"Brahmins are mostly 5'8" tall, with good physique, given to very good personal hygiene, who shave daily and are extremely reliable, making them very good soldiers". This was the note circulated to all unit commanders in India by the British Indian Military Intelligence Branch in the 1897.
In the 19th century the British Indian Military Intelligence Branch issued special handbooks to its unit commanders. These handbooks were called “Caste Handbooks for the Indian Army”. All unit commanders were supposed to read them closely and use the insights they offered in managing their troops.
This is what the military handbooks compiled by the Intelligence Branch said:
India was divided into three caste groups. Brahmins, who studied; Kshatriyas who ruled; Vaishyas who produced wealth. Do notice that there is no mention of untouchables or of shudras.
This is what the note on Brahmins said (given below is an complete excerpt from chapter 1 of the Intelligence Branch Handbook on Brahmans):
“ endowed with subtle minds, trained to the utmost keenness, and intellectually far in advance of any other caste, the Brahmans were peculiarly fitted for the business of political administration. They were largely employed in civil capacities, not only by Hindu Princes, but also by the Mughal Emperors, who Endowed recognized their ability and fitness for positions of trust. The chief adviser of the Emperor Akbar in matters of revenue, finance, and currency, was the Raja Todar Mai, a Brahman of the greatest ability and integrity.
Throughout the centuries of Muhammadan dominion the Brahmans never relinquished their ascendancy over the rest of the Hindu world. As their numbers increased, however, it became impossible for the whole caste to devote itself exclusively to religious functions. In the Doaba and on the banks of the Ganges and Jumna, where the principal shrines were situated, Brahmans became very numerous. Many compelled to resort to agriculture as a means of livelihood, and as they collected in villages and acquired land, the unsettled state of the country compelled them to take measures for the defence of their rights against the encroachments of their warlike neighbours.
There thus arose a class of Brahmans who, while retaining the privileges of a Levite caste, were in all essentials an agricultural people, of naturally pacific tendencies, but ready and able to defend themselves whenever occasion required. War, pestilence, and famine, often compelled the younger member of these communities to seek employment at a distance from their homes, and, as their religion debarred them from the acceptance of menial offices, they naturally resorted to military service as the only form of employment which could be accepted without loss of caste.
The general anarchy which followed the breaking up of the Mughal Empire compelled most of the European settlers in India to entertain corps of native irregulars for the defence of their posts and factories. The idea of giving discipline to these levies originated with the French, but other nations, and the native princes, were not slow to follow their example, and by the middle of the 18th century the Madras and Bombay settlements of the English East India Company possessed a considerable force of wellU trained topasses «topasses were Portuguese half-castes and native Christians, enlisted by the East India Company, and so called because they wore topis or hats. They were armed and dressed exactly like Europeans» and sepoys, armed and equipped like Europeans.
After the recapture of Calcutta in 1757 it was decided to form a similar force for service in Bengal, and early in that year Clive raised the
1st Regiment of Bengal Native as the Lal Pultun, because it was the first native corps to be dressed in red.
Nearly all the warlike races of Northern India were represented in the new corps, for, owing to the Muhammadan conquest of Bengal, the province was overrun by bands of military adventurers from Oudh, the Punjab and even from beyond the Indus. It was from men of this stamp that Clive selected his recruits, and in the corps raised about this time in Calcutta were to be found Pathans, Rohillas, Jats, Rajputs, and Brahmans.
The majority of the men were Musulmans, but as most of our early campaigns were directed against Muhammadan princes, it was considered expedient to gradually replace them by Hindus. It thus came about that the ranks of the Bengal regiments were filled almost entirely by Brahmans and Rajputs from Behar, Oudh, and the Doab, until our military service became practically the monopoly of these classes. Other reasons tended to encourage the enlistment of high caste Hindus. They were more docile and easily disciplined, they were quicker to learn their drill; and their natural cleanliness, fine phusicque and soldierly bearing, made them more popular with their European officers than the truculent Muhammadans from the north, to whom pipeclay and discipline were abhorrent.
No historical notice of the Brahmans would be complete without some reference to their military services. It is, however, impossible to separate the deeds of our Brahman sepoys from those of their comrades of other classess, for as the Hindustani portion of the army was not organized on the class system until 1893, for its achievements could not be allotted to any particular caste without obvious injustice to the others.
Brahmans have served in our ranks from Plassey to the present day. They have taken part in almost every campaign undertaken by the Indian armies. Under Forde they defeated the French at Condore. Under Cornwallis they assisted at the capture of Seringapatam. Under Lake they took part in the Mahratta wars, including the siege of Bharatpupr. As volunteers, Brahmans took part in the conquest of Java, also in the Nepal campaign, and in the expeditions to Burma and China. Brahman sepoys shared in the victories and disasters of the first Afghan War, including the defence of Jelalabad. In the Sikh wars, Brahmans and other Hindustanis helped us to win the Punjab, and even the Great Revolt of 1857 furnishes many instances of their personal devotion and fidelity. In Sir Hugh Rose’s brilliant campaign in Central india, nothing could surpass the gallantry and loyalty of certain regiments of the Hyuderabad Contingent, which was largely composed of Brahmans, Rajputs, and other classes recruited from the North-West Provinces. ….
Since the Mutiny, Brahmans have taken part in the Afghan War, in the expedition to Egypt, in the conquest of Burma, and in numerous expeditions on the north-west and north-east frontiers of India. At the storming of Minhla, the Brahman sepoys of the 11th Bengal Infantry were the first to enter the fort, and on the conclusion of the war two Brahman native officers of this regiment were awarded the order of merit, for valiant and distinguyished conduct whilst holding independent commands. In the same campaign a detachment of the 4th Bengal Infantry, undera a Brahman. Subadar, made a forced march of 65 miles in 36 hours, stormed Kendat, and thereby saved a number of European officials from a cruel and untimely death. With such an excellent record in the past, it may be confidently predicted that the new organisation into class regiments will enable our Brahman sepoys to add yet further to their military reputation, and place them on an equality with the most warlike of the races now serving under the British colours.
Pic. Painting from 1900 of an Indian sepoy in the employ of the British Indian Army.
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