Madras Army | |
---|---|
Active | 1757–1895 (as the Madras Army) 1895–1908 (as the Madras Command of the Indian Army) |
Type | Command |
Size | 47,000 (1876)[1] |
Part of | Presidency armies |
Garrison/HQ | Ootacamund, Nilgiris district |
The Madras Army was the army of the Presidency of Madras, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire. The Madras Army was originally intended to be composed only of Rajputs, Mussalmans, and the three Telugu castes the Kammas, the Razus and the Velamas.
The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company until the Government of India Act 1858 (passed in the aftermath of the Indian Rebellion of 1857) transferred all three presidencies to the direct authority of the British Crown.
In 1895 all three presidency armies were merged into the Indian Army.