ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the combat motivation of the sepoys, sowars and golundazs during the Great War was shaped by the organizational infrastructure of the British-Indian Army. The Indian Army did not recruit low castes and tribes. The British believed that if the low castes were recruited in the army, then their nature and long historical tradition would make them submissive to the diktats of the high castes. A combination of tangible and intangible incentives bonded the sepoys and sowars to the army. For many Indian communities like the Tiwanas and the Garewal Jats of Ludhiana district, military service was considered to be honourable. The record of the Indian Army was certainly better than many other armies. The traditional view was that the morale of the Indian Corps cracked in France during the winter of 1914. The indigenous newspapers gave the clarion call for supporting the British war effort.
