How did they do it

'How did a handful of British ruled millions' has been a vexing question for me and I am sure for the majority of us who did not major in Indian History.

And a valid question it is, after all what are the odds of a few thousands (126K to be precise according to 1861 census) rule by force a population of well over 200 Million(1901 Indian census). Which essentially boils down to ratio of 1 British to 1587 Indians. That will surely spell Waterloo in capital for any General worth his salt. Then how did the British convince us to fight on against another.

According to many a British journal there are only two things which can make the lethargic native spring into action: Greed and Fear; in that order.

Surely it wasn't all greed, Indians were not getting any more richer working in the British army than in Tantya Tope's. There might have been a slight variation in the benefits or the reimbursment of expenses incurred at the local Hakim but surely not enough for the emotional Indian to fire at his own brethren. And fear it certainly can't be. How are you going to find out a defector in a country of India's dimensions. Or better still just walk over to the next Maharaja and join his army and there you are, a guilt free military career.

My take on the whole mystery is that this was a soft issue, more in the realm of HR rather than Finance, moving slightly up in the Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

Though we have been raised with the mindset that India is a third world poor country and hence a few bucks will get you anything but that holds good only so far, Indians are also very emotional people and very strongly connected to their families; in fact we are never ever able to cut our umbical chord. This coupled with a continuous stream of religious festivals ensures that we are always applying for leave and this my dear readers brings us to the core of the issue, the issue that cost us our independence, the issue that made the Raj survive for so long despite the enormous odds stacked against it, the issue of the canceling leave.

The root of this issue can be traced to the fundamental difference that lies between the 'Desi' and the 'Gora' mindset. When faced with the decision to grant leave, 'Personal Reason' is sacrosanct for the Gora. They will not dig deeper, not try to find out the frivolousness of your time out, not try to impress upon the extremely important work, in the above case keeping the empire intact, that is going to impacted but would rather take the approach of finding a work around. Their policy specially around planned time out is very professional and doesn't bank on individuals making personal sacrifices for the sake of the organizations cause.

The 'Desi' mentality on the other hand is driven from the assumption that a favor has already been granted by giving a job and hence personal sacrifices are something that are not only called for but also activly sought by the recruit in order to payback the debt. Hence the result, vacations cancelled at the last minute for the most trivial of reasons. For the reasons mentioned above this debt repayment does not go well with the natives resulting in they preferring the employment of the Company Bahadur making the Maharaja erstwhile.

This difference in culture and attitude spawns centuries and even today whenever one is scouting around for a new boss "Gora' is the word to go by, their professionalism ensuring the unhindered continuity of planned leaves for reasons personal or otherwise.

And that's how they do it.