Martial Race

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Martial Race or Martial Races Theory is an ideology based on the assumption that certain ethnic groups are inherently more martially inclined than others. It was a term originally used by the British, who observed that the Scottish Highlanders were more fierce in battle than others on the British Isles, and extended this concept to India, where they classified each ethnic group into one of two categories: 'Martial' and 'Non-Martial'. A 'martial race' was typically considered brave and well-built for fighting but was also described as 'unintelligent'.^[1] The 'non-martial races' were those whom the British believed to be unfit for battle because of their sedentary lifestyles. Of late, this concept has been dismissed as Imperialistic and based on racial stereotypes.^[2]

Contents 1 Criteria 2 Tribes/Castes designated by the British as martial classes 3 Modern usage 4 Treatment in fiction 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Criteria

'Martial Race' was a designation created by officials of British India. The British faced fierce resistance in some regions while easily conquering some others. This led the British officials to conclude that the peoples of these regions were naturally warlike 'races' which possessed qualities such as courage, loyalty, self sufficiency, physical strength, resilience, orderliness and fighting tenacity and were hard-working and skilled in military tactics^{[citation needed]}. These 'martial races' tended to be hunting or agricultural cultures from hilly or mountainous regions with a history of conflict, whether internally or with external groups, who were considered better capable of enduring hardship than the inhabitants of the hot, flat plains of the country who were thought to be unwarlike and unfit for military service^{[citation needed]}. Still others were excluded due to their 'ease of living' or branded as seditious agitators.^[3] The doctrine of 'martial races' postulated that the qualities that make a useful soldier are inherited and that most Indians, with the exception of the specified castes, did not have the requisite genes that would make them warriors.^[4]

The British recruited heavily from the 'martial races' for service in the colonial army.^[5] Sensing the inequalities and fierce loyalty to one's tribe and caste of the diverse native peoples of the subcontinent, the British found opportunity to use it to their own great advantage. These already wide divides were fertile breeding ground to inculcate pride in one's identity based on 'race'. This served the British in two ways. On the one hand it made sure that there was no repeat of the Indian rebellion of 1857 by ensuring there was no unity among the different subjects of the Raj. On the other hand it encouraged a sense of competition among the different 'races'. The British found willing Indians to aid and abet them in the suppression of the rebellion to begin with^{[citation needed]}. A British general and scholar, Lieutenant General Sir George Fletcher MacMunn (1869-1952) noted in his writings "It is only necessary for a feeling to arise that it is impious and disgraceful to serve the British, for the whole of our fabric to tumble like a house of cards without a shot being fired or a sword unsheathed".^[6] To this end, it became British policy to recruit only from those tribes whom they classified as members of the 'martial races' and the practice became an integral part of the recruitment manuals for the Army in the British Raj. "The Martial Race theory had an elegant symmetry. Indians who were intelligent and educated were defined as cowards, while those defined as brave were uneducated and backward."^[7]

The British regarded the 'martial races' as valiant and strong but also intellectually challenged, lacking the initiative or leadership qualities to command large troops.^[8] They were also regarded as politically subservient or docile to authority.^[9] For these reasons, the 'martial races' theory did not apply in the case of officer recruitment, which was based on social class and loyalty to the British Raj.^[10] One source calls this a "pseudo-ethnological" construction, which was popularised by Frederick Sleigh Roberts, and created serious deficiencies in troop levels during the World Wars, compelling them to recruit from 'non-martial races'.^[11] In fact, Winston Churchill was reportedly concerned that the theory was abandoned during the war and wrote to the Commander-in-Chief, India that he must, "rely as much as possible on the martial races".^[12] After Indian Independence, the Indian Army abandoned this theory and recruitment took place without discrimination.

Critics of this theory state that the Indian rebellion of 1857 may have played a role in reinforcing the British belief in 'martial races'. During this event some Indian troops (known as 'Sepoys'), particularly in Bengal, mutinied, but the 'loyal' Punjabis, Gurkhas and Garhwalis did not join the mutiny and fought on the side of the British Army. From then on, this theory was used to the hilt to accelerate recruitment from among these 'races', whilst discouraging enlistment of 'disloyal' Bengalis and high-caste Hindus who had sided with the rebel army during the war.^[13] Some authors, such as Heather Streets, argue that the military authorities puffed up the images of the martial soldiers by writing regimental histories, and by extolling the kilted Scots, kukri-wielding Gurkhas and turbaned Sikhs in numerous paintings.^[14] The 'Martial Race' theory has also been described as a clever British effort to divide and rule the people of India for their own political ends.^[15]

[edit] Tribes/Castes designated by the British as martial classes

British declared 'martial races' in India ^{[16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21]}, listed in alphabetical order:

• Awans
• Ahirs
• Bhumihar
• Cheema
• Dogra
• Gakhars
• Garhwalis ^[22]
• Gujjars
• Gurkhas
• Janjuas
• Jat people
• Kamboj/Kamboh
• Khatris
• Kurmis
• Kushwaha
• Khattars
• Kumaoni
• Maurya
• Mohyal
• Minhas
• Mukkulathors/Thevars
• Nairs^{[23][24][25][26][Quotation needed from source]} (removed after rebelling)^{[citation needed]}
• Pashtuns
• Rajputs
• Ravidasis and Ramdasias
• Saini
• Sikhs
• Tanolis
• Tarkhan (Punjab)
• Tyagi
• Yadavas

The British often labelled the Sikhs 'the greatest of the martial races'.^[27] The Sikh Regiment is the Indian Army's most highly decorated regiment, as well as being highly awarded in battle honours by Britain.

The Marathas were classified as 'non-martial', ignoring the Maratha Empire or the Maratha Regiment's contribution against the Turks during the First World War, when they were recruited by the British Indian Army.

The Poorabiya regiment, where the Bihari Rajputs and Bhumihar Brahmins made up bulk of the army,who defeataed sikhs in 1834 anglo sikh war and were termed as martial races The Nairs of Kerala were initially included in the list, however after the Nairs of Travancore rebelled against the British under Velu Thampi Dalawa, they were recruited in lower numbers.

The British were also careful not to name the Sinhalese people as a 'martial race' because of their stiff opposition to British rule^{[citation needed]}. Similarly Arains were not considered 'martial' till the World War II^{[citation needed]} after which they were recruited in the army and rose to such heights as General (Chief of the Army Staff in Pakistan, General Zia ul Haq). The British suffered numerous setbacks during their attempts to capture Sinhalese territory. Even after they were finally subdued in 1815, the Sinhalese continued to rebel British rule which culminated in two major rebellions of 1818 and 1848. The British had to use numerous tactics to pacify the Sinhalese which included two major genocides in 1818 (Wellasse genocide) and 1848, the alteration of demographics of the island by settling Tamils in the central provinces of Sri Lanka, forced assimilation of Sinhalese people in the north and Tamils in the south, banning of Buddhist religions practices, the Bareland Act to deprive the Sinhalse of land and missionary work.

[edit] Modern usage

Though seldom used in today's context, it has been alleged that Pakistan Military believed in this and they thus felt that they should easily defeat India in a war, especially prior to the Second Kashmir War^[28][29][30] Based on this belief in the martial supremacy, it was popularly hyped that one Pakistani soldier was equal to four to ten Hindus/Indian soldiers (including a large number of Sikh soldiers and officers),^[31][32][33] and thus numerical superiority of the foe could be overcome.^[34] Pakistan lost every war with India, though it should be pointed out that Pakistan won battles at Chawinda, Lahore and Chamb when outnumbered.

The Pakistan Army was also accused of bias and racism by the Bengalis of East Pakistan who felt humiliated by this dubious theory that was being floated in West Pakistan, that they were not 'martially inclined' compared to the Pashtuns and Punjabis.^[35] Pakistani author Hasan-Askari Rizvi notes that the limited recruitment of Bengali personnel in the Pakistan Army was because, the West Pakistanis, "could not overcome the hangover of the martial race theory".^[36] This was to be one of the factors for the Bangladesh Liberation War, where Bengalis aided by the Indian Military defeated the Pakistan Army in just a fortnight, which subsequently lead to the taking of 93000 as Prisoners of War - the largest surrender since World War II.

Defense writers in Pakistan have noted that the defeat was partially attributable to the flawed 'Martial Races Theory' which merely led to, 'wishful thinking' that it was possible to defeat the Indian Army.^[37] Author Stephen P. Cohen notes that "Elevating the 'martial races' theory to the level of an absolute truth had domestic implications for Pakistani politics and contributed to the neglect of other aspects of security."^[34] Since then, the 'martial race' theory was rarely, if ever, used at all by Pakistan.

Arun Shourie an Indian writer, journalist and politician (former Minister of Communications and Information Technology) refers to the Sikhs as, "having retained a false pride in martial temperament and abilities".^[38] The tenth Sikh Guru Guru Gobind Singh proclaimed that one Sikh was equal to sava lakh (one hundred twenty five thousand) and a fauj-a one man army.^[39] The Sikh leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was reported to have said 'One Sikh could easily reckon with thirty-five Hindus.'^[40]

[edit] Treatment in fiction

The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page.(May 2008) Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved.

Sir V.S.Naipaul in his novel Magic Seeds describes the real example of a 'martial race', where the domicile and oppressed Tamils rise against the oppressor. ^[41]

[edit] See also

• Racism
• Race and intelligence
• Master race
• Racial groups of India

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• "Wakamba Warriors Are Soldiers of the Queen": The Evolution of the Kamba as a Martial Race, 1890–1970 by Timothy H. Parsons Martial race is the African scenario.