Martial race was a designation which was created by army officials inBritish India after theIndian Rebellion of 1857, in which they classified eachcaste as belonging to one of two categories, the 'martial' caste and the 'non-martial' caste. The ostensible reason for this system of classification was the belief that a 'martial race' was typically brave and well-built for fighting,[1] while the 'non-martial races' were those races which the British considered unfit for battle because of theirsedentary lifestyles. The British had a policy of recruiting the martial Indians from those who has less access to education as they were easier to control.[2]
According to modern historian Jeffrey Greenhut on military history, "The Martial Race theory had an elegant symmetry. Indians who were intelligent and educated were defined as cowards, while those defined as brave were uneducated and backward". According to Amiya Samanta, the martial race was chosen from people of mercenary spirit (a soldier who fights for any group or country that will pay him), as these groups lacked nationalism as a trait.[3][4] British-trained Indian soldiers were among those who had rebelled in 1857 and thereafter, theBengal Army abandoned or diminished its recruitment of soldiers who came from thecatchment area and enacted a new recruitment policy which favoured castes whose members had remained loyal to the British Empire.[5][page needed]
The concept already had a precedent in Indian culture as one of the four orders (varnas) in theVedic social system of Hinduism is known as theKshatriya, literally "warriors".[6]Brahmins were described as 'the oldest martial community',[7] in the past having two of the oldest British Indian regiments, the1st Brahmans and3rd Brahmans. Now, except a clan known asGaur whose habits are simpler, very few are found in the army.[8] Following the transfer of the British Indian Armed forces to the Indian Armed forces, these communities continued to have a high representation.[9]
Following Indian independence, the Indian government in February 1949 abolished the official application of "martial race" principles with regard to military recruitment, although it has continued to be applied formally and informally in certain circumstances.[10] In Pakistan, such principles, although no longer rigidly enforced, have continued to hold considerable sway and have had major consequences for the nation's political life—the most extreme case being theBangladesh Liberation War, following decades of continuedBengali exclusion from the armed forces.[11]
In their attempts to assert control after theIndian Rebellion of 1857, the British faced fierce resistance in some regions while easily subduing others. British officials sought 'martial races' accustomed to hunting, or from agricultural cultures from hilly or mountainous regions with a history of conflict. Others were excluded due to their 'ease of living' or branded asseditious agitators.[12] The doctrine of 'martial races' postulated that the qualities that make a useful soldier are inherited in certain races by birth, and that the rest of the Indian races did not have the requisitetraits that would make them warriors.[13]
British general and scholar Lieutenant-General George MacMunn (1869–1952) noted in his writings "It is only necessary for a feeling to arise that it is impious and disgraceful to serve the British, for the whole of our fabric to tumble like a house of cards without a shot being fired or a sword unsheathed".[14] To this end, it became British policy to recruit only from those tribes whom they classified as members of the 'martial races', and the practice became an integral part of the recruitment manuals for the Army in the British Raj.
The British regarded the 'martial races' as valiant and strong but also intellectually inferior, lacking the initiative or leadership qualities to command large military formations.[15] They were also regarded as politically subservient or docile to authority.[2][12] For these reasons, the martial races theory did not lead to officers being recruited from them; recruitment was based onsocial class and loyalty to theBritish Raj. One source calls this a "pseudo-ethnological" construction, which was popularised byFrederick Sleigh Roberts, and created serious deficiencies in troop levels during theWorld Wars, compelling them to recruit from 'non-martial races'.[16]Winston Churchill was reportedly concerned that the theory was abandoned during the war and wrote to theCommander-in-Chief, India that he must, "rely as much as possible on the martial races".[17]
Critics of the theory state that the Indian rebellion of 1857 may have played a role in reinforcing the British belief in it. During this event the troops from the Bengal Native Infantry led bysepoyMangal Pandey mutinied against the British. Similarly, theRevolt of Rajab Ali fromChittagong also caused trouble with British forces. However, the loyalRajputs,Jats,Pashtuns,Sikhs,Gurkhas,Kumaunis andGarhwalis did not join the mutiny, and fought on the side of the British Army. From then on, this theory was used to the hilt to accelerate recruitment from among these 'races', whilst discouraging enlistment of 'disloyal' troops and high-casteHindus who had sided with the rebel army during the war.[18]
Some authors, such as Heather Streets, argue that the military authorities puffed up the images of the martial soldiers by writing regimental histories, and by extolling thekilted Scots,kukri-wielding Gurkhas andturbaned Sikhs in numerous paintings.[19] Richard Schultz, an American author, has claimed the martial race concept as a supposedly clever British effort to divide and rule the people of India for their own political ends.[20]
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British-declared martial races in the Indian subcontinent included some groups that were officially designated instead as "agricultural tribes" under the provisions of thePunjab Land Alienation Act of 1900. These terms were considered to be synonymous when the administration compiled a list in 1925. Among the communities listed as martial were:[21][22][23]
Communities that were at various times classified as martial races include:
India was quick to formally disclaim the martial races theory after gaining independence. The largest single source of recruitment for theBritish Indian Army had come fromPunjab, with Sikhs and Punjabi Muslims particularly preferred, with the result that at independence over 90% of the newIndian Armed Forces' senior officers came fromEast Punjab despite the fact that it made up just 5% of the new country's population.[38] Recognizing the destabilising potential of an unrepresentative armed forces, Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru soon urged theCommander-in-Chief, India andDefence Secretary to undertake "large scale reform to the armed forces”.[39]
However, while most caste or tribal bars on recruitment were lifted, recruitment in regions populated by the former "martial races" was progressively intensified, with the result that by the beginning of the 1970s, India had more than doubled the number of "martial class" units. ThePunjab Regiment, which recruits mainlySikhs andDogras, had gone from five to 29 battalions since independence, while theRajputana Rifles, which is mainly composed ofJats andRajputs, increased from six to 21 battalions over the same time period.[39] The three states that comprised the formerEast Punjab—Haryana,Himachal Pradesh, andPunjab—remain substantially over-represented in the contemporary Indian Armed Forces. In the 1968-1971 period, Haryana, which accounted for 2.2% of India's population, accounted for 7.82% of the armed forces' headcount; the figures for Himachal Pradesh were 0.6% of the population, and 4.68% of the armed forces, and for Punjab, 2.6% of the population and 15.3% of the armed forces.[40] By the 1996-97 period, the proportion of the armed forces coming from each state had fallen from 4.7% to 4.4% to Himachal Pradesh, from 7.8% to 5.1% in Haryana, and from 15.3% to 7.6% in Punjab.[40]
| State | % of national population,2011[41] | % of Indian Army, 1968-1971 | % of Indian Army, 1996-1997 | Change in % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | +% | |
| Uttar Pradesh (includingUttarakhand) | 17.3 | 15.6 | 20.6 | 32.05% |
| Rajasthan | 5.7 | 7.0 | 7.9 | 12.86% |
| Punjab | 2.3 | 15.3 | 7.6 | -50.33% |
| Maharashtra | 9.3 | 7.6 | 7.3 | -3.95% |
| Bihar (includingJharkhand) | 11.3 | 5.1 | 7.0 | 37.25% |
| West Bengal | 7.5 | 3.6 | 5.7 | 58.33% |
| Haryana | 2.1 | 7.8 | 5.1 | -34.62% |
| Andhra Pradesh (includingTelangana) | 7.0 | 4.1 | 4.9 | 19.51% |
| Tamil Nadu | 6.0 | 5.1 | 4.9 | -3.92% |
| Himachal Pradesh | 0.6 | 4.7 | 4.4 | -6.38% |
| Jammu and Kashmir (includingLadakh) | 1.0 | 2.9 | 3.7 | 27.59% |
| Karnataka | 5.1 | 2.8 | 3.7 | 32.14% |
| Kerala | 2.8 | 5.4 | 3.1 | -42.59% |
| Madhya Pradesh (includingChhattisgarh) | 8.1 | 5.1 | 3.0 | -41.18% |
| All other states and union territories combined[a] | 13.9 | 7.9 | 11.1 | 40.51% |
Explicit ethnic- or caste-based requirements have nevertheless persisted amongst some military formations. The most notable instance is thePresident's Bodyguard, the most senior and arguably the most prestigious unit of theIndian Army, which recruits exclusively from Sikhs, Jats and Rajputs in equal proportion. The Indian government has defended what it terms as "class composition" restrictions on the grounds of the "functional requirements" of the ceremonial detachment, namely its "ceremonial duties [which] demand common height, built, appearance and dress for reason of pomp and projection".[42]
Sikhs continue to be strongly over-represented in the armed forces despite the discontinuation of the martial race theory. While religious data of soldiers is not collected, the number of religious preachers for each group in the Army was disclosed by the government to theLok Sabha in early 1997, a number believed to proportionate to the number of each religion's adherents in the army, and indicated that over 10% of the Army was Sikh as opposed to under 2% of the general population.[40] Notably, theSikh Regiment andSikh Light Infantry are largely homogenous regiments with around 20 battalions highly used as a strike force,[40] with the Sikh Regiment being the most decorated regiment in the Indian Army.[43] Sikhs compose up to 20% of the Indian Army officer corps.[40] Nonetheless, Sikhs have alleged that their proportion in the armed forces has been dropping,[40] and theAnandpur Sahib Resolution called for "the present ratio of their strength in the Army should be maintained".[44] Major General Jaswant Singh Bhullar complained that Sikhs were having trouble joining the armed forces due to religious quotas, which may have fueled theSikh insurgency andSikh migration abroad.[40] Lieutenant GeneralJoginder Singh Dhillon complained that migration abroad was leading an officer shortage, measured at 13,000, which may lead to lowering of education standards and test scores.[40]
| Religion | % of national population,2011[45] | estimated % of Indian Army, 1997 | Proportion |
|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | |
| Hindu | 79.8% | 84.57% | 105.98% |
| Sikh | 1.72% | 10.46% | 608.14% |
| Muslim | 14.23% | 2.91% | 20.45% |
| Christian | 2.3% | 1.46% | 63.48% |
| Buddhist | 0.7% | 0.59% | 84.29% |
At independence, the newPakistan Armed Forces likewise reflected the institutional legacy of the "martial races" theory, although it was no longer formally applied there as well. The British preference of Punjabis, combined with the fact that Bengalis (who were the single largest group in the new nation) had been disfavored ever since the Revolt of 1857, led to an even more ethnically lopsided army corps than in India. At thePakistan Army's establishment in 1947,Punjab, with 25% of the new nation's population, accounted for 72% of the Army's headcount, whileEast Bengal, with 55% of the total population, was virtually unrepresented. In theArmoured Corps, there was not a single Muslim member from Sindh, Balochistan or Bengal, which together comprised 70% of Pakistan's total population.[11]
This imbalance created tensions, particularly amongst theBengalis ofEast Pakistan, who felt humiliated by the continued belief in the theory which continued to hold sway inWest Pakistan, that they were not 'martially inclined' compared to thePunjabis andPashtuns.[46] Pakistani authorHasan-Askari Rizvi notes that the limited recruitment of Bengali personnel in the Pakistan Army was because the West Pakistanis "could not overcome the hangover of the martial race theory".[47] As a result, in 1955, out of the Pakistan Army's 908-strong officer corps, 894 hailed from West Pakistan and a mere 14 from East Pakistan. Thus, following thecoup d'état of 1958, the exclusion of East Pakistani Bengalis from military leadership translated into their exclusion from the nation's political leadership. This deepened the alienation of East Pakistanis from the Pakistani government, which would eventually lead to theindependence of Bangladesh.[39]
Furthermore, it has been alleged that the continued influence of the theory among the command of thePakistan Armed Forces, whose rank and file had largely drawn from the martial races, contributed to an otherwise unjustified confidence that they would easily defeat India in a war, especially prior to theIndo-Pakistani War of 1965.[48][49] Based on this belief in martial supremacy[50][51][52] numerical superiority of the foe could be overcome.[53] Defence writers in Pakistan have noted that the 1971 defeat was partially attributable to the flawed 'martial races' theory which led towishful thinking that it was possible to defeat theBengali Rebel Forces based on the theory alone.[54] AuthorStephen P. Cohen notes that "Elevating the 'martial races' theory to the level of an absolute truth had domestic implications for Pakistani politics and contributed to the neglect of other aspects of security.".[53]
In contemporary Pakistan, army recruitment still reflects the biases of "martial races" theory, with a considerable over-representation of ethnicPashtuns andPunjabis, particularly from theSalt Range, and under-representation ofBalochis andSindhis.[11] In the past few decades there have been some efforts to rectify these imbalances and make the Armed Forces more representative, in part by relaxing recruitment standards in Sindh and Balochistan.[11] In 2007 a report published by theInter-Services Public Relations claimed success bringing the army's composition closer to national demographics; the proportion of Punjabis in the army had fallen from 71% in 2001 to 57% in 2007, and was expected to reach 54% by 2011.[needs update] In turn, the proportion of Sindhis was expected to increase from 15% to 17%, and Balochis from 3.2% in 2007 to 4% in 2011. The report also projected an increase in the soldiers from Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan from 0% to 9% by 2011.[11] However, noting that, for instance, a disproportionately large share of new recruits from Sindh are ethnicPathans (Pashtuns) rather than Sindhis, critics have alleged that such figures, in measuring provincial origin rather than ethnicityper se, mask continued biases in recruiting.[11]
Apart from their physique, the martial races were regarded as politically subservient or docile to authority
Dr . Jeffrey Greenhut has observed that " The Martial Race Theory had an elegant symmetry . Indians who were intelligent and educated were defined as cowards, while those defined as brave were uneducated and backward. Besides their mercenary spirit was primarily due to their lack of nationalism.
The Saturday review had made much the same argument a few years earlier in relation to the armies raised by Indian rulers in princely states. They lacked competent leadership and were uneven in quality. Commander in chief Roberts, one of the most enthusiastic proponents of the martial race theory, though poorly of the native troops as a body. Many regarded such troops as childish and simple. The British, claims, David Omissi, believe martial Indians to be stupid. Certainly, the policy of recruiting among those without access to much education gave the British more semblance of control over their recruits. [...]Garnet Wolseley, one of Britain's most admired late nineteenth-century soldiers, published a damning essay on "The negro as soldier" in 1888, and though his focus was on the African command with which he was most familiar, his dismissive comments are typical of those used against nonwhite soldiers more broadly. While "the Savage" lacked intelligence, was riddled with disease, and enjoyed human suffering, the Anglo-Saxon craved "manly sports" that had developed in him a "bodily strength" unmatched by any other nation.
…Coorg for the purpose of trying to induce Coorgs and Gaudas to take service, but, after working the whole of Coorg, one recruit only, a Gauda, was obtained . According to the report of the native officer in command of the party, the inhabitants of Coorg, although a warlike race, are much…
Punjabi Mussalmans and Khalsa Sikhs were declared 'martial races' for recruitment to the army or the police; only one small Hindu caste, the Mohyal Brahmins, qualified as martial.