Reddit mentions of The Indian Army 1914–1947 (Elite)

In the context of military recruitment, the opposite of a conscript army is a volunteer army. I'm not sure why you are finding this definition so difficult.

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/02/23/wwi-india-army/

> In WWI, India provided the largest volunteer army in world history

> In total, there were 1.1 million Indian volunteer soldiers that served in the army during World War One

https://www.amazon.in/Indian-Army-1914-1947-Elite/dp/1841761966

> At the height of its strength and confidence the army of British India was a unique organisation, whose officers and other ranks - all volunteers - were bound together by extraordinary ésprit de corps. Already the largest volunteer army in the world in 1914, by 1918 it had quadrupled in strength to nearly 600,000 men.

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33317368

> None of the soldiers was a conscript - soldiering was their profession. They served the very British Empire that was oppressing their own people back home.

https://qz.com/india/1425486/british-indian-army-recruited-half-a-million-from-punjab-in-ww1/https://qz.com/india/1425486/british-indian-army-recruited-half-a-million-from-punjab-in-ww1/

> In 1914, India had one of the largest voluntary armies in the world.

> Indian soldiers fought, above all, to gain or preserve izzat—their honour, standing, reputation or prestige

> Kaushik Roy, among others, has labelled them “quasi-mercenaries,”