ABSTRACT
The Foreign and Political Department of the Government of India, as one observer noted, was 'an empire within an empire'. The roots of the department lay in the 'Residency' system developed by the East India Company (EIC) during the late seventeenth century in order to manage relations with India's native rulers. The Soldier Sahibs had carved their heroic reputations in the Punjab, while Arthur Conolly and Charles Stoddart earned themselves a certain degree of immortality through their actions in Central Asia. Sandeman's career began in 1856 with a period of service in the Indian Army followed by his informal transition into 'Political' work shortly afterwards on the personal invitation of Sir John Lawrence, then head of the Punjab's civil administration. The mentality of the Frontier Political was no doubt encouraged by the relatively elite nature of that particular cohort: a small and exclusive group within what was already a small and exclusive organization.
