Military Synthesis in South Asia: Armies, Warfare, and Indian Society, c. 1740-1849

The document examines the political economy of military finance in 18th and 19th-century South Asia, comparing the Mughal Empire, the Kingdom of Mysore, the Maratha Confederacy, and the Khalsa Kingdom against the East India Company (EIC). It argues that while indigenous powers attempted military-fiscal modernisation, they were hindered by diplomatic failings and internal fragmentation. The EIC succeeded by integrating local revenue systems, such as zamindari land taxes, with global maritime trade and Western military structures, eventually establishing the British Raj.

• The Mughal Empire's military finance was based on a feudo-federal structure where land revenue was the primary income source, with approximately 80% of the budget invested in the army. The system relied on mansabdars—rank holders granted temporary revenue grants (jagirs)—who raised cavalry units and paid their contingents from these lands.
• The Kingdom of Mysore under Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan implemented a form of military fiscalism characterized by a centralised bureaucracy, the abolition of rural intermediaries to collect taxes directly from peasants, and the promotion of overseas commerce to fund a Westernised infantry and artillery corps.
• The Maratha Confederacy operated a 'vampire economy' based on annual raids and the extraction of land revenue from Deccan and North India without providing lasting protection. Despite attempts by leaders like Mahadji Sindia to raise Western-style infantry (campoos) using French mercenaries, the polity remained fragmented and susceptible to internal rivalry.
• The Khalsa Kingdom of Punjab under Ranjit Singh pursued incomplete modernisation by improving irrigation and standardising trade to increase revenue, but it failed to establish a fully centralised bureaucracy. This left the state dependent on landed families (jagirdars) who maintained private forces and absorbed significant land revenue, creating financial instability.
• The East India Company (EIC) established a hybrid globalised political economy by combining indigenous methods—such as utilizing banjaras for supplies and extracting land revenue via zamindars—with Western institutions and global maritime trade linkages, including the export of opium and cotton.
• The British Raj, succeeding the EIC after 1858, maintained a massive military establishment funded primarily by Indian revenues. This funding covered the salaries and pensions of both Indian and British troops, effectively using India to police the British overseas empire east of Suez.

APA

Roy, K. (2005). Military Synthesis in South Asia: Armies, Warfare, and Indian Society, c. 1740-1849. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/894e2e17-66aa-421f-a88d-b34096504ff5/FFinancing War.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Roy, Kaushik. Military Synthesis in South Asia: Armies, Warfare, and Indian Society, c. 1740-1849. Peace Research Institute Oslo, 2005. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/894e2e17-66aa-421f-a88d-b34096504ff5/FFinancing War.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Roy |first1=Kaushik |title=Military Synthesis in South Asia: Armies, Warfare, and Indian Society, c. 1740-1849 |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |date=July 2005 |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/894e2e17-66aa-421f-a88d-b34096504ff5/FFinancing War.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{roy2005military, author = {Roy, Kaushik}, title = {{Military Synthesis in South Asia: Armies, Warfare, and Indian Society, c. 1740-1849}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2005}, month = jul, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/894e2e17-66aa-421f-a88d-b34096504ff5/FFinancing War.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }