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Concept
Subedar
Summary
Subedar is a rank of junior commissioned officer in the Indian Army; a senior non-commissioned officer in the Pakistan Army, and formerly a Viceroy's commissioned officer in the Indian Army, during the Raj.
Subedar or subadar was the second-highest rank of an Indian officer in the military forces of British India, ranking below "British Commissioned Officers" and above "Local Non-Commissioned Officers". Indian officers were promoted to this rank on the basis of both lengths of service and individual merit.
Under British rule, a Risaldar was the cavalry equivalent of a Subedar. A Subedar / Risaldar was ranked senior to a Jemadar and junior to a Subedar Major / Risaldar Major in an infantry / cavalry regiment of the Indian Army. Both Subedars and Risaldars wore two stars as rank insignia.
The rank was introduced in the East India Company's presidency armies (the Bengal Army, the Madras Army and the Bombay Army) to make it easier for British officers to communicate with Indian troops. It was thus important for subedars to have some competence in English. In an order dated November 1755 the structure of an infantry company in the HEIC's newly raised infantry regiments provided for one subedar, four jemadars, 16 NCOs and 90 sepoys (private soldiers). This was to remain the approximate proportion until the number of British junior officers in a regiment increased later in the 18th century.
Until 1866, the rank was the highest an Indian soldier could achieve in the presidency armies. A subedar's authority was confined to other Indian troops, and he could not command British troops. Promoted from the ranks and usually advanced through seniority based on long service; the typical subedar of this period was a relatively elderly veteran with limited English, whose extensive regimental experience and practical knowledge was not matched by formal education or training.
Before the Partition of India, subedars were known as Viceroy's commissioned officers (VCOs). After 1947, this term was changed to junior commissioned officers.
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