. This was followed by an interpellation on 6th February 1939, when the below mentioned question was asked :â
Recruitment to the Indian Army 33[f.33]
Q. 729; Mr. S. Satyamurti: Will the Defence Secretary be pleased to state:
(a) Whether Government have since the last answer on this question reconsidered the question of recruiting to the Indian Army from all provinces and from all castes and communities;
(B) Whether they have come to any conclusion ;
© Whether Government will categorically state the reasons as to why other provinces and communities are not allowed to serve in the army ; and
(d) What are the tests by which they have come to the conclusion that other provinces and other communities than those from whom recruitment is made to the Indian Army to-day cannot come up to the standard of efficiency required of the Indian Army ?
Mr. C.M.G.Ogilvie:
(a) No.
(B) Does not arise.
© and
(d) The reasons have been categorically stated in my replies to starred questions Nos. 1060 and 1086of 15th September 1938, No. 1162 of 20th September 1938 and No. 1402 of 23rd November 1938 and also in the replies of His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief in the Council of State to the debates on the Honourable Mr. P. N. Sapru's Resolution regarding recruitment of all classes to the Indian Army and the Honourable Mr. Sushil Kumar Roy Chaudhary's Resolution regarding Military training for Indians, on the 13th March 1935 and 21st February 1938
respectively. This conspiracy of silence on the part of the Government of India, was quite recently broken by the Secretary of State for India, who came forward to give the fullest information on this most vital and most exciting subject, in
answer to a question in the House of Commons. From his answer given on 8th July 1943 we know the existing communal and provincial composition of the Indian Army to be as follows :â
1. Provincial Composition of the Indian Army Province Percentage Province Percentage
1. Punjab 50 7. Bengal Presidency 2
2. U. P. 15 8. C. P. & Berar
3. Madras Presidency 10 9. Assam 5
4. Bombay Presidency 10 10. Bihar
5. N. W. F. Province 5 11. Orissa
6. Ajmere & Merwara 3 12. Nepal 8
II. Communal Composition of the Indian Army
1. Muslims
2. Hindus & Gurkhas
3. Sikhs
4. Christians & The Rest
34 p.c.
50 p.c.
10 p.c.
6 p.c.
The information given by the Secretary of State is indeed very welcome. But, this is the war-time composition of the Indian Army. The peace-time composition must be very different. It rested on the well-known distinction between the Martial and Non-Martial Races. That distinction was abolished during the War. There is, however, no certainty that it will not be revived now that peace has returned. What we want to know is the peacetime communal composition of the Indian Army. That still remains an unknown fact and a subject of speculation. Some say that the normal pre-war proportion of Muslims was between 60 and 70 p.c. Others say that it is somewhere in the neighbourhood of 50 p.c. In the absence of exact information, one could well adopt the latter figure as disclosing the true situation especially, when on inquiry, it happens to be confirmed by those who are in a
position to form some idea on the matter. Even if the proportion be 50% it is high enough to cause alarm to the Hindus. If this is true, it is a flagrant violation of well established principles of British Army policy in India, adopted after the Mutiny.
After the Mutiny, the British Government ordered two investigations into the organization of the Indian Army. The first investigation was carried out by the Peel Commission which was appointed in 1859. The second investigation was undertaken by a body, called the Special Army Committee, appointed in 1879 to which reference has already been made.
Arrangements for the Defence of India. 29[f.29]
Q. 1360: Mr.Badri Dull Pande (on behalf of Mr. Amarendra Nath Chattopadhya).
(a) x x x x
(B) x x x x
© x x x x
(d) How many Indians have been recruited during 1937 and 1938 as soldiers and officers during 1937-38 for the Infantry and Cavalry respectively? Amongst the soldiers and officers recruited, how many are Punjabi Sikhs, Pathans, Garhwalis, Mahrattas, Madrasis, Biharis, Bengalis and Hindustanis of the United Provinces and Gurkhas ?
(e) If none but the Punjabi Sikhs, Pathans and Garhwalis have been recruited, is it in contemplation of the Honourable Member to recruit from all the Provinces for the defense of India and give them proper military training ?
(f) Will the Defence Secretary be pleased to state if Provincial Governments will be asked to raise Provincial Regiments, trained and fully mechanised, for the defence of India? If not, what is his plan of raising an efficient army for the defence of India ?
Mr. C.M.G.Oglvie:
(a) The Honourable Member will appreciate that it is not in the public interest to disclose the details of such arrangements.
(B) 5 cadets and 33 Indian apprentices were recruited for the Indian Air Force during 1937-38.
© During 1937-38, 5 Indians have already been recruited to commissioned ranks in the Royal Indian Navy, 4 will be taken by competitive examination in October 1938, and 3 more by special examination of " Dufferin " cadets only. During the same period, 314 Indians were recruited to different non-commissioned categories in the Royal Indian Navy.
(d) During the year ending the 31st March 1938, 54 Indians were commissioned as Indian Commissioned Officers. They are now attached to British units for training, and it is not yet possible to say what proportion will be posted to infantry and cavalry, respectively. During the same period, 961 Indian soldiers were recruited for cavalry, and 7,970 for infantry. Their details by classes are not available at Army Headquarters and to call for them from the recruiting officers all over India would not justify the expenditure of time and labour involved.
(e) No.
(f) The reply to the first portion is in the negative. The reply to the second portion is that India already possesses an efficient army and so far as finances permit, every effort is made to keep it up-to-date in all respects. Mr. S. Satyamurti: With reference to the answers to clauses (d) and (e) of the question taken together, may I know whether the attention of Government has been drawn to statements made by many public men that the bulk of the army is from the Punjab and from one community ? Have Government considered those facts and will Government also consider the desirability of making the army truly national by extending recruitment to all provinces and communities, so as to avoid the danger present in all countries of a military dictatorship seizing political power ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie : I am not sure how that arises from this question, but I am prepared to say that provincial boundaries do not enter into Government's calculations at all. The best soldiers are chosen to provide the best army for India and not for any province, and in this matter national considerations must come above provincial considerations. Where the bulk of best military material is found, there we will go to get it, and not elsewhere. Mr. S. Saty'amurti : May I know whether the bulk of the army is from the Punjab and whether the Government
have forgotten the experience of the brave exploits of men from my province not very long ago in the Indian Army, and may I know if Madrasis are practically kept out and many other provinces are kept out of the army altogether ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie : Madras is not practically kept out of the army. Government gladly acknowledge the gallant services of the Madrasis in the army and they are now recruited to those Units where experience has proved them to be best. There are some 4,500 serving chiefly in the Sappers and Miners and Artillery.
Mr. S. Sayamurti : Out of a total of 120,000 ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie : About that.
Mr. S. Satyamurti : May I take it, that, that is a proper proportion, considering the population of Madras, the revenue that Madras pays to the Central exchequer, and the necessity of having a national army recruited from all the provinces ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie : The only necessity we recognise is to obtain the best possible army.
Mr. S. Satyamurti : May I know by what tests Government have come to the conclusion that provinces other than the Punjab cannot supply the best elements in the Indian Army ?
Mr. Ogilvie : By experience.
Dr. Sir Ziauddin Ahmed: May I ask if it is not a fact that all branches of Accounts Department are monopolised by the Madrasis and will Government immediately reduce the number in proportion to their numerical strength in India?
Mr. Ogilvie : I do not see how that arises from this question either, but the Government are again not prepared to sacrifice efficiency for any provincial cause.
Indian Regiment consisting of Indians belonging to Different Castes 30[f.30]
Q. 1078 : Mr.M.Anantasayanam Ayyangar (on behalf of Mr. Manu Subedar):
(a) Will the Defence Secretary state whether any experiment has ever been made under British rule of having an Indian regiment consisting of Indians recruited from different provinces and belonging to the different castes and sections, such as Sikhs, Mahrattas, Rajputs, Brahmins and Muslims ?
(B) If the reply to part (a) be in the negative, can a statement of Government's policy in this regard be made giving reasons why it has not been considered proper to take such action ?
© Is His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief prepared to take up this matter with His Majesty's Government ?
(d) Are Government aware that in the University Corps and in the Bombay Scout Movement, and in the Police Forces of the country, there is no separation by caste or creed ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie :
(a) No.
(B) Government regard it as a fundamental principle of organization that Military Sub-Units, such as companies and squadrons, must be homogeneous.
© No, for the reason just mentioned.
(d) Yes.
Mr. S. Satyamurti: May I know the meaning which Government attach to the word " homogeneous " ? Does it mean from the same province or the same community ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie : It means that they must belong to the same class of persons.
Mr. S. Satyamurti : May I ask for some elucidation of this point ? Do they make distinction between one class and another ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie : Certainly.
Mr. S. Satyamurti: On what basis ? Is it religious class or racial class or provincial class ? .
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie : Neither. It is largely racial class.
.Mr. S. Satyamurti: Which races are preferred and which are not preferred ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie: I refer the Honourable Member to the Army List. Recruitment to the Indian Army 31[f.31]
Q. 1162: Mr.Brojendra Narayan Chaudhary: Will the Defence Secretary please state :â
(a) Whether the attention of Government has been drawn to the address of the Punjab's Premier, the Hon'ble Sir Sikander Hyat Khan to his brother soldiers, in these words : " No patriotic Punjabi would wish to impair Punjab's position of supremacy in the Army," as reported by the Associated Press of India in the Hindustan Times of the 5th September 1938; and
(B) Whether it is the policy of Government to maintain the supremacy of Punjabis in the army by continuing to recruit the major portion from the Punjab ; or to attempt recruitment of the Army from all the provinces without racial or provincial considerations ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie :
(a) Yes.
(B) I refer the Honourable Member to replies I gave to the supplementary questions arising from starred question No. 1060 asked by Mr. Amarendra Nath Chattopadhyaya on 15th September 1938. Mr. S. Satyamurti : With reference to the answer to part (a) of the question, my Honourable friend referred to previous answers. As far as I remember, they were not given after this statement was brought before this House. May I know if the Government of India have examined this statement of the Punjab Premier, " No patriotic Punjabi would wish to impair Punjab's position of supremacy in the Army" ? May I know whether Government have considered the dangerous implications of this statement and will they take steps to prevent a responsible Minister going about and claiming provincial or communal supremacy in the Indian Army, which ought to remain Indian
first and Indian last ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie : I can only answer in exactly the same words as I answered to a precisely similar question of the Hon'ble Member on the 15th September last. The policy of Government with regard to the recruitment has been repeatedly stated and is perfectly clear. Mr. S. Satyamurti: That policy is to get the best material and I am specifically asking my Honourable friendâ1 hope he realises the implications of that statement of the Punjab Premier. I want to know whether the Government have examined the dangerous implications of any provincial Premier claiming provincial supremacy in the Indian Army and whether they propose to take any steps to correct this dangerous misapprehension ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie : Government consider that there are no dangerous implications whatever but rather the reverse.
Mr. Satyamurti : Do Government accept the supremacy of any province or any community as desirable consideration, even if it is a fact, to be uttered by responsible public men and do not the Government consider that this will give rise to communal and provincial quarrels and jealousies inside the army and possibly a military dictatorship in this country ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie : Government consider that none of these foreboding have any justification at all.
Mr. M. S. Aney : Do the Government subscribe to the policy implied in the statement of Sir Sikander Hyat Khan ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie : Government's policy has been repeatedly stated and made clear.
Mr. M. S. Aney : Is it the policy that the Punjab should have its supremacy in the Army ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie : The policy is that the best material should be recruited for the Army.
Mr. M. S .Aney : I again repeat the question. Is it the policy of Government that Punjab should have supremacy in the Army ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie : I have repeatedly answered that question. The policy is that the Army should get the best material from all provinces and Government are quite satisfied that it has the best material at present.
Mr. M. S. Aney : Is it not, therefore, necessary that Government should make a statement modifying the policy suggested by Sir Sikander Hyat Khan ?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie: Government have no intention whatever of changing their policy in particular. Another interpolation took place on 23rd November 1938 when the question stated below was asked :â
Recruitment to the Indian Army from the Central Provinces and Berar 32[f.32]
Q. 1402 : Mr. Govind V. Deshmukh : Will the Defence Secretary please state :â
(a) The centres in the Central Provinces and Berar for recruiting men for the Indian Army ;
(B) The classes from which such men are recruited;
© The proportion of the men from the C. P. & Berar in the Army to the total strength of the Army, as well as to the population of these provinces ; and
(d) The present policy of recruitment, and if it is going to be revised; if not, why not?
Mr. C. M. G. Ogilvie :
(a) There are no recruiting centres in the C. P. or Berar. Men residing in the C. P. are in the area of the Recruiting Officer, Delhi, and those of Berar in the area of the Recruiting Officer, Poona.
(B) Mahrattas of Berar are recruited as a separate class. Other Hindus and Mussalmans who are recruited from the C. P. and Berar are classified as " Hindus " or " Musalmans ", and are not entered under any class denomination.
© The proportion to the total strength of the Army is .03 per cent. and the proportion to the total male population
of these provinces is .0004 per cent.
(d) There is at present no intention of revising the present policy, the reasons for which were stated in my reply to a supplementary question arising out of Mr. Satyamurti's starred question No. 1060, on the 15th September 1938, and in answer to part (a) of starred question No. 1086 asked by Mian Ghulam Kadir Muhammad Shahban on the same date, and in the reply of His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief to the debates in the Council of State on the Honourable Mr. Sushil Kumar Roy Chaudhary's Resolution regarding military training for Indians on the 21st February 1938 and on the Honourable Mr. P. N. Sapru's Resolution on the recruitment of all classes to the Indian Army in April 1935. This was followed by an interpellation on 6th February 1939, when the below mentioned question was asked :â
Recruitment to the Indian Army 33[f.33]
Q. 729; Mr. S. Satyamurti: Will the Defence Secretary be pleased to state:
(a) Whether Government have since the last answer on this question reconsidered the question of recruiting to the Indian Army from all provinces and from all castes and communities;
(B) Whether they have come to any conclusion ;
© Whether Government will categorically state the reasons as to why other provinces and communities are not allowed to serve in the army ; and
(d) What are the tests by which they have come to the conclusion that other provinces and other communities than those from whom recruitment is made to the Indian Army to-day cannot come up to the standard of efficiency required of the Indian Army ?
Mr. C.M.G.Ogilvie:
(a) No.
(B) Does not arise.
© and
(d) The reasons have been categorically stated in my replies to starred questions Nos. 1060 and 1086of 15th September 1938, No. 1162 of 20th September 1938 and No. 1402 of 23rd November 1938 and also in the replies of His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief in the Council of State to the debates on the Honourable Mr. P. N. Sapru's Resolution regarding recruitment of all classes to the Indian Army and the Honourable Mr. Sushil Kumar Roy Chaudhary's Resolution regarding Military training for Indians, on the 13th March 1935 and 21st February 1938
respectively. This conspiracy of silence on the part of the Government of India, was quite recently broken by the Secretary of State for India, who came forward to give the fullest information on this most vital and most exciting subject, in
answer to a question in the House of Commons. From his answer given on 8th July 1943 we know the existing communal and provincial composition of the Indian Army to be as follows :â
1. Provincial Composition of the Indian Army Province Percentage Province Percentage
1. Punjab 50 7. Bengal Presidency 2
2. U. P. 15 8. C. P. & Berar
3. Madras Presidency 10 9. Assam 5
4. Bombay Presidency 10 10. Bihar
5. N. W. F. Province 5 11. Orissa
6. Ajmere & Merwara 3 12. Nepal 8
II. Communal Composition of the Indian Army
1. Muslims
2. Hindus & Gurkhas
3. Sikhs
4. Christians & The Rest
34 p.c.
50 p.c.
10 p.c.
6 p.c.
The information given by the Secretary of State is indeed very welcome. But, this is the war-time composition of the Indian Army. The peace-time composition must be very different. It rested on the well-known distinction between the Martial and Non-Martial Races. That distinction was abolished during the War. There is, however, no certainty that it will not be revived now that peace has returned. What we want to know is the peacetime communal composition of the Indian Army. That still remains an unknown fact and a subject of speculation. Some say that the normal pre-war proportion of Muslims was between 60 and 70 p.c. Others say that it is somewhere in the neighbourhood of 50 p.c. In the absence of exact information, one could well adopt the latter figure as disclosing the true situation especially, when on inquiry, it happens to be confirmed by those who are in a
position to form some idea on the matter. Even if the proportion be 50% it is high enough to cause alarm to the Hindus. If this is true, it is a flagrant violation of well established principles of British Army policy in India, adopted after the Mutiny.
After the Mutiny, the British Government ordered two investigations into the organization of the Indian Army. The first investigation was carried out by the Peel Commission which was appointed in 1859. The second investigation was undertaken by a body, called the Special Army Committee, appointed in 1879 to which reference has already been made.