British and Indian Officers, 1st Battalion, 7th Rajput Regiment, Hyderabad, 1928

Photograph, India, 1928.

The decision to 'Indianise' units of the Indian Army was announced by General Lord Rawlinson, Commander-in-Chief India (1920-1925), to the Indian Legislative Assembly in February 1923. The units were chosen so as to include as many representative types as possible of infantry battalions and cavalry regiments. It was assumed that as King's Commissioned Indian Officers (KCIOs) advanced in rank, British officers would move out and eventually the units would be entirely Indian. By 1928 the number of regiments to which KCIOs were admitted had been increased and 12 per cent of the Army was open to them, seven are listed in 1st Battalion, 7th Rajput Regiment at that date.