Had the population of India not been divided and had it come together, they could have stopped the rise of the East India Company,” said Oliver Everett.

(From left) Oliver Everett, Sir Mark Tully and Walter Reid at the Military Literature Festival in Chandigarh on Saturday. (Express photo: Jaipal Singh)

Written by Chanda Malviya

The East India Company came to India on 26 August, 1608, as a trading company but ultimately became the rulers of India for almost two decades, exploiting both its the population and resources. They left India a backward and poverty-stricken country, with its economy in a shambles and the citizens divided on the basis of religion, class and caste.

This was the sum of a panel discussion on William Dalrymple’s book “The Anarchy- The relentless rise of the East India Company and Empire”. Panelists Oliver Everett, Walter Reid and Sir Mark Tully, elucidated the factors that led to the metamorphosis of a simple trading company into a ruler of an entire nation.

Fall of Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire started losing its glory after the death of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb whose intolerant policies created a wedge among the population so much so that no emperor could handle such a vast empire. This downfall of the Mughals left the Indian state in anarchy, with no powerful authority to control such a vast area of diverse segments. “After the collapse of the Mughal Empire, a vacuum was created due to the anarchy, the British intervened and ultimately filled this gap and consequently, became the rulers of India,” said Reid, a reputed historian.

India was divided

During the mid-1600s, India was divided into various regional powers, including the Sikhs, Marathas, Rajputs and Afghans. This division gave rise to differences among the rulers of these regions due to their different beliefs and religions. The British followed the policy of divide and rule in India, and eventually, became the sole ruler. “Had the population of India not been divided and had it come together, they could have stopped the rise of the East India Company,” said Oliver Everett.

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Economic factors

Walter Reid discussed the economic factors which led to the rise of the British in India. He explained the theory of how the East India Company exploited the Indian industries. “They used their military superiority to exploit the Indian industrialists. The East India Company banned the production of textile and steel, and crushed the native industries,” said Reid.

The company levied heavy taxes on farmers and industrialists and exploited them so much so that they had to take heavy loans to carry on production. Slowly, they fell into debt traps, said Reid, explaining how the sophisticated tax system imposed by the British, and the policy of capitalism fuelled their rise in India.

Military Power

The East India Company had enormous military power. They had skilled and powerful forces that were quite advanced in comparison to military forces of the Indian rulers. The British used their extensive forces to suppress all the rebellions against them and controlled the Indian population with force. “The British army was well financed by the British Government,” said Everett.

The United States of America (USA) is on the verge of defeat in the 18 year long war with the Taliban in Afghanistan. During one of the sessions held on ‘The ISI, Taliban and Afghanistan’ on the inaugural day of the three day Military Literature Festival, the panellists said that the US entered Afghanistan with the basic objective to prevent any terrorist group to rise against America after 9/11 in which they succeeded, but after declaring open war against Taliban the Americans failed to achieve second target. That is the unending tragedy of Afghanistan, with seemingly no light at the end of the tunnel. Despite the U.S. spending over a trillion dollars on military operations and on a multitude of civil initiatives, in much of Afghanistan, life has never been more precarious.The experts also said that Pakistan is no more an asset for US in fight against terrorism therefore US has cut down financial support to Pakistan. Pakistan instead of using the financial aid to fight against terrorism used it as a tool to create own arsenal of weapons. This has changed the behaviour of Pakistan and it has started supporting Taliban through ISI.The panellists also said that Taliban is more organised and well structured these days and has upper hand in Afghan war. The Taliban have changed especially their attitude and it has become more sophisticated towards use of new technology for connecting with the people and using various platforms of media to spread their messages.

The present day taliban is seen as a different organization from the one that ruled Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001, when they enforced a Draconian form of Sharia that incorporated flogging and public executions. The experts feels that Islamic State is mainly considered as the brain child of ISI which have strong ideological differences with the Taliban.Expressing their views, the experts said that keeping mind the interest of India, channels should be opened for dialogue with taliban in Afghanistan as many other countries including US have started.They said that the backdoor channels should be created and after reaching any agreement, open dialogue should be started.One of the panellists Carol Christine Fair, an American political scientis, said that Trump led US Government is no more interested to continue military operations or retaining US troops in Afghanistan. She said that US does not have any interest in investing for resurgence of Afghanistan. She further said that due to presidential elections in US, President Trump wants to call back the American troops back at the earliest.Mr. Vivek Katju former diplomat presenting his views said that despite 18 years war, peace could not be established in Afghanistan.The political class of Afghanistan is not able to come together or reach any consensus and due to this the system could not be stabilised. He said that the present scenario is that the taliban has the upper hand in Afghanistan and they don’t want to relent.Major General BK Sharma said that despite investment of 1 trillion US Dollars, most Afghans still live in poverty.

An interactive session on the topic “The leadership and campaigns of Field Marshal Slim” was held on the second day of Military Literature Festival, here today. This session was moderated by Lt Gen (Retd) TS Shergill and the participants included Maj Gen (Retd), Col (Retd) Dr Robert Lyman and Brig (Retd) Allan Mallinson. During the session, all the speakers said that Field Marshall William Slim was a soldier’s soldier and was known more as an Indian general, than a British general.While moderating the session, Lt Gen TS Shergill said that Field Marshal William Slim was a fine manager of men and in return, Slim’s men saw him as one of them. He was above all a soldiers’ soldier. It was because of this quality, that some even called him Uncle Bill. He said that Slim was considered an Indian general than a British General by his troops and was a great motivator.Col (Retd) Dr Robert Lyman said that it was in March 1942 when Field Marshal William Slim was promoted to command Burma Corps, which had been chased out of Rangoon (Burma) by the Japanese. Heavily outnumbered, Slim was forced to withdraw to India. But he made sure the 900-mile retreat did not turn into a rout, leading a controlled military withdrawal. He said that William Slim saw active service in both the first and second world wars and was wounded in action three times.

During the Second World War he led the 14th Army, the so-called “forgotten army” in the Burma Campaign. After the war he became the first British officer who had served in the Indian Army to be appointed Chief of the Imperial General Staff.Brig (Retd) Allan Mallinson said that William Slim undertook a partially successful attack in the Arakan in February 1944. Then, in the battles of Imphal and Kohmia, he repelled a Japanese invasion of north-east India. He said that William Slim was a hardened field soldier who had learned his trade on the Western Front and in the Indian Army, Slim combined troop-leading and training skills with personal and moral courage as well as charm.Maj Gen AP Singh said that Field Marshal William Slim had an excellent relationship with his troops – the Forgotten Army, as they called themselves. In his book, Defeat into Victory, he tells of the malaria rates among his units being 70%, largely due to noncompliance by his soldiers with the foul-tasting medicine they refused to take. Slim did not blame his doctors for this problem, but placed the responsibility on his officers. After Slim dismissed a few officers for high unit malaria rates, the others realised he was serious and malaria treatment was enforced, dropping the rate to less than five percent. The combat effectiveness of his army was thus greatly enhanced. This physical and mental turnaround in the army under him was a contributing factor to the eventual defeat of the Japanese in Burma.

The three-days Military Literature Festival (MLF)-2019 on Sunday concluded on a happy note and the event was a huge success as thousands of people especially students attended the enlightening sessions and enthralled by different activities carried out during the fest.During the fest, various panel discussions on Military Literature and Experiences, Samvad Interactions, Martial Art and Dance Performances, Paintings and Weaponry Exhibition, Clarion Call Theatre etc remained the centre of attraction.In an activity session, students from different schools had written postcards to soldiers, drawn paintings to dedicate the Army and participated in various other activities. Students also got an opportunity to interact with the Army Officers, who encouraged them to join the Army. Over 1800 students from different schools had interacted with senior army officials during Samvad Sessions.

Divulging details about the Clarion Theatre, Colonel Avinish Sharma said that the motive of the clarion theatre was to disseminate the message of patriotism among the youth and encourage them to join the Army. He said that the documentaries pertaining to valour and sacrifices by the Army during wars were shown to the students and audiences.A weapon display by the Infantry Unit of 2 Sikh Regiment led by Naib Subedar Surinderpal Singh and Naib Subedar Gurdip Singh remained the cynosure of every eye. Weapons including 7.62 MM MMG, 30MM AGL-17, ATGM LR FLAME MK-II, 5.56MM INSAS RIF, 51MM MOR, 5.56MM INSAS LMG, 7.62MM DSR, 7.62MM AK47, 84MM RL MK-II, 40MM MGL, 40MM UBGL, 84MM RL MK-III, 81MM MOR E-1 etc were exhibited.In this fest, visitors in large numbers enjoyed the food from different food stalls established by including Institute of Hotel Management from Bathinda, Verka, Food Court Institute Hoshiarpur, special Jalebi from Haryana, Rajasthani food, Pan stall and Froyo.Meanwhile, an exhibition of old and rare metals from World War-I, the Kargil War and other wars by a grandson of a Military Engineering Service officer, Narinderpal Singh remained a star attraction among the visitors.