Roy investigates the various factors that influenced the formation and mobilization of military forces in the region from 300 BC to the modern day.

Introduction; Chapter 1 Warfare and Military Manpower Mobilization in Ancient India, 1500 bc-ad 550; Chapter 2 Feudal Warfare, c. ad 600-ad 1200; Chapter 3 From the Mamluks to the Mansabdars, 1200-1740; Chapter 4 The Era of European Military Entrepreneurs, 1700-1850; Chapter 5 The Regimental System of Recruitment, c. 1700-1947; Chapter 6 Postcolonial Militaries, 1947-2012; Chapter 7 Insurgent Armies and Counter-Insurgency in South Asia, 1947-2012; Chapter 8 Non-Combatant Manpower and Warfare; Chapter 9 Conclusion;