Sikh Regiment

Sikh Regiment
Sikh Regiment
	Cap badge of the Sikh Regiment
Active	1 August 1846 – present
Country	India
Branch	Indian Army
Type	Line Infantry
Role	Infantry
Size	20 battalions
Garrison/HQ	Ramgarh Cantonment, Jharkhand
Motto(s)	Nischay Kar Apni Jeet Karon (With determination, I will be triumphant).
War Cry	Bole So Nihal Sat Sri Akaal (Shout Aloud in Ecstasy, True is the Great Eternal God!)
Anniversaries	12 September Battle of Saragarhi
Decorations	1 Padma Vibhushan; 1 Padma Bhushan; 21 Indian Order of Merits; 14 Victoria Crosses,; 2 Param Vir Chakras,; 4 Ashoka Chakras; 8 Maha Vir Chakras,; 24 Kirti Chakras,; 64 Vir Chakras,; 55 Shaurya Chakras,; 375 Sena Medals; 22 Param Vishisht Seva Medal; 40 Ati Vishisht Seva Medal; 45 Vishisht Seva Medals; 13 UYSM; 21 YSM; "Unit Citation" to 8 Sikh;
Commanders
Colonel of; the Regiment	Lt Gen P.G.K Menon ,AVSM
Insignia
Regimental Insignia	Lion, symbolic of the name (Singh) every Sikh carries, ringed by a chakra

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-

124 Infantry Battalion (TA) (Sikh) located at New Delhi
152 Infantry Battalion (TA) (Sikh) located at Ludhiana, Punjab
157 Infantry Battalion (TA) (Sikh) (Home and Hearth) BD Bari, Jammu and Kashmir

Others:

1st Battalion is now 4th Battalion, Mechanised Infantry Regiment
9th Battalion was disbanded in 1984

Battle honours and theatre honours

Battle honours

Pre-Independence

Lucknow 1857-58, 1 Sikh
Arrah 1857, 3 Sikh
Bihar 1857, 3 Sikh
China 1860-62, 2 Sikh
Ali Masjid 1878, 1 & 3 Sikh
Ahmed Khel 1880, 2 Sikh
Afghanistan 1878-79, 1 Sikh
Afghanistan 1878-80, 2 & 3 Sikh
Kandahar 1880, 2 Sikh
Suakin 1885, 2 Sikh
Tofrek 1885, 2 Sikh
Manipur 1891, 4 Sikh
Chitral 1895, 1 & 2 Sikh
Samana 1897, 4 Sikh
Saragarhi/Gulistan 1897, 36 Sikh
Punjab Frontier 1897, 2, 3, 4 & 35 Sikh (SRC)
Malakand 1897, 3 & 35 Sikh (SRC)
Tirah 1897-98, 2 & 4 Sikh
China 1900, 1 Sikh
North-West Frontier 1908, 3 Sikh

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"*.

La Bassée 1914, 2 & 5 Sikh
St-Julien 1914, 2 & 5 Sikh
Armentières 1914-15, 5 Sikh
Auber 1914, 2 & 5 Sikh
Givens 1914, 4 Sikh
Tsingtao 1914, 4 & 5 Sikh
Neuve Chapelle 1914-15, 2, 3 & 5 Sikh
France and Flanders 1914-15, 2 & 5 Sikh
Suez Canal 1914-15, 1 Sikh
Festubert 1915, 2 Sikh
Tigris 1916, 3 & 5 Sikh
Pyres 1915, 2 & 4 Sikh
Sari Bair 1915, 1 Sikh
Helles 1915, 1 Sikh
Krishna 1915, 1 Sikh
Suva 1915, 1 Sikh
Gallipoli 1915, 1 Sikh
Egypt 1915, 1 Sikh
Mesopotamia 1916-18, 1, 3 & 4 Sikh
Sharon 1918, 2 & 5 Sikh
Palestine 1918, 5 Sikh
Baghdad 1916-18, 5 Sikh
Kut 1917, 1, 3 & 5 Sikh
Hai 1917, 3 & 4 Sikh
Megiddo 1918, 5 Sikh
Persia 1918, 4 Sikh
Egypt 1918, 2 & 3 Sikh

Inter-War years

North-West Frontier 1918-19, 5 Sikh
Afghanistan 1919, 2 Sikh
Palestine 1921, 5 Sikh

Second World War

Agordat 1940-41, 4 Sikh
Keren 1941, 4 Sikh
El Alamein 1940-43, 4 Sikh
Omars 1941, 4 Sikh
Kuantan 1941-42, 5 Sikh
Niyor Kluang 1941-42, 5 Sikh
Mersa Matruh 1941-42, 2 Sikh
Kota Bharu 1942, 5 Sikh
North Arakan 1942-45, 1 Sikh
Buthidaung 1942-45, 1 Sikh
Coriano 1943-45, 2 Sikh
San Marino 1943-45, 2 Sikh
Poggio San Giovanni 1943-45, 2 Sikh
Monte Calvo 1943-45, 4 Sikh
Kangla Tongbi 1944, 1 Sikh
Gothic Line 1943-45, 4 Sikh
Nyaung U Bridgehead 1945, 1 Sikh
Irrawaddy River 1945, 1 Sikh
Shandatgyi 1945, 1 Sikh
Kama 1945, 1 Sikh
Sittang 1945, 1 Sikh

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

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 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

Nk. Gian Singh, 11th Sikh Regiment (while serving in 15th Punjab Regiment)
Nk. Nand Singh, 11th Sikh Regiment

Param Vir Chakra

Lance Naik Karam Singh, 1 Sikh Regiment
Subedar Joginder Singh, 1 Sikh Regiment

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

Subedar Kaur Singh (10 Sikh) Boxing

Alliances

United Kingdom - Duke of Lancaster's Regiment

References

Notes

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

Citations

^ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
^ ^a ^b Aggarwal, Rashmi (January 0101). "Ashoka Chakra Recipients".
^ http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/dehradun/lt-gen-sanjay-kumar-jha-is-head-of-ima.html ^{[bare URL]}
^ http://mod.nic.in/samachar/18/html/ch8.htm ^{[dead link]}
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Sikh review. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 2 November 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ John Pike. "Army Equipment". Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
^ "Sikh Regiment takes over ceremonial duties at Rashtrapati Bhavan".
^ "Sikh Regiment takes over ceremonial duties at Rashtrapati Bhavan". The Hans India. 28 November 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
^ "No. 22176". The London Gazette. 24 August 1858. p. 3903.
^ Pandey, Geeta (5 December 2011). "India polo match honours Sikhs' 1897 Saragarhi battle". British Broadcasting Corporation. bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
^ "Defence of Srinagar 1947". Indian Defence Review. Archived from the original on 18 March 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
^ 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.
^ 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.
^ 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).
^ "General Promises to Punish Sikh Mutineers". The New York Times. 2 July 1984.
^ "J&K: Lessons from 1984 unheeded". 22 August 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
^ "No. 26937". The London Gazette. 11 February 1898. p. 863.
^ Regimental numbers from photo of Saragarhi memorial plaque
^ "Subedar Surinder Singh selected for posthumous Ashok Chakra". Rediff.com. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
^ "Brave soldier Bachittar Singh".
^ "Havildar Bachittar Singh Ashoka Chakra Recipient". 13 September 1948.
^ "JOGINDER SINGH| GALLANTRY AWARD".