The Government of India have sanctioned the re-opening of enlistment of persons other than European British subjects in the Indian Defence Force. The sanctioned establishment of 4th Calcutta Infantry which takes recruits from Bengal, Behar and Orissa and Assam is 10,000 men. Last year 1,258 applications to join the battalion were received but only 200 men were actually enrolled and only 99 appeared for preliminary training. These figures do not, however, include the Calcutta University Corps and the Bengali Light Horse. For the former there were 1099 applicants of whom 511 were enrolled and for the latter 344 applicants of whom 206 were enrolled. The Indian Defence Force is essentially a citizen force and its primary use will be to support civil power in the event of internal disorder.
