UNDER PELICAN WINGS –

THE BAHAWALPUR STATE FORCES

By Major General Syed Ali Hamid
During my tenure in Bahawalpur in the mid-1990s, I frequently visited
the desert forts in Cholistan of which Derawar is the largest. Within its
ruins was a line of rooms that contained the decaying remains of saddlery –
reins and bits, saddles, stirrups, etc. that were probably last used by the
Bahawalpur Mounted Rifles and Camel Transport Corps. This corps was
part of the forces that were earmarked by the ruler to serve with the British
India Army under an Imperial Service Troop scheme. The scheme
formalized the military assistance provided by the Sates which could afford
to maintain troops and send them into battle alongside the British India
Army.
The small principality of Bahawalpur first assisted the British East
India Company at the start of the Anglo-Afghan War 1839-42. When Ranjit
Singh refused to let the main British forces pass through his territory,
Nawab Bhawal Khan III prepared a military road down to Sukkur and
provided provisions, boats and camels. The British rewarded him by
restoring the territory he had lost to the Mirs of Sind in 1827. The Nawab
had a small force of cavalry and infantry as his escort and for guarding the
palace, treasury, towns, etc. However he could call on a militia of over
10,000 from the Raises and Tumandars who held Jagirs granted by the
state. The larger part of this militia marched in support of the British during
the Multan uprising of 1848. When Lieutenant Herbert Edwardes, the
British Political Agent in Bannu, crossed the Chenab with a small force of
levies from Derajat and doubtful Sikh Durbar troops of two battalions, he
was reinforced by 200 cavalry, 5,000 infantry, 9 guns and 100 ammunition
wagons of the Daudputras nominally under Futteh Mohammed Khan, but
actually under Lt. Edward Lake of the Bengal Engineers. Lake was a
seasoned administrator and campaigner who had fought against the Sikh in
the Battle of Moodkee and was severely wounded in the hand.
 In the first battle, 8,000 Sikhs repulsed an assault by the Daudputras,
at Kineyri but with the arrival of the guns, a second attempt succeeded in
capturing the Sikh entrenchments. In a second battle a week later at
Suddusain, a force of 12,000 Sikhs was defeated. For the next seven
months and right through the siege till the fall of Multan, the troops from
Bahawalpur played a critical role particularly in holding the territories
between the Rivers Chenab and Sutlej and denying reinforcements to the
city. At its height, the total strength of the Bahawalpur forces supporting the
British was over 7,000 infantry, 2,500 cavalry, 14 guns of horse artillery and
18 swivel guns on camels. Since its establishment as a State till it ceded to
Pakistan, this was the largest body of troops that Bahawalpur ever fielded.
For his services, the Nawab was bestowed a life pension of Rs. 100,000 a
year, in addition to Rs. 800,000 for the services of his troops. Officers of the
State’s Forces were also presented rewards but neither were any medals
awarded nor any Battle Honors.
During the rebellion of 1857, the State played a small part by placing
a force of 3000 men in Sirsa District and a detachment of 1000 was
requisitioned by the Punjab Administration. After the death of Nawab
Bahawl Khan IV in 1866, the law and order of the State was stabilized by
the British. With no external threat to speak of, by 1873 the Bahawalpur
State Army fielded a little over 1,900 regular and 1950 irregular troops and
31 field guns. Of this entire force only the escort of 500 cavalry and infantry
was disciplined and trained. Prior to the Second Anglo-Afghan War of
1878-80, the irregular cavalry was disbanded and there was a major
reduction in the irregular infantry with the leftovers converted into military
police. However the artillery was improved by replacing the old locally
made guns with 6-pounder brass muzzle loaders drawn from the arsenal at
Ferozepur. During the subsequent British campaign in Afghanistan, the
entire cavalry of 100 sowars and 350 infantry were stationed at Dera Ghazi
Khan to man the frontier posts vacated by regular regiments.
In 1885, the British decided to formalize the military assistance from
various States by establishing the scheme of Imperial Service Troops (IST).
Under this scheme those States which could afford to, maintained and
trained units earmarked to fight alongside the British India Army. They were
provided equipment and weapons generally at the same scale as the army,
commanded by British officers and overseen by an Inspector General. In
addition to these units, the larger princely states continued to maintain
traditional units for ceremonial purposes, though much reduced in
numbers. In 1889, Bahawalpur State Forces were accepted into the
scheme, and provided a small regular force of cavalry and infantry. The
majority of personnel were Punjabi Muslims but there were also a sizable
number of Pathans and Sikhs. When the China War began in 1900, the
British declined the offer of troops by Nawab Bahawal Muhammad Khan
Abassi V because his IST units were not large enough. The Inspector
General of the IST felt that a Camel Transport Corps would have greater
utility and his proposal was accepted. It was given the grand title of
Bahawalpur Imperial Service Mounted Rifles and Camel Transport Corps,
but was actually a baggage train of 970 camels with 370 handlers, and an
escort of 170 infantry mounted on camels. The units of the IST had
elaborate parade uniforms that were designed and changed on the whim of
the Nawab. However when mobilized for active service the plain khaki drill
service dress of the regular Indian Army was worn but with green facings.
The State also had a body of irregular troops of cavalry, infantry, gunners
and armed police totaling 561 men.
During the First World War, 1181 men and 2,161 camels served in
various theaters in varying strength and for varying periods. A small
detachment of 73 men of the Mounted Rifles was sent to Egypt as
reinforcement for the Alwar State Infantry Battalion and served with it
throughout the war till the capture of Palestine. The Mounted Rifles (which
was later converted to the 1st Bahawalpur Sadiq Infantry), was awarded
nine theater and battle honors including Gaza, Megiddo and Nablus. The
rest of the Camel Corps was dispatched to the Persian Gulf in November
1914 to support the Expeditionary Force. However, it arrived too late to be
of use and returned. Three months later, 100 camels with handlers were
dispatched to East Africa but most of the animals perished and the
handlers returned in November 1915. The transport corps was reformed
but remained in India for the rest of the war. It supported operations against
the Mahsuds in South Waziristan, and Marri and Khetran tribes in
Baluchistan. The greater percentage of the soldiers both of the Mounted
Rifles and the Camel Corps were Punjabi Muslims but initially there was
also a relatively small percentage of Pathans. During the war, Lieutenant
Colonel Afzal Khan Qizilbash (1880-1964), the commandant of the
Mounted Rifles and Camel Corps distinguished himself on an intelligence
mission in Mesopotamia and was awarded the CIE. He was a class fellow
and friend of Nawab Bahawal Khan at Aitcheson who granted him a
commission in the State Force in 1903. He attended the 1911 Coronation in
London as part of the contingent of the IST for which he was appointed an
OBI 2nd Class and the title of Bahadur.
In the period between the two World Wars, the Bahawalpur State
Forces were enlarged and the emphasis shifted from transport to combat
units. During the Third Afghan War of 1919, the Camel Transport Corps
operated in the Zhob Valley in Baluchistan. It suffered heavy losses in
camels due to disease and overwork and on return it was disbanded. In
1924, its remnants were formed into the 1st Bahawalpur Sadiq Battalion
with two companies. In 1922, a Double Company which was raised during
the Great War was designated as 2nd Bahawalpur Household Infantry and
a year later, re-designated as 2nd Bahawalpur Haroon Infantry. By now,
Bahawalpur had become a participant in the Indian State Forces (ISF)
Scheme, which replaced the IST. The ISF was split between Field Service
Units which were organized, trained and armed to the standard of the
Indian Army, and General Service Units which were in reserve.
Bahawalpur’s two battalions were part of the ISF but grossly deficient in
manpower and it took ten years to bring them closer to strength. They were
mostly composed of Punjabi Muslims and their uniforms were grey with a
distinctive Fez headdress (Turki Topi), unique to the Bahawalpur State
Forces and also worn by its civil servant. Like the uniforms, the badges
also underwent numerous changes but retained the pelican as their central
theme.
At the outbreak of the Second World War the Bahawalpur Army had a
strength of 1,122, with 36 in the Body Guard, 730 in the 1st Infantry and
356 in the 2nd Infantry battalions. In March 1941, the 1st Bahawalpur
Infantry (Sadiq Battalion) was shipped to Malaya to protect airfields in the
north. Following the Japanese invasion in December, the battalion was
forced to retreat while fighting many rear guard actions. In February 1942 it
was taken captive in Singapore and many of its soldiers joined the Indian
National Army formed by the Japanese. The loss of its senior active
battalion must have been a shock to the State but did not deter the
Nawab’s resolve. During the War, the 2nd Infantry was brought to full
strength with the bulk recruited from outside the State including a full
company of Gurkha. One more battalion, the 4th Infantry (re-designated as
3rd Infantry in 1946) was raised in 1944. Apart from this, Bahawalpur
raised a mountain battery, two independent infantry companies, a training
company as well as a number of logistic and support units including a
mechanical transport company of over 100 vehicles. By the end of the war,
the strength of the State Forces had risen to 2,911 and in addition, 10,000
had been recruited into the British India Army from the State. The increase
in the size of the army more than tripled the burden on the State exchequer
from Rs. 440,000 in 1938-39 to Rs. 1.42 million in 1942-43, and reached
nearly Rs. 1.6 million by the close of the war. However, the State was able
to sustain the increased expenses because Nawab Sadiq was a visionary.
With his focus on irrigation projects, in 19 years he had enhanced the
combined land and irrigation revenue of the State by approximately Rs. 7
million or by 82%.
At the end of the Second World War, the 1st Infantry was reformed
on its repatriation. The most significant award that the battalion earned was
the George Cross to Captain Mahmood Khan Durrani who had been
brutally treated by the Japanese. It ranks next to the Victoria Cross and is
awarded for acts of the greatest heroism or for most conspicuous courage
in circumstance of extreme danger out of combat and Durrani was one of
the nine Indians recipients of this award. The State Forces were rapidly
reorganized into a neat brigade sized structure with supporting elements.
By 1946, it consisted of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Infantry, a garrison company,
military transport company, an infantry training center, a provost unit and a
military hospital. At Independence, the strength had risen to 4,044
consisting entirely of Punjabi Muslims. The State Forces were designated
as the 6 Bahawalpur Division and in deference to the wishes of the Amir,
retained the Pelican as its emblem.
On the insistence of General Gracey, C-in-C Pakistan Army,
Lieutenant General Marden, the GOC of the State Forces was replaced by
Major General Sir Sam Greaves as the commander of the new division in
end 1948. The Amir was reluctant to replace him (or any other officer) but
Marden had very limited military knowledge or experience in command. On
the other hand Greaves was a highly decorated officer who had been
awarded an MC and Bar during the First World War and a DSO and Bar
while commanding a brigade in Burma during the Second World War. In
1948, 5th Bahawalpur Light Infantry was raised at the regimental center at
Dera Nawab, with officers and men of 2nd Patiala Infantry, who had opted
for Pakistan. By January 1949, the State Forces were fully absorbed by the
6 Bahawalpur Division which now consisted of one brigade of three
battalions, a second of two battalions, a mountain battery which was
converted into a field artillery regiment, a reinforced mechanical transport
company as well as an animal transport company, and provost. Greaves
had an uphill task in integrating the State Forces into the Pakistan Army.
The issue was less with the troops whom he considered very good and
more with the officer corps who were commissioned either from Indian
States Forces Training School at Indore or locally during the war. A year
and a half after having been in command, in an informal letter to an
incoming brigade commander, he confided that the command will be
“…..difficult as the officers are great intriguers”. However, he conceded that
“the officers have improved out of all recognition, but they require constant
urging to keep them at it”.
When the Pakistan Army was reorganized in 1955-56, the
Bahawalpur Division was disbanded and the infantry battalions were
integrated into the Baloch Regiment. The Bahawalpur State was also
abolished in 1955 but the Nawab was allowed to retain his title and
received a privy purse. He continued to maintain a Body Guard Brigade for
ceremonial purposes consisting of an infantry battalion, a cavalry squadron,
a camel mounted infantry company, a 4 gun troop of artillery and a band.
These ceremonial troops are seen in pictures of guards of honor presented
to dignitaries like King Faisal of Iraq, Iskander Mirza and Ayub Khan. When
Nawab Sadiq passed away in 1966, the Privy Purse was halved and the
Body Guard was slowly disbanded. Thus the last vestiges of the forces of
the Bahawalpur State were swallowed up by the sands of time. Their
memory lives in some of the designations of the units who trace their
history back to the State Forces like the 14 (Abbasia) Field Regiment
Artillery. It also lives in the emblem of a division which was raised in
Bahawalpur many years later and which chose to honor the soil it was
defending by adopting the symbol of the Pelican.

The author is grateful to Salahuddin Abbasi for permission to use pictures

from his archive and Tony McClenaghan for permission to quote from his
monumental work on the State Forces of India: The Maharaja’s Paltans.
The author is also indebted to Sushil Talwar for his ready support with
information / pictures.