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'Memoirs and Recollections of An Officer of the Indian Political Service' [‎3r] (5/156)

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The record is made up of 1 file (78 folios). It was created in 1983?. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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CD
- 3 -
taxes to Government. During these years I passed the higher standard examination
in Pashtu, the language of the Pathans of the Frontier. Our off duty relaxations
largely centred around the polo ground and the training of ponies for the game.
For a cavalry regiment, the 8th had an outstanding good hockey, of which I was a
member. I visited Kashmir twice on holiday, spending most of my time when I was
not working at Pashtu with my ’munshi', whom I took with me from the plains, playing
golf on the excellent courses of Gulmarg.
After six months leave in the U.K. in 1933, I was sent on the much sought after
Equitation Course at Saugor in the C.P. Vacancies on this course were much prized by
all young cavalrymen as they were difficult to come by and led almost inevitably to
selection as adjutant of one's Regiment. By the time I returned to regimental duty
in May 1934, I was faced with a difficult decision, which vitally affected my
military career. Over the years, I had had at the back of my mind a desire to join
the Indian Political Service The branch of the British Government of India with responsibility for managing political relations between British-ruled India and its surrounding states, and by extension the Gulf, during the period 1937-47. , which was recruited from officers of the I.C.S. and
Indian Army in the proportion of one to three. But, military officers were normally
accepted for transfer in the twenty-fifth year of their age. In my case, I would be
twenty-six in January 1935, after which I would be ineligible for consideration.
The IPS The branch of the British Government of India with responsibility for managing political relations between British-ruled India and its surrounding states, and by extension the Gulf, during the period 1937-47. was a small and highly select service which came directly under the Viceroy,
0*
as opposed to the Government of India. In 1947 when independence came to India,
the Indian Political Service The branch of the British Government of India with responsibility for managing political relations between British-ruled India and its surrounding states, and by extension the Gulf, during the period 1937-47. Cadre consisted of only one hundred and seventy officers.
Applicants to join were numerous, but the annual intake was usually limited to six
army officers and two from the I.C.S.
I was quite sure that, had my Father been alive, he would have urged me to maintain
the family tradition by joining the IPS The branch of the British Government of India with responsibility for managing political relations between British-ruled India and its surrounding states, and by extension the Gulf, during the period 1937-47. , if entry into ICS proved impossible. I
wrestled with my personal problem for several weeks, and, finally in about July 1934,
greatly daring and in considerable trepidation, as I knew he would not be pleased, I
summoned up my courage and asked my Colonel to forward my application for transfer to
the IPS The branch of the British Government of India with responsibility for managing political relations between British-ruled India and its surrounding states, and by extension the Gulf, during the period 1937-47. . I knew that, if I were lucky enough to be chosen, it would mean leaving my
Regiment for good, and the end of my active military career which I had greatly
enjoyed and in which, so I flattered myself, I had so far done well. In the event,
the Colonel was kind enough to endorse my application and to forward it with his
strong recommendation.
In due course and after an anxious wait of about two months^I was summoned to present
myself in Simla to be interviewed by the Political and Foreign Secretaries, who were
the heads of the two branches of the Service.
Nor was this all, as other senior officers also interviewed prospective candidates,
and finally they were subjected to the ordeal of a Luncheon at Viceregal Lodge.

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Content

This file contains a photocopy of a typewritten draft of Sir John Richard Cotton's (b 1909) memoirs of his time in the Indian military and civil service. The memoirs, which were written when the author was 'in his seventy-fourth year', cover his time in the Indian Army, at Aden, Ethiopia, Attock, the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Mount Abu, Hyderabad, Rajkot (Kathiawar), the Political Department in New Delhi, and finally the UK High Commission in Pakistan.

Extent and format
1 file (78 folios)
Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 78; these numbers are written in pencil and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. The file also contains an original printed foliation sequence.

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English in Latin script
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'Memoirs and Recollections of An Officer of the Indian Political Service' [‎3r] (5/156), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F226/7, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100076278456.0x000006> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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