DAVID OMISSI is Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Hull. Before moving to Hull he was Prize Research Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford. His other books include Indian Voices of the Great War (Macmillan, 1999)

'Genuinely original...A ground-breaking work of real importance...Challenges many of the assumptions about British rule in India.' - Bernard Cohn, International History Review 'This is an important book...because it poses questions which social and military historians ought to ask about all armies.' - David French, War in History 'Excellent...It yields nothing but treasure.' - John Keegan, Times Literary Supplement 'The eight decades of British colonial rule, as selected by the author, are covered extremely well in this book. It is well-researched, documented and presented. Besides being of general interest, it covers a number of issues related to the Indian Army which are topics of serious debate even today, and is recommended for professional study and understanding the British colonial psyche.' - Lt-General(Retd) K.S. Brar, India Today '...extensive and impressive...professionally presented and supported by detailed tables, references and footnotes...a valuable research tool for other scholars working in this field...' - T.A. Heathcote, Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History 'This is an important book, not only because it deepens our knowledge of how the British-Indian army worked but because it poses questions which social and military historians ought to ask about all armies.' - David French, War in History

• List of Tables List of Abbreviations Acknowledgements Preface Recruiting Strategy Enlisting Strategies Fighting Spirit Dissent Indian Officers and Indianization Military Power and Colonial Rule General Conclusion: The Sepoy and the Raj Biographical Notes Glossary of Indian and Military Terms Notes Bibliography Index