![]() This combination of factors led to the development of a sense of shared honour and ethos amongst the well drilled and disciplined Indian soldiery who formed the key to the success of European feats of arms in India and abroad. In addition local rulers usually expected their sepoys to arm themselves and to sustain themselves through plunder. Weapons, clothing and ammunition were provided centrally, in contrast to the soldiers of local kings whose pay was often in arrears. There was a commissariat and regular rations were provided. Advances could be given and family allotments from pay due were permitted when the troops served abroad. 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. The oath of fealty by the sepoy was given to the East India Company and included a pledge of faithfulness to the salt that one has eaten. These colours were stored in honour in the quarter guard and frequently paraded before the men. The izzat ("honour") of the unit was represented by the regimental colours the new sepoy having to swear an oath in front of them on enlistment. There were many family and community ties amongst the troops and numerous instances where family members enlisted in the same battalion or regiment. He was the mai-baap or the "father and mother" of the sepoys making up the paltan (from "platoon"). The commanding officer of a battalion became a form of substitute for the village chief or gaon bura. Recruitment was undertaken locally by battalions or regiments often from the same community, village and even family. In the Bengal Army however, recruitment was only amongst high caste Brahmin and Rajput communities, mainly from the present day Uttar Pradesh and Bihar regions. The emphasis here favored tall and soldierly recruits, broadly defined as being "of a proper caste and of sufficient size". The East India Company initially recruited sepoys from the local communities in the Madras and Bombay Presidencies. History Mughal Empire 16th–18th centuries Īn early 20th century sepoy in the Indian Army, wearing a kurta. ![]() By the time of Aurangzeb the Mughal armies had advanced significantly and utilized a wider range of weapons to win battles.ĭuring the Carnatic Wars and Anglo-Mysore Wars the sepoys of the Mughal Empire employed more advanced types of musket, as well as blunderbuss and rocket weapons. The earliest sepoys used matchlock muskets and operated bulky and inefficient cannons to a limited extent during the reigns of Babur Akbar when archery and fighting from horseback was more common. Equipment Sepoy units loyal to the Nawab of Bengal armed with artillery pieces, and War elephant. Close to ninety-six percent of the British East India Company's army of 300,000 men were native to India and these sepoys played a crucial role in securing the subcontinent for the company. It later generically referred to all native soldiers in the service of the European powers in India. Initially it referred to Hindu or Muslim soldiers without regular uniforms or discipline. The term sepoy came into common use in the forces of the British East India Company in the eighteenth century, where it was one of a number of names, such as peons, gentoos, mestees and topasses, used for various categories of native soldier. In the Ottoman Empire the term sipahi was used to refer to cavalrymen. The term sepoy is derived from the Persian word sepāhī ( سپاهی) meaning the traditional "infantry soldier" in the Mughal Empire. In Persian اسپ (Aspa) means horse and Ispahai is also the word for cavalrymen. The term "sipahi" or sometimes "sepoy" continues in use in the modern Indian, Pakistan and Nepalese armies, where it denotes the rank of private. The largest sepoy force, trained along European lines, served the British East India Company. In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its other European counterparts employed locally recruited soldiers within India, mainly consisting of infantry designated as "sepoys". Sepoy ( / ˈ s iː p ɔɪ/), related to sipahi, is a term denoting professional Indian infantryman, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire and the Maratha Army. ^ Naib risaldar in cavalry and armoured regiments. ![]() ![]() ![]() ^ Risaldar in cavalry and armoured regiments.^ Risaldar major in cavalry and armoured regiments. ![]()
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