MILITARY UNIFORMS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE OVERSEAS, 1938 (4) - HYDERABAD STATE FORCES

After this post on the Bikaner State Forces, another John Player cigarette card celebrating Britain's Indian Empire:

Hyderabad State Forces

The reverse of the cigarette card (No.32 of 50) states:

"His Exalted Highness the Nizam of Hyderabad is the Ruler of the premier Indian state, which has a population of over fourteen million, and covers 83,000 square miles in Southern India. He maintains three regiments of Lancers organised as a Cavalry Brigade and, in addition, three Infantry battalions, a Horse Artillery Battery and a Transport Section. His forces number nearly five thousand in all. A regiment of Hyderabad Lancers served with the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade on the Suez Canal and in Palestine during the Great War. The officer shown in Full Dress in our picture is the commander of the Cavalry Brigade; the Char Minar, Hyderabad, appears in the background."

Notes:

(1). a useful historical summary of the "Hyderabad Contingent" can be found HERE

(2). notwithstanding the scarlet of their Brigadier, the Hyderabad Lancers appear to have been uniformed in blue:

Hyderabad Contingent Cavalry

Officer, Hyderabad Lancers, 1917

while the Hyderabad PBI appear to have been uniformed in traditional scarlet:

Hyderabad Contingent Infantry, 1903

(3). for suitable 28mm figures, a "hidden in plain sight" gem of a manufacturer - Tradition of London. One of the oldest retailers of toy soldiers in varying scales, Tradition carry the venerable Charles Stadden 30mm line, including a small range of  "Indian Army c.1897". Although these 30mm figures remain imposing next to even todays 28mm figures (think of the size of Bob Murch's Pulp Figures and add a couple of mm), there is nothing quite like them elsewhere:

Charles Stadden 30mm Indian Infantry at attention. The range
also has a Bugler, Sergeant and Officer at attention. A simple
"paint job conversion" will produce Hyderabad Contingent Infantry.

Charles Stadden 30mm "Indian Trooper turning in saddle".
The range has a variety of other poses, including "parade positions".
Here painted as Skinners Horse, a liberal application of blue will
produce a Hyderabad Contingent Cavalry Trooper.

(4). although the Nizam and his Hyderabad Contingent sadly had no place in post 1947 India, the "Char Minar" still stands in modern day Hyderbad:

The Char Minar. This modern day view is pretty much the same shot as the background
 of the 1938 cigarette card. More INFO HERE

(5). For information as to Hyderabad's forcible annexation by India following independence and partition, see HERE. Bob Cordery of the "Wargaming Miscellany" blog has been doing some interesting work on this action, known as "Operation Polo" - see HERE.

A map of Hyderabad, showing its central size and importance to India.
Arrows show "Operation Polo" of 1948.
 From Bob Cordery's Wargaming Miscellany Blog.