ties that bind - sep 11

By spring 1915, the government had managed to collate the names of
approximately 500 men being held captive by the Germans. The ISC continued to
send them small food parcels and newspapers through the Swiss Red Cross,
whose cooperation allowed the material to pass into German camps. Remarkably,
some soldiers inside the prisoner of war camps continued to send letters to their
regimental commanders through the Red Cross, explaining who had buckled
under German questioning and what secrets had been given away. It
demonstrated a remarkable and sustained commitment from these men who,
despite capture, remained committed to the success of the Entente’s war effort.
As the conflict drew to a close, the Viceroy, Lord Chelmsford, asked the Prime
Minister, David Lloyd-George, to remember and reward the service of the sepoys.
He discussed the possibility of awarding East African German Colonies to India
for settlement, allowing Indian soldiers to be gifted land in a way that could not
be done in their ‘congested’ homeland. He noted:
German East Africa does offer a possibility of free colonisation to Indians, and I must press the
Cabinet in considering the disposal of German Colonies to consider this great Imperial question
with utmost care. There is not in India a possibility of suitably rewarding with land a fraction
of the soldiers who have placed their services at the disposal of the Empire, and it is land above
all things that the Indian soldiers and peasants want...We shall be guilty of a grave dereliction
of Imperial duty if we do not see that the Indian has some opportunity of Colonisation, arising
out of the Indian partnership in this war. 61
Fighting Spirit and Motivation: Sepoys in the trenches
What motivated these men to keep fighting? It is easy – and tempting – to dismiss
the Indian Army as a purely mercenary force serving for pay and pension.
Certainly, there are some for whom this was true; although, significantly, a letter
from Lord Hardinge, the Viceroy from 1910 to 1916, to the Secretary of State for
India, Lord Crewe, noted that Indian Army salaries were not much higher than
what men on a basic agricultural or farming wage could expect. 62
For many, serving Britain was the honourable thing to do. In part this was
bound up with social Indian conventions relating to izzat – honour. But for some,
Muslim and otherwise, they also felt a religious duty to serve. In part this was a
result of the post-Mutiny changes in the Army – which shrunk its size and made
it highly selective, giving it an aura of exclusivity. One letter from a father in
Sargodha to his son in the trenches said:
May God bring you back safe and sound! The Commissioner Sahib held a public Durbar on
22nd December. The Nawab Nurbazar Khan produced 100 recruits and the other leading
residents of the district brought forward another 300. The Indian people are prosperous and are
eagerly accepting service in the army, and they consider it a great privilege to help Government
at such a crisis. 63
Some of the honour associated with military service derived from the
opportunity it created for displaying courage, bravery and loyalty – traits that
were highly valued in many Indian villages. Achieving and losing honour in these
ways was only possible through the eyes of fellow sepoys, who understood an
informal and unspoken code of conduct. Relatives back home were kept informed
Muslims in the World Wars
61 CAB/24/67, National Archives,
London.
62 CAB/24/54, National Archives,
London.
63 From Sultan Mahomed Khan,
Sargodha to Rissaidar Moh. Nur
Khan, 36th Jacob’s Horse, France
(22nd February, 1918), Censor of
Indian Mails 1914-1918,
L/MIL/5/828/197, IOR, BL,
London.
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