Sikhs in the British Indian Army

19th century

The 14th Sikhs, also known as the Regiment of Ferozepur, was among the earliest Sikh units formed for the British Indian Army, established in 1846. The Sikh Empire had been defeated in two wars with the British, which resulted in its annexation in 1849. Following this takeover of the Punjab, the British found themselves in possession of the former Sikh Army, a force of about 60,000 soldiers who were suddenly without employment. Although this situation offered a chance to recruit these jobless Sikhs into the Bengal Army, the governor-general advised against it, fearing that the Sikhs might rebel again, as they had done in Multan in 1848.

Governor-General Dalhousie instead pursued a strategy to pacify the Sikhs by disarming them and taking away their weapons, aiming to make them "submissive" and "harmless," so they could neither resist nor wage war. Within six weeks of British administration, the old Sikh Army was dissolved, and 120,000 weapons, ranging from matchlocks to daggers, were seized. A gathering at Lahore saw 50,000 former Sikh soldiers paid off and dismissed. Military facilities across the region, except those the British found useful, were torn down.

These retired Sikh soldiers then returned to their home villages, where job opportunities were scarce. As early as 1849, officials considered using Sikhs to patrol the new border with hostile Pashtun tribal areas, which would provide work for some of the unemployed soldiers instead of relying on local levies and police units. That same year, the Board of Administration formed ten regiments of Punjabis, known as the Punjab Irregular Frontier Force, consisting of five infantry and five cavalry regiments.

To guard against potential Sikh unrest, the plan was for these regiments to be 50% Punjabis (mostly from the Pahari Hills, like Kangra, and Muslim Punjabis), 25% Sikh, and 25% Hindustani. In reality, though, Hindustanis and Pathans made up a larger share, because local commanders still distrusted Sikhs, while Muslim Punjabis and Dogra Rajputs avoided military service. In 1851, the ban on recruiting Punjabis into the Bengal Army was lifted, but a rule remained that no regiment could have more than 200 Sikhs, which was roughly 20% of its strength.

In popular culture

The Punjabi film Sajjan Singh Rangroot, set during the British Raj, features Diljit Dosanjh as a Sikh soldier serving in the British Indian Army during World War I. The song "Sher Soorma" by Guspy Aujla and Dev Dhillon celebrates Sikh courage in both World Wars. In the 2019 film 1917, Nabhaan Rizwan portrays Sepoy Jondalar, a Sikh soldier in the Indian Army.

The 1996 movie The English Patient includes Naveen Andrews as Kirpal (Kip) Singh, a Sikh sapper from Punjab who volunteers for the British Army under Lord Suffolk in World War II. The BBC aired a program titled "Remembrance - The Sikh Story," which highlights Sikh contributions to both World Wars and features Mohinder Singh Pujji. The 2019 film Kesari stars Akshay Kumar as Havildar Ishar Singh, who led 21 Sikh soldiers against 10,000 Afghans at the 1897 Battle of Saragarhi.

Did You Know?

• The strength of the British Indian Army in Malaya during World War II was 104,625 troops.
• Sikhs served with distinction during the Allied invasion of Italy.