![\"army](\"https:\/\/patriotsforumindia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/army-march.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nBy
\nHamid Hussain<\/p>\n
East India Company (EIC) army in India
\nconsisted of Indian soldiers known as sepoys and British officers. This
\narrangement continued when the Crown took direct control of Indian affairs in
\n1858. An intermediate cadre of Indian officers later known as Viceroy\u2019s
\nCommissioned Officers (VCOs) were a link between Indian soldiers and British
\nofficers, however even the senior most VCO was subordinate to the junior most
\nBritish officer. First World War opened the doors for Indians in the officer
\ncorps of Indian army. However, only a small number of Indians were commissioned
\nas officers and this trend continued until Second World War when large numbers
\nof Indians were commissioned for an expanded Indian army to fulfill Imperial
\ndefence responsibilities all over the globe.<\/p>\n
One the eve of First World War,
\nthe bulk of Indian army was recruited from northern India. This recruitment
\npolicy was based on then prevalent \u2018Martial Race Theory\u2019 suggesting that only
\ncertain races were good soldiers. Sikhs, Punjabi Muslims, Jats, Rajputs, Dogras,
\nGurkhas and Pathans were elevated to the martial races while inhabitants of
\nSouth India and Bengal were considered Non-Martial.<\/p>\n
Soldiers were mainly from rural
\nbackground with very little or no education. When it was decided to open Indian
\narmy officer corps to Indians, British were faced with a dilemma. The more
\neducated Indians from Bengal and south India had not been recruited for decades
\nas they were considered \u2018non-martial\u2019. The preferred martial races were way
\nbehind in education and therefore not suitable for officer cadre. Now that
\nofficer ranks were grudgingly opened for India, the door was opened for
\nnon-martial Indians as they had the essential qualification of
\neducation.<\/p>\n
Several factors contributed to
\ngrooming of those young Indian men from different religious and ethnic
\ncommunities who decided to join Indian army as officers. The first Indians to be
\ncommissioned as officers belonged to Native Indian Land Forces (NILF) and
\nImperial Cadet Corps (ICC): an exclusive club for only scions of princely and
\naristocratic families. Majority of them faded away quickly and only a handful
\nlater reached higher ranks. It is interesting to note that the first batch of
\nfive Indians selected for training at Sandhurst in 1918 had only one candidate
\nSardar Madanjit Singh from Punjab; the home of Indian army. Syed Iskander Ali
\nMirza was from Bombay (he was descendent of Nawab family of Murshidabad in
\nBengal but was brought up by his mother in Bombay to keep him away from the
\ncourt\u2019s intrigues), Iqbal Ali Beg was from Madras while Tarun Kumar Sinha and
\nLolit Kumar Roy were from Bengal. Only one candidate Mirza was commissioned from
\nthis first batch. The batch of five commissioned in July 1921 consisted of two
\nfrom Bombay (Kumar Shri Himatsinhji and Kumar Shri Rajendrasinhji) one each from
\nCentral India (Nawab Sarwar Ali Khan), Punjab (Daya Singh Bedi) and North West
\nFrontier Province (Sahibzada Faiz Muhammad Khan). In view of many handicaps
\nincluding a small number of vacancies allotted to Indians at Sandhurst, strict
\nselection criteria, living far away from home, cost of education at Sandhurst
\nand cultural adjustment resulted in a very small number of Indians graduating
\nfrom Sandhurst and continuing a successful career in Indian army.<\/p>\n
Experiences of these pioneers
\nwere quite diverse. Review of lives of few of these officers and their
\nsubsequent military career gives insight into the life of this first generation
\nof Indian officers.<\/p>\n
Some spent only a short career
\nin the army while others made army their home ending their careers as senior
\nofficers in Indian and Pakistani armies. The first Indian graduate from
\nSandhurst Syed Iskander Ali Mirza was commissioned on July 16, 1920. Officers
\ndestined for Indian army spent their first year with a British battalion. Mirza
\nwas posted to Second Battalion of Scottish Rifles. He was the first Indian
\nofficer to serve with British on equal basis and this caused uproar in some
\ncircles. The issue caused a prolonged struggle among Indian army brass,
\nViceroy\u2019s Army Council, War Office in London and Secretary of State of India.
\nThis dragged on for six months and finally Mirza was able to join the British
\nbattalion in January 1921. After a year with British battalion, Mirza joined his
\nparent regiment 17th Poona Horse (he joined 33rd Cavalry but around the same
\ntime reorganization of Indian army was under way and 33rd Cavalry and 34th
\nCavalry were amalgamated to form 17th Poona Horse). He only remained with his
\nregiment for four years and transferred to Indian Political Service (IPS) in
\nAugust 1926. He later became Governor General and President of
\nPakistan.<\/p>\n
Mirza Riaz Ali Baig had the
\nunique background of combination of family military service and high education.
\nHe was from a respectable Hyderabad family. His grandfather served as a
\nRissaldar in Royal Deccan Horse. His father was an educated government servant
\nand rose to become the first Indian to become Vice President of Council of India
\nin London. He moved his family to London and Baig lived in England from 1910 to
\n1923 attending the prestigious Clifton school. He was selected for Sandhurst and
\nafter commission joined elite 16th Light Cavalry in 1925. For the first time in
\nhis life he experienced racial prejudice when he came close to British in
\nmilitary setting. He along with two other Indian officers (Faiz Muhammad Khan
\nand Sheodat Singh) lived in a separate bungalow called \u2018native quarters\u2019. He
\nresigned his commission in 1930. He was more of an intellectual bent and felt
\nconstrained by highly disciplined military life; however his personal unhappy
\nexperience in the army due to racial bias probably was the main reason for his
\nresignation. Later, he served a long career in Indian diplomatic corps. Kumar
\nShri Rajendrasinhji was from the princely Jadeja family of Nawannagar. He joined
\nthe elite 2nd Lancers (Gardner\u2019s Horse) and had a successful military career. He
\nwas the first Indian officer to win Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in Second
\nWorld War. He ended his career as chief of Army Staff of Indian army.<\/p>\n
One of the last batches of
\nIndians trained at Sandhurst in 1932 (commissioned in January 1934) consisted of
\ncadets selected from different backgrounds. Two were from princely states;
\nNawabzada Sher Ali Khan from Pataudi and Nawabzada Saleem Khan from Sachin state
\nand three were representatives of traditional martial races; one Pushtun (Akbar
\nKhan) and two Sikhs (Ajit Singh and Ghanshiam Singh). B. M. Kaul, Pran Nath
\nNaranag, Rajendra Nath Nehra, Suryakant Kumar, Muhammad Abdul Latif Khan,
\nMuhammad Usman and Shahid Hamid were representatives of newly empowered middle
\nclass in government service and no family history of military service.
\nBritish encouraged traditional
\nelites including landlords, members of civil service, police and army to educate
\ntheir children so that they could qualify for commission.<\/p>\n
These classes were in service of
\nthe government for a long time and in return prospered under Imperial patronage.
\nMembers of these classes joining army as officers ensured continued loyalty of
\nthe Indian officer corps. This also diminished chances of subversion by newly
\nemerging nationalist politics. In 1932, it was decided to start an Indian
\nMilitary Academy to train officers in India and in December 1932, first batch of
\n40 cadets started their training. British authorities maintained a careful
\nbalance in the selection. Fifteen were selected by open competition, fifteen
\nwere selected from army ranks and ten were from state forces. The first batches
\nof Indian Commissioned Officers (ICOs) faced discrimination even from fellow
\nIndian officers who attended Sandhurst and known as King Commissioned Indian
\nOfficers (KCIOs).<\/p>\n
In 1934, when two Sikh ICOs
\njoined 3rd Cavalry there was a debate whether they should be allowed to eat in
\nthe mess. 3rd Cavalry was Indianized in 1932 and several KCIOs (Iftikhar Khan,
\nShahid Hamid, K. P. Dhargalkar, P. C. Banerjee, P. S. Nair, K. K. Varma and
\nNawabzada Agha Raza) were already serving in the regiment.<\/p>\n
Indian officers own background
\nand most importantly conduct of the Commanding Officer (CO) determined how well
\nthe Indian officer adjusted to his new role. A confident lad supported by a good
\nCO was able to move on smoothly while a hesitant young man landing in a regiment
\nwith bad CO had lot of problems and that invariably affected his
\ncareer.<\/p>\n
Koodendera Subayya Thimayya
\n(nick named Timmy) was a Coorg; a small tribal community in the hilly area of
\nSouth India. Coorgs were considered a \u2018Martial Race\u2019 by British. He was one of
\nthe first Indian students educated at St. Joseph\u2019s College at Coonoor and later
\nhe studied at Bishop Cotton\u2019s school in Bangalore. He attended Military College
\nat Dehra Dun to prepare for Sandhurst. Indian cadets at Sandhurst had set their
\nown rules to counter some of the handicaps and discriminations. The rules
\nincluded giving double tips, always using expensive balcony seats at the theatre
\nand not attending the grand ball at the academy just before commissioning (they
\nwere either unable to dance or not able to bring a girl for the dance). Thimayya
\nbroke the rule and became the first Indian to attend the ball. He spent his
\nfirst year with 2nd Battalion of Highland Light Infantry (HLI). He was the first
\nIndian with the Highlanders but they treated him with respect and his year with
\nthem was very pleasant. British officers introduced him into the exclusively
\nBritish social circle and he interacted with British ladies. HLI officers didn\u2019t
\nknow that Bangalore United Services Club was only for British and Indians were
\nnot allowed to be members. Timmy\u2019s Commanding Officer Lt. Colonel Sir Robert
\nSeagraves took his case to the Club Committee but was voted down. HLI officers
\ndecided to resign from the club but Timmy persuaded them not to do so. In fact,
\nTimmy fared much better in HLI than other two English subalterns. After
\ncompleting a year with HLI, Timmy was posted to his parent battalion 4\/19
\nHyderabad Regiment. Timmy\u2019s CO Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton Britton was
\nespecially kind to Timmy and once told him, \u201cTimmy, you\u2019re the son I might have
\nhad\u2019. Britton forced British exclusive Basra Club to allow membership to his
\nIndian officers. Timmy\u2019s wife Nina spent part of her childhood in France. She
\nwas pretty, educated, spoke fluent French and felt comfortable socializing with
\nBritish. Timmy and Nina were fully accepted in British society because of their
\nunique background and they in turn felt fully comfortable in British company.
\nTimmy was the poster child of a successful Indian officer.<\/p>\n
The experience of Captain Kunwar
\nDaulat Singh was totally opposite. Daulat was a Rajput from the royal house of
\nKotah. He was commissioned in December 1919 from the Temporary School for Indian
\nCadets (TSIC). In 1927, he was the senior most Indian officer with 4\/19
\nHyderabad Regiment at the rank of Captain. He was a good soldier and intelligent
\nman but had extreme negative views about British. British officers in turn were
\nnot very fond of him. He was not hesitant to confront fellow British officers at
\neven the minor slight. He was conservative and religious and was observant of
\nall religious rituals. After the day\u2019s routine, he would change to dhoti (loin
\ncloth) and always ate native food. His wife was with him in the cantonment but
\nshe was kept in purdah (not appearing in public without covering the face). He
\nsoon left the army or more correctly hounded out.<\/p>\n
Experience of Shahid Hamid with
\n3rd Cavalry in 1934 is another example of how early experience set the stage.
\nShahid\u2019s one year stint with British Regiment (Prince of Wales Volunteers) was
\nvery good. He got along with officers very well, played polo and on completion
\nof his one year, his CO wrote in his report that if allowed he would like to
\nkeep this officer permanently. It was a British officer of 3rd Cavalry Harold
\nWatkis who asked Shahid to join his regiment. In 1922 reorganization, 5th
\nCavalry and 8th Cavalry were amalgamated to form 3rd Cavalry. Officers of old
\nregiments (all British) didn\u2019t like each other and even a decade after
\namalgamation they sat on opposite sides of the table in mess. 3rd Cavalry was
\nIndianized in 1932 and all British officers thought that this had diminished the
\nprestige of the regiment thus creating a gulf between British and Indian
\nofficers. In the process of Indianization, several Indian officers from other
\nregiments were posted to 3rd Cavalry (Iftikhar Khan from 7th Cavalry, K. K.
\nVarma from 16th Cavalry and K. P. Dhargalkar from an infantry 4\/12 Frontier
\nForce Regiment). These Indian officers were not happy to leave their parent
\nregiments. CO Colonel Julian D Wilton was not popular with all the officers.
\nThere was no camaraderie among officers and regimental bond was not strong.
\nShahid had not only problems with his CO but also with fellow British as well
\nIndian officers. This was the main reason that he decided to transfer to Royal
\nIndian Army Service Corps (RIASC).<\/p>\n
Demands of Second World War
\nopened the doors of Indian army wide for Indians. In five short years, nine
\nthousand Indians were given emergency commission and these officers were called
\nIndian Emergency Commissioned Officers (IECOs). In 1945, over seven thousand
\nIndian officers were serving in combat arms while over eight thousand were
\nserving in non-combat arms. Most of IECOs would have ended their careers at the
\nend of the war but imminent departure of British and need for native officer
\ncorps for successor Indian and Pakistani states resulted in retention of many
\nIECOs.<\/p>\n
By the end of Second World War,
\nthere were three main categories of Indian officers; KCIOs, ICOs and IECOs.
\nKCIOs considered themselves as elite and a select lot and some ridiculed ICOs as
\n\u2018Dehra Dun pansies\u2019. Those officers who started their careers in the ranks were
\nconsidered at the bottom of the social class of officers and even ridiculed by
\ntheir brother ICOs. IECOs were also not considered equals by KCIOs and ICOs and
\ngenerally viewed as being able to get into the army due to relaxation of all
\nstandards. IECOs only had six months of training before getting their
\ncommission. This was due to the necessity of rapid expansion of officer corps
\nduring Second World War.<\/p>\n
Indian officer corps was not
\nmonolithic. Socially, Indian officers on the eve of independence can be
\nsubdivided into several categories:
\n1- Scions of Princely families
\ni.e. General Rajendra Sinhji, Major General Nawabzada Sher Ali Khan Pataudi,
\nLieutenant General Sahibzada Yaqub Khan.
\n2- Young men from urban middle
\nclass families entering through open competition with no tradition of military
\nservice, i.e. General Yahya Khan.
\n3- Educated young men from
\nmainly rural backgrounds with long tradition of military service. Most were sons
\nof VCOs but they got their education before entering military academy, i.e.
\nField Marshal Ayub Khan, Lieutenant General Azam Khan, Major General Iftikhar
\nKhan.
\n4- Men who served several years
\nin the ranks before becoming officers. These men also had long family tradition
\nof military service but had little education and were much older when they
\njoined military academy. They were groomed at Kitchener College at Nowgong
\nbefore entering Dehra Dun. This preparation helped them both in terms of
\neducation as well as refined them socially to ease their transition from
\nsoldiers to officers, i.e. General Musa Khan, General Tikka Khan.
\n5- Men from communities that had
\nno tradition of military service and soldiers were not recruited from these
\ncommunities. Major General Ishfakul Majid (an Assamese Muslim), Major General
\nShahid Hamid (a Muslim from Lucknow), Major General O.A. Mitha (member of Memon
\nbusiness community), Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw (member of Parsee business
\ncommunity).<\/p>\n
All Indian officers were
\nwesternized to a certain extent due to the very nature of their profession as
\nwell as close association with British officers. It invariably had impact on the
\npersonal life as well as religious outlook of the officers. However, there were
\nseveral shades of this westernization. Officers from rural and culturally
\nconservative areas were westernized up to the limits of cantonments. They
\ngenerally had simpler life style. On the other hand more Anglicized officers
\nwere as good as any British in their personal life in manners, dress and
\nfood.<\/p>\n
Many religious and cultural
\ntaboos were broken by majority of officers. Thimayya was assigned to Muslim Ahir
\ncompany of 4\/19 Hyderabad Regiment. He learned Hindustani from his sepoys and
\nate their food. Mitha was assigned to Hindu Jat company of 2\/4 Bombay
\nGrenadiers. He mixed freely with his soldiers and ate their meals. In case of
\nMuslims, some enjoyed their gin and soda in private and more discreetly (i.e.
\nAyub Khan) while others felt comfortable drinking publicly (i.e. Yahya Khan).
\nMany Hindu officers broke the centuries old tradition of prohibition of
\nconsumption of meat. Musa Khan (6\/13 Frontier Force Rifles) and B. M. Kaul (5\/6
\nRajputana Rifles) were friends from their subalterns days right up to
\nindependence in 1947. Both shared meals, something that could have horrified
\ntheir parents. A deeply religious Muslim Musa sharing meal with a high caste
\nBrahmin Kaul was not earth shattering in concept but was not common among
\ngeneral population of India. Many Hindu officers had Muslim batmen while Muslim
\nofficers had Hindu batmen cooking and serving meals that was almost unheard
\namong general population. Decades after partition, a senior retired Pakistan
\narmy officer had some of his old Dehra Dun Hindu officers of Indian army as his
\nguests in Pakistan. In deference to Hindu religious prohibitions, he had
\nvegetarian meals arranged in one room and meat dishes were in another room.
\nLooking at the all vegetarian dishes, his Hindu friends inquired about the meat
\nstating that they had not come all the way from India to eat vegetables. They
\nall went to the room where meat dishes were arranged and partook from the
\n\u2018forbidden\u2019 to their heart\u2019s content. A small percentage remained deeply
\nreligious in personal life even in their 20s (i.e. General Musa Khan, Lieutenant
\nGeneral Nathu Singh).<\/p>\n
In case of female emancipation,
\nthere were two main factors; one female education and second leaving the
\nsegregation and participating in mixed gatherings. Majority of Indian army
\nofficers were instrumental in educating their female family members. Females of
\nmajority of Muslim households and Hindu Rajputs were restricted to homes. Some
\nofficers despite being personally westernized still preferred to keep their
\nwives in \u2018purdah\u2019 (i.e. Nathu Singh, Ayub Khan). One reason may be that their
\nwives were not literate and from conservative rural backgrounds making
\nadjustment to a highly westernized military cantonment environment very
\ndifficult if not impossible.<\/p>\n
During the Raj and for several
\ndecades after independence, army officers were high up on the social ladder and
\nmost desirable candidates for marriage. This provided an opportunity of breaking
\ndown of some social barriers and in some cases even religious barriers. Young
\nofficers from humbler backgrounds such as sons of soldiers predominantly from
\nrural backgrounds and from urban lower middle class being the most desirable
\nbachelors were sought by traditional aristocracy of landlords, nascent
\nprofessional class and members of the Raj administration as well as princely
\nstates. We see many examples of wealthy landlords, highly educated aristocratic
\nand professional families such as doctors marrying their daughters to young
\nofficers from humbler backgrounds. This helped in breaking many social
\nespecially caste taboos.<\/p>\n
Some officers became thoroughly
\nAnglicized due to their peculiar background of early education at convent
\nschools in India (i.e. Thimayya) or education in England (Russi
\nBilimoria,
\nJ. N. Chaudhri). Most of them
\nwere fully integrated in British company due to their manners and some like
\nThimayya became excellent dancers on the ballroom floor. Some officers
\ncompletely identified with British and avoided anything \u2018native\u2019. They were
\nsometimes called \u2018Brindian\u2019. Iftikhar Khan, J. N. Chaudhri and K. P. Dhargalkar
\nwere representatives of this class. Chaudhri when instructor at Staff College at
\nQuetta didn\u2019t interact with Indian officers or students. His wife Kukoo also
\nkept a distance from natives. Their behavior was irritating for all other Indian
\nofficers and students and they resorted to boycott the couple.<\/p>\n
On the other end of the
\nspectrum, the world of officer corps was opened to the least educated and very
\nconservative class of India. One example will show the enormous adjustment
\nproblem for both the Indian officers and their spouses of this class.<\/p>\n
Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon enlisted
\nas soldier and spent three years in an infantry battalion (4\/14 Punjab
\nRegiment). Light machine gun section of infantry battalions had mules for
\ntransport and every soldier was rotated to take care of the mules. Gurbaksh on
\nhis turn also performed this duty while his wife Basant helped him in polishing
\nthe mule saddle. Gurbaksh qualified for Dehra Dun and after successfully
\ncompleting his training was commissioned as an officer in 1\/14 Punjab Regiment.
\nOne can easily imagine the psychological barrier that Gurbaksh and his wife had
\nto cross as the worlds of sepoy and officer were poles apart.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, an officer
\nfrom a princely family had interaction with British on a different social level.
\nOne example is of Nawabzada Sher Ali Khan Pataudi. As a child he visited
\nGovernor House where his family was guest of the governor and played with
\nchildren of the governor. Such officers were more comfortable and had less
\nadjustment problems.<\/p>\n
One can easily visualize
\nenormous adjustment problems for British officers. A British officer interacting
\nwith the sepoy Gurbaksh taking care of the battalion\u2019s mule is now asked to
\naccept him as brother officer and equal in the mess. The British officer was
\nmuch more comfortable with scions of princely families like Rajendra Sinhji,
\nSher Ali Khan and Yaqub Khan as well as less blue blooded but more Anglicized
\nofficers like Chaudhri, Thimayya and Atiq ur Rahman.<\/p>\n
Relationship with officers
\ncommissioned from the ranks such as Gurbaksh, Tikka Khan, Musa Khan was official
\nbut not very close in view of huge social gulf. It is to the credit of British
\nofficers that majority of them adjusted adequate enough for the Indian army to
\ncome out of the cauldron of Second World War with good reputation. Despite
\nlingering racial prejudice in all other areas, army broke many racial barriers
\nfirst. In most cases, if Indian officer was confident and social enough, he was
\ngenerally well accepted by his British colleagues. On the other hand, sons of
\nVCOs had only professional interaction with British and due to inhibitions on
\nboth Indian and British side had very little family interactions. However, it is
\nquite obvious that the simple fact of British being the rulers and Indians as
\nsubjects was facing Indian officers of all classes at every corner.<\/p>\n
Second World War was a catalyst
\nfor both rapid Indianization as well as smooth integration of the officer corps.
\nMany factors such as large scale induction of British officers through emergency
\ncommissions with no or much less pre-conceived prejudices against Indians,
\nBritish and Indian officers serving together in combat, good performance of many
\nIndian officers in war and lead role played by C-in-C Field Marshal Claude
\nAuchinleck in advancing Indian officers cause helped to integrate British and
\nIndian officers in the army with very little friction.<\/p>\n
The problem of adjustment
\npersisted even after the departure of British and many struggled to bridge the
\ngap. Sam Manekshaw caused uproar when he was commanding National Defence
\nServices Staff College. He remarked that he will not allow any officer in the
\nacademy whose wife looked like an \u2018aya\u2019 (female servant). In 1947, Pakistan
\nMilitary Academy was established at Kakul with a small staff. Two highly
\neducated sisters from an aristocratic family of Bhopal were married to Deputy
\nCommandant Colonel M. A. Latif (later Major General) and a company Commander
\nMajor Abid Bilgrami (later Major General). Commandant of the Academy Brigadier
\nF. B. Ingall made sure that ladies club activities were all inclusive including
\nwives who remained in \u2018purdah\u2019.<\/p>\n
In case of Pakistan, a certain
\nclass difference existed even among second generation of officers. Sons of
\nofficers who joined army were brought up in an urban environment and educated in
\nconvent schools. Naturally they were comfortable speaking English and more
\nmodern in their outlook. On the other hand officers who were sons of Junior
\nCommissioned Officers (JCOs) had their early education and grooming in a rural
\nenvironment. They were more conservative and not very outgoing. Sons of officers
\ntend to be alumni of Cadet Colleges at Hassan Abdal and Kohat while the alma
\nmater of sons of JCOs is Military College at Jehlum. There is some social gap
\nbetween these two groups that exists even today. Some officers complain that
\npresent army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani has disproportionately promoted
\nlarge number of officers to senior ranks that belong to his own alma mater
\nMilitary College Jehlum.<\/p>\n
The first generation of Indian officers had to
\ncross many barriers but it also opened many doors that were closed to Indians of
\nprevious generation. There is no doubt that Indian army provided a unique
\nopportunity to young Indian men from humbler backgrounds to break the social
\nbarrier. In case of India, a native of Madras P. P. Kumaramangalam and a Parsi
\nSam Manekshaw became army chiefs. Both belonged to the so called \u2018Non-Martial
\nraces\u2019; communities that did not prefer army as a profession and were excluded
\nby British. In case of Pakistan, there is no way that Ayub Khan, son of
\nRissaldar Major Mir Dad Khan of Hodson Horse could have become President, Musa
\nKhan, son of Subedar Yazdan Bakhsh of Hazara Pioneers and Azam Khan son of
\nRissaldar Major Muhammad Akram Khan of Hodson Horse could have become governors
\nor Yahya Khan son of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Sadat Khan could have
\nbecome army chief and President if it was not for the Indian army.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
taken from e mail forwarded by Sh Ramarao By Hamid Hussain East India Company (EIC)… more