DULMIAL, PAKISTAN – The Village with the Gun

[doorstar]

Er.. they went to fight for an enemy occupying their country..?

an enemy who united a warring hindustan into one unit, an enemy on whos scraps you are still surviving by moving to that enemy's country? an enemy who rescued punjab mosques from becomig gurdwaras and stables? an enemy who created Pakistan, an enemy who tried and almost succeeded in liberating kashmir? hypocracy thy name is ignorant ingrates and scroungers!

 

[TMA]

True, and the Bengal Army was larger than the other two Presidency Armies by a substantial amount, if I'm not mistaken. There was no single body known as the "Indian Army" prior to 1895.

The recruitment of Bengalis was limited due to them being labelled as a 'non-martial race' in the aftermath of 1857. This was primarily due to:
1. Want of soldierly loyalty (read unquestionable obedience) - they were viewed with a great deal of suspicion, but they weren't alone. The same happened with Hindus from central India.
2. Them growing softer as time went on (in terms of physical soldierly ability) - I shan't digress too much, but most of the fighting was happening on the frontier, and there were fewer chances of these soldiers seeing much action, especially through the later part of the 19th century. Again, they weren't alone; large parts of the Madras Army were disbanded, and few units remain, due to long periods of inactivity in the relatively tranquil south of India.

Had it not been for WWII, the martial races theory would have continued (and we wouldn't have the SSG today, mind you!).

The War opened doors for countless people as the British government tried desperately to boost recruitment for the war effort.

As a result of limited recruitment, prestige in the profession of arms amongst the Bengali populace fell (which, of course, had serious repercussions following independence). If we are to move to the era post independence, the Pakistan Army wasn't biased against the Bengalis in terms of recruitment and selection - it was simply the fact that soldiering didn't hold the same prestige for the people of Chittagong as it did for Chakwal. In fact, in terms of officer selection, Bengali candidates had higher rates of acceptance in the ISSB. Yet, they still croaked. This is something we see today as well - the Army is trying to boost recruitment of Baluchis and Sindis, by passing incentives such as relaxed standards (physical and educational) and extra marks due to belonging to an underdeveloped area in rural Baluchistan (or, indeed, Sind), so that propaganda peddlers with less than holy motives can be quietened to some degree. To this day, Sindis and Baluchis barely join up.


Ha! The same (non-existent) Army which forms an integral core of the Pakistan Army today.


If any imbecile wishes to label the Army as a Punjabi or Pathan Army, then there's a damned good reason for it. The reason in question being that, to this day, it is the Pathans and the Punjabis who join up in droves. It is not due to some inherent bias or prejudice on part of the Army.

And before anyone says anything, I have this on good authority with my two of my best friends (one from Dadu and the other from Mehar, both of whom happen to be sons of officers), and you'd be surprised at the stories they tell you about the perception of soldiering and joining the Army in interior Sind.

Or perhaps the Sindhis and Baluch did not like being soldiers in a colonisers army as much as Pukhtoons or Punjabis...perhaps they did not like serving their master as much as others? Perhaps there is this psychological element to it....at least they are not “proud” of the history of servitude.

About them not joining Pakistan military so much, perhaps its because they don’t see themselves as Pakistani, at least Pakistani first. And this is a problem. Although getting better...

They were more resistant at least psychologically to British India than their Pukhtoon or Punjabis who were “proudly”working in the stables of their colonial master.

As Malcolm X has said the “field negro” hates the “house negro” more than he hates the Master...perhaps Sindhis and Baluch have this resentment towards their Punjabi and Pukhtoon cousins.??

It was and is a revelation to me that so much Pakistanis are actually proud of this fact. Like when I learnt on this forum that Shah Mahmoud Qureshi is proud that his ancestor killed a freedom fighter who was fighting against the British in Punjab!!!
I mean are Afro-Americans proud that there ancestors were brutally yanked from Africa and made slaves... ?

 

[jamal18]

an enemy who united a warring hindustan into one unit, an enemy on whos scraps you are still surviving by moving to that enemy's country? an enemy who rescued punjab mosques from becomig gurdwaras and stables? an enemy who created Pakistan, an enemy who tried and almost succeeded in liberating kashmir? hypocracy thy name is ignorant ingrates and scroungers!

Oh sorry, you think the entire empire was an exercise in philanthropy? Britain would not be what it is without the economic benefit of controlling all of India. People are poor in India because the industrialisation that took place in Britain was by plundering Indian markets. Britain would have the gnp of Iceland and the income level of Bulgaria without India.

Yes, before Britain got there the standard of living in India was higher than Britain, when it left it was 20 times lower.
Yes, the one's that starved to death 6 million Indians in the Bengal famine, and many before that because the land used for food was used to grow opium for the Chinese.

Britain created Pakistan? Bud, you want to get off those tablets! It was Jinnah and the Muslim league who did that.

And as for me surviving of your scraps, you've had enough benefits out of us, we return the favour. The difference is that we work for a living.