Subedars

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A local military officer in India, typically responsible for the administration and maintenance of a unit
2. An individual ranking below a captain in certain colonial armies, often overseeing troops
3. Someone acting as an intermediary between the higher command and lower ranks within a military context

Etymology: "Subedars" is the plural of "subedar", an Indian military rank used in the British Indian Army, and the word's history lies in that rank. The title came from Persian and Urdu, where "sūbadār" meant a provincial governor, a man placed in charge of a "sūba", or province, under the Mughal administration. Over time the rank was adapted for native officers serving under British command, and it came to denote a senior Indian officer who ranked above the native junior officers but below the British commissioned ones. The rank's position explains the meaning you describe. Subedars were the link between British officers and the Indian soldiers under them, relaying orders downward and carrying the concerns of their men upward. Their authority came from long service and their trust with the men, while their commissions stopped short of the highest command.