Where was the British army stationed in India?
The three administrative areas of India, the Presidencies of Bombay, Madras and Bengal, each maintained their own army with its own commander-in-chief. The commander-in-chief Bengal was regarded as the senior officer of the three.
What were the immediate effects of the partition?
Partition triggered riots, mass casualties, and a colossal wave of migration. Millions of people moved to what they hoped would be safer territory, with Muslims heading towards Pakistan, and Hindus and Sikhs in the direction of India.
Who divided army in 1947?
Birth of the modern military On June 3, 1947, the British Government announced its plan to divide British India between India and Pakistan and the subsequent transfer of power to the two countries resulted in independence of Pakistan.
What was the highest position for an Indian in the British army?
Field marshal is the highest rank in the British Army. Throughout the 20th century it was reserved for army and army group commanders in wartime, and retiring Chiefs of the General Staff. Peacetime promotions to the rank of field marshal have now been discontinued.
Who is responsible for India partition?
Markandey Katju views the British as bearing responsibility for the partition of India; he regards Jinnah as a British agent who advocated for the creation of Pakistan in order “to satisfy his ambition to become the ‘Quaid-e-Azam’, regardless of the suffering his actions caused to both Hindus and Muslims.” Katju …
Who was in charge of Indian Army during partition?
Blood was running out of the doors.’ The end of British rule in India also spelled the end of the existing Indian Army and its administration. Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck oversaw the division of this force. Around 260,000 men, mainly Hindus and Sikhs, went to India. And 140,000 men, mainly Muslims, went to Pakistan.
What was the British role in the partition of India?
There were both Hindus and Muslims driving for Partition, but the British role was far from exemplary. The man chosen to create the line dividing India and Pakistan was a British civil servant, a British lawyer called Sir Cyril Radcliffe who had been flown out to India.
What was the purpose of the British Army in India?
The British Army in India consisted of British Army units posted to India for a tour of duty, and which would then be posted to other parts of the Empire or back to the UK. The Army of India consisted of both the Indian Army and the British Army in India.
Why was India and Pakistan partitioned in 1947?
The birth of India and Pakistan as independent states in 1947 was a key moment in the history of Britain’s Empire and its army. But the process of partition was attended by mass migration and ethnic violence that has left a bitter legacy to this day.
