War and Society in Colonial India

Description

The volume examines the complex dialectics between warfare, the British-Indian war machine, and colonial society. It explores the social and cultural dimensions of colonialism and also assesses the nature of the colonial state. Spatially and temporally, it covers a wide canvas. The essays are arranged chrono-logically within broad thematic heads. The first segment 3deals with coercion, discipline, and dissent in the sepoy armies while reopening the significant debate on whether sepoys were mercenaries or professional army men. The next part discusses the military cultures, symbols, and martial constructs introduced by the British. The concluding section investigates the torturous transition of the colonial army and state from waging limited warfare to large-scale industrial warfare. The paperback edition contains a new introduction which takes the discussion further.
Part of the prestigious Themes in Indian History series, this book will interest students, scholars, and researchers of colonial history, politics, and defence studies, particularly those concerned with the linkages between state, war and society.

About the author

Table of contents

Series Note; Preface, Acknowledgements, Introduction: Armies, Warfare, and Society in Colonial India by Kaushik Roy; Section I : Coercion, Discipline, and Dissent in the Sepoy Armies
1.: Discipline and Disobedience in the Bengal and Madras Armies 1807-56 by Sabyasachi Dasgupta and Kaushik Roy,
2.: Greased Cartridges and the Great Mutiny of 1857: A Pretext to Rebel or the Final Straw? by Saul David,
3.: The Sepoy Mutinies Revisited by Rudrangshu Mukherjee,
4.:Seditious Letters and Steel Helmets: Disaffection among Indian Troops in Singapore and Hong Kong, 1940-1, and the Formation of the Indian National Army by Chandar S. Sundaram; Section II: Military Culture and Society-
5.: The Military Enters Indian Thought by Stephen P. Cohen,
6.: Contested Identities and Military Indianization in Colonial India (1900-39) by Anirudh Deshpande,
7.: Martial Gurkhas: The Persistence of a British Military Discourse on "Race' by Lionel Caplan,
9.: 'Passing it On': The Army in India and Frontier Warfare, 1914-39 by Tim Moreman,
10.: Were the 'Sepoy Generals' Any Good? A Reappraisal of the British Indian Army's High Command in the World War II by Raymond Callahan,
11.:The Shiver of 1942 by Indivar Kamtekar, Annotated Bibliography, Note on Contributors