British Imperialism and its Legacies: British Indian Army

Comments

Glasgow Museums has a small collection of around 30 items which relate to the British Indian Army between 1895 and 1947. British forces operating prior to this are not covered here.

In 1895, the three existing Presidency armies were amalgamated, continuing as one force until 1947, when the British withdrew and the armed forces were split between the new countries of India and Pakistan. British India before 1947 included the countries which are now Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and other areas in South Asia. The army helped the civil authorities to maintain control internally, putting down unrest and riots and dealing with armed criminals, but also fighting in border wars and other conflicts as required.

Until the 1920s, all officers were British with the rest of the men recruited locally. Officers were required to learn Hindustani.

Generally speaking, the objects in the collection were donated by people living in, or connected to, Glasgow, and there has been no active collecting on this subject, which is why the collection is limited in number and scope.

The earliest item in the collection is an Africa General Service medal from 1904, which was awarded to Sepoy Mausam Din of the 27th Punjabis regiment for fighting in the Battle of Jidbaale. This ended the Somaliland 1902–04 campaign against the nationalist Somali Dervish resistance movement.

Items from World War I include a newspaper with a photograph of Gurkha troops fighting in France, and two korah (a type of short, curved sword) which were retrieved from the battlefield at Kut-al-Amara in Iraq and which were used by soldiers from the north of India. There are also items owned by officers, for example, military textbooks, military maps and Khwāb O Khayāl or Visions of the Past, the official textbook for the Higher Standard Hindustani examination of Civil and Military Officers.

Objects from World War II include three artworks relating to the role of the British Indian Army in North Africa and the UK.

Some of the items which belonged to officers were made in British India, for example, a pith helmet made by Kirpa Ram Bros, drapers and outfitters Rawalpind. This shows that service industries had developed to support British soldiers.

A small number of items relate to Gurkhas, consisting of two caps and five kukris (knives), but these are undated at present and may be found not relate to Army service.

There are also two jezails (heavy guns) surrendered to the British Indian Army during the Tirah campaign of 1897–98 in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Broader term

British Imperialism and its Legacies: Exploitation of military power in the colonies