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Sikh Regiment

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Sikh Regiment
Cap badge of the Sikh Regiment
Active1 August 1846 – present
CountryIndia India
Branch Indian Army
TypeLine Infantry
RoleInfantry
Size20 battalions
Garrison/HQRamgarh Cantonment, Jharkhand
Motto(s)Nischay Kar Apni Jeet Karon (With determination, I will be triumphant).
War CryBole So Nihal Sat Sri Akaal (Shout Aloud in Ecstasy, True is the Great Eternal God!)
Anniversaries12 September Battle of Saragarhi
Decorations
Commanders
Colonel of
the Regiment		Lt Gen P.G.K Menon ,AVSM [3]
Insignia
Regimental InsigniaLion, symbolic of the name (Singh) every Sikh carries, ringed by a chakra
Men of the Regiment of Ludhiana (later the 15th Ludhiana Sikhs) during the Second Opium War in China, c. 1860.

The Sikh Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It is the most highly decorated regiment of the Indian Army and in 1979, the 1st battalion was the Commonwealth's most decorated battalion, with 245 pre-independence and 82 post-independence gallantry awards, when it was transformed into the 4th battalion, Mechanised Infantry Regiment.[4][5][6] The first battalion of the regiment was officially raised just before the partial annexation of the Sikh Empire on 1 August 1846, by the British East India Company. Currently, the Sikh Regimental Centre is located in Ramgarh Cantonment, Jharkhand. The Centre was earlier located in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.

The modern Sikh Regiment traces its roots directly from the 11th Sikh Regiment of the British Indian Army. When transferred to the Indian Army like its sister regiments, the numeral prefix (in the case of the Sikh Regiment, 11) was removed and extra battalions were raised, transferred or disbanded to meet army needs. With a humble beginning of two battalions, today the fraternity has grown to a regiment of 19 regular infantry and two reserve battalions strong. The 6th battalion takes over as ceremonial battalion of President's palace of India.[7][8]

History

After the First Anglo-Sikh War (1845-1846), Sikhs who lived in the territory ruled by the Sikh Empire (the Punjab region) began to be recruited into the Bengal Army of the British East India Company. Among the earliest entirely Sikh units of the Bengal Army were the Regiment of Ferozepore (raised in 1846) which later became the 14th King George's Own Ferozepore Sikhs, and the Regiment of Ludhiana (also raised in 1846) which later became the 15th Ludhiana Sikhs.[9] After the Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848-1849) more Punjabis began to be recruited into the Bengal Army, forming regiments such as the 1st Bengal Military Police Battalion, which later became the 45th Rattray's Sikhs. Sikh units generally remained loyal to the British during the Indian Rebellion of 1857, in which many regiments of the Bengal Army (which mainly recruited from Bengal, Bihar and Awadh) mutinied against their British officers. After the rebellion, troops from Bihar and Awadh were recruited less as they had led the mutiny; the centre of recruitment then shifted to the Punjab and the North-West Frontier, resulting in more Sikhs being recruited into the Bengal Army. A number of new Sikh regiments were raised, such as the 36th Sikhs and 35th Sikhs, both raised in 1887. 21 soldiers of the 36th Sikhs fought in the Battle of Saragarhi against 6,000-10,000 Pashtun tribesmen in 1897 during campaigns in the North-West Frontier, in what is considered by some military historians as one of history's greatest last stands.[10] In 1922 the Indian government reformed the British Indian Army by amalgamating single battalion regiments into multi-battalion regiments; this led to the formation of the 11th Sikh Regiment from the 14th King George's Own Ferozepore Sikhs, the 15th Ludhiana Sikhs, the 45th Rattray's Sikhs, the 36th Sikhs, the 47th Sikhs, and the 35th Sikhs. The 11th Sikh Regiment served during World War II and on the partition of India, the regiment was allotted to the newly formed Indian Army, becoming the Sikh Regiment.

As part of the British Indian Army, Sikh regiments fought in numerous wars all over the world, such as the Second Opium War in China, the Second Anglo-Afghan War, many campaigns on the North-West Frontier, the Western Front, Gallipoli and Mesopotamia campaigns of the First World War, the Third Anglo-Afghan War, and the North African, Italian and Burma campaigns of the Second World War, earning many gallantry awards and battle honours in the process.

During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947-1948, the 1st battalion of the Sikh Regiment was the first unit to be airlifted to Srinagar to aid in the defence of the Kashmir Valley against Pakistani irregular forces.[11] Battalions of the Sikh Regiment also fought in the Sino-Indian War in 1962, the Indo-Pakistani wars of 1965 and 1971, and the Kargil War in 1999.

Recruitment

Sikh regiment is a "single class" regiment.[12] Its soldiers are solely recruited from Jat Sikhs and its officers are non-Jat Sikhs.[13][14] They are trained at the Sikh Regimental Centre, currently located in Ramgarh Cantonment, Jharkhand. The war cry of the regiment, taken from Sikh scriptures, is Jo Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal.[a]

Units

1996 postal stamp on 150 years of The Sikh Regiment
  • 2nd Battalion
  • 3rd Battalion
  • 4th Battalion
  • 5th Battalion
  • 6th Battalion
  • 7th Battalion
  • 8th Battalion
  • 10th Battalion
  • 11th Battalion
  • 13th Battalion
  • 14th Battalion
  • 16th Battalion
  • 17th Battalion
  • 18th Battalion
  • 19th Battalion
  • 20th Battalion
  • 21st Battalion
  • 22nd Battalion
  • 23rd Battalion
  • 24th Battalion

Territorial Army (TA) Units-

Others:

Battle honours and theatre honours

Battle honours

2006 postal stamp on 150 years of Third Battalion, The Sikh Regiment
Pre-Independence
World War I
French postcard depicting the arrival of 15th Ludhiana Sikhs in France during World War I. The postcard reads, "Gentlemen of India marching to chasten the German hooligans".
Inter-War years
Second World War
Sikh troops engaged in Operation Crusader.
A Sikh soldier with the flag of Nazi Germany after German surrender during World War II.
Post-Independence
  • Srinagar 1947, 1 Sikh
  • Tithwal 1948, 1 Sikh
  • Raja Picquet 1965, 2 Sikh
  • Burki 1965, 4 Sikh
  • Op Hill 1965, 7 Sikh
  • Siramani 1971, 4 Sikh
  • Poonch 1971, 6 Sikh
  • Purbat Ali 1971, 10 Sikh
  • Tiger Hill 1999, 8 Sikh

Theatre honours

Pre-Independence
  • North Africa 1940-43, 2 & 4 Sikh
  • Abyssinia 1940-41, 4 Sikh
  • Iraq 1941, 3 Sikh
  • North Africa 1941-42, 3 Sikh
  • Malaya 1941-42, 5 Sikh
  • Burma 1942-45, 1 Sikh
  • Italy 1943-45, 2 & 4 Sikh
  • Greece 1944-45, 2 Sikh
Post-Independence
Officers of 4th Sikh Regiment in front of captured police station in Lahore, Pakistan, September 1965.
  • Jammu & Kashmir 1947-48, 1, 5, 7 & 16 Sikh
  • Jammu & Kashmir 1965, 2, 3 & 7 Sikh
  • Punjab 1965, 4 Sikh
  • Sindh 1971, 10 Sikh
  • Punjab 1971, 2 Sikh
  • East Pakistan 1971, 4 Sikh
  • Jammu & Kashmir 1971, 5 & 6 Sikh
  • Kargil 1999, 8 Sikh

Operation Blue Star

About 5000 Sikh soldiers, some belonging to the regiment, mutinied after the storming of the Golden Temple by the Indian Army as part of Operation Blue Star in 1984.[15] The Sikh Regiment's 9th battalion was disbanded after a large number of its troops mutinied.[16]

Gallantry awards

The Sikh Regiment marching contingent passes through the Rajpath during the 66th Republic Day Parade, 2015

The museum of the Sikh Regimental Centre displays a record of the Sikh Regiment in four halls viz.,

  • The Religious/Motivational Hall
  • The Hall of Heritage
  • The Regimental Glory Hall
  • The Peripheral Gallery

In all, the regiment has to its credit 1652 gallantry awards and honours including:

In addition it has also earned:

  • 75 battle honours
  • 38 theatre honours besides five COAS Unit Citations

Indian Order of Merit

21 soldiers of the 36th Sikhs were posthumously awarded the Indian Order of Merit for their actions in the Battle of Saragarhi in 1897:[17][18]

  • Hav. Ishar Singh
  • Nk. Lal Singh
  • L/Nk. Chanda Singh
  • Sep. Sundar Singh
  • Sep. Ram Singh
  • Sep. Uttar Singh
  • Sep. Sahib Singh
  • Sep. Hira Singh
  • Sep. Daya Singh
  • Sep. Jivan Singh
  • Sep. Bhola Singh
  • Sep. Narayan Singh
  • Sep. Gurmukh Singh
  • Sep. Jivan Singh
  • Sep. Gurmukh Singh
  • Sep. Ram Singh
  • Sep. Bhagwan Singh
  • Sep. Bhagwan Singh
  • Sep. Buta Singh
  • Sep. Jivan Singh
  • Sep. Nand Singh

Victoria Cross

Param Vir Chakra

Ashok Chakra

Maha Vir Chakra

  • Major Ajit Singh
  • Sub. Ajit Singh
  • Sep. Amar Singh
  • Brigadier Joginder Singh Bakshi
  • Major Amarjit Singh Bal
  • Lieutenant Colonel Inderbal Singh Bawa
  • Sub. Nand Singh
  • Lieutenant Colonel Dewan Ranjit Rai
  • Shanghara Singh

Vir Chakra

  • Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh
  • Subedar Nirmal Singh (Posthumously)
  • Subedar Karnail Singh (Posthumously)
  • Sepoy Satpal Singh
  • 2nd Lieutenant R S Nagar (16 Sikh Regiment)
  • L/Nk Mohinder Singh (16 Sikh Regt)

Padma Vibhushan

  • Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh

Padma Bhushan

  • Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh

Padma Shri

See also

Alliances

References

Notes

  1. ^ English: One will be blessed eternally who says that God is the ultimate truth

Citations

  1. ^ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  2. ^ a b Aggarwal, Rashmi (January 0101). "Ashoka Chakra Recipients".
  3. ^ "Lt Gen Sanjay Kumar Jha is head of IMA". Archived from the original on 3 September 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
  4. ^ "The Elite Sikh Regiment of the Indian Army". Archived from the original on 28 November 2010. Retrieved 2 November 2010.
  5. ^ "Story of the Sikh Regiment" (PDF). Sikh review. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 2 November 2010.
  6. ^ John Pike. "Army Equipment". Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  7. ^ "Sikh Regiment takes over ceremonial duties at Rashtrapati Bhavan". The Tribune.
  8. ^ "Sikh Regiment takes over ceremonial duties at Rashtrapati Bhavan". The Hans India. 28 November 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  9. ^ "No. 22176". The London Gazette. 24 August 1858. p. 3903.
  10. ^ Pandey, Geeta (5 December 2011). "India polo match honours Sikhs' 1897 Saragarhi battle". British Broadcasting Corporation. bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
  11. ^ "Defence of Srinagar 1947". Indian Defence Review. Archived from the original on 18 March 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  12. ^ Wilkinson, Steven I. (2015). Army and Nation: The Military and Indian Democracy Since Independence. Harvard University Press. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-674-72880-6. Some regiments, such as the Sikh Regiment and Sikh Light Infantry, are "single class," and therefore recruit combat troops only from members of a specified class, such as Jat Sikhs and Mazhabi and Ramdasia Sikhs.
  13. ^ Kundu, Apurba (1994). "The Indian Armed Forces' Sikh and Non-Sikh Officers' Opinions of Operation Blue Star". Pacific Affairs. 67 (1): 48. doi:10.2307/2760119. JSTOR 2760119. Moreover, with the exception of Gurkhas (recruited in Nepal), Sikhs remain the only community to have infantry regiments drawn exclusively from their own numbers: the Sikh Regiment (manned, though not officered, by high-caste Jat Sikhs) and the Sikh Light Infantry (manned entirely by Mazhabi, or Scheduled Caste, "untouchable" Sikhs.
  14. ^ Barua, Pradeep P. (1998). "Ethnic Conflict in the Military of Developing Nations: A Comparative Analysis of India and Nigeria". In Karsten, Peter (ed.). Recruiting, Drafting, and Enlisting: Two Sides of the Raising of Military Forces. Taylor & Francis. p. 184. ISBN 978-0-81-532975-6. For example, all the Sikh units in the Indian Army do not come from the same mother regiment. There are two regiments, the Sikh Infantry Regiment (composed of high caste Jat Sikhs) and the Sikh Light Infantry Regiment (composed of lower caste Mazbhi Sikhs).
  15. ^ "General Promises to Punish Sikh Mutineers". The New York Times. 2 July 1984.
  16. ^ "J&K: Lessons from 1984 unheeded". 22 August 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  17. ^ "No. 26937". The London Gazette. 11 February 1898. p. 863.
  18. ^ Regimental numbers from photo of Saragarhi memorial plaque
  19. ^ "Subedar Surinder Singh selected for posthumous Ashok Chakra". Rediff.com. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  20. ^ "Havildar Bachittar Singh".
  21. ^ "Havildar Bachittar Singh Ashoka Chakra Recipient". 13 September 1948.
  22. ^ "JOGINDER SINGH| GALLANTRY AWARD".

Bibliography

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