The Auxiliary Force (India) (AFI) was a part-time, paid volunteer military organisation within the British Indian Army, with recruits from British India. Its units were entirely made up of European and Anglo-Indian personnel. The AFI was formed in 1920, along with the Indian Territorial Force (ITF), replacing the Indian Defence Force (IDF).
History The AFI was created by the Auxiliary Force Act 1920"Indian Auxiliary Forces: A Territorial Scheme", The Times, 1 October 1920 to replace the unpopular British section of the Indian Defence Force (IDF), which had recruited by conscription. By contrast, the AFI was an all-volunteer force modelled after the British Territorial Army. The Indian parallel to the AFI was the Indian Territorial Force (ITF) which was composed of British officers and Indian other ranks.
Units on 3 September 1939 NameHeadquartersContingentsAgra ContingentAgraAllahabad ContingentAllahabadBangalore ContingentBangaloreBareilly CorpsBareillyBareilly ContingentNaini TalBombay ContingentBombayCawnpore ContingentCawnporeDehra Dun Contingent3 Infantry Platoons, 1 Wireless Telegraphy Section & 4 Motor Platoons.Dehra DunDelhi Contingent1 Cavalry Troop, 1 Infantry Company & 3 Motor Platoons.DelhiKarachi CorpsKarachiLucknow ContingentLucknowMadras ContingentMadrasPoona ContingentPoonaPunjab ContingentLahoreCavalry regimentsAssam Valley Light HorseDibrugarhBihar Light HorseMuzaffarpurBombay Light PatrolPart of Bombay ContingentBombayCalcutta Light HorseCalcuttaChota Nagpur RegimentRanchiNorthern Bengal Mounted RiflesDarjeelingPunjab Light HorsePart of Punjab ContingentLahoreSouthern Provinces Mounted RiflesMadrasSurma Valley Light HorseSilcharAllahabad Detachment, United Provinces Horse (Southern Regiment)Part of Allahabad ContingentAllahabadCawnpore Detachment, United Provinces Horse (Southern Regiment)Part of Cawnpore DetachmentCawnporeLucknow Detachment, United Provinces Horse (Southern Regiment)Part of Lucknow ContingentLucknowArmoured Car companiesBangalore Armoured Car CompanyPart of Bangalore ContingentBangaloreArtillery brigadessoon renamed regiments.Bengal Artillery, RABarrackporeI (Calcutta Port Defence) Brigade, RACalcuttaV (Cossipore) Field Brigade, RACossiporeSeparate artillery batteriesNo. 3 (Madras) Field Battery, RAPart of Madras ContingentMadrasNo. 10 (Bombay) Battery, RABombayNo. 13 (Lucknow) Field Battery, RALucknowNo. 15 (Kirkee) Field Battery, RAKirkeeNo. 17 (Agra) Field Battery, RAPart of Agra ContingentAgraNo. 18 (Bareilly) Field Battery, RAPart of Bareilly ContingentBareillyNo. 20 (Cawnpore) Field Battery, RACawnporeEngineer companiesNo. 1 (Calcutta) Fortress Company, RECalcuttaNo. 3 (Bombay) Fortress Company, REBombayNo. 4 (Karachi) Fortress Company, REPart of Karachi ContingentKarachiSignal companiesNo. 1 (Madras) Signal CompanyMadrasRailway battalionsAssam Bengal Railway BattalionChittagongBengal Nagpur Railway BattalionKharagpurBengal and North Western Railway BattalionGorakhpur1st Battalion, Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway RegimentLower Parel2nd Battalion, Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway RegimentAjmerEastern Bengal Railway BattalionSealdah1st Battalion, East Indian Railway RegimentLillooah2nd Battalion, East Indian Railway RegimentLucknow1st Battalion, Great India Peninsula Railway RegimentParel2nd Battalion, Great India Peninsula Railway RegimentJhansi1st Battalion, Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway RiflesPerambur2nd Battalion, Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway RiflesHubliNorth Western Railway BattalionLahoreSouth Indian Railway BattalionTrichinopolyInfantry battalionsAllahabad RiflesAllahabadBangalore Battalion (Bangalore Rifle Volunteers)BangaloreBombay BattalionBombayCalcutta and Presidency BattalionCalcuttaCalcutta ScottishCalcuttaCawnpore RiflesCawnporeEast Coast BattalionVizayapatamHyderabad RiflesSecunderabadKolar Gold Fields BattalionOorgaumLucknow RiflesLucknowMadras GuardsMadrasNagpur RiflesNagpurNilgiri Malabar BattalionOotacamundPoona RiflesPart of Poona ContingentPoonaPunjab RiflesLahoreSimla RiflesSimlaSind RiflesKarachiSeparate infantry companiesBhusawal CompanyAdministered by 1st Battalion, Great India Peninsula Railway Regiment.BhusawalCoorg and Mysore CompanyMercaraEastern Bengal CompanyDaccaYercaud CompanyYercaudMachine-gun companiesNo. 2 (Karachi) Machine-Gun CompanyKarachiNo. 5 (Agra) Machine-Gun CompanyAgra
In popular culture The Auxiliary Force features extensively in the plot of John Masters' novel Bhowani Junction, focusing on a community of Anglo-Indian railway workers at an Indian town in 1946, on the verge of the British withdrawal.
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