July 2006
Paperback: vi, 162 pages, 22 illustrations.
This biography of Lieutenant Colonel Anath Nath Palit, FRCSE, OBE, is unique as a record of the experiences of an Indian medical officer serving in the pre-war army of the Raj. Very few such subaltern accounts of the experiences of Indians serving in the military forces of the Raj are extant, another being From Sepoy to Subedar, the story of Subedar Sita Ram, an old soldier of the Company's army, translated and published in 1873; although as an officer, Anath Palit's experiences were from a very different perspective.
Anath Palit was born in an influential Bengali family on 14 October 1883. He chose an unorthodox career for himself and was commissioned into the Indian Medical Service on 29 January 1910. His first military station was Dera Ismail Khan, where he served as a regimental medical officer with 1-5 Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force), 1st Duke of York's Own Lancers (Skinner's Horse) and the 35th Scinde Horse. He formed a part of the Indian Expeditionary Force (IEF 'A') that sailed for France in the autumn of 1914, and helped stem the tide of the German offensive in the crucial days before Kitchener's great conscript army could be raised and trained in Great Britain to shore up the 'Old Contemptibles' grimly holding the line in France and Belgium.
Major General DK Palit, VrC., the author of this biography, is himself a very well known military writer and distinguished officer of the Indian Army in his own right. The USI Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research (CAFHR) is publishing this book under the aegis of the General Palit Military Studies Trust as a useful addition to the history of the Indian armed forces.
Payment by demand draft in favour of 'Director, USI of India'. Outstation / Mail orders to include postage and packing charges @ Rs 40/- per copy.
For further information contact:
Squadron Leader Rana T.S. Chhina (Retd)
+91-11-26147464 E-mail: cafhr@usiofindia.org
OR
Colonel VK Singh (Retd)
+91-11-26146490 E-mail: ddadm@usiofindia.org
Fax: +91-11-26149773