Only 2% of Sikhs make up of whole Indian population and
reside mostly in the upper parts of the country in Punjab. But even then a fair
share has been reserved for them in the Indianarmy. According to the exact figures, Indian army has got 18 reserved seats
for Sikhs at separate ranks.
Dating back to the era when the British ruled the subcontinent, they
had a concept of martial and non martial races in India. They graded Sikhs as a
martial race after observing them in the Anglo Sikh wars, where the Sikhs
showed their impeccable war skills. Whether or not you agree with the concept
of martial race, it’s no denying this fact that there are certain races that
faced the brunt of invasion more than any other race which makes them almost
perfect to face any kind of situation in the battle field. If I am to say that
the Sikhs are one of such race, I may not be wrong at all.
The First Battalion
The first ever troop of Sikhs that was formed by the British Indian
Army was in 1846, a bit before the Punjab was took over. At the time, Sikhs
were considered to be the main force and therefore became the integral part of
the British Indian Army, thus constituting as much as 33% of the British Indian
Army strength during the Raj days.
Proving their Worth
But as the Sikhs were given a high share in the army, they also
proved their worth, thus covering many glories in various battle fields for the
British. One of the most notable was the fight that they gave to the tribesmen
of the Frontier at Saragrahi which constituted a horde of 10,000 people. In
addition to that they have also fought bravely in the first as well as the Second
World War.
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