Royal Indian Navy accommodation and separate messes

In the Royal Indian Navy, Indian sailors and predominantly British officers placed an imperial division over the ordinary separation of naval ranks. This history differs from the functional reason officers, petty officers, and ratings have separate messes and living spaces. If every rank shared one room, senior personnel would remain responsible for watching their subordinates while junior sailors would have to behave under the eyes of several layers of command. Separate spaces let each group relax, while keeping petty officers from having to mediate a hierarchy that never switches off.