Indian soldiers made a pivotal contribution to the British Empire and Great Britain’s development from a small, relatively poor island to a dominant military and industrial power. Under the British Crown, following the Mutiny of 1857, India’s military became a vital link to holding the Empire together. From the jungles of south-east Asia to the deserts of Africa, and the hills of north-east India to the forests of Burma, the Indian army would become the pride of the Raj. Upon India’s independence, the army continued to be one of the finest inheritances of Empire. 

A new book called True To Their Salt - Indian Soldiers and The British Empire by Ravindran Rathee looks at the world of the Indian soldiers who enlisted in the armies of India, and how they served with such dedication and loyalty. The extent to which the soldiers acted as an effective control over the coercive power of British rule in India is also examined, as well as the implications and logistics involved in running such a complex military machine. 

The book is the first comprehensive single-volume history of India’s pre-partition military from Indian soldiers’ perspective and was written to mark the 75th anniversary of Indian independence in 2022.

THE AUTHOR 

Ravindra Rathee started his career as a journalist with the Times of India in Delhi,  writing on human rights and conflict resolution. After graduating from St Stephen’s  College in Delhi, he studied for an MA in Politics at the University of Hull as a British Chevening Scholar. For the last two decades, he has worked as a banker. This is his first book, stemming from extensive research on the military life of his  grandfather.