Paper short abstract:

Prior to independence nationalist politicians were united in their criticism of the divide and rule structure of the colonial Indian army. I examine why, despite this, successive governments have not decided radically reshaped India's 'martial class' military.

Paper long abstract:

Prior to independence nationalist politicians were united in their criticism of the divide and rule structure of the colonial Indian army, and argued that India could not survive as a democracy without that institution's radical reform. Yet after independence successive governments have not carried out dramatic reforms, and the colonial 'martial class' regiments remain in place today. I take advantage of hithero untapped archival and pension records to provide a detailed picture of the ethnic and regional recruitment patterns of the post-war Indian army.I examine how and why these regiments have survived, and why a democratic state has decided not to radically reshape a colonially-structured military.