CHAPTER II

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HINDUSTANI
SOLDIER—BENARES

THE outbreak of the mutiny at Meerut (Mirath)
was begun by the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, in
which a great majority of the men, as in the other
23 regiments recruited in Bengal, were Muhammadans.
In the 74 battalions, mainly recruited in Oudh and
on its borders, of which 6 only remained stanch,
the Muhammadans numbered approximately i to 6
Hindus.

The m,en had many grievances, some dating from
1843, when the money allowances, previously given
for service outside Hindustan, were refused to battalions
sent to Sindh; but all foreign service questions affected
infantry more than cavalry. In the former, promotion
to the highest rank obtainable, that of captain, was
always by seniority in, and from the ranks; a
Sipahi had generally sixteen years' service before he
became a corporal—sergeants reached that rank after
twenty-six years, and Native officers became such in
most cases after thirty-five years' service; a lieutenant
had frequently to serve fifty years for pension, and
the rules had recently been made more stringent in
Bengal. An old Native captain was often commanded
by the last joined ensign from England, whose
carelessness   in   returning   salutes   was   a   source   of

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