RECRUITING FOR THE ARMY IN SOUTH INDIA - Original wartime caption: The Recruiting Medical Officer in Bangalore examining an Indian Army Candidate. Though this photo is apparently about the examination of an Indian Army candidate, the camera’s focus is squarely on the Recruiting Medical Officer and the non-commissioned officer assisting Indian officer here is filling a role that would a few decades before have been occupied by a white British officer; that of embodying the colonial government. The recruit’s body by contrast is passive and pliable in the hands of the army doctor who is e
RECRUITING FOR THE ARMY IN SOUTH INDIA - Original wartime caption: The Recruiting Medical Officer in Bangalore examining an Indian Army Candidate. Though this photo is apparently about the examination of an Indian Army candidate, the camera’s focus is squarely on the Recruiting Medical Officer and the non-commissioned officer assisting Indian officer here is filling a role that would a few decades before have been occupied by a white British officer; that of embodying the colonial government. The recruit’s body by contrast is passive and pliable in the hands of the army doctor who is examining his ear. Photos like this one centring Indian officers were deliberately aimed at promoting the view that Indians, particularly ‘westernised’ and ‘educated’ ones, were increasingly occupying leadership roles in the Indian Army. The original humorous comment accompanying this photograph. ‘Let’s look at this ear’ has also been edited with a view towards presenting a less frivolous picture of the duties of Indian the years leading up to the war, the ‘Indianisation’ controversy had become a major bone of contention between colonial authorities and Indian nationalists. Indian politicians had pressed for the recruitment of more Indian officers but the colonial government was reluctant to transfer military command from British to Indian hands. With the outbreak of the war British propagandists, sensitive to the need to placate American allies as much as Indian subjects, focused increasingly on Indian officers while keeping British officers ‘out of the picture.’ Since the Indian Medical Service was one of the few branches of the Indian Army to feature Indian officers in substantial numbers, Indian Medical Officers became popular fixtures in wartime propaganda films and photography. In addition to the Medical Officer, the camera also keenly focuses on the stripes on the non-commissioned officer’s shoulder to emphasise that Indians were ri
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Photo credit: © piemags/ww2archive / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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