‘Titans of the Punjab’: Soldier-Administrators, Christian Missions and Providential Thought in British India, 1845–65

The Punjab school, a network of soldier-administrators involved in the conquest and governance of the Punjab between the mid-1840s and mid-1860s, had a profound influence on British Christian attitudes towards the empire in India. The network included some sixty army officers and civilian administrators, who were characterized by military valour, a strict sense of duty, emphasis on moral character, paternalist attitudes, philanthropic activism, imperialist beliefs, and an evangelical Christian faith. They exercised considerable personal authority under what was called the ‘non-regulation’ system. Members of the network supported the expansion of Christian missions in the Punjab, viewing the empire as having a providential purpose for the spread of Christianity.