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  1. #11
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    Default Re: Britain’s Abandoned Black Soldiers

    Quote Originally Posted by KK20 View Post
    Very briefy some examples:
    Naicker ( and variants)- Corporal
    Govender ( and variants)- Kings gaurd
    Khan is originally with the Pashtuns that came in but Khan is the equivalent of Singh in this context. Khan being muslim and Singh being Hindu.
    We also had many Christains with very English sounding names and they got lost in the memorial walls with names as the racist policy of excluding Indians got confused with names sounding English and engraved the names anyway. Examples , James , Christopher , Alexander , Mathias , Francis , Jacob, etc .. They were redominantly from the Madras Presidency. They were not converts as Christianity was in India from St Thomas's time.
    Singh in several different ranks. Today Singh is usually associated with Hindi speaking community but back in 1800 it was Marathi , Tamil and Telugu , Punjabi (Sikh).
    Padayachee - general ( Pada (foot) Atchai ( soldier/fighter), ei- (leader of) they were traditionally landowners that were were required to supply 3000 men if the government of the day wanted it. They were strongly aligned with the Nawabs of the South and then with the Maratas and they also led the battle against the British in the 1700s 100 years before the 1800 sepoy Mutiny .

    I listed these beacause they are somewhat better known amongst the Whites in RSA.
    That's some real interesting insight.

    I would love to read more about it if you have the time to write up a post sometime.

  2. #12
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    Default Re: Britain’s Abandoned Black Soldiers

    Very interesting thread, thanks KK
    Don’t take life too seriously, no one gets out alive.

  3. #13
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    Default Re: Britain’s Abandoned Black Soldiers

    Quote Originally Posted by noost View Post
    Hey KK,

    That is awesome, do you have examples? Why did they do it?

    Thanks for the great history pieces, really enjoy reading it!
    When I think of Indian surnames, I immediately think Naidoo, Pillay, Govender because they are common among Indians I know. Were those military ranks?

  4. #14
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    Default Re: Britain’s Abandoned Black Soldiers

    The Naidoos were involved as office workers (clerks and accountants)
    Pillay also from the martial community.
    I had covered the Govender/Gouden/Covenden etc ( Kings gaurd )


    British Raj-era India stretched from Persia to Burma and from Afghanistan to Kanyakumari. What is known as India today is a new state created 75 years ago.

    The Southern part the Madras Presidency and the Bombay presidency were vibrant and rich States which had the Portuguese, French, Danes, Dutch established there. The early recruits came from these areas because these areas were at peacetime for many years and had excess military men. The northern part was at war with the end of the Moghul era so military men from there only came in much later.
    Last edited by KK20; 11-05-2020 at 18:36.
    live out your imagination , not your history.

  5. #15

    Default Re: Britain’s Abandoned Black Soldiers

    Hi KK20

    Not worth to get heated up by people that cannot face facts. Play the man and his skin easier than face the truth. Face to face they are normally cowards.
    Keep up the research and reporting getting facts set straight about all holier than thou pirates.

    Where do you find the time to do all the various articles that you enlighten us on. What trigger the wide spectrum of topics?
    Reddy also from the "voluntary soldiers" and the region they came from.

    Keep it up.

  6. #16
    Moderator KK20's Avatar
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    Default Re: Britain’s Abandoned Black Soldiers

    A bit about the carried over prejudices from that side of the world.
    The southerners in 1700 refused to form a military with the British but did with the French and and the Dutch.
    When the French captured Port St George from the British, they gave it back after Brittain gave France Quebec. It was the Marathas that kept the British out of the west coast of India and the sea route to Gulf keeping in check the Ottomans, eventually sadly the Marathas disintegrated. The British then elevated the status of the Northerners ( including todays Pakistan) to above that of the Marathas and Southerners. This resulted in a sense of superiority and to this day there is a somewhat of a divide on the North South heritage issue.

    So it is recorded that Northerners were given British army pensions but Southerners were disbanded. This air of superiority carries on to an extent today.
    live out your imagination , not your history.

  7. #17
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    Default Re: Britain’s Abandoned Black Soldiers

    Quote Originally Posted by Theunsb View Post
    Hi KK20

    Not worth to get heated up by people that cannot face facts. Play the man and his skin easier than face the truth. Face to face they are normally cowards.
    Keep up the research and reporting getting facts set straight about all holier than thou pirates.

    Where do you find the time to do all the various articles that you enlighten us on. What trigger the wide spectrum of topics?
    Reddy also from the "voluntary soldiers" and the region they came from.

    Keep it up.
    Reddy/Reddiars (wadda) were/are the wildest fuckers on the field. Mostly Telegu/Andra people.
    Last edited by KK20; 11-05-2020 at 19:22.
    live out your imagination , not your history.

  8. #18
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    Default Re: Britain’s Abandoned Black Soldiers

    Kipling wrote about the events and are still available.

    "his is another story of the Second Boer War seen through the eyes of a Sikh soldier, in which Kipling uses the device of the ‘imperfectly-informed narrator’ who reports what he sees and hears without always fully understanding it, although the reader does.

    Umr Singh is an elderly Sikh, probably a very senior non-commisioned officer, who had served in many campaigns in India with distinction, and had come to South Africa with his much loved Captain, ‘Kurban Sahib’, Captain Corbyn. Corbyn had come, on ‘sick leave’ from his cavalry regiment, for the chance of seeing some fighting against the Boers. He had joined up with a troop of volunteer Australians, fine horsemen and skilful soldiers, fighting on the veldt. Behind the lines there were many Boer farms, whose people had secured a certificate of neutrality from the naive British authorities, but who were often in close touch with the Boer commandoes.

    They are near a farm, which has been signalling to the Boer riflemen, and are treacherously fired on. Corbyn is mortally wounded, and Umr Singh and a fellow soldier, a Pathan, swear revenge. They enter the farm, where some wounded Boer soldiers have taken refuge, and prepare to hang those responsible for the shooting; but they are held back by their memory of Corbyn’s insistence that this is a ‘Sahibs’ War’, for white men. They hand over their prisoners to the Australians, who raze the place to the ground. Umr Simgh is on his way back to the Punjab, in sadness."
    live out your imagination , not your history.

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