A History of the Mahrattas v2.c51.97

v2.c51.97

³ [This assertion requires qualification in the light of the record of the Marāthā regiments during the Great War (1914–18). When war broke out, recruiting for the Bombay regiments was confined to the Deccan and Konkani Marāthās, who are members of the great agricultural Kunbī class, and to the Deccan Muhammadans. Though the Deccan Marāthā came forward in smaller numbers to join the army and showed towards recruiting a much less martial spirit than the Konkani Marāthā from Kolāba, Ratnāgiri and Sāvantvādi Districts, still he fought with as much courage and credit as the Konkani Marāthā in East Africa, Mesopotamia, Palestine and France. The Konkani Marāthā on the other hand came forward freely to enlist for the sake of the Marāthā name, and the honour of the regiments with which his ancestors were associated. British officers who commanded them have borne testimony to the unvarying steadiness and courage with which the Marāthās proper from the Deccan and Konkan