The Raj and the Indian Army

The British ruled India for well nigh 200 years – a period that is now popularly referred to as the Raj. This was the period that after a long time established peace in the region. Among the many negative and positive aspects of the Raj , the gift of a first class Army remains a cornerstone of this period.

Along with the Army the Raj left behind an enduring concept of an Officer , who was a gentleman as well.This concept was ingrained into the ethos of the British Indian Army. This concept of an officer conforming to the highest ideals and having attributes of a gentleman like fair play, honor and honesty were not a pipe dream but a reality.

The Raj and the Army

After the British left India the British Indian Army was divided into the Armies of India and Pakistan, the two newly created states. Officers who have served in the Army from that period will attest that the single most important contribution of the British was to inculcate in the officer class that along with fighting the enemy, an officer was supposed to honour the principle of being a gentleman as well. In short he had to have chivalry ingrained into his conduct.

We can now examine whether this gift of the Raj was carried on by the Armies of the two nations , who started their Independence in a carnage of blood and mass killings , as witnessed during the 1947 partition riots.

The First Kashmir War

Independence brought its own problems as the Raja of Kashmir decided to remain independent and Pakistan Tribals with active encouragement from the Pakistan Army and Government soon invaded the valley.

The attack led by Officers of the Regular Pakistan Army moved abreast and in October 1947 the resort

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town of Baramulla was occupied. Baramulla is about 25 kilometers from the capital Srinagar. The raiders committed mayhem , murder and rape en masse and even the convent and its attached hospital were not spared. The Mother superior was shot and the nuns and women in the wards were raped.

The sad part was that the tribals committing these acts were led by the officers of the Pakistan Army who were only a few months before , a part of the British Indian Army.

This is confirmed by Istiaq Ahmed, Associate Professor of International Relations at Quaid-I-Azam University and Fulbright scholar, who in his piece in the Daily Times on 16 March 2010 brought out the fact that the rape of the nuns brought along international disapprobation. Brian Colughly in his book ‘The History of the Pakistan Army, Oxford Publications also says pretty much the same thing as Istiaq Ahmed.

Missing Indian POW’s

There was another war in 1965 followed by the 1971 war. This war is a watershed in the history of this part of Asia as a new state of Bangladesh was created. More important it paid a sad demise to the two-nation theory of Moslem and Hindu.

But the 1971 war will be remembered for an act that cannot be justified by any canon of law. Though India returned the 93,000 prisoners of war it had captured, Pakistan, more out of pique and revenge, never returned some Indian POW’s at all. It is estimated that nearly 60 POW’s may still be in Pakistan jails though the war was over more than 40 years ago. The sad part is that despite an appeal to General Mushraff the President of Pakistan and himself a soldier, nothing happened and Pakistan remained in denial mode. The officer corps of the Pakistan Army has certainly tainted the honor of the soldiers uniform and will have to answer to how this was allowed to happen.

Shahnawaz Khan in an article in the Daily Times of 19 Feb 2005 admitted that ‘perhaps “54 Indian POWs may be in Pakistan jails.” The Tribune published from Chandigarh in a news item on July 21, 2001 confirmed that Western journalists who toured the Pakistani prisons, had written about having met them. Indian prisoners who have been released have narrated the presence of other fellow countrymen in Pakistani jails.

Bangladesh and Later Operations

The occupation of Bangladesh is another indicator to the conduct of the Pakistan Army. The troops under officers of the Pakistan army stormed the Dacca University and abducted tens of Muslim girls. They were first raped and some were later bayoneted. Time magazine in its issue of 25 October 1971 mentioned that most of the girls were captured from Dacca University. Evidence has come to light that the Pakistan army also carried out mass-scale reprisal killings.

Conclusion

The Raj was a glorious period.The concept of an officer who is a gentleman is also not a utopia. Unfortunately the Pakistan Officer class has drifted from those teachings and the ethos of over a 100 years allowed to go to seed and covered up with a veneer of religious bigotry.