How India is removing the British-era concept of class from its armed forces

The world’s second-largest military is bracing for huge reforms, aiming to end caste divisions and army careers-for-life. The overhaul has not only left army veterans uncomfortable, but fails to address deeply entrenched prejudices in Indian society, reports Shweta Sharma

Indian paramilitary personnel march during Independence Day celebrations (AFP via Getty)

Months after the First World War began, the huge halls of the Royal Pavilion in Brighton were transformed into a hospital to treat the wounded Indian soldiers of the British army. The pavilion, which had once been the seaside pleasure palace of King George IV, put up new walls in order to cater for the deep-rooted biases present in India’s system of social hierarchy.

The pavilion had different wards, six separate kitchens catering for eight different diets, and designated areas for prayers and even funeral services. The wounded soldiers of different classes, religions and races received treatment from doctors and nurses of their own religion and caste – a stark illustration of the class-based divisions in the British Indian army.

During their 200-year rule in India, the British colonisers used, amplified and codified the existing caste system to divide the empire’s subjects and solidify their reign, with army regiments made up of single-caste class units – Sikhs and Gorkhas, for example. This system continued even after India won its independence in 1947, for while new regiments were to be formed without caste considerations, it was deemed too dangerous to enact root-and-branch reform while the newly formed nation faced multiple threats from hostile neighbours.