NEW DELHI: Bitter criticism of the discriminatory treatment of Indian Sepoys and Officers by the British personnel of the Indian Army was made in the Central Assembly to-day [March 14] when the House discussed the War Secretary’s motion for selection of non-officials to serve on the Defence Consultative Committee. Mr. Mohammad Nauman spoke on behalf of the Muslim League Party.

An interesting debate ensued over the motion of Mr. Trivedi, the War Secretary. Fourteen members of the House including the mover participated in the discussions. The general trend of criticism was regarding the Indian personnel of the Army who were not well treated by the British officers. Speakers voiced their protest at this sort of treatment meted out to Indians, who were fighting for the Government. [They] objected to the way in which selection of officers was made by the recruiting authorities. It showed, the members added, that the Defence Department was unsympathetic towards the entry of Indians in the army. Sardar Mangal Singh (Unattached) pointed out that in the Indian Air Force there were a number of crashes and alleged they were due to the old machines given to them.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2020