The General Service Enlistment Act was a general order issued by the Government of India on 25 July 1856. It required every soldier enlisting in the Bengal army from that point forward to go overseas for deployment if required. The order was brought just before the Anglo-Persian War. The British were reluctant to send a force overland to Herat, reminiscent of the disasters of the first Anglo Afghan War. So instead, the Government in India decided to launch a maritime expeditionary force to attack the general area of Bushehr, the primary port of entry into Persia at the time. For this reason Lord Canning, the Governor-General of India, decided to pass the act that forced deployment literally overseas, as he was aware of the resistance he would face because of the Kala pani taboo. It was thus one of the main causes for the Great Uprising of 1857.
References
- Malleson, George Bruce; Kaye, John William, eds. (1897). Kaye and Melleson's History of the Indian Mutiny of 1857-8. London: Longmans, Green and Co. p. 343.
So, on the 25th July 1858 [sic], a General Order was issued by the Government of India, declaring that thenceforth, they would not accept the service of any Native recruit who would not, 'at the time of his enlistment, distinctly undertake to serve beyond the sea, whether within the territories of the Company or beyond them.'
- "Which Governor General brought the General Service Enlistment Act, 1856?". toppr.com.
- Sandes, E. W. C. (1948). The Indian Sappers & Miners. p. 128.