Subadar in the Indian Army

Sake Dean Mahomet became associated with the British in India when he was a camp follower at the age of 11 in 1769. he quickly rose through the ranks and became a Subadar in the Bengal Army, serving under the quartermaster of the 3rd Bengal (European) Regiment Godfrey Evan Baker. Mahomet accompanied Baker when the Irishman – under a cloud of suspicion following allegations of corruption and bribery – returned to Ireland in the 1780s.
A Subadar, or captain, was the highest rank an Indian could obtain. Pictured above is a Subadar (in red jackets faced with yellow) being saluted by a Havidar, or sergeant. A sepoy is in the background. This print is contemporary with the time Sake Dean Mahomet spent in the Bengal Army of the East India Company.
The Bengal Army was the army of the Presidency of Bengal, one of the three Presidencies of British India. Although based in Bengal in eastern India, the Presidency stretched across northern India and the Himalayas all the way to the North West Frontier Province with Afghanistan. It was predominantky and Indian-born army with Eurooean officers.