Part 2

The Sikh race is drawn from the Punjab tribes, such as the Jat and Khattri, who from time immemorial have been renowned for their sturdy grit and independence. It may perhaps be said that the Jat-Sikh combines especially the best qualities of the Pathan races with those of the Sikh tribes.

All the Punjab races are, as a rule, impatient of control, but the Jat is particularly so, exercising in his impatience a fine quality of individual freedom. This, together with the fact that he is neither truculent nor turbulent, provides him with one of the finest qualities of a well-disciplined soldier, in contradistinction to the machine-made soldier. Well understood, he can be, and has been, well managed. Encouraged to continue in his own peaceful agricultural ways, he is reasonable and contented in doing his work; but if he is roused by what he considers unjust aggression, or any unsolicited interference, he is a dangerous man to deal with.

These salient characteristics of the Jat, combined with other qualities cultivated by British rule and example, have tinctured practically the whole Sikh race.

Respect of self and pride of race have now improved from the Sikh character the early intolerance and ungovernable spirit emanating from the Jats. Even the Sikh religion, as taught by its founder Nanak, has modified the hard-and-fast prejudices of the Hindu on the one hand, and on the other has eliminated the baser rancour and fanaticism of the more exoteric Mahomedanism.

The Sikh of to-day is a level-headed, sober-minded, tolerant man, keenly alive to practical issues. And from this may be judged his valour as a soldier. In the thick of battle the Sikh is cool and resolute. He is possessed of grim determination and tenacity. Just as in any emergency of social life he will keep his head with admirable self-restraint, so in the clash of battle he can be relied upon to do the right thing at the right moment in the right way. While not possessing quite so much _élan_ as some other tribes, he more than compensates for that lack by his immunity from any tendency to panic.

The high-class Sikh may always be known by his stately bearing and lofty courtesy. His every movement is graceful, and the general impression one would get on the approach of a real Sikh is simply this: "Here comes one who is a prince in his own country." This dignity of bearing extends even to the lower classes, especially among our Sepoys, who carry themselves with an easy elegance, much of which is attributable to their splendid physique and the due consciousness of it.

It is not too much to say that of all the fine races of the East there is no type of man superior to the Sikh. In innate breeding he can tread the razor-edge between independence and insolence, between firm resolution and unreasoning obstinacy, between the present value of tradition and the dead husk of the glorified past. In his respect of himself he commands respect from others, and, combining the essential instinct of the soldier with the acquired love of practical ideals he can see with a single eye what the doubleheaded vulture of Prussia cannot see with four.

Constant fighting and an iron discipline had kept the Sikhs in order during the lifetime of Ranjit Singh, but after his death the army became unmanageable.

The history of the Sikh War is too well known to need more than passing reference. The troops of the Khalsa were defeated after a series of hard-fought battles, in which they showed soldierly qualities of the highest order. In the decade which followed the conquest of the Punjab, the British Government, impressed with the fighting capacity of their former opponents, determined to employ them as soldiers in their own army.

On the outbreak of the Mutiny, which from the first was identified with the restoration of the Moghul power, there was an immense revival of Sikhism. Hundreds of Sikhs who had turned their swords into ploughshares flocked to Lahore, and eagerly took service in the regiments there being raised by Lord Lawrence. All were filled with an intense longing to range themselves on the side of justice and right. All were anxious to assist in the capture of Delhi--a city associated in their minds with the heroic struggles and reverses of their forefathers. The spirit of the Khalsa, which had suffered greatly by the defeats on the Sutlej, was aroused at the thought of a conflict between Sikhism and Islam--a conflict the memory of which is now not only nobly forgotten, but to be blotted out for ever by heroism and sacrifice; for both Sikh and Mahomedan of India have joined hands in common cause against the enemy of all human progress. Both have espoused our cause with a devotion and loyalty which is almost without parallel in history.

THE SIKH REGIMENTS, WITH THEIR BATTLE HONOURS

_Cavalry_

The following regiments contain squadrons of Sikhs:--

2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse).

3rd Skinner's Horse.

4th Cavalry.

6th King Edward's Own Cavalry.

7th Hariana Lancers.

9th Hodson's Horse.

10th Duke of Cambridge's Own Lancers (Hodson's Horse).

11th King Edward's Own Lancers (Probyn's Horse).

12th Cavalry.

13th Duke of Connaught's Lancers.

16th Cavalry.

18th King George's Own Lancers.

19th Lancers (Fane's Horse).

20th Deccan Horse.

21st Prince Albert Victor's Own Cavalry (Frontier Force) (Daly's Horse).

22nd Sam Browne's Cavalry (Frontier Force).

23rd Cavalry (Frontier Force).

25th Cavalry (Frontier Force).

29th Lancers (Deccan Horse).

30th Lancers (Gordon's Horse).

31st Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers.

32nd Lancers.

33rd Queen Victoria's Own Light Cavalry.

36th Jacob's Horse.

37th Lancers (Baluch Horse).

38th King George's Own Central India Horse.

39th King George's Own Central India Horse.

_Infantry_

The following regiments are composed exclusively of Sikhs:--

14TH KING GEORGE'S OWN FEROZEPORE SIKHS. Raised July 30th, 1846.

Consists of 8 companies of Sikhs.

BADGES.--The Plume of the Prince of Wales. The Royal and Imperial Cypher.

BATTLE HONOURS.--"Lucknow," "Ali Masjid," "Afghanistan 1878/79," "Defence of Chitral," "China 1900."

UNIFORM.--_Scarlet_, facings _yellow_.

15TH LUDHIANA SIKHS. Raised 1846.

Consists of 8 companies of Sikhs.

BATTLE HONOURS.--"China 1860/62," "Ahmad Khel," "Kandahar 1880," "Afghanistan 1878/80," "Suakim 1885," "Tofrek," "Chitral," "Punjab Frontier," "Tirah."

UNIFORM.--_Scarlet_, facings _emerald green_.

23RD SIKH PIONEERS. Raised 1857.

Consists of 8 companies of Mazhbi Sikhs.

BATTLE HONOURS.--"Taku Forts," "Pekin," "Abyssinia," "Peiwar Kotal," "Charasiah," "Kabul 1879," "Kandahar 1880," "Afghanistan 1878/80," "Chitral."

UNIFORM.--_Drab_, facings _chocolate_.

32ND SIKH PIONEERS. Raised 1857.

Consists of 8 companies of Mazhbi Sikhs.

MOTTO.--"_Aut viam inveniam aut faciam._"

BATTLE HONOURS.--"Delhi," "Lucknow," "Afghanistan 1878/80," "Chitral."

UNIFORM.--_Scarlet_, facings _blue_.

34TH SIKH PIONEERS. Raised 1887.

Consists of 8 companies of Mazhbi Sikhs.

BATTLE HONOURS.--"Chitral," "Punjab Frontier," "China 1900."

UNIFORM.--_Scarlet_, facings _blue_.

35TH SIKHS. Raised 1798, disbanded 1882, reformed 1887.

Consists of 8 companies of Sikhs.

BATTLE HONOURS.--"Punjab Frontier," "Malakand."

UNIFORM.--_Scarlet_, facings _yellow_.

36TH SIKHS. Raised 1858, disbanded 1882, reformed 1887.

Consists of 8 companies of Sikhs.

BATTLE HONOURS.--"Punjab Frontier," "Samara," "Tirah."

UNIFORM.--_Scarlet_, facings _yellow_.

47TH SIKHS. Raised 1901.

Consists of 8 companies of Sikhs.

UNIFORM.--_Scarlet_, facings _yellow_.

The 48th Pioneers, 51st Sikhs (Frontier Force), 52nd Sikhs (Frontier Force), 53rd Sikhs (Frontier Force), and 54th Sikhs (Frontier Force) are Sikh regiments with other tribes intermixed.

THE RAJPUTS

The chief characteristic of the Rajput is his pride of blood. Representing as he does the higher military castes of India, his one ambition has always been to wield a sword, and wield it well. For ages in the past the Rajput maintained his supremacy in one or another part of India. Claiming descent from the sun and the moon, and later from those two heroes of the Mahabharata--Rama and Krishna--the Rajput maintains that his ancient and noble blood has flowed in the veins of kings from times more remote than any other history can record. That old but immortal legend of the Bhagavad Gîta, in which Prince Arjuna held a discourse with Krishna, the supreme Deity, in his war-chariot, drawn up between the opposing forces of Kauravas and Pandavas, is regarded by the Rajput as peculiarly his own. It is not to be wondered at, then, that, possessing from time immemorial this lofty poem, so sublime in its aspiration, so pure and tender in its piety, the Rajput has always been a man of high and noble sentiment and lofty ideals. He is, as the literal rendering of his name implies, the "Rajah's son," and in war has always displayed most noble and fearless qualities.

It cannot be said that the Rajput is content to shine in the reflected glory of the past. In ancient times he devoted his life to making epic history, and in these days this serves him for an ever-present tradition from which he will draw the necessary material to add another volume to that history. Let him dream of the past achievements of his race, his ancient glory in war; let him sing the songs that he has made, and shake off the sloth of peace, and so rush into battle; for out of such dreams and stirring songs springs all human greatness.

There is no questioning the bravery and stamina of the Rajput. Under a good commander who knows how to appeal to him, the Rajput will face death in any grim form. He has a spirit so fierce and dauntless that naturally it is tinctured with the changing tides of strong emotion, which at times may have its drawbacks; but he is, even more than the Gurkha, a soldier fit for a special task; indeed, his dash and heroism are so remarkable that even the Gurkha will sometimes claim to be directly descended from the Rajput.

There is no history to record of the Rajput as a race, for each Rajput state and clan--and there are a large number of them--has its own history. Roughly, they may be described as more or less pure-blooded, modern Hindu (Brahminical) representatives of the early Aryan emigrants into India.

... "The mild Hindu Of far-off Rajputana, (Who) smiles to think how very few Will ever reach Nirvana,"

is not the Rajput. It is a mistake to suppose that the Rajputs are the inhabitants of the province bearing their name. They form but a small part of the population of that province, nor are they by any means restricted to it, being found in large numbers from the Indus to Benares. A large section of the Rajputs of the Punjab, having been converted to Mahomedanism, have thereby lost their distinctive character of Rajputs, who, retaining the religion of their forefathers, are essentially Hindu. And among them are seers and philosophers of the highest degree--men whose feet Nietzsche and Treitschke are not worthy to kiss. And in the Rajput's championship of the higher things he is instinct with the wisdom of India, who sends him westward; India, who through the mouth of her sublimest poet says, from a platform undreamed of by the Teutonic philosopher,

"Near to renunciation--very near-- Dwelleth eternal peace."

Each separate Rajput clan has its own peculiar customs and rites, while holding the general customs and rites in common with the whole Rajput race. This peculiarity is strongly marked by the fact that the same clan living in different countries has, in addition to its own general clan rights, others which seem to have been born out of its separate environment. The Rajput in Rajputana invariably marries out of his own clan, but if he allows his daughter to marry into a lower clan he suffers in social position. A Rajput may legally marry more than one wife, and he is permitted by his social and moral code certain things which some other codes condemn.

In the process of recruiting among Rajputs it is a simple matter to tell the real from the false by the following points. A true Rajput will eat with his illegitimate children, but not out of the same dish; he will allow his natural son to smoke his hookah, but only provided he draws the smoke through his closed hand. He will eat food prepared and cooked by the natural children of any Rajput, but he will not eat _with_ them, nor under any conditions allow them to smoke his hookah.

The Rajput woman is noted for her bravery and high ideal of honour. Woe betide the husband or brother who has not all his wounds in front. There are many tales of Rajput women snatching a dagger from their waistband and plunging it into their hearts rather than suffer dishonour. There are even stories current as to their fighting ability, telling how on occasion they have fought valiantly in the field, and even led troops to victory.

THE RAJPUT REGIMENTS, WITH THEIR BATTLE HONOURS

2ND QUEEN VICTORIA'S OWN RAJPUT LIGHT INFANTRY.

BADGE.--The Royal and Imperial Cypher of Queen Victoria within the Garter.

BATTLE HONOURS.--"Delhi 1803," "Leswarree," "Deig," "Bhurtpore," "Khelat," "Afghanistan," "Maharajpore," "Punjab," "Chillianwallah," "Goojerat," "Central India," "Afghanistan 1879/80," "Burma 1885/87," "China 1900."

UNIFORM.--_Scarlet_, facings _blue_.

4TH PRINCE ALBERT VICTOR'S RAJPUTS.

BATTLE HONOURS.--"Leswarree," "Bhurtpore," "Kabul 1842," "Ferozeshah," "Sobraon," "Afghanistan 1879/80," "Burma 1885/87."

UNIFORM.--_Scarlet_, facings _black_.

7TH DUKE OF CONNAUGHT'S OWN RAJPUTS.

BADGE.--The Duke of Connaught's Crest and Cypher.

BATTLE HONOURS.--"Moodkee," "Ferozeshah," "Aliwal," "Sobraon," "China 1858/59," "Egypt 1882," "Tel-el-Kebir," "Pekin 1900."

UNIFORM.--_Scarlet_, facings _yellow_.

8TH RAJPUTS.

BATTLE HONOURS.--"Sobraon," "Afghanistan 1879/80."

UNIFORM.--_Scarlet_, facings _yellow_.

13TH RAJPUTS. (The Shekhawati Regiment.)

BATTLE HONOURS.--"Aliwal," "Afghanistan 1879/80," "Chitral."

UNIFORM.--_Scarlet_, facings _blue_.

16TH RAJPUTS. (The Lucknow Regiment.)

BATTLE HONOURS.--"Lucknow" (with a Turreted Gateway), "Afghanistan 1879/80," "Burma 1885/87."

UNIFORM.--_Scarlet_, facings _white_.

THE MAHRATTAS

For geographical reasons connected with facility in recruiting, the Mahrattas are divided into two parts: the Konkani Mahrattas and the Dekhani Mahrattas. The whole race was originally confined to the country known as Maharashtra, but since their rapid acquirement of power in India they have spread beyond the limits of that country. They may now be found in the heart of the Central Provinces on the east, Central India on the north, and on the borders of Rajputana to the north and west.

Mahrattas are generally divided into three classes:--

1. Brahmans. 2. Chatris--_i.e._, those who claim Rajput descent. 3. Sudras--those belonging to agricultural and trading classes.

The best of the soldiers are probably those recruited in the Dekhan, who are short, hardy and brave. Most of the Mahrattas in our ranks are recruited from the Konkan. They are taller and smarter than the Dekhanis, who, nevertheless, excel in endurance. The hillmen are nearly always more hardy than the inhabitants of the plain.

There is no history of the early Mahrattas, but as it is tolerably clear that the Mahratta language is Aryan, it follows that the race has at least Aryan blood, although ethnologists set it down clearly to be of Turanian or Dravidian origin.

It seems a curious thing that the Mahrattas were not brought up from the cradle of their race as fighting men, since they have proved in our first meetings with them such excellent foes. It is certain that if they are not born fighters, they have become good soldiers. Mr. Grant Duff in his "History of the Mahrattas" distinguishes them very clearly in a military sense from the Sikhs and the Gurkhas, while admitting that they make excellent soldiers. "The very fact of their having played so conspicuous and not always ignoble a part in the history of India," he says, "marks them out as a race with some qualities of the genuine soldier. The Duke of Wellington, who had such ample opportunities of forming a judgment in regard to them, rated them highly; and there can be no doubt that, with the discipline which the British officer enforces, and his personal example of courage, constancy, and devotion to duty, the Mahrattas can still be made into good soldiers, despite the enervating and softening influence which a long spell of peace appears to have on India."

Authoritative historians have said that the courage of the Mahrattas of old was the courage of the freebooter; that they were at the best bold buccaneers, who were capable at times of courage because it paid them, but that the moment the prospect of gain was taken away, their courage oozed out. These writers maintain that the highest instincts of the soldier were never theirs. The reason of that was necessarily that the loyal and steadfast adhesion to a good cause, which has led the highest human types, in all ages, willingly to sacrifice their lives, never inspired them. Consequently, they were devoid of that spirit which takes death with proud indifference from motives of patriotism. One of these writers says: "The Mahrattas all through history have never sacrificed a whole skin unless there was something very tangible and substantial to be got thereby." Neither has Britain. We have never sacrificed, and never intend to sacrifice, our men for anything less than "something very tangible and substantial to be got thereby." The criticism on both sides then simply amounts to this: that courage is not a thing in itself, but a quality depending on motive, with knowledge; and the Mahratta, although he may have lacked both in the past, has certainly acquired them now.

Again, it has been contended that the Mahratta lacks the elegant proportions of the Jat Sikh, the robust, well-knit figure of the Gurkha, the lofty personal courage of the Pathan--in short, that he is cast in a mould that is anything but heroic. But, when we come to consider that there is in the Mahratta an essential sturdiness and tenacity, we find eventually, and apart from all superficially striking characteristics, the pabulum out of which the finest soldiery can be made.

In physique, the Mahratta is somewhat under the average height. His skin is dark, and his features irregular. But in those features one can discern a tremendous capacity for endurance. He may not be a cultured man--either falsely or truly--but, in the ranks, he possesses those natural adjuncts to steady, quiet strength, tractability, gentleness, patience, and a general willingness to fall in with the idea of someone who obviously knows more.

The Mahrattas in the 1st Bombay Infantry (Grenadiers), now the 101st Grenadiers, proved their grit at Maiwand. In a tough fight they held good till more than half their number were gone. Again, at Suakin, in 1885, the Mahrattas in the 28th Bombay Infantry (Pioneers), now the 128th Pioneers, proved, without a doubt, the nature of the qualities already mentioned, which will indubitably find further development in the present state of war.

Like the Rajputs, the Mahrattas are chiefly Hindus. They have strange objects of worship, such as trees and snakes. Their deities are principally incarnations of Shiva, the Destroyer, such as Etoba and Kandoba. Like all the Hindus, they still maintain a strong belief in Spirit, and, like all races who, in their early stages, have clung to that belief in darkness, they have developed a broader knowledge, which has always walked arm-in-arm with superstition towards enlightenment. Yet, especially in time of war, the Mahrattas throw aside all caste prejudices, even eat in common among themselves, and are not unwilling to accept a drink from Tommy Atkins himself.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MAHRATTAS

Various theories have been advanced as to the origin of the Mahratta-speaking races of Western India. It is a generally accepted idea that, though the higher classes are to some extent of Aryan blood, the majority of the people are descended from aboriginal tribes who settled in the country long before the Aryans commenced their emigration from the Oxus.

The Mahratta country extends from Bombay in the north to Goa in the south, and from the Indian Ocean in the west to the Central Provinces and the Nizam's Dominions in the east. The tract is divided into two well-defined portions by the Ghats, a chain of hills running parallel with the coast. The strip of country near the sea, from the mouth of the Taptee to Goa, is generally known as the Konkan, and was formerly infested with pirates and brigands. The table-land of the Dekhan to the west of the Ghats has been inhabited for numberless generations by cultivators, shepherds, and herdsmen, and it was not until the Mahomedan persecutions had driven these peasants into rebellion that they developed any warlike instincts, and became aware of their own capacity for conquest.

Considering the power to which they at one time attained, it seems remarkable that no mention should have been made of the Mahrattas in history from the time of the Mahomedan conquests in the thirteenth century to the reign of Aurangzeb. It would appear, however, that during this period the country on each side of the Ghats was divided into numerous Hindu principalities, which paid tribute to the Mahomedan Kings of the Dekhan and Golkonda, but were never really subdued. A Mahratta family of the Bhondle tribe, which claimed to be of Rajput descent, had been for many generations in the service of the Sultans of Bijapur. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, a son of this family, named Sivaji, turned brigand, and supported by his peasant followers, who rapidly developed into soldiers, commenced a series of daring raids in the rich plain country to the east of the Ghats. In 1664 Sivaji changed the scene of his operations to the coast, and sacked the town of Surat, carrying off booty to the value of a million sterling. The British factory recently established there by the East India Company was successfully defended by the merchants, supported by sailors from their ships, but the exploit excited general alarm, for Surat was not only a great emporium for trade, but the port at which Mahomedan pilgrims embarked for Mecca, and landed on their return to India.

By this time the Moghuls were thoroughly alarmed. The levying of the "chanth," or fourth share of the revenue, by the Mahrattas was seriously affecting their finances, for Sivaji's raids extended to the south, and as far to the east as Bengal. Large Moghul armies took the field against his followers, but on the whole with very little success. The Mahrattas were loose hordes of lightly-clad horsemen, who lived on fruit and grain. They were the Cossacks of India, ever hovering round camps and armies to carry off treasure, though unable to face the heavy-armed Moghuls in the open field. The latter, however, were generally very wanting in activity. Mahrattas could easily escape from fortresses if driven out by starvation, and few Moghul commanders dared to follow them into the winding paths of the Ghats, whither they would retreat, lest the Moghuls, in their turn, should be cut off or starved into submission. Meanwhile, troops of Mahratta horsemen might be scouring the plains, harrying and plundering the peaceful villages, ready to gallop back at the first warning to their fastnesses in the hills and jungles.

Sivaji died in 1680, after a brilliant career of conquest. From then until 1707 the Mahrattas were weakened by quarrels among themselves, which caused the principal power in the state to be gradually transferred from the Bhonste descendants of Sivaji to a family of Brahmans, who were their hereditary Peishwas or Ministers.