Indian Army 1902
v.1.0 March 17, 2002

Graham Watson

In addition to the British Army stationed in India, Great Britain maintained a very large locally recruited force in India.  Generally referred to as the Indian Army, its was made up of three armies which brought together as a single army in the reforms which began in 1903. Until that year, the armies were The Bengal Army, The Madras Army and The Bombay Army.  In addition, there was a more recent creation-The Punjab Frontier Force.  The armies were funded and administered by the government of India, in Delhi.

Each army was made up of regiments of cavalry and infantry, supported by a limited number of artillery and engineer units. Each regiment was made up of locally recruited soldiers and British officers.  The regiments were scattered in small garrisons around the Indian sub-continent, and were not formed into permanent brigades and divisions until after 1903.  The regiments were allotted to four commands: Punjab Command [HQ at Murree], Bengal Command [HQ at Niani Tal], Madras Command [HQ at Ootacamund] and the Bombay Command [HQ at Poona].

As a result of the war in South Africa a small number of Indian regiments had replaced British units in a variety of colonial garrisons in the Far East. These units are listed separately in the following outline of the deployment of the Indian Army in 1902. 

The following lists should be used in conjunction with the listing of British Army units in 1902 to obtain a more complete picture of British military strength one hundred years ago.  

THE BENGAL ARMY 

Governor-General’s Bodyguard, Dehra Dun

1^st Bengal Lancers, Lucknow

2^nd Bengal Lancers, Nowshera

3^rd Bengal Cavalry, Meerut

4^th Bengal Lancers, Loralei

5^th Bengal Lancers, Dera Ismail Khan

6^th Bengal Cavalry, Nowgong

7^th Bengal Cavalry, Fyzabad

8^th Bengal Lancers, Bareilly

9^th Bengal Lancers, Jullundur

10^th Bengal Lancers, Cawnpore

11^th Bengal Lancers, Meean Meer

12^th Bengal Cavalry, Mooltan

13^th Bengal Lancers, Saugor

14^th Bengal Lancers, Allahabad

15^th Bengal Lancers, Ferozepore

16^th Bengal Lancers, Jhelum

17^th Bengal Lancers, Rawalpindi

18^th Bengal Lancers, Sialkot

19^th Bengal Lancers, Umballa

Gujerat Native Mountain Battery, Bannu

Lahore Native Mountain Battery, Dera Ismail Khan

Abbotabad Native Mountain Battery, Abbotabad

Bengal Sappers & Miners, Roorkee

1^st Brahman Infantry, Allahabad

2^nd Rajput Regiment, Barrackpore

3^rd Brahman Infantry, Manipur

4^th Rajput Regiment, Agra

5^th Bengal Light Infantry, Silchar

6^th Jat Light Infantry, Meerut

7^th Rajput Regiment, Lucknow

8^th Rajput Regiment, Fort William

11^th Rajput Regiment, Cawnpore

12^th Regiment, Benares

13^th Regiment, Bareilly

14^th Sikh Regiment, Mooltan

15^th Sikh Regiment, Peshawar

16^th Rajput Regiment, Ranchi

17^th Musalman Rajput Regiment, Wana

19^th Punjab Infantry, Mooltan

20^th Regiment, Meean Meer

22^nd Regiment, Rawalpindi

23^rd Punjab Pioneers, Meean Meer

24^th Punjab Regiment, Jhelum

25^th Regiment, Peshawar

26^th Regiment, Peshawar

27^th Regiment, Dera Ismail Khan

28^th Regiment, Delhi

29^th Regiment, Dera Ismail Khan

31^st Regiment, Rawalpindi

32^nd Punjab Pioneers, Jhelum

33^rd Punjab Infantry, Jubbulpore

34^th Punjab Pioneers, Umballa

35^th Sikh Regiment, Nowshera

36^th Sikh Regiment, Malakand

37^th Dogra Regiment, Chakdara

38^th Dogra Regiment, Ferozepore

1^st Bn 39^th Garwhal Rifles, Lansdowne

2^nd Bn 39^th Garwhal Rifles, Lansdowne

40^th Reginent, Jhansi

41^st Dogra Regiment, Jullundur

45^th Sikh Regiment, Dera Ismail Khan

46^th Regiment, Sialkot

47^th Sikh Regiment, Sialkot

48^th Bengal Pioneers, Lucknow

1^st Bn 1^st Gurkha Rifles, Dharmsala

2^nd Bn 1^st Gurkha Rifles, Dharmsala

1^st Bn 2^nd Gurkha Rifles, Dehra Dun

2^nd Bn 2^nd Gurkha Rifles, Kela Drosh

1^st Bn 3^rd Gurkha Rifles, Almora

2^nd Bn 3^rd Gurkha Rifles, Lansdowne

1^st Bn 4^th Gurkha Rifles, Bakloh

2^nd Bn 4^th Gurkha Rifles, Bakloh

1^st Bn 5^th Gurkha Rifles, Abbotabad

2^nd Bn 5^th Gurkha Rifles, Abbotabad

9^th Gurkha Rifles, Lansdowne

42^nd Gurkha Rifles, Abbotabad

43^rd Gurkha Rifles, Shillong

44^th Gurkha Rifles, Kohima

Punjab Frontier Force

1^st Punjab Cavalry, Bannu

2^nd Punjab Cavalry, Peshawar

3^rd Punjab Cavalry, Kohat

4^th Punjab Cavalry, Kohat

Corps of Guides Cavalry, Mardan

Corps of Guides Infantry, Mardan

Kohat Mountain Battery, Kohat

Derajay Mountain Battery, Datta Khel

Peshawar Mountain Battery, Abbotabad

Hazara Mountain Battery, Malakand

Frontier Garrison Battery, Kohat

1^st Sikh Infantry, Kohat

2^nd Sikh Infantry, Kohat

3^rd Sikh Infantry, Bannu

4^th Sikh Infantry, Bannu

1^st Punjab Infantry, Dera Ismail Khan

2^nd Punjab Infantry, Datta Khel

4^th Punjab Infantry, Kohat

5^th Punjab Infantry, Miran Shah

6^th Punjab Infantry, Samana  

   

THE MADRAS ARMY

Governor’s Bodyguard, Madras

1^st Madras Lancers, Bellary

2^nd Madras Lancers, Secunderabad

3^rd Madras Lancers, Bangalore

Madras Sappers & Miners, Bangalore

1^st Madras Infantry, Belgaum

2^nd Madras Infantry, Fyzabad

4^th Madras Pioneers, Bangalore

5^th Madras Infantry, Secunderabad

6^th Madras Infantry, Nowgong

7^th Madras Infantry, Saugor

9^th Madras Infantry, Bangalore

11^th Coorg Infantry, Mercara

14^th Madras Infantry, Bellary

15^th Madras Infantry, Belgaum

16^th Madras Infantry, Madras

20^th Madras Infantry, Raipur

21^st Madras Pioneers, Secunderabad

22^nd Madras Infantry, Kemptee

24^th Madras Infantry, Secunderabad

27^th Madras Infantry, Cananore

28^th Madras Infantry, Secunderabad

1^st Bn Moplah Rifles, Trinchinopoly

2^nd Bn Moplah Rifles, St Thomas Mount

  

THE BOMBAY ARMY

Governor’s Bodyguard, Ganesh-Khind

1^st Bombay Lancers, Poona

2^nd Bombay Lancers, Deesa

3^rd Bombay Light Cavalry, Sirur

4^th Bombay Cavalry, Neemuch

5^th Bombay Cavalry, Jacobabad

6^th Bombay Cavalry, Fort Sandeman

7^th Bombay Cavalry, Quetta

Quetta Native Mountain Battery, Fort Lockhart

Bombay Sappers & Miners, Kirkee

2^nd Bombay Grenadiers, Mhow

3^rd Bombay Light Infantry, Ahmednagar

4^th Bombay Rifles, Fort Sandeman

5^th Bombay Light Infantry, Bhuj

7^th Bombay Pioneers, Kirkee

8^th Bombay Infantry, Dinapore

9^th Bombay Infantry, Ahmedabad

12^th Bombay Infantry, Deesa

13^th Bombay Infantry, Quetta

16^th Bombay Infantry, Poona

17^th Bombay Infantry, Poona

19^th Bombay Infantry, Malakand

20^th Bombay Infantry, Alipore

21^st Bombay Infantry, Bombay

22^nd Bombay Infantry, Mhow

23^rd Bombay Rifles, Bombay

24^th Baluchistan Infantry, Quetta

25^th Bombay Rifles, Nasirabad

26^th Baluchistan Infantry, Loralai

27^th Baluchistan Light Infantry, Karachi

28^th Bombay Pioneers, Quetta

29^th Baluchistan Infantry, Chaman

30^th Baluchistan Infantry, Hyderabad

Hyderabad Contingent

1^st Lancers, Bolarum

2^nd Lancers, Hingoli

3^rd Lancers, Mominabad

4^th Lancers, Aurangabad

1 Field Battery, Hingoli

2 Field Battery, Ellichpur

3 Field Battery, Bolarum

4 Field Battery, Aurangabad

1^st Infantry, Jalna

2^nd Infantry, Bolarum

3^rd Infantry, Aurangabad

4^th Infantry, Ellichpur

5^th Infantry, Raichur

6^th Infantry, Hingoli

Local corps  

1^st Regiment Central India Horse, Agar Malwa

2^nd Regiment Central India Horse, Goona

Malwa Bhil Corps, Sirdarpore

Bhopal Battalion, Schore

Deoli Irregular Force, Deoli

Erinpura Irregular Force, Erinpura

Metwar Bhil Corps, Kherwara

Merwara Battalion, Ajmeer

 

INDIAN UNITS OVERSEAS

China

10^th Jat Regiment

21^st Punjab Regiment

30^th Punjab Regiment

10^th Bombay Light Infantry

14^th Bombay Light Infantry

Hong Kong

33^rd Burma Infantry

Singapore

3^rd Palamcotta Light Infantry

13^th Madras Infantry

Burma

Murree Native Mountain Battery

Jullunder Native Mountain Battery

12^th Burma Infantry

23^rd Madras Infantry

29^th Burma Infantry

30^th Burma Infantry

31^st Burma Infantry

32^nd Burma Infantry

8^th Gurkha Rifles

10^th Gurkha Rifles

Ceylon

26^th Madras Infantry

Mauritius

18^th Muslim Rajputs

19^th Madras Infantry

Aden

Aden Troop, Bombay Cavalry

1^st Bombay Grenadiers