Put Not Your Trust in Princes
By Mike Bennighof, Ph.D.
November 2006

Following the “Sepoy Rebellion” of 1857, the British Raj took direct control of the regions formerly ruled by the British East India Company, as well as a number of hostile Indian states. That still left 650 more-or-less independent entities known as the “princely states,” with their own coinage, government and armed forces. Control of foreign affairs rested with the British crown, and often a British “resident agent” had greater influence on local affairs than the supposed monarch.

The largest of these, Hyderabad in south-central India, had a population of 14 million in 1939, making it a significant state by world standards. Its Nizam, however, was little known outside his own realm. Many princes ruled no more than a few square miles and a handful of subjects; these were sovereign in name only and many acted more like absentee landlords than actual rulers. Even so, over 200 Indian rulers could be classed as “princes” by world standards, serving as hereditary heads of state.

Tehri-Garwhal sent two platoons of infantry to fight in Malaya.

Most of these states maintained armies, ranging from comic-opera royal guards for most to well-trained first-rate battalions in the cases of Kashmir and Gwalior. Those two states not only fielded good infantry, but supported them with engineer, artillery and logistics units to make up solid brigades. Those others with large forces usually had large horsed cavalry arms — still a source of great prestige, but already recognized as increasingly obsolete.

During the First World War, these state armies served the British crown as “Imperial Service Troops,” and when activated for overseas service the crown took over the cost of their pay and maintenance. Imperial Service cavalry brigades patrolled the Egyptian deserts, fighting Senussi rebels and Turkish invaders. Imperial Service infantry brigades saw action in the Mesopotamian and East African campaigns.

By 1939, these quasi-independent armies had been organized into the Indian State Forces; though swearing allegiance to their own sovereigns, they were supposedly organized, trained and equipped along the same lines as the British Indian army. They wore their own uniforms and training standards varied widely between them, usually dependent upon the diligence of the British officers seconded for this duty. Most of their officers were locals, and very few had been through the Indian Military Academy established in 1932. Weapons also varied: some states lavished funds on their armies and equipped them to the same standards as the regulars, while others made due with Great War surplus.

The six battalions present in Malaya during the campaign in Johore and Singapore were definitely considered second-line forces; all of them were assigned to airfield protection or other security tasks and crumbled at first contact with the Japanese. Five of the battalions came from individual princely states; the sixth was a composite unit made up of companies and platoons contributed by the smaller Jat and Pubjabi states.

Hyderabad cavalry general, 1939.

Hyderabad

The largest princely state, Hyderabad kept an army of about 5,000 men. The first Nizam had declared himself an independent ruler in 1724, separating from the Mogul Emperor. The Nizam Ali Khan Asaf Jah II was a major player during the wars of the latter 1700s, as shown in our Soldier Raj game. Hyderabad finally fell into protectorate status in 1809, and sent troops to fight in the First World War.

Hyderabad’s army in 1939 consisted of three regiments of lancers, three infantry battalions, a horse artillery battery and training companies for the infantry and cavalry. A composite infantry battalion drawn from all these units went to Malaya in late 1941. The last Nizam, Fath Jang Mir Osman Ali Khan Asaf Jah VII, ordered his army to resist incorporation into India in 1947, but a strong show of force by a massive Indian army including the 1st Armoured Division brought an end to Hyderabad in September 1948.

A Mysore Lancers officer in full dress, 1939.

Mysore

Mysore in south India stood second only to Hyderabad in population and area, numbering 6.5 million residents in 1939. Even more than Hyderabad, it had been a major player in the power politics of the Soldier Raj era under the military genius of its sultans Hyder Ali and Tippoo. Mysore had a single lancer regiment, two battalions of infantry, training companies for the infantry and the cavalry plus a very large military band. Like Hyderabad, it sent a composite infantry battalion to Malaya.

Jind

Jind, in modern Haryana state northwest of Delhi, was one of the smaller princely states to field an army; the state had been founded by a Sikh dynasty in 1763. However, despite speaking a Hindi dialect renowned for the liberal use of coarse terms, its people were counted among the sub-continent’s “martial races.” Jind had but one infantry battalion, plus a small squadron of Royal Bodyguard Cavalry and a second-line training battalion. The Jind regular battalion went to Malaya in 1941 and was lost there.

Kapurthala

Founded in 1772 by another Sikh dynasty, the Rajas of Kapurthala came under British protection in 1822. Kapurthala had two infantry battalions in 1939, and formed a composite battalion for service in Malaya. The last ruler, Jagajit Singh, took the title of Maharaja in 1911 and held it until his state was absorbed by India in 1947.

Bahawalpur

Bahawalpur, a Muslim state in the western Punjab, had a very small army — one battalion of infantry, a partial light infantry battalion and a troop of lancers — yet assembled a battalion for service in Malaya. Founded in 1690, it became a British protectorate in 1833 and part of Pakistan in 1947. The Nawab, Sadiq Mohammed Khan V, ruled through a British prime minister.

In Tiger of Malaya, the Indian Princely State units are definitely second-line; they won’t last long in open combat with the much stronger Japanese battalions. All six are represented; most have only one strength “step” (a typical Japanese or Australian battalion has three or four).

Click here to order Tiger of Malaya now!