The Indian Army during British rule, also referred to as the British Indian Army, was the main military force of India until national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both the British Raj and the princely states, which could also have their own armies. As stated in The Imperial Gazetteer of India, the "British Govern The armies of the East India Company were recruited primarily from forward caste Hindus and Muslims in the Bengal Presidency, which consisted of Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Oudh. This formed the nucleus and later expanded into the armies of the three Presidencies and provinces of British India. Writing in The Indian Army (1834), Sir John Malcolm, who had a lifetime's experience of Indian soldiering, wrote about the Bengal Presidency. Indian Army postings were less prestigious than British Army positions, but the pay was significantly greater so that officers could live on their salaries instead of having to have a private income. Accordingly, vacancies in the Indian Army were much sought after and generally reserved for the higher placed officer-cadets graduating from the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. British officers in the Indian Army were expected to learn to speak the Indian languages of their men, who tended to be recruited from primarily Hindi speaking areas. Prominent British Indian Army officers included Lord Roberts, Sir O'Moore Creagh, Lord Birdwood, Sir Claude Auchinleck ("The Auk") and Lord Slim.