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Concept
Junior commissioned officer
Summary
Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) is a term used for a group of military ranks which is higher than havildar (non-commissioned officer) and lower than lieutenant (commissioned officer). The term is only used by Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. Senior havildars are promoted to JCO rank on the basis of merit and seniority, restricted by the number of vacancies. JCOs are treated as a separate class and hold additional privileges. Primarily the term was associated with armies but since the 2000s India and Pakistan's navies and air forces are using the term to indicate their Chief Petty Officers and Warrant Officers.
The Indian Army recruited Gurkha soldiers from Nepal since the 19th century and separate Gurkha Regiments were created for them, the Gurkha soldiers got same ranks as other Indian soldiers; the modern Nepal Army officially made the Indian Army rank system for their soldiers in 1960s through a series of reorganizations and the 'JCO' term is being used by them from then. After the secession of East Pakistan in 1971 the Bangladesh Army inherited the 'JCO' rank system from Pakistan Army though since early 2000s the army uses the Warrant Officer terms.
The JCO evolved from the Viceroy's Commissioned Officers (VCOs), established in the Indian Army 1 during the British Raj in 1885. The VCOs themselves succeeded the so-called native officers holding a commission from the Governor General. Gurkha regiments in British service had also their set of 'native officers' resp. VCOs, although their homeland Nepal was never a British colony.
Under the British, there was a clear colonial context, with the VCOs being the highest ranks an Indian could attain. The full commissioned officers were British, from the 18th century to the beginning of the 20th century. However, that changed slowly under the principles of Indianisation. In 1905, a special form (or one could say better a 'crippled' form) of King’s Commission in His Majesty’s Native Land Forces was instituted.
Official source
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