Interview with Brigadier Rathy Sawhney [sound recording]

Audio recording of oral history interview with Brigadier Rathy Sawhney, covering the period 1917-1947. Cassette side OA1/59/1: Brief biographical review. Recollections of preparatory school, Bishop Cotton School and Colonel Brown's School: teachers; ethnic mixes; discipline; prevailing values. Pass...

Full description

Archive & Special Collections OA1/59/1-4 Closed

Date(s) of creation: 1972-1974
Level: Item
Format: Archive           
Main author: Sawhney; Rathy (fl 1917-1972); Indian Army officer
Other authors: Allen; Charles (b 1940); historian and interviewer

collection SOAS Archive
id OA1.59.1-4
recordtype archive
scb_item_location Archive & Special Collections
item_location Archive & Special Collections
scb_loan_type Reference only
callnumber OA1/59/1-4
callnumber_txt OA1/59/1-4
callnumber-sort OA1/59/1-4
prefix_number 1-4
title Interview with Brigadier Rathy Sawhney [sound recording]
scb_date_creation 1972-1974
scb_level Item
level_sort 8/Collection/Sub-Collection/Sub-Sub-Collection/Sub-Sub-Sub-Collection/Series/Sub-Series/Sub-Sub-Series/File/Item
scb_extent 1 hr. 50 min.
author Sawhney; Rathy (fl 1917-1972); Indian Army officer
author_facet Sawhney; Rathy (fl 1917-1972); Indian Army officer
Allen; Charles (b 1940); historian and interviewer
authorStr Sawhney; Rathy (fl 1917-1972); Indian Army officer
author_letter Sawhney; Rathy (fl 1917-1972); Indian Army officer
author2 Allen; Charles (b 1940); historian and interviewer
author2Str Allen; Charles (b 1940); historian and interviewer
format Archive
scb_admin_history Indian major in Indian Army in Frontier Force in interwar period.
description Audio recording of oral history interview with Brigadier Rathy Sawhney, covering the period 1917-1947. Cassette side OA1/59/1: Brief biographical review. Recollections of preparatory school, Bishop Cotton School and Colonel Brown's School: teachers; ethnic mixes; discipline; prevailing values. Passing into Government College, Lahore: preparing for Indian Military Academy, Dehra Dun; influential British teachers. Reasons for wanting to join army. Entrance exam for IMA 1937. Description of IMA: curriculum priorities; poor calibre of some instructors. Cassette side OA1/59/2: British instructors' bungalows. Posting to 4th Battalion 12th Frontier Force Regiment. Description of Pindi cantonment. Typical mess life and officers' daily routine. Domestic arrangements of British officers: servants; eating and drinking habits. Clubs' attitudes to Indian officers. Stories illustrating prejudice against Indian officers in mess. Relationship between Indian officers and British; observance of festivals. Military parades; expression of competitiveness. British officer's knowledge of his Indian troops. Cassette side OA1/59/3: Indian civilians' attitude to Indian Army. Segregation of troops' cantonment. Efficient organisation of unit moves. Life under canvas. British officers' hobbies; eccentricities; game shooting. British and Indian cultural exchanges. Indian hospitality. Contacts between British and Indian women. British grasp of divisions in Indian society hardly recognised by Indians. Highlights and horrors of military service. Mess life under canvas. Cassette side OA1/59/4: Relationships between British and Indian officers; improvement on posting to 3rd Battalion. Moral standards of British officers. Recognition of role as member of privileged class within Raj; contrasts in acceptance as officer by British. Family spirit of Frontier Force. British role in Indian Army. Determination to equal or surpass British officers. Assessment of British role in Indian Army.
scb_access_status Closed
scb_conditions_gov_access Access to sound recording of this interview is currently unavailable at SOAS Library. The transcript can be consulted. Researchers can access a copy of this sound recording at the British Library Listening & Viewing Service. Reference: C1510/59/01-04. For more details see www.bl.uk/listening or contact listening@bl.uk / 020 7412 7418.
scb_copyright Copyright held by British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
scb_use_restrictions Private study only. For publication or broadcast please refer to Archivist
language English
language_search English
scb_copies Copy available at British Library Listening & Viewing Service. Reference: C1510/59/01-04 Copy available at Imperial War Museum. Reference: 004958/04
scb_related_material Transcript available at SOAS Library. Reference: OA1/59/T
hierarchy_top_id_raw OA1
hierarchy_sequence OA1.0059.001-4

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