Product Description

SOLDIER SAHIBS is the astonishing story of a brotherhood of young men who together laid claim to the most notorious frontier in the world, the North-West Frontier, which today forms the volatile boundary between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Known collectively as 'Henry Lawrence's young men', each had distinguished himself in the East India Company's wars in the Punjab before going on to make his name as a 'political' on the Frontier - Herbert Edwardes, who 'pacified' Bannu; John Nicholson, a forebear of the author who became the terror of the Sikhs as 'Nikkal Seyn'; 'Uncle' James Abbot of Hazara, and many others.

Drawing extensively on their journals, diaries and letters, as well as his own recent travels in their footsteps, Charles Allen, acknowledged master story-teller of imperial history, weaves the individual stories of these soldier sahibs into an extraordinary tale that climaxes on Delhi Ridge in 1857, when the brotherhood came together to 'save' India.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #33159 in Books
• Published on: 2001-11-01
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

SAUL DAVID in the DAILY TELEGRAPH
'A marvellous book in the best traditions of narrative history: colourful, informative and splendidly readable.'

WILLIAM DALRYMPLE in the SUNDAY TIMES
'Allen is an excellent guide through this fascinating territory . . . [A] magnificent book'

Synopsis
The story of a brotherhood of young men who together laid claim to the most notorious frontier in the world, the North-West Frontier, which today forms the volatile boundary between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Known collectively as "Henry Lawrence's young men", each had distinguished himself in the East India Company's wars in the Punjab before going on to make his name as a "political" on the Frontier - Herbert Edwardes, who "pacified" Bannu; John Nicholson, a forebear of the author, who became the terror of the Sikhs as "Nikkal Seyn"; "Uncle" James Abbot of Hazara, and many others. Drawing extensively on their journals, diaries and letters, as well as his own recent travels in their footsteps, Charles Allen weaves the individual stories of these soldier sahibs into an extraordinary tale that climaxes on Delhi Ridge in 1857, when the brotherhood came together to "save" India.

Customer Reviews

Sikh collapse after Ranjit Singh
It is about the men who commanded the NW Indian territories on behalf of the East India Company and principally about one hero called John Nicholson. Despite the subtitle, this book is a great deal more than short biographic narratives about the men. It is the seam of their environment that provides half the interest consisting of geographical descriptions, the attitudes of Indians and how the British and "Indians" conducted their business.

There are some gripping accounts of bloody battles on horseback, with bits being chopped off and we can see that films like Gladiator are the tip of the iceberg when it came to hand to hand horseback combat before the 20th century. The men and horses were brave and some of them knew what they wanted and how to get it. This is particularly true in how the violent Pakhtun tribes in Pakistan were bought to heel. As aliens, the British succeeded in creating order (as they were neutral) between parties like Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus who could easily foment religious rivalry between themselves. The British had an art to how they brought about law and order and we can see it was no small accomplishment.

There is a certain amount of bigotry and imperialism in operation which is quite clear, but these were the days before the British became complacent and divorced themselves from Indian culture at the beginnings of the 20th century, which eventually created the independence movement that lead to partition.

Sikhs today feel left out of a homeland that was owed to them by the British. This is a book that shows how loyal Sikhs were to the British and the background to their territorial claims.

Charles Allen is a fine author and this book deserves praise. The war in it and many quotations make the book quite gripping and one hopes some people today are made of the same stuff as certain aspects of the men described - though not all of those aspects.

Fact is stranger than fiction
Having read various fictional accounts of the Indian (Sepoy) Mutiny and of 19th century India, with all the feel of "Boys Own adventure" that they tend to contain, to find that many of these things really did happen, and in a fashion that does shows that some of the fictional action did not stray overmuch from the fact, is quite startling. The Lawrence Brothers, and Henry Lawrence's "Young Men" are shown here, with warts and all, the glamour stripped off. And yet what they did, despite the petty jeaousies, and the scandals still comes through. These are not the paladins of Victorian romance, but the real men, hard to the point (sometimes beyond the point) of brutality. Arrogant, self possessed men who believed in what they did, and in many instances played fast and loose with the tribesmen of the Frontier. To judge them by modern standards is to deny their own background and the situation they found themselves in. The book also touches on the murky world of The East India (John) Company, and how these men had to act as soldiers, policemen, and politicians as they strove to protect John Company's market share.

Excellent book but some flaws let it down
First let me say I recommend this book highly to anyone who is interested in the period or personalities. I have not given it five stars because I believe there are some minor flaws. I found the main map at the front badly located (most of the action takes place around Peshawar and Rawalpindi, and these places fall in or near the gutter). I would also have appreciated it if the modern national boundaries were marked on the map. I also found the work to be episodic - a hazard of such an undertaking perhaps, but the book and the narrative as a whole didn't gel together as well as they might. Finally the book mentions that some of the places stayed in or built by the protagonists are still there, and I would have appreciated a photograph of them.
However these are minor carpings, and I trust they won't provoke the ghost of John Nicholson to haunt me - a extremely daunting character from Allen's description. I recommend this highly.