1.
British Raj
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The British Raj was the rule by the British Crown in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947. The rule is also called Crown rule in India, or direct rule in India, the resulting political union was also called the Indian Empire and after 1876 issued passports under that name. It lasted until 1947, when the British Indian Empire was partitioned into two sovereign states, the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. The British Raj extended over almost all present-day India, Pakistan and this area is very diverse, containing the Himalayan mountains, fertile floodplains, the Indo-Gangetic Plain, a long coastline, tropical dry forests, arid uplands, and the Thar desert. In addition, at times, it included Aden, Lower Burma, Upper Burma, British Somaliland. Burma was separated from India and directly administered by the British Crown from 1937 until its independence in 1948, among other countries in the region, Ceylon was ceded to Britain in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens. Ceylon was part of Madras Presidency between 1793 and 1798, the kingdoms of Nepal and Bhutan, having fought wars with the British, subsequently signed treaties with them and were recognised by the British as independent states. The Kingdom of Sikkim was established as a state after the Anglo-Sikkimese Treaty of 1861, however. The Maldive Islands were a British protectorate from 1887 to 1965, India during the British Raj was made up of two types of territory, British India and the Native States. In general, the term British India had been used to also to the regions under the rule of the British East India Company in India from 1600 to 1858. The term has also used to refer to the British in India. The terms Indian Empire and Empire of India were not used in legislation, the monarch was known as Empress or Emperor of India and the term was often used in Queen Victorias Queens Speeches and Prorogation Speeches. The passports issued by the British Indian government had the words Indian Empire on the cover, in addition, an order of knighthood, the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire, was set up in 1878. At the turn of the 20th century, British India consisted of eight provinces that were administered either by a Governor or a Lieutenant-Governor, during the partition of Bengal the new provinces of Assam and East Bengal were created as a Lieutenant-Governorship. In 1911, East Bengal was reunited with Bengal, and the new provinces in the east became, Assam, Bengal, Bihar, there were 565 princely states when India and Pakistan became independent from Britain in August 1947. The princely states did not form a part of British India, the larger ones had treaties with Britain that specified which rights the princes had, in the smaller ones the princes had few rights. Within the princely states external affairs, defence and most communications were under British control, the British also exercised a general influence over the states internal politics, in part through the granting or withholding of recognition of individual rulers. Although there were nearly 600 princely states, the majority were very small
2.
Presidencies and provinces of British India
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Provinces of India, earlier Presidencies of British India and still earlier, Presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in the subcontinent. Collectively, they were called British India, in one form or other they existed between 1612 and 1947, conventionally divided into three historical periods. During 1612–1757, the East India Company set up factories in several locations, mostly in coastal India and its rivals were the merchant trading companies of Holland and France. By the mid-18th century, three Presidency towns, Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta had grown in size, during the period of Company rule in India, 1757–1858, the Company gradually acquired sovereignty over large parts of India, now called Presidencies. However, it increasingly came under British government oversight, in effect sharing sovereignty with the Crown. At the same time it gradually lost its mercantile privileges, following the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the Companys remaining powers were transferred to the Crown. In the new British Raj, sovereignty extended to a few new regions, increasingly, however, unwieldy presidencies were broken up into Provinces. In 1608, the English East India Company established a settlement at Surat, and it was followed in 1611 by a permanent factory at Machilipatnam on the Coromandel Coast, and in 1612 the company joined other already established European trading companies in Bengal. Company rule in Bengal, however, ended with the Government of India Act 1858 following the events of the Bengal Rebellion of 1857 and these rulers were allowed a measure of internal autonomy in exchange for British suzerainty. British India constituted a significant portion of India both in area and population, in 1910, for example, it covered approximately 54% of the area, in addition, there were Portuguese and French exclaves in India. Independence from British rule was achieved in 1947 with the formation of two nations, the Dominions of India and Pakistan, the latter also including East Bengal, present-day Bangladesh. The term British India also applied to Burma for a time period, starting in 1824, a small part of Burma. This arrangement lasted until 1937, when Burma commenced being administered as a separate British colony, British India did not apply to other countries in the region, such as Sri Lanka, which was a British Crown colony, or the Maldive Islands, which were a British protectorate. It also included the Colony of Aden in the Arabian Peninsula, the original seat of government was at Allahabad, then at Agra from 1834 to 1868. Bombay Presidency, East India Companys headquarters moved from Surat to Bombay in 1687, the East India Company, which was incorporated on 31 December 1600, established trade relations with Indian rulers in Masulipatam on the east coast in 1611 and Surat on the west coast in 1612. The company rented a trading outpost in Madras in 1639, meanwhile, in eastern India, after obtaining permission from the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan to trade with Bengal, the Company established its first factory at Hoogly in 1640. Almost a half-century later, after Emperor Aurengzeb forced the Company out of Hooghly, by the mid-18th century the three principal trading settlements, now called the Madras Presidency, the Bombay Presidency, and the Bengal Presidency were each administered by a Governor. After Robert Clives victory in the Battle of Plassey in 1757, in 1772, the Company also obtained the Nizāmat of Bengal and thereby full sovereignty of the expanded Bengal Presidency
3.
Pakistan
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Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a federal parliamentary republic in South Asia on the crossroads of Central Asia and Western Asia. It is the sixth-most populous country with a population exceeding 200 million people, in terms of area, it is the 33rd-largest country in the world with an area covering 881,913 square kilometres. It is separated from Tajikistan by Afghanistans narrow Wakhan Corridor in the north, Pakistan is unique among Muslim countries in that it is the only country to have been created in the name of Islam. As a result of the Pakistan Movement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and it is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country, with a similarly diverse geography and wildlife. Initially a dominion, Pakistan adopted a constitution in 1956, becoming an Islamic republic, an ethnic civil war in 1971 resulted in the secession of East Pakistan as the new country of Bangladesh. The new constitution stipulated that all laws were to conform to the injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Quran. Pakistan has an economy with a well-integrated agriculture sector. The Pakistani economy is the 24th-largest in the world in terms of purchasing power and it is ranked among the emerging and growth-leading economies of the world, and is backed by one of the worlds largest and fastest-growing middle classes. The post-independence history of Pakistan has been characterised by periods of military rule, the country continues to face challenging problems such as illiteracy, healthcare, and corruption, but has substantially reduced poverty and terrorism and expanded per capita income. It is also a member of CERN. Pakistan is a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement, the name Pakistan literally means land of the pure in Urdu and Persian. It is a play on the word pāk meaning pure in Persian and Pashto, the letter i was incorporated to ease pronunciation and form the linguistically correct and meaningful name. Some of the earliest ancient human civilisations in South Asia originated from areas encompassing present-day Pakistan, the earliest known inhabitants in the region were Soanian during the Lower Paleolithic, of whom stone tools have been found in the Soan Valley of Punjab. The Vedic Civilization, characterised by Indo-Aryan culture, laid the foundations of Hinduism, Multan was an important Hindu pilgrimage centre. The Vedic civilisation flourished in the ancient Gandhāran city of Takṣaśilā, the Indo-Greek Kingdom founded by Demetrius of Bactria included Gandhara and Punjab and reached its greatest extent under Menander, prospering the Greco-Buddhist culture in the region. Taxila had one of the earliest universities and centres of education in the world. At its zenith, the Rai Dynasty of Sindh ruled this region, the Pala Dynasty was the last Buddhist empire, which, under Dharampala and Devapala, stretched across South Asia from what is now Bangladesh through Northern India to Pakistan. The Arab conqueror Muhammad bin Qasim conquered the Indus valley from Sindh to Multan in southern Punjab in 711 AD, the Pakistan governments official chronology identifies this as the time when the foundation of Pakistan was laid
4.
Military history of the North-West Frontier
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The North-West Frontier region of the British Indian Empire was the most difficult area to conquer in South Asia, strategically and militarily. The borderline between is known as the Durand Line and divides Pashtun inhabitants of these provinces from Pashtuns in eastern Afghanistan. The two main gateways on the North West Frontier are the Khyber and Bolan Passes, since ancient times, the Indian subcontinent has been repeatedly invaded through these northwestern routes. With the expansion of the Russian Empire into Central Asia in the century, stability of the Frontier. Much of the Frontier was occupied by Ranjit Singh in the early 19th century, between 1849 and 1947 the military history of the frontier was a succession of punitive expeditions against offending Pashtun tribes, punctuated by three wars against Afghanistan. Many British officers who went on to distinguished command in the First and Second World Wars learnt their soldiering on the North-West Frontier, which they called the Grim. In 1747 when Ahmad Khān Abdālī seized control of Kandahar, Kabul, and Peshawar and he went on to conquer Herat and Khorassan, and established an empire from the Oxus to the Indus. On his death in 1773, the Afghan domain included Baluchistan, Sindh, the Punjab, Ahmad Shah was succeeded by his son Timur Shah Durrani, whose rule of twenty years saw the Afghan tide begin to ebb. Timur left many sons but no heir, and the resultant internecine struggles for the throne lasted more than thirty years, during this period the Punjab was effectively ceded to its erstwhile governor Ranjit Singh, Iran recovered Khorassan, and Sindh broke away. In 1813 Sikh forces from the Punjab crossed the Indus and seized the old Mughal fort at Attock, in 1819 Kashmir was lost, and west of the Indus Derajat also. Four years later the capital at Peshawar came under attack. In 1826 Dost Mohammad Khan emerged as undisputed ruler in Kabul and he defeated a further attempt to oust him by his exiled rival Shuja Shah Durrani in 1833, however the Sikhs seized all of Peshawar the following year. In 1837 Dost Mohammad launched a counter-attack through the Khyber, Dost Mohammad had sought assistance from the East India Company against the resurgent Punjab, but was rebuffed. So Dost Mohammad turned to Imperial Russia for help, maharaja Ranjit Singh, also called Sher-e-Punjab was a Sikh ruler of the sovereign country of Punjab and the Sikh Empire. His Samadhi is located in Lahore, Pakistan and he then spent the following years fighting the Afghans, driving them out of western Punjab, taking opportunity of the Afghans being embroiled in civil war. The deposed Afghan king Shah Shuja rallied a significant number of tribes, the civil war in Afghanistan coupled with a British backed assault meant that the Sikhs could virtually walk into Peshawar. They managed to capture Pashtun territory including Peshawar which was under direct British supervision, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the East India Company controlled southern India, Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa. Dominance was gained at the expense of its French equivalent, the Compagnie des Indes, by 1819 only Sindh and the Sikh Empire remained outside the Companys control
5.
Indian Rebellion of 1857
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The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major, but ultimately unsuccessful, uprising in India in 1857–58 against British rule. For nearly 100 years, that rule had been presided over by the British East India Company, the rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form of a mutiny of sepoys of the Companys army in the garrison town of Meerut,40 miles northeast of Delhi. It then erupted into other mutinies and civilian rebellions chiefly in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, though incidents of revolt also occurred farther north and east. The rebellion posed a threat to British power in that region. On 1 November 1858, the British granted amnesty to all rebels not involved in murder, though they did not declare the hostilities formally to have ended until 8 July 1859. The rebellion is known by names, including the Sepoy Mutiny, the Indian Mutiny, the Great Rebellion, the Revolt of 1857, the Indian Insurrection. Many Indians did rise against the British, however, very many also fought for the British, after the outbreak of the mutiny in Meerut, the rebels very quickly reached Delhi, whose 81-year-old Mughal ruler, Bahadur Shah Zafar, they declared the Emperor of Hindustan. Soon, the rebels had captured large tracts of the North-Western Provinces. The East India Companys response came rapidly as well, with help from reinforcements, Kanpur was retaken by mid-July 1857, and Delhi by the end of September. However, it took the remainder of 1857 and the better part of 1858 for the rebellion to be suppressed in Jhansi, Lucknow. Other regions of Company controlled India—Bengal province, the Bombay Presidency, in the Punjab, the Sikh princes crucially helped the British by providing both soldiers and support. In some regions, most notably in Awadh, the took on the attributes of a patriotic revolt against European presence. However, the rebel leaders proclaimed no articles of faith that presaged a new political system, even so, the rebellion proved to be an important watershed in Indian- and British Empire history. India was thereafter administered directly by the British government in the new British Raj, on 1 November 1858, Queen Victoria issued a proclamation to Indians, which while lacking the authority of a constitutional provision, promised rights similar to those of other British subjects. In the following decades, when admission to these rights was not always forthcoming, the victory was consolidated in 1764 at the Battle of Buxar, when the East India Company army defeated Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II. After his defeat, the granted the Company the right to the collection of Revenue in the provinces of Bengal, Bihar. The Company soon expanded its territories around its bases in Bombay and Madras, later, the Anglo-Mysore Wars, in 1806, the Vellore Mutiny was sparked by new uniform regulations that created resentment amongst both Hindu and Muslim sepoys. After the turn of the 19th century, Governor-General Wellesley began what became two decades of accelerated expansion of Company territories and this was achieved either by subsidiary alliances between the Company and local rulers or by direct military annexation
6.
Second Anglo-Afghan War
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This was the second time British India invaded Afghanistan. The war ended after the British emerged victorious against the Afghan rebels, most of the British and Indian soldiers withdrew from Afghanistan. This was aimed to thwart expansion by the Russian Empire into India, after tension between Russia and Britain in Europe ended with the June 1878 Congress of Berlin, Russia turned its attention to Central Asia. That same summer, Russia sent a diplomatic mission to Kabul. Sher Ali Khan, the Amir of Afghanistan, tried unsuccessfully to keep them out, Russian envoys arrived in Kabul on 22 July 1878, and on 14 August, the British demanded that Sher Ali accept a British mission too. The Amir not only refused to receive a British mission under Neville Bowles Chamberlain, a British force of about 50,000 fighting men, mostly Indians, was distributed into military columns which penetrated Afghanistan at three different points. An alarmed Sher Ali attempted to appeal in person to the Russian Tsar for assistance, but unable to do so, he returned to Mazar-i-Sharif, where he died on 21 February 1879. According to this agreement and in return for a subsidy and vague assurances of assistance in case of foreign aggression. Ghazi Mohammad Jan Khan Wardak, and a force of 10,000 Afghans, staged an uprising, despite besieging the British garrison there, he failed to maintain the Siege of Sherpur, instead shifting focus to Roberts force, and this resulted in the collapse of this rebellion. Yaqub Khan, suspected of complicity in the massacre of Cavagnari, Ayub Khan, who had been serving as governor of Herat, rose in revolt, defeated a British detachment at the Battle of Maiwand in July 1880 and besieged Kandahar. Roberts then led the main British force from Kabul and decisively defeated Ayub Khan on 1 September at the Battle of Kandahar, abandoning the provocative policy of maintaining a British resident in Kabul, but having achieved all their other objectives, the British withdrew. They also used a method involving urine, Pathan women urinated into prisoners mouths. Captured British soldiers were out and fastened with restraints to the ground, then a stick. Pathan women then squatted and urinated directly into the mouth of the man until he drowned in the urine, there were several decisive actions in the Second Anglo–Afghan War, from 1878 to 1880. Here are the battles and actions in chronological order, an asterisk indicates a clasp was awarded for that particular battle with the Afghanistan Medal. Afghan Wars and the North-West Frontier 1839–1947, westminster, National Union of Conservative and Constitutional Associations. Afghanistan, A Short Account of Afghanistan, Its History, and Our Dealings with It
7.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
8.
Third Anglo-Afghan War
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The Third Anglo-Afghan War, also referred to as the Third Afghan War, began on 6 May 1919 and ended with an armistice on 8 August 1919. The Afghans were able to resume the right to conduct their own affairs as a fully independent state. The root cause of the Third Anglo-Afghan War lies many years before the fighting commenced. For the British in India, Afghanistan was long seen as a source of threat. For a long time the British worried about Russian intentions in the region and this period became known as the Great Game. Ostensibly, the country remained independent, however under the Treaty of Gandamak it accepted that in external matters it would. have no windows looking on the outside world, the death in 1901 of Emir Abdur Rahman Khan led indirectly to the war that began 18 years later. His successor, Habibullah, was a leader who sided with Britain or Russia. Notwithstanding these outbreaks, the frontier generally remained settled at a time when Britain could ill afford trouble, a Turco-German mission left Kabul in 1916. By that time, however, it had successfully convinced Habibullah that Afghanistan was an independent nation, with the end of the First World War, Habibullah sought to gain reward from the British government for his assistance during the war. Looking for British recognition of Afghanistans independence in foreign affairs, he demanded a seat at the Versailles Peace Conference in 1919 and this request was denied by the Viceroy, Frederic Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford, on the grounds that attendance at the conference was confined to the belligerents. Further negotiations were scheduled, but before they could begin Habibullah was assassinated on 19 February 1919 and this resulted in a power struggle as Habibullahs brother Nasrullah Khan proclaimed himself as Habibullahs successor, while in Kabul Amanullah, Habibullahs third son, had also proclaimed himself Amir. However, the Afghan army suspected Amanullahs complicity in the death of his father, needing a way of cementing his power, upon seizing the throne in April 1919 Amanullah posed as a man of democratic ideals, promising reforms in the system of government. He stated that there should be no forced labour, tyranny or oppression, upon seizing the throne, Amanullah had his uncle Nasrullah arrested for Habibullahs murder and had him sentenced to life imprisonment. Nasrullah had been the leader of a conservative element in Afghanistan. By April 1919 he realised that if he could not find a way to placate the conservatives he would be unlikely to maintain his hold on power. In 1919 the Afghan regular army was not a formidable force. These men were organised into 21 cavalry regiments and 75 infantry battalions, with about 280 modern artillery pieces, organised into 70 batteries, in reality, the Afghan regular army was not ready for war. As in past years, the levels of the officer corps were riddled with political intrigue
9.
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
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The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistans Operation Gibraltar, which was designed to infiltrate forces into Jammu, India retaliated by launching a full-scale military attack on West Pakistan. The seventeen-day war caused thousands of casualties on both sides and witnessed the largest engagement of armored vehicles and the largest tank battle since World War II, much of the war was fought by the countries land forces in Kashmir and along the border between India and Pakistan. Most of the battles were fought by opposing infantry and armoured units, with backing from air forces. In spite of shortcomings, the Pakistan Army managed to fight the larger Indian Army. Many details of war, like those of other Indo-Pakistani Wars. Despite the cease-fire rendering the conflict militarily inconclusive, both India and Pakistan claimed victory, most neutral assessments, however, agree that India had the upper hand over Pakistan when the ceasefire was declared. Internationally, the war was viewed in the context of the greater Cold War, before the war, the United States and the United Kingdom had been major material allies of both India and Pakistan, as their primary suppliers of military hardware and foreign developmental aid. As a consequence, India and Pakistan openly developed closer relationships with the Soviet Union and China, the perceived negative stance of the western powers during the conflict, and during the 1971 war, has continued to affect relations between the West and the subcontinent. Since the Partition of British India in 1947, Pakistan and India remained in contention over several issues. Although the Kashmir conflict was the predominant issue dividing the nations, other border disputes existed, most notably over the Rann of Kutch, the issue first arose in 1956 which ended with India regaining control over the disputed area. Pakistani patrols began patrolling in territory controlled by India in January 1965, initially involving border police from both nations, the disputed area soon witnessed intermittent skirmishes between the countries armed forces. In June 1965, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson successfully persuaded both countries to end hostilities and set up a tribunal to resolve the dispute. The verdict, which later in 1968, saw Pakistan awarded 350 square miles of the Rann of Kutch. Pakistan believed that the population of Kashmir was generally discontented with Indian rule, Pakistan attempted to ignite the resistance movement by means of a covert infiltration, codenamed Operation Gibraltar. The Pakistani infiltrators were discovered, however, their presence reported by local Kashmiris. On 5 August 1965 between 26,000 and 33,000 Pakistani soldiers crossed the Line of Control dressed as Kashmiri locals headed for various areas within Kashmir, Indian forces, tipped off by the local populace, crossed the cease fire line on 15 August. Initially, the Indian Army met with success, capturing three important mountain positions after a prolonged artillery barrage
10.
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
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Lasting just 13 days, it is one of the shortest wars in history. Officially, East Pakistan had earlier called for its seccession from the unity of Pakistan on 26 March 1971, the remaining 10,324 to 15,000 prisoners were civilians, either family members of the military personnel or collaborators. It is estimated that between 300,000 and 3,000,000 civilians were killed in Bangladesh, as a result of the conflict, a further eight to ten million people fled the country at the time to seek refuge in neighbouring India. Which made it difficult to govern both wings. In addition, there were religious and racial tensions between Bengalis and multi-ethnic Pakistanis as Bengalis looked a lot different from their dominant Western Pakistanis. The Awami League leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman stressed his political position to resolve the crises by presenting his Six Points. The Awami Leagues election dominancy feared many Pakistanis that would allow the Bengalis to draft the constitution on towards the six-points, however, the mission was not supported by the elements in the National Security Council and was subsequently vetoed. President Yahya Khan postponed the inauguration of the National Assembly and this caused a shattering disillusionment to the Awami League, in early March 1971, approximately ~300 Biharis were slaughtered in rioting by Bengali mobs in Chittagong alone. The Government of Pakistan used the Bihari massacre to justify its deployment of the military in East Pakistan on 25 March when it initiated its military crackdown. Mass arrests of dissidents began and after days of strikes and non-cooperation movement. The Awami League was declared outlawed by the government and many of its members and sympathizers took refuge in Eastern India, Mujib was arrested on the night of 25/26 March 1971 at about 1,30 am and taken to Pakistan. The next action carried out was Operation Searchlight followed by Operation Barisal, on 26 March 1971, Major Ziaur Rahman of Pakistan Army declared the independence of Bangladesh on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. In April, the exiled Awami League leaders formed a government-in-exile in Baidyanathtala of Meherpur, the East Pakistan Rifles, Bengali officers in Pakistans army, navy, and marines, defected to the rebellion after taking refuge in different parts of India. M. The resulting flood of impoverished East Pakistani refugees placed a strain on Indias already overburdened economy. Unlike his contemporary Yaqub who was a pacifist and knew well of the limits of force, confessing at the hearings of War Enquiry Commission, Lieutenant-General A. A. K. Niazi reportedly comment on his actions and noted, On the night between 25/26 March 1971, Tikka struck, peaceful night was turned into a time of wailing, crying and burning. Tikka let loose everything at his disposal as if raiding an enemy, the military action was a display of stark cruelty more merciless than the massacres at Bukhara and Baghdad by Chengiz Khan and Halaku Khan. Resorted to the killing of civilians and a scorched earth policy and his orders to his troops were, I want the land not the people
11.
Battle honour
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In European military tradition, military units may be acknowledged for their achievements in specific wars or operations of a military campaign. These honours usually take the form of a place and a date, theatre honours could be listed and displayed on regimental property but not emblazoned on the colours. Since battle honours are emblazoned on colours, artillery units. These honour titles were permitted to be used as part of their official nomenclature, similar honours in the same tenor include unit citations. Battle honours, theatre honours, honour titles and their ilk form a part of the variety of distinctions which serve to distinguish military units from each other. For the British Army, the need to adopt a system to recognise military units battlefield accomplishments was apparent since its formation as an army in the later part of the 17th century. Although the granting of battle honours had already been in place at the time, before then, a regiments colours were practical tools for rallying troops in the battlefield and not quite something for displaying the units past distinctions. The first battle honour to be awarded in the British Army was granted to the 15th Hussars for the Battle of Emsdorf in 1760, thereafter, other regiments received battle honours for some of their previous engagements. The battle honour is held by the successor regiment, the Princess of Waless Royal Regiment. During these early years of the British standing army, a regiment needed only to engage the enemy with musketry before it was eligible for a battle honour, thus in 1882, a committee was formed to adjudicate applications of battle honour claims. This committee, later called the Battles Nomenclature Committee, still maintains its function in the British Army today. A battle honour may be granted to infantry/cavalry regiments or battalions, as well as ships and squadrons, they are granted to sub-units such as companies. Battle honours are presented in the form of a name of a country, region, or city where the units distinguished act took place. Not every battle fought will automatically result in the granting of a battle honour, conversely, a regiment or a battalion might obtain more than one battle honour over the course of a larger operation. Similarly, while in Korea, Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry earned both Kapyong and Korea 1951–1953, supporting corps/branches such as medical, service, ordnance, or transport do not currently receive battle honours. However and uniquely the Royal Logistic Corps has five battle honours inherited from its previous transport elements, Commonwealth artillery does not maintain battle honours as they carry neither colours nor guidons—though their guns by tradition are afforded many of the same respects and courtesies. However, both the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers were in 1832 granted by King William IV the right to use the Latin Ubique, meaning everywhere and this is worn on the cap badge of both the Corps of Royal Engineers and the Royal Regiment of Artillery. The practice was extended to these same regiments and corps in the successor Commonwealth armed forces
12.
Sam Browne
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General Sir Samuel James Browne VC GCB KCSI was a British Indian Army cavalry officer in India and Afghanistan, known best as the namesake of the Sam Browne belt. He was a British recipient of the Victoria Cross, the most prestigious award for gallantry in combat that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was born in Barrackpore, India, the son of Dr. John Browne, Browne joined the 46th Bengal Native Infantry as a subaltern, participating in action at Ramnuggar, Sadoolapore, Chillianwalla and Gujarat. In 1849 he was made a lieutenant and tasked with raising a force, to be designated the 2nd Punjab Irregular Cavalry. He would command this unit for the five years. Later the unit would be re-designated as the 22nd Sam Brownes Cavalry in his honour, Browne commanded the 2nd Punjab in several engagements, and was decorated for action during the Bozdar Expedition of 1857, being promoted to captain. Browne was awarded the Victoria Cross for actions on 31 August 1858 at Seerporah, Rohilkhand, Uttar Pradesh and his citation reads, His Victoria Cross is displayed at the National Army Museum. Sometime after this incident he began to wear the accoutrement which bears his name, a Sam Browne belt is a wide belt, usually leather, supported by a narrower strap passing diagonally over the right shoulder, the diagonal strap stabilizes the scabbard of a sword if worn. Later such a belt would be adopted by other officers who knew Browne in India, Brownes original Sam Browne belt is possessed presently by the National Army Museum in Chelsea. Browne retired from the army in 1898, relocated to Ryde on the Isle of Wight, England, and died there at the age of 76. His remains were cremated but there is a marker dedicated to Browne in the Ryde New Cemetery, as well as plaques at St Pauls Cathedral in London. His grave was restored in 2010, monuments to Courage The Register of the Victoria Cross Location, picture, and details of grave Location of grave and VC medal
13.
Dighton Probyn
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In 1852, he was appointed adjutant of the newly raised 2nd Punjab Cavalry which formed part of the 11,000 strong Punjab Irregular Force responsible for policing the Trans-Indus Frontier. At the time of the outbreak of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, on 10 May 1857, Dighton Probyn was at Jullundur, Probyns squadron of the 2nd Punjab Cavalry fought throughout the uprising, with Probyn being Mentioned in Despatches many times for his actions. By the end of 1857 the squadron of 2nd Punjab Cavalry which Probyn commanded was frequently referred to as Probyns Horse and their dress consists of the whitey-brown kharki, each man is armed with a tulwa and brace of pistols, and one or two troops with lances. They are generally splendidly mounted, and each horse is the property of his rider. By this time, Probyn, worn down by the rigours of continual campaigning, was invalided back to England on 18 March 1858, by now a captain, he was brevetted to major in the regular army on 24 March 1858. At the battle of Agra, when his squadron charged the infantry, he was some time separated from his men. He defended himself from the cuts made at him. At another time, in combat with a sepoy, he was wounded in the wrist, by the bayonet, and his horse also was slightly wounded. The same day he singled out a standard bearer, and, in the presence of a number of the enemy, killed him and these are only a few of the gallant deeds of this brave young officer. Despatch from Major-General James Hope Grant, K. C. B, Probyn was brevetted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Bengal Army on 15 February 1861. He was brevetted to colonel on 15 February 1866 and to major-general on 25 July 1870, on 4 March 1872, the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, appointed him as one of his equerries. He was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India on 7 March 1876 and he was promoted to the substantive rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Bengal Cavalry on 1 April 1881, and was transferred to the unemployed list on 1 July 1882. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath and he was appointed one of the first Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order on 26 May 1896. He was a councillor of the Oxford Military College in Cowley, Oxfordshire from 1876–1896 and he was appointed a Companion of the Imperial Service Order on 22 July 1903. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath and he was in later life an ornament of the Victorian age, being Keeper of the Privy Purse, a court sinecure position as well as Secretary to the Prince of Wales and Comptroller of the Household. This was an important position as the Prince and Princess were both profligate in spending and Sir Dighton had a job to keep them solvent. Testimony to his success was the fact that, when the Prince acceded at last in 1901, Probyn had difficulty hiding the Kings extravagance, which the minister Charles Hobhouse refused to defend in the Commons. Probyn continued in this role throughout the Kings rule and right up to his death, Sir Dighton was appointed an Extra Equerry to King Edward VII in 1902
14.
Pakistan Army
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Pakistan Army is the land-based service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. It came into existence after the independence of Pakistan in 1947, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies it had an active force of approximately 620,000 active personnel as of 2017. In Pakistan, there is 16–23 years of age for military service. Pakistan Army has started inducting women as commissioned officers, Pakistani Air Force and Pakistani Navy have inducted their first female pilots and sailors in 2012 see details at Women in the Pakistan Armed Forces. Since its establishment in 1947, the Army has been involved in four wars with neighbouring India, since 1947, it has also maintained a strong presence along with its inter-services in the Arab states during the past Arab-Israeli Wars, and aided the coalition in the first Gulf War. Recently, major joint-operations undertaken by the Army include Operation Zarb-e-Azb, Operation Toar-e-Tander, the Army has also been an active participant in United Nations peacekeeping missions, including playing a major role in rescuing trapped US soldiers in Operation Gothic Serpent in 1993. Under Article 243 of the Constitution of Pakistan, the President is appointed the civilian Commander-in-Chief, the Chief of Army Staff, by statute a four-star general, is appointed by the President with the consultation and confirmation needed from the Prime Minister. The Pakistan Army is currently commanded by General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the Pakistan Army was created on the 30th of June of the year 1947 from the division of the British Indian Army. Fearing that India would take over the state of Kashmir, irregulars, scouts, in response to this, the Maharaja acceded to India. The Indian Armed Forces were then deployed to Kashmir and this led to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. A ceasefire followed on UN intervention with Pakistan occupying the northwestern part of Kashmir and this aid greatly expanded the Pakistan Army from its modest beginnings. The Pakistan Army took over from politicians for the first time when General Ayub Khan came to power through a coup in 1958. He formed Convention Muslim League which included Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who would later become Pakistans first democratically elected Prime Minister, tensions with India flared in the 1960s and a brief border skirmish was fought near the Rann of Kutch area during April 1965. The War began after the failure of Operation Gibraltar on 5 August 1965, on the night of 6 September 1965, the Indian Army opened the war front to the Province of Punjab of Pakistan, the Indian Army almost reached the Pakistani city of Lahore. The Indian Army conquered around 360 square kilometres square kilometres of Pakistani territory on the outskirts of Lahore. Indian forces halted their assault on Lahore once they had reached the village of Burki, the rationale for this was that a ceasefire was to be signed soon, and had India captured Lahore it would likely have been returned in ceasefire negotiations. The War eventually ended with a United Nations backed ceasefire and was followed by the Tashkent Declaration, losses were relatively heavy—on the Pakistani side, twenty aircraft,200 tanks, and 3,800 troops. Pakistans army had been able to withstand Indian pressure, but a continuation of the fighting would only have led to further losses, at the time of ceasefire declaration, India reported casualties of about 3,000 killed
15.
Lahore
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Lahore is the capital city of the Pakistani province of Punjab. It is the second most populous city in Pakistan and the 32nd most populous city in the world, the city is located in the north-eastern end of Pakistans Punjab province, near the border with the Indian state of Punjab. Lahore is ranked as a world city, and is one of Pakistans wealthiest cities with an estimated GDP of $58.14 billion as of 2014. Lahore is the cultural centre of the Punjab region, and is the largest Punjabi city in the world. The city has a history, and was once under the rule of the Hindu Shahis, Ghaznavids, Ghurids. Lahore reached the height of its splendour under the Mughal Empire, the city was contested between the Maratha Empire and Durrani Empire, then became capital of the Sikh Empire, before becoming the capital of the Punjab under British rule. Following the independence of Pakistan in 1947, Lahore became the capital of Pakistans Punjab province, Lahore is one of Pakistans most liberal and cosmopolitan cities. It exerts a strong influence over Pakistan. Lahore is a centre for Pakistans publishing industry, and remains the foremost centre of Pakistans literary scene. The city is also a centre of education in Pakistan. Lahore is also home to Pakistans film industry, Lollywood, and is a centre of Qawwali music. The city is much of Pakistans tourist industry, with major attractions including the old Walled City. Lahore is also home to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Lahore Fort, the etymology of Lahore is uncertain, but according to legend the city was once known as Lavapura, in honour of Prince Lava of the Hindu epic poem, the Ramayana. Lahore Fort also contains a vacant Lava temple, dedicated to the founder of the city. Lahore was called by different names throughout history, to date there is no conclusive evidence as to when it was founded. Lahore is described as a Hindu principality in the Rajput accounts, keneksen, the founder of Suryavansha, is believed to have migrated out from the city. The Solanki tribe, belonging to Amukhara Pattan, which included the Bhatti Rajputs of Jaisalmer, Lahore appears as the capital of the Punjab for the first time under Anandapala – the Hindu Shahi king who is referred to as the ruler of –after leaving the earlier capital of Waihind. Few references to Lahore remain from before its capture by Sultan Mahmud of Ghaznavi in the 11th century, the sultan took Lahore after a long siege and battle in which the city was torched and depopulated
16.
India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
17.
Siege of Delhi
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The Siege of Delhi was one of the decisive conflicts of the Indian rebellion of 1857. Seeking a symbol around which to rally, the first sepoys to rebel sought to reinstate the power of the Mughal Empire, lacking overall direction, many who subsequently rebelled also flocked to Delhi. This made the siege decisive for two reasons, secondly, the British recapture of Delhi and the refusal of the aged Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II to continue the struggle, deprived the rebellion of much of its national character. Although the rebels still held large areas, there was little co-ordination between them and the British were inevitably able to overcome them separately, the flashpoint was the introduction of the Pattern 1853 Enfield rifle. The cartridges for this were widely believed to be greased with a mixture of cow and pig fat, eighty-five men of the 3rd Bengal Cavalry stationed at Meerut refused to accept their cartridges. They were hastily court martialled, and on 9 May 1857 they were sentenced to periods of imprisonment and were paraded in irons before the British. On the evening of the day, soldiers of the Bengal regiments rebelled, releasing the imprisoned troopers and killing their British officers. The senior Company officers at Meerut were taken by surprise and they were fortunate that they did not suffer disaster. The Bengal regiments broke into rebellion on Sunday, when European troops customarily attended evening Church parade without arms, other than defending their own barracks and armouries, the Companys commanders at Meerut took little action, not even notifying nearby garrisons or stations. When they had rallied the British troops in the cantonment and prepared to disperse the sepoys on 11 May, they found that Meerut was quiet, Delhi was the capital of the Mughal Empire, which had been reduced to insignificance over the preceding century. The Emperor, Bahadur Shah II, who was eighty-two, had been informed by the East India Company that the title would die with him, at the time, Delhi was not a major centre of Company administration although Company officials controlled the citys finances and courts. They and their families lived in the Civil Lines to the north of the city, there were no units of the British Army or European units of the East India Company forces at Delhi. Three Bengal Native Infantry regiments were stationed in barracks 2 miles north-west of the city and this produced much muttering in the ranks. Later in the morning, the rebels from Meerut arrived quite unexpectedly, the leading sowars of the 3rd Light Cavalry halted under the windows of the Palace and called on the Emperor to lead them. Bahadur Shah called for them to go to another palace outside the city, Company officials then tried to close all the city gates but were too late to prevent the sowars gaining entry through the Rajghat Gate to the south. Once inside, the sowars were quickly joined by mobs which began attacking Company officials, some Company officers and civilians tried to take refuge in the Main Guard, but the sepoys there joined the revolt, and they were slaughtered. In the city meanwhile nine British officers from the Ordnance Corps and they found that their troops and labourers were deserting, using ladders provided from the palace to climb over the walls. The officers opened fire on their own troops and the mobs, after five hours, they had run out of ammunition and blew up their magazine, killing many rioters and onlookers, and badly damaging nearby buildings
18.
Siege of Lucknow
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The Siege of Lucknow was the prolonged defence of the Residency within the city of Lucknow during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. After two successive relief attempts had reached the city, the defenders and civilians were evacuated from the Residency, the state of Oudh/Awadh had been annexed by the British East India Company and the Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was exiled to Calcutta the year before the rebellion broke out. This high-handed action by the East India Company was greatly resented within the state, the first British Commissioner appointed to the newly acquired territory was Coverley Jackson. He behaved tactlessly, and Sir Henry Lawrence, an experienced administrator. Lawrence was well aware of the mood of the Indian troops under his command. On 18 April, he warned the Governor General, Lord Canning, of some of the manifestations of discontent, on 1 May, the 7th Oudh Irregular Infantry refused to bite the cartridge, and on 3 May they were disarmed by other regiments. On 10 May, the Indian soldiers at Meerut broke into open rebellion, on 23 May, Lawrence began fortifying the Residency and laying in supplies for a siege, large numbers of British civilians made their way there from outlying districts. On 30 May, most of the Oudh and Bengal troops at Lucknow broke into open rebellion. In addition to his locally recruited pensioners, Lawrence also had the bulk of the British 32nd Regiment of Foot available, on 4 June, there was a rebellion at Sitapur, a large and important station 51 miles from Lucknow. This was followed by another at Faizabad, one of the most important cities in the province, thus, in the course of ten days, British authority in Oudh practically vanished. On 30 June, Lawrence learned that the rebels were gathering north of Lucknow and ordered a reconnaissance in force, although he had comparatively little military experience, Lawrence led the expedition himself. The expedition was not very well organised, whilst they were under attack, some of Lawrences sepoys and Indian artillerymen defected to the rebels, overturning their guns and cutting the traces. His exhausted British soldiers retreated in disorder, some died of heatstroke within sight of the Residency. Lawrence retreated into the Residency, where the siege now began, the actual defended line was based on six detached smaller buildings and four entrenched batteries. The position covered some 60 acres of ground, and the garrison was too small to defend it effectively against a prepared and supported attack. Also, the Residency lay in the midst of several palaces, mosques and administrative buildings, Lawrence initially refused permission for these to be demolished, urging his engineers to spare the holy places. During the siege, they provided good vantage points and cover for rebel sharpshooters, one of the first bombardments following the beginning of the siege, on 30 June, caused a civilian to be trapped by a falling roof. Corporal William Oxenham of the 32nd Foot saved him while under intense musket and cannon fire, the first attack was repulsed on 1 July
19.
Rohilkhand
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Rohilkhand is a region of northwestern Uttar Pradesh state of India, named after the Rohilla Afghan tribes. The region was known as Madhyadesh in the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Rohilkhand lies on the upper Ganges alluvial plain and has an area of about 25,000 km²/10,000 square miles. It is bounded by the Ganges River on the south and the west by Uttarakhand and Nepal on the north, later it gained fame as Rohilkhand due to large settlements of Rohilla Pathans in the City of Bareilly and Rampur. Roh means mountains and in Pashto and Rohilla means mountaineer, today, the Afghan proper refer to themselves as Ban-i-Afghan or Ban-i-Isrial to differentiate themselves from the Indian Pathan. Rohilkhand was invaded by the Marathas after Panipat war, the first invasion of Maratha on Rohillakhand took place on 1751–1752, The Marathas were requested by Safdarjung, the Nawab of Oudh, in 1752, to help him defeat Afghani Rohilla. The Maratha forces and Awadh forces besieged Rohillas, who had sought refuge in Kumaon but had to retreat when Ahmad Shah Abdali invaded India. In 1772, Marathas, led by Mahadji Sindhia defeated Zabita Khan, whose possessions lay west to Rohilkhand and they also destroyed Najib-ul-Daulas grave, after plundering Rohillakhand Maratha proceed towards Oudh. Sensing the same fate as Rohilla, Nawab made frantic calls to British troops in Bengal, British company knew that Nawab of Oudh didnt possess any danger for British company, whereas Maratha will try to invade Bengal and Bihar after overrunning Oudh. British company dispatched 20,000 British troops on the order of then Viceroy of British India, British wanted to free Rohillakhand from Maratha and give it to Nawab. The two armies came face to face in Ram Ghat, but the demise of then Peshwa. Rohilla decided not to pay there was no war between the two states. Further, British made Oudh a buffer state in order to protect it from Maratha, the subsidy of one British brigade to provide protection to Nawab and Oudh from Maratha was decided to be Rs 2,10,000. In 1737, the country around Farrukhabad was in the hands of an Afghan jagirdar, Kaiam Khan Bangash. The province, known now as Rohilkhand and then as Kuttahir, was in the occupation of a band of Afghan mercenary soldiers known as Rohels or Rohillas, from Roh, the Pushtu or Afghan word for mountain. About 1673, two brothers, Shah Alam and Hussein Khan, left their native hills and obtained some petty office under the Mughals, Shah Alams grandson, Ali Mahomed, a man of resource and courage and quite devoid of scruple, was eventually appointed governor of Sirhind. Taking advantage of the invasion of Ahmad Shah Abdali, he added in 1748 to the already acquired by him those formerly owned by officers absent on field service. In this way, he acquired the whole of Kuttahir and changed its name to Rohilkhand, Rohilkhand was under the rule of Rohillas with their capital in City of Bareilly until the Rohilla War of 1774–75. The Rohillas were defeated and driven from their capital of Bareilly by the Nawab of Oudh with the assistance of the East India Companys troops
20.
Victoria Cross
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The Victoria Cross is the highest award of the United Kingdom honours system. It is awarded for gallantry in the face of the enemy to members of the British armed forces and it was previously awarded to Commonwealth countries, most of which have established their own honours systems and no longer recommend British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any rank in any service. Since the first awards were presented by Queen Victoria in 1857 and these investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace. The VC was introduced on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to honour acts of valour during the Crimean War, since then, the medal has been awarded 1,358 times to 1,355 individual recipients. Only 15 medals,11 to members of the British Army, the traditional explanation of the source of the metal from which the medals are struck is that it derives from Russian cannon captured at the Siege of Sevastopol. Some research has suggested a variety of origins for the material, research has established that the metal for most of the medals made since December 1914 came from two Chinese cannons that were captured from the Russians in 1855. Owing to its rarity, the VC is highly prized and the medal has fetched over £400,000 at auction, a number of public and private collections are devoted to the Victoria Cross. The private collection of Lord Ashcroft, amassed since 1986, contains over one-tenth of all VCs awarded, following a 2008 donation to the Imperial War Museum, the Ashcroft collection went on public display alongside the museums Victoria and George Cross collection in November 2010. These are unique awards of honours system, recommended, assessed, gazetted and presented by each country. In 1854, after 39 years of peace, Britain found itself fighting a war against Russia. The Crimean War was one of the first wars with modern reporting, before the Crimean War, there was no official standardised system for recognition of gallantry within the British armed forces. This structure was limited, in practice awards of the Order of the Bath were confined to officers of field rank. Brevet promotions or Mentions in Despatches were largely confined to those who were under the notice of the commanders in the field. Other European countries had awards that did not discriminate against class or rank, France awarded the Légion dhonneur and The Netherlands gave the Order of William. There was a feeling among the public and in the Royal Court that a new award was needed to recognise incidents of gallantry that were unconnected with a mans lengthy or meritorious service. Queen Victoria issued a Warrant under the Royal sign-manual on 29 January 1856 that officially constituted the VC, the order was backdated to 1854 to recognise acts of valour during the Crimean War. Queen Victoria had instructed the War Office to strike a new medal that would not recognise birth or class, the medal was meant to be a simple decoration that would be highly prized and eagerly sought after by those in the military services
21.
Sam Browne belt
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The Sam Browne belt is a wide belt, usually leather, supported by a narrower strap passing diagonally over the right shoulder. It is most often a part of a military or police uniform, Sam Browne VC was a British army officer serving in India in the 19th century. In those days officers always carried a sword into battle and it hung from a small metal clip on the waistbelt, called a frog. However, the scabbard tended to slide around a lot when they charged the enemy, during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 in India, Captain Sam Browne was serving with the 2nd Punjab Irregular Cavalry. On 31 August 1858, Captain Browne was involved in the fighting near Seerporah, as he charged a cannon being reloaded, he was attacked by one of its crew. Browne received two cuts, one on the left knee and one which severed his left arm at the shoulder. He survived the injuries but, without a hand, he found that he was now unable to control or draw his sword. Browne came up with the idea of wearing a belt which went over his right shoulder. This would hook into a leather belt with D-rings for attaching accessories. It also securely carried a pistol in a flap-holster on his right hip, other cavalry officers in the Indian Army began wearing a similar rig and soon it became part of the standard uniform. During the Boer War, the rig was copied by Imperial and Commonwealth troops, infantry officers wore a variant that used two suspender-like straps instead of the cross-belt. It was supposedly invented in 1878 by Lieutenant Sir Basil Templer Graham-Montgomery, there has been a great deal of discussion as to whether Browne modified Graham-Montgomerys design or vice versa. Since there were no patents issued for either design and both camps have accounts backing up their claims, it may never be decided. Due to its use as equipment for carrying a sword, it is traditionally only worn by those to whom a sword would historically have been issued, namely officers. The Sam Browne belt featured prominently in many uniforms used by the Nazi Party in Germany and it was popular with Adolf Hitler and other leading Nazi officials. After World War II the Sam Browne belt saw a decline in use in the Commonwealth and it was dropped from the standard officers uniform in 1943. However, officers, and Warrant Officer Class 1 of the British Army and Royal Marines still wear it in service dress and it was phased out by the Canadian military beginning with the unification of the armed services in 1968. In Australia all officers are entitled to wear the belt in ceremonial dress, a different arrangement from the traditional Sam Browne belt consists of a similar wide belt with two vertical supporting straps, one over each shoulder
22.
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
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The Academys stated aim is to be the national centre of excellence for leadership. All British Army officers, including officers who were previously Warrant Officers. The Academy is the British Army equivalent of the Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth, Royal Air Force College Cranwell, despite its name, The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst is located in Camberley, the boundaries of the academy straddle the counties of Berkshire and Surrey. The county border is marked by a stream known as the Wish Stream. The main entrance is located on the east of the Academy, the nearest railway station is Camberley. The present Royal Military Academy Sandhurst was founded in 1947 with the merger of two institutions, the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. The first Military Academy had been established in 1720 at Woolwich, known as the Shop, this academy moved to a permanent site at Woolwich Common in 1806 and was granted royal status in 1841. In 1806, the Military Academy took on the training of Royal Engineers officer cadets and, later, coincidentally,1802 was also the year of foundation of Saint-Cyr in France and of West Point in the United States. In 1812 the Junior Department of the Royal Military College moved from Great Marlow into buildings designed by James Wyatt at Sandhurst. A few years later, the Junior Department was joined at Sandhurst from High Wycombe by the Senior Department, which in 1858 became a separate institution, in 1984, the Womens Officer Training College Bagshot moved to Sandhurst. In 1992 a new Commissioning Course finally unified the training of male, female, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Collection illustrates the history of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. The collection includes the Gentlemen Cadet registers, historic archives, uniforms, paintings, photographs, for the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, the newly created Academy hosted the running leg of the modern pentathlon competition. Contemporary training at Sandhurst was the subject of a television series, first broadcast by BBC television in October 2011. In 2012 Sandhurst accepted a £15 million donation from the government of United Arab Emirates for the Zayed Building, an accommodation block, named after the UAEs founding ruler. In 2013 Sandhurst accepted a donation of £3 million from the government of Bahrain for the refurbishment of Mons Hall and it was renamed as King Hamad Hall in honour of the King of Bahrain, which generated some controversy in the United Kingdom. In 2015 Sandhurst appointed Lucy Giles as the first female commander in its history. Potential officers are identified by the Army Officer Selection Board situated in Westbury in Wiltshire, nearly 10 percent of British cadets are female and nearly 10 percent of all cadets come from overseas. More than eighty percent of entrants are university graduates, although a degree is not required for admission, the course is accredited by various academic and professional institutions
23.
Sepoy
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A sepoy was formerly the designation given to an Indian soldier. In the modern Nepalese Army, Indian Army, Pakistan Army, the term sepoy is derived from the Persian word sepāhī meaning infantry soldier in the Mughal Empire. In the Ottoman Empire the term Sipahi was used to refer to cavalry troopers, in its most common application, sepoy was the term used in the British Indian Army, and earlier in that of the British East India Company, for an infantry private. Initially it referred to Hindu or Muslim soldiers without regular uniform or discipline and it later generically referred to all native soldiers in the service of the European powers in India. Close to ninety-six percent of the British East India Companys army of 300,000 men were native to India, a Sipahi or a sepoy was an infantryman in both the Mughal Empire and the Kingdom of Mysore. The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb raised battalions of sepoys variously armed with matchlocks, rockets and these troops were successfully employed in siege warfare, particularly during the Siege of Bidar, the Siege of Bijapur and the Siege of Golconda. Initially the British recruited sepoys from the communities in the Madras and Bombay Presidencies. In the Bengal Army however, recruitment was only amongst high caste Brahmin and Rajput communities, mainly of the Uttar Pradesh, recruitment was undertaken locally by battalions or regiments often from the same community, village and even family. The commanding officer of a battalion became a form of substitute for the chief or gaon bura. He was the mai-baap or the father and mother of the making up the paltan. There were many family and community ties amongst the troops and numerous instances where family members enlisted in the battalion or regiment. The izzat of the unit was represented by the regimental colours and these colours were stored in honour in the quarter guard and frequently paraded before the men. They formed a point in battle. The oath of fealty by the sepoy was given to the East India Company, the salary of the sepoys employed by the East India Company, while not substantially greater than that paid by the rulers of Indian states, was usually paid regularly. Advances could be given and family allotments from pay due were permitted when the troops served abroad, there was a commisariat and regular rations were provided. Weapons, clothing and ammunition were provided centrally, in contrast to the soldiers of local kings whose pay was often in arrears, in addition local rulers usually expected their sepoys to arm themselves and to sustain themselves through plunder. Following the Indian Rebellion of 1857 the surviving East India Company regiments were merged into a new Indian Army under the control of the British Crown. The designation of sepoy was retained for Indian soldiers below the rank of lance naik, following the formation of the French East India Company in 1719, companies of Indian sepoys were raised to augment the French regulars and Swiss mercenary troops available
24.
Mesopotamian campaign
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The Ottoman Empire had conquered the region in the early 16th century, but never fully gained complete control. Regional pockets of Ottoman control through local rulers maintained the Ottomans reach throughout Mesopotamia. With the turn of the 19th century came reforms, work began on a Baghdad Railway in 1888, by 1915 it had only four gaps, and travel time from Istanbul to Baghdad had fallen to 21 days. The Anglo-Persian Oil Company had obtained rights to petroleum deposits throughout the Persian Empire, except in the provinces of Azerbaijan, Ghilan, Mazendaran, Asdrabad. In 1914, before the war, the British government had contracted with the company for oil for the navy, the operational area of the Mesopotamian campaign was limited to the lands watered by the rivers Euphrates and Tigris. The main challenge was moving troops and supplies through the swamps, shortly after the European war started, the British sent a military force to protect Abadan, the site of one of the worlds earliest oil refineries. British operational planning included landing troops in the Shatt-al-Arab, the reinforced 6th Division of the British Indian Army was assigned the task, designated as Indian Expeditionary Force D. At first the campaign was run by the India Office and Indian Army, the Ottoman Fourth Army was located in the region. It was composed of two corps, the XII Corps, with the 35th and 36th Divisions at Mosul, and XIII Corps, on 29 October 1914, after the pursuit of Goeben and Breslau, Breslau bombarded the Russian Black Sea port of Theodosia. On 30 October the High Command in Istanbul changed the force distribution, on 2 November Grand Vizier Said Halim Pasha expressed regret to the Allies for the actions of the navy. Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Sazonov said it was too late, the Cabinet tried to explain that hostilities were begun without its sanction by German officers serving in the navy. The Ottoman Committee of Union and Progresss official Declaration of War came on 14 November, when the Caucasus Campaign became a reality with the Bergmann Offensive, Enver Pasha sent the 37th Division and XIII Corps Headquarters to the Caucasus in support of the Third Army. The entire XII Corps was deployed to the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, Fourth Army Headquarters was sent to Syria, to replace the Second Army Headquarters, which was sent to Istanbul. In place of the Fourth Army was the Iraq Area Command with only the 38th Division under its command, Mesopotamia was a low priority area for the Ottomans, and they did not expect any major action in the region. Regiments of the XII and XIII Corps were maintained at low levels in peacetime, lieutenant Colonel Süleyman Askerî Bey became the commander. He redeployed portions of the 38th Division at the mouth of Shatt-al-Arab, the rest of the defensive force was stationed at Basra. The Ottoman General Staff did not even possess a proper map of Mesopotamia and they tried to draw a map with the help of people who had worked in Iraq before the war, although this attempt failed. Enver Pasha bought two German maps scaled 1/1,500,000, on 6 November 1914, British offensive action began with the naval bombardment of the old fort at Fao, located at the point where the Shatt-al-Arab meets the Persian Gulf
25.
Multan
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Multan, is a Pakistani city located in Punjab province. Multan is Pakistans 5th most populous city, and is the premier-centre for southern Punjab province, Multan is located on the banks of the Chenab River, and is at the heart of Pakistans Seraiki-speaking regions. Multans history stretches back into antiquity, the ancient city was site of the renowned Multan Sun Temple, and was besieged by Alexander the Great during the Mallian Campaign. Multan was one of the most important trading centres of medieval Islamic India, the city, along with the nearby city of Uch, is renowned for its large collection of Sufi shrines dating from that era. The origin of Multans name is unclear and it has been postulated that Multan derives its name from the Sanskrit word for the pre-Islamic Hindu Multan Sun Temple, called Mulasthana. Hukm Chand in the 19th century suggested that the city was named after an ancient Hindu tribe that was named Mul, the Multan region has been continuously inhabited for at least 5,000 years. The region is home to archaeological sites dating to the era of the Early Harappan period of the Indus Valley Civilisation. According to Hindu mythology, Multan was founded by the Hindu sage Kashyapa, according to the Persian historian Firishta, the city was founded by a great grandson of Noah. Hindu mythology also asserts Multan as the capital of the Trigarta Kingdom at the time of the Kurukshetra War that is central the Hindu epic poem, ancient Multan was the centre of a solar-worshipping cult that was based at the ancient Multan Sun Temple. While the cult was dedicated to the Hindu Sun God Surya, the Sun Temple was mentioned by Greek Admiral Skylax, who passed through the area in 515 BCE. The temple is mentioned in the 400s BCE by the Greek historian. Multan is believed to have been the Malli capital that was conquered by Alexander the Great in 326 BCE as part of the Mallian Campaign, during the siege of the citys citadel, Alexander leaped into the inner area of the citadel, where he killed the Mallians leader. Alexander was wounded by an arrow that had penetrated his lung, leaving him severely injured, during Alexanders era, Multan was located on an island in the Ravi river, which has since shifted course numerous times throughout the centuries. In the mid-5th century CE, the city was attacked by a group of Hephthalite nomads led by Toramana, by the mid 600s CE, Multan had been conquered by the Chach of Alor, of the Hindu Rai dynasty. After his conquest of Sindh, Muhammad bin Qasim in 712 CE captured Multan from the local ruler Chach of Alor following a two-month siege, following bin Qasims conquest, the citys subjects remained mostly non-Muslim for the next few centuries. By the mid-800s, the Banu Munabbih, who claimed descent from the Prophet Muhammads Quraysh tribe came to rule Multan, and established the Amirate of Banu Munabbih, which ruled for the next century. During this era, the Multan Sun Temple was noted by the 10th century Arab geographer Al-Muqaddasi to have located in a most populous part of the city. The Hindu temple was noted to have accrued the Muslim rulers large tax revenues, during this time, the citys Arabic nickname was Faraj Bayt al-Dhahab, reflecting the importance of the temple to the citys economy
26.
Delhi
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Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory of Delhi or NCT, is a city and a union territory of India. It is bordered by Haryana on three sides and by Uttar Pradesh to the east, the NCT covers an area of 1,484 square kilometres. According to 2011 census, Delhis city population was about 11 million, Delhis urban area is now considered to extend beyond the NCT boundary to include an estimated population of over 26 million people making it the worlds second largest urban area. As of 2016 recent estimates of the economy of its urban area have ranked Delhi either the top or second most productive metro area of India. Delhi is the second wealthiest city after Mumbai in India, with a wealth of $450 billion. Delhi has been inhabited since the 6th century BC. Through most of its history, Delhi has served as a capital of various kingdoms and it has been captured, ransacked and rebuilt several times, particularly during the medieval period, and modern Delhi is a cluster of a number of cities spread across the metropolitan region. New Delhi is jointly administered by the government of India and the local government of Delhi. Delhi is also the centre of the National Capital Region, which is a unique interstate regional planning area created by the National Capital Region Planning Board Act of 1985, Delhi ranks among the cities with the worst air pollution in the world. There are a number of myths and legends associated with the origin of the name Delhi, one of them is derived from Dhillu or Dilu, a king who built a city at this location in 50 BC and named it after himself. The coins in circulation in the region under the Tomaras were called dehliwal, according to the Bhavishya Purana, King Prithiviraja of Indraprastha built a new fort in the modern-day Purana Qila area for the convenience of all four castes in his kingdom. He ordered the construction of a gateway to the fort and later named the fort dehali, another theory suggests that the citys original name was Dhillika. The people of Delhi are referred to as Delhiites or Dilliwalas, the city is referenced in various idioms of the Northern Indo-Aryan languages. Dilli dilwalon ka shehr or Dilli Dilwalon ki meaning Delhi belongs to the large-hearted/daring, aas-paas barse, Dilli pani tarse, literally meaning it pours all around, while Delhi lies parched. An allusion to the sometimes semi-arid climate of Delhi, it refers to situations of deprivation when one is surrounded by plenty. The area around Delhi was probably inhabited before the second millennium BC, the city is believed to be the site of Indraprastha, the legendary capital of the Pandavas in the Indian epic Mahabharata. According to Mahabharata, this land was initially a huge mass of forests called Khandavaprastha which was burnt down to build the city of Indraprastha, the earliest architectural relics date back to the Maurya period, in 1966, an inscription of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka was discovered near Srinivaspuri. Remains of eight cities have been discovered in Delhi
27.
Bengal Army
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The Bengal Army was the army of the Bengal Presidency, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire. In 1895 all three armies were merged into the Indian Army. The Bengal Army originated with the establishment of a European Regiment in 1756, in 1757 the first locally recruited unit of Bengal sepoys was created in the form of the Lal Paltan battalion. It was recruited from Bhumihar, Bihari Rajputs and Pathan soldiers that had served in the Nawabs Army from Bihar, there were actually no soldiers from the modern Bengal region. Drilled and armed along British army lines this force served well at the Battle of Plassey in 1757 and 20 more Indian battalions were raised by 1764. In 1824 the Bengal Army underwent reorganisation, with the infantry being grouped into 68 single battalion regiments numbered according to their date of establishment. Nine additional infantry regiments were raised, though several existing units were disbanded between 1826 and 1843. On the eve of the First Afghan War the Bengal Army had achieved a dominant role in the forces of the HEIC, there were 74 battalions of Bengal regular infantry against only 52 from Madras,26 from Bombay and 24 British. A new feature in the Bengal Army was the creation of irregular infantry and cavalry regiments during the 1840s and these were permanently established units but with less formal drill and fewer British officers than the regular Bengal line regiments. The main source of recruitment continued to be high caste Brahmins and Rajputs from Bihar and Oudh, during the 1840s and early 1850s numbers of Nepalese Gurkhas and Sikhs from the Punjab were however accepted in the Bengal Army. Both Gurkhas and Sikhs served in separate units but some of the latter were incorporated into existing Bengal infantry regiments, two of these BNI regiments were serving in China in 1857 and so escaped any involvement in the great rebellion of that year. A total of 64 Bengal Army regular infantry and cavalry regiments rebelled during the Indian Mutiny, from 1858 onwards the actual high-caste Awadhi and Bihari Hindu presence in the Bengal Army was reduced because of their perceived primary role as mutineers in the 1857 rebellion. A largely unspoken rationale was that an army of diverse origins was unlikely to unite in rebellion, in 1895 the three separate Presidency Armies were abolished and the Army of India was divided into four commands, each commanded by a lieutenant-general. These comprised Madras, Punjab, Bengal and Bombay, the Bengal infantry units in existence at the end of the Presidency era continued as the senior regiments (1st Brahmans to 48th Pioneers of the newly unified Indian Army. Prior to 1857, and despite the name, the actual ethnic Bengali presence was minimal to non-existent, the Bengal Army of the East India Company was mainly recruited from high castes living in Bihar and the Awadh, especially Bihari Rajputs and Bhumihars who were referred to as Purbiyas. Governor Generals Bodyguard 1st to 10th Bengal Light Cavalry Regiments, eight of these regular regiments mutinied and two were disbanded during 1857–58. None were carried over into the post-Mutiny army, 1st to 4th Bengal European Light Cavalry Regiments. Recruited hastily in Britain in November 1857 to replace the eight regiments of Bengal Light Cavalry which had mutinied, the mention of European in the name indicated that it consisted of white soldiers rather than Indian sowars
28.
Bareilly
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Bareilly is a city in Bareilly district in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Located on the Ramganga, it is the capital of Bareilly division, the city is 252 kilometres north of the state capital, Lucknow, and 250 kilometres east of the national capital, New Delhi. Bareilly is the city in Uttar Pradesh with compressed natural gas filling stations. It is the seventh-largest metropolis in Uttar Pradesh and the 50th-largest city in India, Bareilly also figured amongst the PM Narendra Modis ambitious 100 Smart City list in India. The city is known by the name Nath Nagri, Ala Hazrat, Shah Sharafat Miyan and Khankahe Niyazia, Zari nagari. The city is a centre for manufacturing and trade in cotton, cereal. Its status grew with its inclusion in the counter magnets list of the National Capital Region, the city is also known as Bans-Bareilly. According to the epic Mahābhārata, Bareilly region is said to be the birthplace of Draupadi, when Yudhishthira becomes the king of Hastinapura at the end of the Mahābhārata, Draupadi becomes his queen. The folklore says that Gautama Buddha had once visited the ancient fortress city of Ahichchhatra in Bareilly, the Jain Tirthankara Parshva is said to have attained Kaivalya at Ahichchhatra. In the 12th century, the kingdom was under the rule by different clans of Kshatriya Rajputs, with the Islamic Turkic Invasion the region became a part of the Delhi Sultanate before getting absorbed in the emerging Mughal Empire. The foundation of the modern City of Bareilly foundation was laid by Mukrand Rai in 1657, later the region became the capital of Rohilkhand region before getting handed over to Nawab Vazir of Awadh and then to East India Company and later becoming an integral part of India. The region has, also, acted as a mint for a part of its history. From archaeological point of view the district of Bareilly is very rich, the extensive remains of Ahichchhatra, the Capital town of Northern Panchala have been discovered near Ramnagar village of Aonla Tehsil in the district. Nearly five thousand coins belonging to periods earlier than that of Guptas have been yielded from Ahichchhatra and it has also been one of the richest sites in India from the point of view of the total yield of terracotta. Some of the masterpieces of Indian terracotta art are from Ahichchhatra, on the basis of the existing material, the archaeology of the region helps us to get an idea of the cultural sequence from the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC up to the 11th century AD. Some ancient mounds in the district have also discovered by the Deptt. of Ancient History and culture, Rohilkhand University, at Tihar-Khera, Pachaumi, Rahtuia, Kadarganj. Bareilly was founded in 1537 by Basdeo, a Katehriya Rajput, the city was first mentioned by the historian Budayuni, who wrote that Husain Quli Khan was appointed the governor of Bareilly and Sambhal in 1568. The divisions and revenue of the district being fixed by Todar Mal were recorded by Abul Fazl in 1596, the foundation of the modern city of Bareilly was laid by Mukrand Rai in 1657
29.
Order of British India
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The Order of British India was an order of merit which was bestowed by the East India Company for long, faithful and honourable service, beginning in 1837. The Companys powers were removed after the Indian Mutiny, and the Order was incorporated into the British honours system in 1859, the order became obsolete in 1947, after the partition of British India into the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. The Order was awarded in two classes, first and second class, the recipients of the second class were entitled to the title Bahadur and recipients of the first class were entitled to use the title Sardar Bahadur, both using the post-nominal letters, OBI. The order was awarded for distinguished service on a particular campaign, the following is an incomplete list of people appointed to the Order of British India, Honorary Captain Subedar Major, Sardar Bahadur, Sardar Lehna Singh, O. B. I. 1st Class, 45th Rattrays Sikhs, Chief of Lehna Singhwala, Served in 45th Rattrays Sikhs from 1853 to 1893 and served during The Indian Mutiny 1857-58, Jyntah and Khasia Hills, Afghan Campaign 1878-79-80, Zhab Valley Expedition 1884 and Hazara Campaign 1888. Title Khan Bahadur given to Sardar Mir Muhammad Hassan Gichki of Sami by Governor General Of India Victor Bruce, Served in both World Wars & Retired from service in 1948 Risaldar Major Hony Captain Bhajan Singh, Sardar Bahadur, OBI, Hodsons Horse, Gujjarwal, Ludhiana, Punjab. Sardar Sahib served in the British Indian Army during WWI & WWII and he was given the title Sardar Sahib by the Viceroy Linlithgow as a personal distinction in 1937. Colonel Mir Hashim Ali Khan Sardar Bahadur, Nawab Hahsim Nawaz Jung, Captain Shri Berishal Singh Khichi Sardar Bahadur OBI, IOM mentioned Despatch 1943 Subedar Sardar Kirpal Singh Sasson, OBI bestowed in 1932 in Sialkot. Also ADC to Sir Frank Messervy, the first general of the Pakistani army and he served the regiment for 30 years and retired from service in 1939. He died at the age of 65 in 1951. Captain Sant Singh, 2/3rd Sikh Pioneers, Sardar Bahadur, OBI, IOM, IDSM Honorary Captain, Sardar Bahadur, Sant Singh Mangat, British Indian Army Honorary Captain Sardar Bahadur Bakhshi Jaswant Singh, O. B. I. Honorary Captain, Sardar Bahadur Abhimansing Gurung, OBI, 1891-1898, ADC to Viceroy Lord Wavell and to Lord Mount Batten. Honorary Captain Sardar Bahadur Harnam Singh Bindra, OBI Honorary Captain Sardar Bahadur Ranjit Singh OBI, Sardar Bahadur Lt Col Dr Gopal Singh Chawla OBI Subedar Major Sardar Bahadur Singh Atwal, OBI. Honorary Captain Sardar Bahadur Hazara Singh Bahad, OBI, Honorary Captain Sardar Bahadur Mihr Din, OBI. Honorary Captain Sardar Bahadur Dr. Kartar Singh Grewal, OBI, Honorary Captain Sardar Bahadur Bhola Singh Gulia, OBI, Indian Survey Regiment of Badli, Haryana, India. Honorary Captain Subedar Bahadur Nar Gurung, MC, OBI, Honorary Captain Sardar Bahadur Muhammad Ismail, IOM, OBI, British Indian Army. Lt. Gangadat Bahadur, Risaldar Major Gangadat Bahadur had a professional qualification in musketry. He was first enrolled 28 Oct 1885. His regiment 2nd Lancer received the battle honor Cambria Nov. 1917He was admitted to the OBI effect from 19 April 1917 and he was born in village Matanhail District Jhajjar Haryana. Lieutenant Colonel Sardar Bahadur Aman Singh Jodha, OBI, IOM, Honorary Lieutenant Sardar Bahadur Ahmadullah Khan, Khan Bahadur, IOM, OBI, IMD Khillat Sword of Honour, Jagirdar and Honorary Magistrate
30.
Indian Order of Merit
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The Indian Order of Merit was a military and civilian decoration of British India. For a long period of time the IOM was the highest decoration that a member of the British Indian Army could receive. This was changed in 1911 when Indian servicemen became eligible for the Victoria Cross, a civilian division of the IOM also existed between 1902 and 1939, however, it was only conferred very rarely. The medal was first introduced by the East India Company in 1837, under the name Order of Merit and was taken over by the Crown in 1858, the name of the medal was changed in 1902 to avoid confusion with a British Order of the same name. Both divisions of the order were removed when India became independent in 1947, recipients receive the post nominal letters IOM. The recipients of the order received increased pay and pension allowances and were highly regarded. A civil division was available in two classes between 1902 and 1939, when it was reduced to one class, the civil medal was rarely awarded. Eight pointed dull silver star with blue circle, surrounded by laurels, in the middle, with crossed swords and the words Awarded for Valour. Conspicuous act of gallantry on the part of any Native Officers or Soldiers, in the Field or in the attack or defence of a Fortified place. Eight pointed shiny silver star with blue circle, surrounded by gold laurels in the middle, with crossed swords and the words Awarded for Valour, to be obtained by those who already possess the third and for similar services. Eight pointed gold star with blue circle, surrounded by gold laurels in the middle, with crossed swords and the words Awarded for Valour, to be obtained in like manner only by those who possess the third and second classes. Lieutenant Sardar Bahadur Ahmadullah Khan, Khan Bahadur, IOM, OBI, IMD Khillat Sword of Honour, Jagirdar, good and Meritorious Service rendered with Waziristan delimitation escort were recognized by the P. M. O. in India in his Letter No.3106 Dated 03-10-1895. Dark Blue ribbon flanked by two red stripes of about a sixth of the width, subedar Mir Dast VC, IOM Bahadur Risaldar Major Ganda Singh Datt IOM Maharajadhiraja Bahadur Sir Bijay Chand Mahtab GCIE, KCSI, IOM Duckers, Peter. Indian Order of Merit, Historical Records, 1837-1860 Vol I, further volumes of this comprehensive work are in the process of compilation and will bring the records up to 1947, ultimately. Search recommendations for the Indian Order of Merit on The UK National Archives website, the Website of the Indian Military Historical Society
31.
Tank
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A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat, with heavy firepower, strong armour, and tracks providing good battlefield maneuverability. The first tanks were designed to overcome the deadlock of trench warfare, now they are a mainstay of ground forces. Modern tanks are versatile mobile land weapon platforms, mounting a large-calibre cannon in a rotating gun turret. In both offensive and defensive roles, they are units that are capable of performing tasks which are required of armoured units on the battlefield. As a result of advances, tanks underwent tremendous shifts in capability in the years since their first appearance. Tanks in World War I were developed separately and simultaneously by Great Britain and this was a prototype of a new design that would become the British Armys Mark I tank, the first tank used in combat in September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme. The name tank was adopted by the British during the stages of their development. While the British and French built thousands of tanks in World War I, Germany was unconvinced of the tanks potential, Tanks of the interwar period evolved into the much larger and more powerful designs of World War II. Tanks in the Cold War were designed with these weapons in mind, improved engines, transmissions and suspensions allowed tanks of this period to grow larger. Aspects of gun technology changed significantly as well, with advances in shell design, during the Cold War, the main battle tank concept arose and became a key component of modern armies. Modern tanks seldom operate alone, as they are organized into combined arms units which involve the support of infantry and they are also usually supported by reconnaissance or ground-attack aircraft. The tank is the 20th century realization of an ancient concept, the internal combustion engine, armour plate, and continuous track were key innovations leading to the invention of the modern tank. Many sources imply that Leonardo da Vinci and H. G. Wells in some way foresaw or invented the tank, leonardos late 15th century drawings of what some describe as a tank show a man-powered, wheeled vehicle with cannons all around it. However the human crew would not have power to move it over larger distance. In the 15th century, Jan Žižka built armoured wagons containing cannons, the caterpillar track arose from attempts to improve the mobility of wheeled vehicles by spreading their weight, reducing ground pressure, and increasing their traction. Experiments can be traced back as far as the 17th century and it is frequently claimed that Richard Lovell Edgeworth created a caterpillar track. It is true that in 1770 he patented a machine, that should carry and lay down its own road and his own account in his autobiography is of a horse-drawn wooden carriage on eight retractable legs, capable of lifting itself over high walls. The description bears no similarity to a caterpillar track, armoured trains appeared in the mid-19th century, and various armoured steam and petrol-engined vehicles were also proposed
32.
Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts
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Field Marshal Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts, VC, KG, KP, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, KStJ, VD, PC was a British soldier who was one of the most successful commanders of the 19th century. He served in the Indian Rebellion, the Expedition to Abyssinia and he also became the last Commander-in-Chief of the Forces before the post was abolished in 1904. Born at Cawnpore, India, on 30 September 1832, Roberts was the son of General Sir Abraham Roberts, at the time Sir Abraham was commanding the 1st Bengal European Regiment. Roberts was named Sleigh in honour of the commander, Major General William Sleigh. His mother was Edinburgh-born Isabella Bunbury, daughter of Major Abraham Bunbury from Kilfeacle in County Tipperary, Roberts was educated at Eton, Sandhurst, and Addiscombe Military Seminary before entering the East India Company Army as a second lieutenant with the Bengal Artillery on 12 December 1851. He became Aide-de-Camp to his father in 1852, transferred to the Bengal Horse Artillery in 1854 and was promoted to lieutenant on 31 May 1857 and he was awarded the Victoria Cross medal for actions on 2 January 1858 at Khudaganj. The citation reads, Lieutenant Roberts gallantry has on occasion been most marked. On following the enemy on 2 January 1858, at Khodagunge. Lieutenant Roberts put spurs to his horse, and overtook them just as they were about to enter a village and he also, on the same day, cut down another Sepoy who was standing at bay, with musket and bayonet, keeping off a Sowar. Lieutenant Roberts rode to the assistance of the horseman, and, rushing at the Sepoy, with one blow of his sword cut him across the face and he was also mentioned in despatches for his service at Lucknow in March 1858. In common with other officers he transferred from the East India Company Army to the Indian Army that year. Having been promoted to lieutenant colonel on 15 August 1868 and to the substantive rank of captain on 18 November 1868. He was promoted to the rank of major on 5 July 1872, appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath on 10 September 1872. That year he became Quartermaster-General of the Bengal Army, in September 1879 he was despatched, along with Maurice Abraham Cohen an expert in the Urdu language, to Kabul to seek retribution for the death of Sir Louis Cavagnari, the British envoy there. He was also given the rank of lieutenant-general on 11 November 1879. He was commander of the Kabul Field Force and brought at least 20 field guns with his army during the conquest and this was followed by his promotion to a supernumerary general on 28 November 1890 and to the substantive rank of general on 31 December 1891. On 23 February 1892 he was created Baron Roberts of Kandahar in Afghanistan and he was promoted field marshal on 25 May 1895 and received the Order of St Patrick during 1897. While in Ireland, Roberts completed a memoir of his years in India and his appointment was a response to a string of defeats in the early weeks of the war and was accompanied by the despatch of huge reinforcements
33.
9th Queen's Royal Lancers
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The 9th Queens Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and Second World Wars, the regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, but was amalgamated with the 12th Royal Lancers to form the 9th/12th Royal Lancers in 1960. The regiment was formed by Major-General Owen Wynne as Owen Wynnes Regiment of Dragoons in Bedford in 1715 as part of the response to the Jacobite rising, the regiments first action was to attack the Jacobite forces in Wigan in late 1715. In 1717, the regiment embarked for Ballinrobe, in Ireland, the regiment was ranked as the 9th Dragoons in 1719, re-titled as the 9th Regiment of Dragoons in 1751 and converted into Light Dragoons, becoming the 9th Regiment of Dragoons in 1783. The regiment also saw action at the Battle of Vinegar Hill on 21 June 1798, the regiment took part in Sir Samuel Auchmutys disastrous expedition to the River Plate in October 1806, including the occupation of Montevideo in February 1807 during the Anglo-Spanish War. It then took part in the equally unsuccessfully Walcheren Campaign in autumn 1809, the regiment then embarked for Portugal and fought at the Battle of Arroyo dos Molinos, capturing General De Brune of the French Army, in October 1811 during the Peninsular War. It was also part of the force for the Siege of Badajoz in March 1812. In April 1813, the regiment returned to England, the regiment were re-designated as a lancer formation in 1816 and became the 9th Lancers in honour of Queen Adelaide in 1830. The regiment was posted to India in 1842 and it saw action at the Battle of Punniar in December 1843 during the Gwalior Campaign. It also fought at the Battle of Sobraon in February 1846 during the First Anglo-Sikh War and it was described by an ally as, The beau ideal of all that British Cavalry ought to be in Oriental countries. The regiment was renamed the 9th Lancers in 1861, the regiment was posted to Afghanistan in 1878 and marched through the Khyber Pass in March 1879 as part of the cavalry brigade led by General Hugh Henry Gough. Following the murder of the British ambassador and his guards at Kabul in September 1879, the commanding officer of the regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Cleland, was killed while leading a charge at the Battle of Killa Kazi in December 1879. The effort, however, was worthy and that it failed in its object was no fault of our gallant soldiers, the regiment provided Lord Roberts’ escort for his state entry into Bloemfontein. After the war, the regiment returned to Sialkot in the Punjab, in the Delhi Durbar of 1903, the Duke of Connaught specially selected an escort from the 9th Lancers. This was popular with the regiment, but not with all Indian spectators, before he died, the man had stated that his assailants were men of the 9th Lancers. It was suggested in the press that the assailants may actually have been unsuccessful applicants for the post of cook, the regiment landed in France as part of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade in the 1st Cavalry Division in August 1914 for service on the Western Front. Captain Francis Grenfell was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions in saving the guns of 119th Battery, the regiment was renamed the 9th Queens Royal Lancers in 1921. It was deployed to Ireland and lost nine of its men in the Scramogue ambush of March 1921 during the Irish War of Independence
34.
Kabul
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Kabul is the capital of Afghanistan as well as its largest city, located in the eastern section of the country. According to a 2015 estimate, the population of the city was around 3,678,033 which includes all the ethnic groups. Rapid urbanization had made Kabul the worlds 64th largest city and the fifth fastest-growing city in the world, Kabul is said to be over 3,500 years old, mentioned since at least the time of the Achaemenid Empire. The city is at a location along the trade routes of South and Central Asia. It has been part of the Achaemenids, Seleucids, Mauryans, Kushans, Kabul Shahis, Saffarids, Ghaznavids, Later, it was controlled by the Mughal Empire until finally becoming part of the Durrani Empire in 1747. The city is located high up in a valley between the Hindu Kush mountains. Kabul became the capital of Afghanistan during the reign of Timur Shah Durrani, in the early 19th century, the British occupied the city but were compelled to abandon it. Relations between Afghanistan and Great Britain were later established, the city was occupied by the Soviets in 1979 but they too abandoned it after the 1988 Geneva Accords were signed. A civil war in the 1990s between various rebel groups destroyed much of the city, resulting in many casualties, since the removal of the Taliban from power in late 2001, the city gradually began rebuilding itself with assistance by the international community. Despite the many terrorist attacks by elements, the city is growing and developing. The city is divided into about 18 districts, the Kabul International Airport is located in the Wazir Akbar Khan district a few miles from the foreign embassies. The Parliament of Afghanistan, built by India, is located in the Kārte Seh district, Kabul, also spelled Cabool, Caubul, Kabol, or Cabul. The word Kubhā is mentioned in the Rigveda, one of the four sacred texts of Hinduism, and the Avesta. The Rigveda praises it as a city, a vision of paradise set in the mountains. The area in which the Kabul valley sits was ruled by the Medes before falling to the Achaemenids, there is a reference to a settlement called Kabura by the rulers of the Achaemenid Empire, It became a center of Zoroastrianism followed by Buddhism and Hinduism. The region became part of the Seleucid Empire but was given to the Indian Maurya Empire. The Greco-Bactrians captured Kabul from the Mauryans in the early 2nd century BC, indo-Scythians expelled the Indo-Greeks by the mid 1st century BC, but lost the city to the Kushan Empire about 100 years later. Some historians ascribe Kabul the Sanskrit name of Kamboja and it is mentioned as Kophes or Kophene in some classical writings
35.
German East Africa
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German East Africa was a German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included what are now Burundi, Rwanda, and the mainland part of present Tanzania. Its area was 994,996 km2, nearly three times the area of present-day Germany, the colony was organized when the German military was called upon to put down a revolt against the activities of a colonial company during the late 1880s. It ended with Imperial Germanys defeat in World War I, ultimately it was divided between Britain and Belgium and reorganized as a mandate of the League of Nations. Like other powers, the Germans expanded their empire in the Africa Great Lakes region on the basis of fighting slavery, unlike other imperial powers, however, they never actually formally abolished it, preferring instead to curtail the production of new recruits and regulate the extant slaving business. The colony began with Carl Peters, an adventurer who founded the Society for German Colonization, on 3 March 1885, the German government announced it had granted an imperial charter to Peters company and intended to establish a protectorate in the Africa Great Lakes region. Peters then recruited specialists, who began exploring south to the Rufiji River and north to Witu, the British and Germans agreed to divide the mainland between themselves, and the Sultan had no option but to agree. The Abushiri Revolt of 1888 was put down the following year, in 1890, London and Berlin concluded the Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty, returning Heligoland to Germany and deciding on the borders of German East Africa. Between 1891 and 1894, the Hehe tribe, led by Chief Mkwawa and they were defeated because rival tribes supported the Germans. After years of warfare, Mkwawa himself was cornered and committed suicide in 1898. The Maji Maji Rebellion occurred in 1905 and was put down by the governor, but scandal soon followed, with stories of corruption and brutality, and in 1907 Chancellor Bülow appointed Bernhard Dernburg to reform the colonial administration. It became a model of efficiency and commanded extraordinary loyalty among the natives during the First World War. German colonial administrators relied heavily on native chiefs to keep order, Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, was a successful general in German East Africa during World War I. Commerce and growth started in earnest under German direction, early on it was realized that economic development would depend on reliable transportation. Over 100,000 acres were under sisal cultivation – the biggest cash crop, two million coffee trees were planted and rubber trees grew on 200,000 acres, along with large cotton plantations. To bring these agricultural products to market, beginning in 1888, the longest line, the Central Railroad covered 775 miles from Dar es Salaam to Morogoro, Tabora and Kigoma. The final link to the shore of Lake Tanganyika had been completed in July 1914 and was cause for a huge and festive celebration in the capital with an agricultural fair. Harbor facilities were built or improved with electrical cranes, with rail access, wharves were remodeled at Tanga, Bagamoyo and Lindi. In 1912 Dar es Salaam and Tanga received 356 freighters and passenger steamers and over 1,000 coastal ships and local trading vessels
36.
Pashtuns
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The Pashtuns /ˈpʌʃˌtʊnz/ or /ˈpæʃˌtuːnz/, historically known by the exonyms Afghans, and Pathan, are an ethnic group native to Afghanistan and North-Western Pakistan. They are generally classified as Eastern Iranian ethno-linguistically, who use Pashto language and follow Pashtunwali, the origin of Pashtuns is unclear but historians have come across references to various ancient peoples called Pakthas between the 2nd and the 1st millennium BC, who may be their early ancestors. Their history is mostly spread amongst various countries of South and Central Asia, as the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, Pashtuns have been the dominant ethno-linguistic group for over 300 years. The Barakzai dynasty played a role during the Great Game from the 19th century to the 20th century as they were caught between the imperialist designs of the British and Russian empires. There have been many notable Pashtun people throughout history, Ahmad Shah Durrani is regarded as the founder of the modern state of Afghanistan. Under Amanullah Khan, Afghanistan was able to pursue an independent foreign policy, some others include Malala Yousafzai, Shah Rukh Khan, Hamid Karzai, and Imran Khan. They are an important community in Pakistan, which has the largest Pashtun population, Pashtuns attained presidency there and high rankings in sports. They are the worlds largest segmentary lineage ethnic group, according to Ethnologue, the total population of the group is estimated to be around 50 million but an accurate count remains elusive due to the lack of an official census in Afghanistan since 1979. Estimates of the number of Pashtun tribes and clans range from about 350 to over 400, additional Pashtun communities are located in western and northern Afghanistan, the Gilgit–Baltistan and Kashmir regions and northwestern Punjab province of Pakistan. There are also sizeable Muslim communities in India, which are of largely Pashtun ancestry, throughout the Indian subcontinent, they are often referred to as Pathans. Smaller Pashtun communities are found in the countries of the Middle East, such as in the Khorasan Province of Iran, the Arabian Peninsula, Europe, important metropolitan centres of Pashtun culture include Peshawar, Quetta, Kandahar, Jalalabad, Kunduz, and Lashkar Gah. The cities of Kabul and Ghazni in Afghanistan are home to around 25% Pashtun population while Herat, with as high as 7 million by some estimates, the city of Karachi in Sindh, Pakistan has the largest concentration of urban Pashtuns in the world. In addition, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, and Lahore also have sizeable Pashtun populations, about 15% of Pakistans nearly 200 million population is Pashtun. In Afghanistan, they are the largest ethnic group and make up between 42-60% of the 32.5 million population. The exact figure remains uncertain in Afghanistan, which is affected by the 1.5 million or more Afghan refugees that remain in Pakistan. Another one million or more Afghans live in Iran, a cumulative population assessment suggests a total of around 49 million individuals all across the world. A prominent institution of the Pashtun people is the system of tribes. Despite this, many people identify themselves with various clans
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Daffadar
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Daffadar is the equivalent rank to sergeant in the Indian and Pakistani cavalry, as it was formerly in the British Indian Army. The rank below is lance daffadar, the equivalent in infantry and other other units is havildar. Like a British sergeant, a daffadar wears three rank chevrons, the etymology of the word is unclear. The -dar suffix, found in havildar and other words, means holder, thus the word means holder of dafa. The intended meaning of dafa is, however, unclear, in Arabic it means pay or push, while in Persian, the more obvious source of the word, it means repulsion. It is unclear what role, if any, the word daffadar indicated in the Mughal Empire before it was used as a British Raj rank
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Firozpur
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Firozpur, also known as Ferozepur, is a city on the banks of the Sutlej River in Firozpur District, Punjab, India. It was founded by Sultan Firoz Shah Tughluq, a ruler of the Tughluq dynasty. Firozpur is called the land of martyrs, after the Partition of India in 1947, it became a border town on the Indo-Pakistani border with memorials of Indias freedom fighters. The climate of the Firozpur District is, on the whole, dry and is characterised by a hot summer, a rainy season. The year may be divided into four seasons, the cold season is from November to March. This is followed by the season which lasts up to about the end of June. The period from July to the middle of September constitutes the south-westerly monsoon season, the latter half of September and October may be termed the post-monsoon or the transition period. According to the 2001 Indian census, Firozpur had a population of 95,451, males constitute 53 per cent of the population and females 47 per cent. It had a literacy rate of 71 per cent, higher than the national average of 59.5 per cent, male literacy was 73 per cent. 11 per cent of the population was under 6 years of age, the provisional data of the 2011 census shows a population of 110,091, of which males were 58,401 and females were 51,690. The literacy rate was 79.75 per cent, the nearest international airport from the city is Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport at Amritsar, roughly a two-hour drive away. The airport is connected to parts of the country by regular flights. Several airlines operate flights from abroad, including Birmingham in the UK, Dubai, the next nearest international airport is Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. Ludhiana Domestic Airport is distance 125 kilometres away, the government is planning to construct an airport in the city. There are two stations located in Firozpur. The Firozpur Cantonment railway station is the railway station located in the cantonment place of Firozpur and is connected with the cities such as Mumbai. It is served by three railway lines – Ludhiana-Fazilka line, Delhi-Firozpur line and Jalandhar-Firozpur line, the Firozpur City railway station is on the Firozpur-Fazilka line. 12047/12048 shatabdi express goes to Delhi from Firozpur, Firozpur is connected to Chandigarh via Ludhiana through National Highway 95
39.
15th Lancers
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The 15th Lancers is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army. It was formed in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 17th Cavalry, the 17th Cavalry was raised in 1857 at Muttra by Colonel CJ Robarts and was composed entirely of Afghans. Throughout its existence, the regiment remained an exclusively Muslim unit, in 1861, after several changes in nomenclature, it was designated the 17th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry. In 1865, it saw action as part of the Bhutan Field Force, while in 1879-80, during the First World War, it dispatched a squadron to Africa where it took part in the East African Campaign. In 1919, the regiment fought in the Third Afghan War, the regiment maintained a mounted pipe band from 1895 to 1902. The uniform of the 17th Cavalry was blue with white facings, the regimental badge consisted of a silver star and crescent over XVII with a title scroll below. This regiment was also a unit made up of Pathans. Their first chance of active service came in 1919, when served in the Third Afghan War. Prior to 1914 the regiments uniform was dark blue, with buff facings. The badge consisted of crossed lances and pennons with 37 over crossed lances,1885 7th Bombay Cavalry 1886 7th Bombay Cavalry 1890 7th Bombay Lancers 1903 37th Lancers After the First World War, the number of Indian cavalry regiments was reduced from thirty-nine to twenty-one. However, instead of disbanding the surplus units, it was decided to amalgamate them in pairs and this resulted in renumbering and renaming of the entire cavalry line. The 17th Cavalry and 37th Lancers were amalgamated at Lucknow in 1922 to form the 15th Lancers, meanwhile, an existing 15th Lancers joined the 14th Murrays Jat Lancers to form the 20th Lancers. The uniform of the new 15th Lancers was dark blue with buff facings, while the badge consisted of crossed silver lances bearing pennons with XV at the crossing, the same uniform and badges are still in use by the regiment. In 1937, the 15th Lancers became the training regiment of the 1st Indian Cavalry Group and it was converted into a training centre in 1940 by amalgamating it with the 12th Cavalry. However, the year, the Centre was disbanded. In 1955, the 15th Lancers was re-raised by the Pakistani Army as a Reconnaissance Regiment of the Pakistan Armoured Corps, during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, the regiment served with distinction in the Kasur Sector and was awarded the Battle Honour Khem Karan 1965. In 1969, the 15th Lancers was affiliated with the Baluch Regiment due to the old link with the 37th Lancers and it added the title of Baluch to its designation in 1989. The Star and Crescent, Being the Story of the 17th Cavalry from 1858 To 1922, Battle Honours of the Baloch Regiment
40.
Partition of India
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The Partition of India was the division of British India in 1947 which accompanied the creation of two independent dominions, India and Pakistan. The Dominion of India is today the Republic of India and Dominion of Pakistan, the partition involved the division of two provinces, Bengal and the Punjab, based on district-wise Hindu or Muslim majorities. It also involved the division of the British Indian Army, the Royal Indian Navy, the Indian Civil Service, the railways, and the central treasury, between the two new dominions. The partition was set forth in the Indian Independence Act 1947 and resulted in the dissolution of the British Raj, the two self-governing countries of India and Pakistan legally came into existence at midnight on 14–15 August 1947. The violent nature of the created an atmosphere of hostility. The term partition of India does not cover the secession of Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971, nor the earlier separations of Burma and Ceylon from the administration of British India. It does not cover the incorporation of the enclaves of French India into India during the period 1947–1954, nor the annexation of Goa, other contemporaneous political entities in the region in 1947, Sikkim, Bhutan, Nepal, and The Maldives were unaffected by the partition. The Hindu elite of Bengal, among many who owned land in East Bengal that was leased out to Muslim peasants. The pervasive protests against Curzons decision took the form predominantly of the Swadeshi campaign led by two-time Congress president, Surendranath Banerjee, sporadically—but flagrantly—the protesters also took to political violence that involved attacks on civilians. The violence, however, was not effective, as most planned attacks were either preempted by the British or failed, the unrest spread from Calcutta to the surrounding regions of Bengal when Calcuttas English-educated students returned home to their villages and towns. Since Calcutta was the capital, both the outrage and the slogan soon became nationally known. In conjunction, they demanded proportional legislative representation reflecting both their status as rulers and their record of cooperating with the British. This led, in December 1906, to the founding of the All-India Muslim League in Dacca, although Curzon, by now, had resigned his position over a dispute with his military chief Lord Kitchener and returned to England, the League was in favour of his partition plan. In the three decades since that census, Muslim leaders across northern India, had intermittently experienced public animosity from some of the new Hindu political and social groups. In 1905, when Tilak and Lajpat Rai attempted to rise to positions in the Congress. It was not lost on many Muslims, for example, that the rallying cry, World War I would prove to be a watershed in the imperial relationship between Britain and India. Indias international profile would thereby rise and would continue to rise during the 1920s, back in India, especially among the leaders of the Indian National Congress, it would lead to calls for greater self-government for Indians. Secretary of State for India, Montagu and Viceroy Lord Chelmsford presented a report in July 1918 after a long fact-finding trip through India the previous winter
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Rawalpindi
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Rawalpindi, commonly known as Pindi, is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the fourth-largest city in Pakistan by population, while the larger Islamabad Rawalpindi metropolitan area is the countrys third-largest area, the economy of Rawalpindi is interlinked with Islamabad, and the two are jointly known as the twin cities. The city is the seat of the Rawalpindi District. Rawalpindi is located on the Pothohar Plateau, which is known for the existence of a Buddhist community, particularly in neighbouring town of Taxila, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was destroyed during the invasion of Mahmud of Ghazni before being taken over Gakhars who went on to name the city as Rawalpind in 1493, in 1765, the Gakhars were defeated as Rawalpindi became part of the Sikh Empire. The city became part of the British Raj in 1849 and in 1851 became the largest garrison town for the British Indian Army, after the partition of India in 1947, the city became home to the headquarters of Pakistan Army hence retaining its status as a major military city. The city received a major boost with the start of the construction of Islamabad in 1961 which saw greater investment, the city is also a major transit point due to presence on the Grand Trunk Road and presence of Benazir Airport and the under-construction Liaquat Airport. The city is also a tourist attraction due to its historical havelis, while it is a transit point for tourists visiting Rohtas Fort, Azad Kashmir, Taxila. The word Rawalpindi consists of two Punjabi words, Rawal, and Pindi, Rawal translates to lake in Punjabi, and Pind translates to village. Historically, this region was called Rawal Pind, the population of Rawalpindi is 4,700,000 in 2017. There are 84% of population are Punjabi and 9% consist of Pashto people, there are different ethnic group who are migrated from different part of countries. Balochi, Brahvi, Balti, Hunzai, Kohistani, Khowar, Shina, Sindhi, Rawalpindi has been inhabited for thousands of years, it is believed that a distinct culture flourished on this plateau as far back as c.1000 BC. The material remains found at the site prove the existence of a Buddhist establishment contemporary to Taxila, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the nearby town of Taxila is home to the worlds oldest university - Takshashila University. Sir Alexander Cunningham identified certain ruins on the site of the cantonment with the ancient city of Ganjipur, graeco-Bactrian coins, together with ancient bricks, occur over an area of 500 hectares. Known within historical times as Fatehpur Baori, Rawalpindi fell into decay during one of the Mongol invasions in the 14th century and it appears that the ancient city went into oblivion as a result of the White Hun devastation. The first Muslim invader, Mahmud of Ghazni, gave the city to a Gakhar Chief. The town, however, being on a route, could not prosper and remained deserted until Jhanda Khan, another Gakhar Chief, restored it. The present native infantry lines mark the site of a battle fought by the Gakhars under their famous chief Sultan Mukarrab Khan in 1765, sardar Milkha Singh invited traders from the neighboring commercial centers of Jhelum and Shahpur to settle in the territory
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Pakistan Army Armoured Corps
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Pakistan Army Armoured Corps is a combatant branch of Pakistan Army, tasked with the armoured warfare. Equipped with more than 3000 Main Battle Tanks, the corps is based at the old town of Nowshera and is organized into two armoured divisions and a number of independent armoured brigades. The Pakistan Armoured Corps has a history going back to 1773. The corps maintains a number of units on its order of battle. At the time of the independence, Pakistan inherited six armoured regiments from the old British Indian Army, since then, the corps has expanded into more than forty regiments. Many of these new regiments have also earned accolades for their performance in the wars fought with India, prominent among them is 25 Cavalry, who beat back the invading Indian Armoured Division at Phillaurah during the Battle of Chawinda in 1965. *13th Lancers is successor to the 1st and 2nd Native Troops of Bombay Cavalry and it is the senior-most armoured regiment of Pakistan. *15th Lancers is successor to the Muttra Horse and 7th Bombay Cavalry, <33 Cavalry, is the only regiment in Pakistan Armored Corps which has five battle honours to its credit. After the Independence of Pakistan 1,5 Operation Al Mizan, Waziristan on Afghan Border
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British India
Pakistan
