INDIAN TERRITORIAL ARMY

Lieutenant Colonel (Honorary) Kapil Dev, Territorial Army

Popularly known as the Citizens' Army, Territorial Army is an organization of gainfully employed Indian citizens who are not professional soldiers but amateurs who have a passion and love for the country and who are eager to contribute their spare time for obtaining military training so that, in the event of a national emergency, they can play their part to meet the internal security needs and contribute their might in the defence of their motherland.

They are recruited, trained and organized like those of the professionals to form a pool of reserves at a very minimum cost. This pool can be mobilized during any form of national emergency to augment the strength of regular forces. Although, Territorials serve for a very limited duration to train themselves as soldiers, most of them attain good professional standards over a period of training and service.

The Territorial Army is an integral part of the Indian Army as defined in paragraph one, chapter one and part one of the Defence Service Regulations which states,

"The army comprises, Regular Army, Regular Reserves, and the Territorial Army."

The Regular Army as per chapter one, paragraph 3 (217xxi) of the Army Act 1950,

"Regular Army means officers, junior commissioned officers, warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and other enrolled persons who, by their commission, warrant, terms of enrollment or otherwise, are liable to warrant, terms of enrollment or otherwise, are liable to Union in any part of the world, including persons belonging to the Reserve Forces and the Territorial Army when called out on permanent service."

The present role of Territorial Army is:

• To relieve the Regular Army from static duties, assist civil administration in dealing with natural calamities and maintenance of essential services in situations where life of the communities is affected or security of the country is threatened and to provide support to national efforts.
•  To provide units for Regular Army, as and when, required.

The conceptual framework for the Territorial Army is based on the fundamental idea that it should exist for war-time employment, and should be maintainable at the lowest cost during peace time. The concept encompasses the employment of disciplined, dedicated and a low cost force of gainfully employed citizens from all walks of life to supplement and augment the resources of Regular Army. These citizens on joining undergo a short period of rigorous training, which makes them reasonably competent soldiers. Subsequently, they join units from 14 days to a maximum of 60 days every year for refresher training and to keep in touch with the art of soldiering.

Note:- Article compiled from open sources.

(Published by the team of Territorials)

ORIGIN OF INDIA'S TERRITORIAL FORCES

Origin of India’s territorial forces can be traced back to the arrival of East India Company in the first quarter of the seventeenth century. After the charter to trade in India was granted, few merchant adventurers along the some surgeons embarked upon on a voyage under the flagship of John’s Company and arrived on an Indian coast. These surgeons eventually played a key role in obtaining many valuable concessions from the Mughal Empire due to their superior medical skills and the company managed to get a firmaan to establish their factories followed by forts. It is interesting to note that the successors of same surgeons were later formed into the Indian Medical Service (which in present form is the Army Medical Corps of the Indian Army) wherein they used to be mobilized as soldiers in times of crises.

In the year 1645, East India Company requested their Directors in London to allow them to form a body of trained band which could be given military tasks. The Board of Directors replied in affirmative and a Companie of Trained Band was constituted at Fort St George, Madras from among the civilian employees of the company. Their task was to safeguard company’s commercial interests from the ever aggressive French, Dutch, Portuguese and the local princely states.

This band was loosely based on the structure of Trained Bands which existed in England at that point of time and the training used to be conducted during weekends. The body was pivotal in defending the East India Company and making it a force to reckon with.

Somewhere in the forth decade of eighteenth century a man called Robert Clive arrived on the Indian scene and completely changed the destiny of this country. Making a humble beginning with a meager job of a lower division clerk, he volunteered for part-time military service in the Companie of Trained Band. Slowly but surely he kept on rising and was granted the Ensign’s commission due to his exploits against the French. The man created history by defeating Siraj-ud- Daula in the famous battle of Plassey near Murshidabad in 1757 wherein an army of around ten thousand soldiers with mostly part-timers defeated a much larger army of over a lakh aided by the French. The battle was a complete turnaround for the East India Company which now was ruling the eastern part of India.

1759 onwards, the company decided to restructure the part-time force and began raising of units organized on the lines of regular army. These units were created from among the nucleus of the existing part-time units and thus we can say that the present Indian armed forces actually evolved out of the part-timers…

(Published by the team of Territorials)

TERRITORIAL ARMY

Formation of citizens’ armed forces, which provide, to the youth engaged in civilian professions, opportunities and facilities for military training and thereby constitute a reserve of trained manpower for ‘ effective national defence in the event of an emergency’ is the direct result of the changed nature and character of modern war.

Modern warfare (termed in military terminology as the fourth generation warfare) has not only greatly extended the area of conflict and the impact of fighting but it has completely wiped out the traditional difference between the ‘actual fighting lines and civilian population in the rear’. Entire areas and entire people have become the objective of warfare today. Since no country can afford to maintain regular armed forces, large enough to effectively meet the changes posed by modern warfare, the answer has been the formation of citizens’ armed forces, described variously as second line of defence, part time auxiliaries, territorial armies, citizen armies, auxiliary forces, militias, reserve forces, national guards, etc.

In India, the territorial army constitutes a vital component of Indian army which provides to the working youth, military training to develop their personality, built up character and create a reserve of trained manpower, necessary for the rapid expansion of regular army in the event of an emergency.

(Published by the team of Territorials)