The Garrison State: Military, Government and Society in Colonial Punjab, 1849-1947

by Tan Tai Yong, Tai Yong Tan

Overview

Following the Mutiny of 1857, various factors impelled the British to turn to the province of Punjab in north-western India as the principal recruiting ground for the Indian Army. This book examines the processes by which the politics and political economy of colonial Punjab was militarised by the provincès position as the 'sword arm' of the Raj.

The militarisation of the administration in the Punjab was characterised by a conjunction of the military, civil and political authorities. This led to the emergence of a uniquely civil-military regime, a phenomenon that was not replicated anywhere else in British India, indeed in the Empire. Analysing these events, this book:

- Studies the manner in which the Punjab became the main recruiting ground for the Indian Army

- Looks at how certain districts were selected for military recruitment, and the factors motivating the 'military classes' among the Punjabis to join the Army

- Discusses the effects of the First World War on the recruitment process in the Punjab

- Highlights the role the civil-military regime played in the politics of the Punjab, its survival after the Second World War and the manner in which it handled the demand for Pakistan and the subsequent partitioning of the province.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761933366
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	05/28/2005
Series:	SAGE Series in Modern Indian History Series , #8
Pages:	333
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Tan Tai Yong is the Director of the Institute of South Asian Studies. He is currently Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the National University of Singapore. He has written extensively on South Asian history as well as on Southeast Asia and Singapore. His recent books include Creating Greater Malaysia: Decolonisation and the Politics of Merger (2008); Partition and Post-Colonial South Asia: A Reader (co-edited, 2007); The Garrison State (2005); The Aftermath of Partition in South Asia (co-authored, 2000) and The Transformation of Southeast Asia: International Perspectives on De-Colonisation (co-edited, 2003).

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
A 'Return to Arms': Colonial Punjab and the Indian Army
Recruiting in the Punjab: 'Martial Races' and the Military Districts
Garrison Province at Work: Punjab and the First World War
Maintaining the Military Districts: Civil-Military Integration and District Soldiers' Boards
Managing the 'Martials': Control and Concessions
Securing the Reins of Power: Politics and Punjab's Rural-Military Elites
The Garrison State Cracks: Punjab and the Second World War
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

The author highlights the role that the administration played after the second world war, and the manner in which it handled the demand for Pakistan and the subsequent partitioning of the province. This book will be of interest to historians of the Punjab and political scientists.

USI Journal

This study examines how following the Mutiny of 1857 Punjab became the main recruiting ground for the Indian army, and the politics and political economy of the colonial Punjab were militarized.

International Review of Social History

Young’s work…transcends narrow disciplinary divisions and speaks as much to national security studies and international politics as it does to military history.

South Asian Survey

"Tan Tai Yong has written a clear, solidly researched, new style account. Tan's well-crafted account brings many threads of the story together. The Garrison State should interest many: South Asia specialists in many disciplines; most students of colonialism and/or military history; and those general readers who wish to penetrate the headlines to understand better the roots of a postcolonial state such a Pakistan."

Ian J. Kerr

"The book is a valuable addition to not only the history of the Punjab, but also to wider literature on military and British imperial history. It will also be of immense value to political scientists and other scholars of contemporary Pakistan."

Ian Talbot