Writer: Lieutenant Colonel Rifat Nadeem Ahmad, retired

General Lord Kitchener was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army in 1902. It was his first posting to India, and reportedly, he was not impressed with the Indian Army or its sepoys. While the latter could be attributed to his lack of familiarity with the men—and he did express his fondness for the sepoys later on—the same could not be said for the state of the Indian Army.

Over the years, the Indian Army had become unwieldy and outdated. It certainly was not fit to take on the Russian threat that loomed so large in the minds of its British commanders. Although these deficiencies had been recognised since the 1880s, the process of reforms was slow. Lord Kitchener set about to immediately remedy the situation. He was a forceful man and a hard taskmaster, who soon implemented radical changes in the organisation and training of the army. Kitchener’s reforms brought about complete unification of the army, and uniformity in its standards. Unified cavalry and infantry lines were created, and all units were grouped into tactical formations of ten divisions, of two to three brigades each. At the same time an effort was made to equip the Indian Army with modern weapons. The reforms led to a significant improvement in the outlook of the army, by placing special emphasis on rigorous and standardised training, promotion of sports and regimental clubs, and inter-unit and inter-formation competitions to test the units’ efficiency.

 In 1904-5, an elaborate and gruelling contest, dubbed Kitchener Test, was conducted to test the efficiency of every infantry battalion in the Indian Army. Separate competitions were held for British and Indian battalions.

The contest lasted for three days and nights, and consisted of nine events encompassing all aspects of military training. Marks for the main events were further broken down for different parts of the activities. Marks could also be deducted for falling out during marching, poor shooting performance, or high rate of hospitalisation in a battalion. It was the first time in the history of the Indian Army that such a test was conducted. It not only revealed the state of efficiency of infantry battalions, but also promoted a spirit of healthy competition among them.

Kitchener Test

Around 137 Indian infantry, pioneer and Gurkha battalions stationed in India, took part in the competition, which was won by 130th Jacob’s Baluchis (now 12 Baloch) by obtaining 1395 marks out of a possible 2000. The battalion, which was stationed at Hyderabad, Sindh, had to undergo the test four times, as after winning the brigade contest, it was then tested at division, command and army levels. The contest was held in December to escape the heat of the Indian summer. However, for the winners, it stretched into April, which in the extreme heat of Hyderabad, was exhausting. The battalion was presented a silver trophy by Lord Kitchener, and as an additional distinction, its non-commissioned officers were permitted to wear the Royal and Imperial Cypher of King Edward VII in silver, above the chevrons on their sleeves. Much of the credit for the battalion’s success goes to Major (later Major General) FJ Fowler, DSO, the battalion’s second-in-command. He was a dynamic and indefatigable officer with a passion for training. His favourite exhortation to his men was: Paltan ke waste aur bhi Khuda ke waste achcha karo! (For battalion’s sake, and especially for God’s sake, do well!). The 130th Jacob’s Baluchis were closely followed by 127th Baluch Light Infantry (now 10 Baloch) with 1367 marks, while the 1st Battalion the Queen’s (Royal West Surrey) Regiment won the competition among British battalions.

In 1906, the Prince of Wales was appointed Colonel-in-Chief of 130th Jacob’s Baluchis, who were designated Prince of Wales Own. At the same time, 127th Baluch Light Infantry was designated as Princess of Wales Own. It is quite possible that their performance in the Kitchener Test resulted in the royal nod of approval, although it is not recorded as such. When the royal couple succeeded to the British throne as King George V and Queen Mary in 1910, the two battalions were redesignated as 130th King George’s Own Baluchis (Jacob’s Rifles) and 127th Queen Mary’s Own Baluch Light Infantry. They retained the royal distinctions until 1956, when Pakistan became a republic, and all titles pertaining to British royalty were discontinued.

The test was considered a great success, and it became part of the annual inspection of infantry battalions in the Army. However, undergoing the gruelling contest four times (in the case of the finalists) was simply too exhausting for any unit. There were also questions regarding the fairness of the contest, due to the varied conditions faced by different battalions, and 1904-5 was the only time that it was held as an inter battalion competition. As such, 12 Baloch has the unique distinction of being the sole recipient of the coveted Kitchener’s Efficiency Trophy from the Sub-continent.