The Indian Army was happier under British rule? Could be true!

Since June 15, armed forces veterans are on a relay hunger strike, demanding immediate implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme. They say that no one is paying heed to their issues and claimed that even British treated them in a better manner.

As per a report in Times of India, the Indian Army sepoy was never really paid well at any point in history and after the Mughals, the East India Company became the best paymaster in the subcontinent.

"The Army got a better deal during the Raj. Western societies look up to the Army as an institution that upholds the nation state. It's still customary in the US for people to say 'thank you' to a war veteran; in the UK, they make way for war heroes, and a Victoria Cross winner always meets with a standing ovation wherever he goes. In India, the colonial state accorded privileges to the Army because it was essential for British rule," military historian Squadron Leader Rana Chhina (Retd) of USI-CAFHR told TOI.

According to Dr Gajendra Singh, who now teaches South Asian history at the University of Exeter, the monthly pay of a sepoy was Rs 7 in 1860, Rs 9 in 1895 and Rs 11 in 1911.

He told the news daily that the pay was often lower than the cost of subsistence which was estimated in 1875 at Rs 7, two annas and five paise.

TOI news report revealed that a risaldar major in the cavalry was paid Rs 150, a risaldar Rs 80, and a jemadar Rs 50 a month.

But above payees were low as compared to European officers. The cavalry or horse artillery colonels were paid Rs 1,478 per month, lieutenant colonels, Rs 1,032 and majors, Rs 929.

By today's standards, the colonel was being paid the equivalent of around Rs 8 lakh then (as per the National Archives, UK's, old currency converter, Rs 1,478 is approximately 280 pounds per day, which is around Rs 8 lakh per month).

However, worried that the Raj wouldn't attract top talent, sepoy salaries were increased in the latter half of the 19th century and around 40% of the Indian Army in peacetime was allowed to go on furlough to till their lands.

The pensions then varied across ranks and number of years spent in service and was in the range of 50-70% of salaries. Presently, it is 50% across ranks.

When India attained independence, Raj-era privileges were systematically taken away from the armed forces. "I suppose Nehru did it to make the forces coup proof and ensure democracy thrived. But the bureaucracy got it wrong and continued to devalue the military long after Nehru was gone," Chhina told TOI.

(Image: Indiatimes)