The regiments of Bengal Native Infantry, alongside the regiments of Bengal European Infantry, were the regular infantry components of the East India Company's Bengal Army from the raising of the first Native battalion in 1757 to the passing into law of the Government of India Act 1858 (as a direct result of the Indian Mutiny). At this latter point control of the East India Company's Bengal Presidency passed to the British Government. The first locally recruited battalion was raised by the East India Company in 1757 and by the start of 1857 there were 74 regiments of Bengal Native Infantry in the Bengal Army. Following the Mutiny the Presidency armies came under the direct control of the United Kingdom Government and there was a widespread reorganisation of the Bengal Army that saw the Bengal Native Infantry regiments reduced to 45.
The title "Bengal Native Infantry" fell out of use in 1885 and the Bengal Infantry regiments ceased to exist when the three separate Presidency armies were absorbed into the British Indian Army in 1903. There are units currently serving in the armies of India, Pakistan and the United Kingdom who can trace their lineage directly to units of the Bengal Native Infantry, for example the Jat Regiment in the Indian Army, the Royal Gurkha Rifles in the British Army and 6th Battalion, The Punjab Regiment in the Army of Pakistan.
Numbering of regiments, unit designations and nomenclature
The first locally recruited unit of the East India Company's forces in Bengal, raised in 1757 and present at the Battle of Plassey, was known as the Galliez Battalion (named after one of its first Captains) and called the Lal Pultan (Red Battalion) by its locally recruited members. The Bengal Native Infantry regiments underwent frequent changes of numbering during their existence, with the numbers assigned following a reorganisation bearing little or no connection to the regiments that held the pre-existing numbers. The traditional formation of British and Presidency armies' regiments was by a hierarchy in which the "1st Regiment" was the oldest and the highest number was given to the youngest. In 1764 however, the Bengal Native Infantry regiments were renumbered in the order of the individual seniority of their commanding officers. The regiments were reorganised and renumbered (or renamed) twice in 1861, in 1864, again in 1885 and finally in 1903 the Bengal Army was absorbed into the British Indian Army and the Bengal Infantry ceased to exist.
The inclusion of the word "Native" in the titles of the Bengal Native Infantry regiments and throughout the Bengal, Bombay and Madras Armies indicated that the troops were locally recruited in India (or neighbouring areas), in contrast with the Bengal European Infantry which recruited personnel in the United Kingdom. In 1885, the word "Native" was dropped from the titles of all military units in the Bengal Army.
Recruitment and demographics
The 1st Brahmans was the first infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised at Oudh by Captain T Naylor in 1776
The Bengal army mostly recruited upper-caste elements like Kanyakubja Brahmins, Rajputs, from Awadh.
Bengal Native Infantry regiments typically consisted of 800 privates (sepoys), 120 non-commissioned officers (havildars and naiks), 20 native commissioned officers (subedars and jemadars), 2 British sergeants and 26 British commissioned officers. Regiments were commanded by a lieutenant-colonel and were divided into 10 companies, each assigned 2 British officers and 2 native officers. Each regiment was assigned an adjutant, an interpreter and a quartermaster. The majority of recruits for the Bengal Native Infantry in the years leading up to the Mutiny were from the districts of Bengal, Oudh (Awadh) and the surrounding areas – around three quarters of the total numbers.
Mutinying regiments officially ceased to exist following the Mutiny and in 1861 the twelve surviving Bengal Native Infantry regiments (units that did not mutiny, units that were disarmed and later considered to be free of mutineers or units that were disbanded peacefully & were later reformed) were joined by a mix of hastily raised units (for example, the Allahabad Levy became the 33rd Bengal Native InfantryRizvi, Brig SHA. (1984). Veteran Campaigners – A History of the Punjab Regiment 1759–1981. Lahore: Wajidalis.) or newly created units from the Punjab (for example, the 7th Regiment of Punjab Infantry became the 19th Bengal Native Infantry). In addition, soldiers who did not mutiny when the rest of their regiment did so joined units such as The Lucknow Regiment or The Loyal Purbiah Regiment.
Pre-1857 list of Bengal Native Infantry Regiments + Pre-1857 list of Bengal Native Infantry RegimentsPre-1857 full regiment title.Status after the Mutiny.1st Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Cawnpore2nd (Grenadiers) Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryDisarmed at Barrackpore3rd Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Phillour – loyal portion joined The Loyal Purbiah Regiment4th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryDisarmed at Kangra and Noorpore5th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Umballah6th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Allahabad and Futtehpore7th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Dinapore8th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Dinapore9th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Allygurh, Boolunshuhur, Etawah and Mynpoorie10th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Futtehgurh11th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Meerut12th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Jhansi and Nowgong13th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Lucknow14th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Jhelum15th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Nusseerabad16th (Grenadiers) Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryDisarmed at Goojerat and Lahore17th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Azimghur18th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Bareilly19th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryDisbanded at Barrackpore20th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Meerut21st Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryDid not mutiny – became 1st Bengal Native Infantry22nd Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Fyzabad and Oude23rd Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Mhow24th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryDisarmed at Peshawur25th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry (Volunteers)Disarmed at Benares26th Regiment of Bengal Native (Light) InfantryMutinied at Lahore27th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryDisarmed at Peshawur28th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Shahjehanpore29th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Moradabad30th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Ajmer, Jeypore and Nusseerabad31st Regiment of Bengal Native (Light) InfantryDid not mutiny – became 2nd Bengal Native Light Infantry32nd Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Deogurh – loyal portion became 3rd Bengal Native Infantry33rd Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryDisarmed at Phillour – loyal portion became 4th Bengal Native Infantry34th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryDisbanded at Barrackpore35th Regiment of Bengal Native (Light) InfantryDisarmed at Phillour36th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry (Bengal Volunteers)Mutinied at Jullundur – loyal portion joined The Loyal Purbiah Regiment37th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry (Bengal Volunteers)Mutinied at Benares38th Regiment of Bengal Native Light Infantry (Bengal Volunteers)Mutinied at Delhi39th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry (Bengal Volunteers)Disarmed at Dera Ishmael Khan40th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry (Volunteers)Mutinied at Dinapore41st Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Seetapore42nd Regiment of Bengal Native (Light) Infantry Mutinied at Saugor – loyal portion formed 5th Bengal Native (Light) Infantry43rd Regiment of Bengal Native (Light) Infantry Disarmed at Barrackpore – loyal portion formed 6th Bengal Native (Light) Infantry44th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryDisarmed and dispersed at Agra and Muttra45th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Ferozepore46th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Sealkote47th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry (Volunteers)Disarmed at Mirzapore – loyal portion formed the 7th Bengal Native Infantry48th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Lucknow49th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryDisarmed at Lahore50th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Nagode51st Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Peshawur52nd Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Jubbulpore53rd Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Cawnpore and Oorie54th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Delhi55th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Nowshera56th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Banda and Cawnpore57th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Ferozepore58th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryDisarmed at Rawul Pindee59th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryDisarmed at Umritsur – loyal portion formed 8th Bengal Native Infantry60th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Rohtuck61st Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Jullundur – loyal portion joined The Loyal Purbiah Regiment62nd Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Mooltan63rd Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryDisarmed at Berhampore – loyal portion formed 9th Bengal Native Infantry64th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryDisarmed at Barrah, Fort Mackeson and Peshawur65th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry (Volunteers)Disarmed at Ghazeepore – loyal portion formed 10th Bengal Native Infantry66th (Goorkha) Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryDid not mutiny – became 1st Goorkha Regiment67th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry (Volunteers)Disarmed and dispersed at Agra and Muttra68th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry (Volunteers)Mutinied at Bareilly69th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryDisarmed at Mooltan70th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryDisarmed at Barrackpore – loyal portion formed 11th Bengal Native Infantry71st Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Lucknow72nd Regiment of Bengal Native Infantryraised in 1825 as 4th Extra Regiment. In 1857 mutinied at Neemuch. Disbanded73rd Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Dacca74th Regiment of Bengal Native InfantryMutinied at Delhi
The Mutiny and its aftermath
During the Indian Mutiny all but twelve of the seventy-four regular Bengal Native Infantry regiments either mutinied, were disarmed, or disbanded peacefully and returned to their homes. Those that mutinied engaged in armed conflict with their officers, other East India Company forces or British Army units. The men of the Bengal Native Infantry were professional soldiers and "Mutiny" was a specific criminal offence under the Articles of War and the Mutiny Acts, carrying the death penalty following a conviction after trial by court-martial. The executions were carried out either by hanging, by firing squad or by blowing from a gun.Indian News (1858), p. 125 Mutinying regiments officially ceased to exist and their place in the Order of precedence of the Bengal Army was taken by another unit.