03-Men of the Loodiaah (Ludhiana) Sikh Regiment in China, Circa 1860

The Sikh Regiment is an infantry regiment of the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

. Sikh regiment is the highest 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 The Mechanised Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army, comprising 27 battalions dispersed under various armoured formations throughout India. Together with the 21 battalions of Brigade of the Guards, they form part of the ' ...

. The first battalion of the regiment was officially raised just before the partial annexation of the

Sikh Empire The Sikh Empire was a state originating in the Indian subcontinent, formed under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who established an empire based in the Punjab. The empire existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahor ...

on 1 August 1846, by the British

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

. Currently, the Sikh Regimental Centre is located in

Ramgarh Cantonment Ramgarh Cantonment, usually referred to as Ramgarh Cantt or just Ramgarh is a cantonment town, belonging to the Ramgarh district of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Historically, a subdivision of the larger Hazaribag district, Ramgarh wa ...

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . I ...

. The Centre was earlier located in

Meerut Meerut (, IAST: ''Meraṭh'') is a city in Meerut district of the western part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city lies northeast of the national capital New Delhi, within the National Capital Region and west of the state capital ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

. The modern Sikh Regiment traces its roots directly from the

11th Sikh Regiment The 11th Sikh Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1922, when after World War I the Indian government reformed the army moving from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments.S ...

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.

History

After the

First Anglo-Sikh War The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company in 1845 and 1846 in and around the Ferozepur district of Punjab. It resulted in defeat and partial subjugation of the Sikh empire and cession o ...

(1845-1846), Sikhs who lived in the territory ruled by the

(the

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

region) began to be recruited into the Bengal Army of the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

. 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. After the

Second Anglo-Sikh War The Second Anglo-Sikh War was a military conflict between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company that took place in 1848 and 1849. It resulted in the fall of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab and what subsequently ...

(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 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

, in which many regiments of the Bengal Army (which mainly recruited from

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

and

Awadh Awadh (), known in British historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a region in the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which was before independence known as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. It is synonymous with the Kośāla region of ...

) 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 The 36th Sikhs was an infantry regiment in the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1887, when they were the 36th (Sikh) Bengal Infantry. Composed of Jat Sikhs, it was created by Colonel Jim Cooke and Captain H. R. Holmes. They ...

and

35th Sikhs The 35th Sikhs were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1887, when they were raised as the 35th (Sikh) Bengal Infantry. The regiment took part in the Siege of Malakand in 1897 and World War I. Durin ...

, both raised in 1887. 21 soldiers of the 36th Sikhs fought in the

Battle of Saragarhi The Battle of Saragarhi was a last-stand battle fought before the Tirah Campaign between the British Raj and Afghan tribesmen. On 12 September 1897, an estimated 12,00024,000 Orakzai and Afridi tribesmen were seen near Gogra, at Samana Suk, a ...

against 6,000-10,000

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

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. 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

from the 14th King George's Own Ferozepore Sikhs, the 15th Ludhiana Sikhs, the 45th Rattray's Sikhs, the 36th Sikhs, the

47th Sikhs The 47th Sikhs were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1901, when they were raised as the 47th (Sikh) Bengal Infantry. After World War I, the Indian government reformed the army moving from single ...

, and the 35th Sikhs. The 11th Sikh Regiment served during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and on the partition of India, the regiment was allotted to the newly formed

, 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 The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ps, د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the l ...

, many campaigns on the North-West Frontier, the Western Front, Gallipoli and

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

campaigns of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the

Third Anglo-Afghan War The Third Anglo-Afghan War; fa, جنگ سوم افغان-انگلیس), also known as the Third Afghan War, the British-Afghan War of 1919, or in Afghanistan as the War of Independence, began on 6 May 1919 when the Emirate of Afghanistan inv ...

, and the

North African North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in t ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

campaigns of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, 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. Battalions of the Sikh Regiment also fought in the

Sino-Indian War The Sino-Indian War took place between China and India from October to November 1962, as a major flare-up of the Sino-Indian border dispute. There had been a series of violent border skirmishes between the two countries after the 1959 Tibet ...

in 1962, the Indo-Pakistani wars of 1965 and 1971, and the

Kargil War The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referr ...

in 1999.

Recruitment

Sikh regiment is a "single class" regiment. Its soldiers are solely recruited from

Jat Sikh Jat Sikh (also known by the more conventional endonym Jatt Sikh) is a sub-group of the Jat people and the Sikh religious group from the Indian subcontinent. They are one of the dominant communities in the Punjab owing to their large land hol ...

s and its officers are non-Jat Sikhs. They are trained at the Sikh Regimental Centre, currently located in

. The war cry of the regiment, taken from Sikh scriptures, is ''Jo Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal''.

Units

Stamp of India - 1996 - Colnect 163312 - Sikh Regiment - 150 Years

* 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 New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

* 152 Infantry Battalion (TA) (Sikh) located at

Ludhiana Ludhiana ( ) is the most populous and the largest city in the Indian state of Punjab. The city has an estimated population of 1,618,879 2011 census and distributed over , making Ludhiana the most densely populated urban centre in the state. I ...

* 157 Infantry Battalion (TA) (Sikh) (Home and Hearth) BD Bari, Jammu and Kashmir Others: * 1st Battalion is now 4th Battalion,

* 9th Battalion was disbanded in 1984

Battle honours and theatre honours

Battle honours

Stamp of India - 2006 - Colnect 158952 - 150 Years of Third Battalion The Sikh Regiment

;Pre-Independence *

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

1857-58, 1 Sikh *

Arrah Arrah (also transliterated as Ara) is a city and a municipal corporation in Bhojpur district (formerly known as Shahabad district) in the Indian state of Bihar. It is the headquarters of Bhojpur district, located near the confluence of the G ...

1857, 3 Sikh *

1857, 3 Sikh * China 1860-62, 2 Sikh * Ali Masjid 1878, 1 & 3 Sikh * Ahmed Khel 1880, 2 Sikh *

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

1878-79, 1 Sikh * Afghanistan 1878-80, 2 & 3 Sikh *

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the c ...

1880, 2 Sikh *

Suakin Suakin or Sawakin ( ar, سواكن, Sawákin, Beja: ''Oosook'') is a port city in northeastern Sudan, on the west coast of the Red Sea. It was formerly the region's chief port, but is now secondary to Port Sudan, about north. Suakin used to b ...

1885, 2 Sikh * Tofrek 1885, 2 Sikh *

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of ...

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 The Tirah also spelled Terah ( ps, تیراہ) also called the Tirah Valley (), is a mountainous tract located in the Khyber district, lying between the Khyber Pass and the Khanki Valley in Pakistan. Society Lying close to the Pak-Afghan borde ...

1897-98, 2 & 4 Sikh * China 1900, 1 Sikh * North-West Frontier 1908, 3 Sikh ;World War I SikhsInFrancePostcard

La Bassée La Bassée () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Population Heraldry Personalities La Bassée was the birthplace of the painter and draftsman Louis-Léopold Boilly (1761–1845). Another native was Ignace François ...

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 Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...

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 Festubert is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. The village was on the Western Front during the First World War and was largely destroyed in the May 1915 Battle of Festubert. Geography A farming v ...

1915, 2 Sikh * Tigris 1916, 3 & 5 Sikh * Pyres 1915, 2 & 4 Sikh * Sari Bair 1915, 1 Sikh *

Helles Helles or hell is a traditional German pale lager beer, produced chiefly in Southern Germany, particularly Munich. The German word ''hell'' can be translated as "bright", "light", or "pale". Flavour profile Helles-style beers typically are f ...

1915, 1 Sikh * Krishna 1915, 1 Sikh * Suva 1915, 1 Sikh * Gallipoli 1915, 1 Sikh *

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

1915, 1 Sikh *

1916-18, 1, 3 & 4 Sikh * Sharon 1918, 2 & 5 Sikh * Palestine 1918, 5 Sikh *

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

1916-18, 5 Sikh *

Kut Kūt ( ar, ٱلْكُوت, al-Kūt), officially Al-Kut, also spelled Kutulamare or Kut al-Imara, is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about south east of Baghdad. the estimated population is about 389,400 people. It ...

1917, 1, 3 & 5 Sikh * Hai 1917, 3 & 4 Sikh *

Megiddo Megiddo may refer to: Places and sites in Israel * Tel Megiddo, site of an ancient city in Israel's Jezreel valley * Megiddo Airport, a domestic airport in Israel * Megiddo church (Israel) * Megiddo, Israel, a kibbutz in Israel * Megiddo Junctio ...

1918, 5 Sikh *

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

1918, 4 Sikh *

1918, 2 & 3 Sikh ;Inter-War years * North-West Frontier 1918-19, 5 Sikh *

1919, 2 Sikh * Palestine 1921, 5 Sikh ;Second World War Operation Crusader

Sikh soldier with captured Swastika flag

Agordat Agordat; also Akordat or Ak'ordat) is a city in Gash-Barka, Eritrea. It was the capital of the former Barka province, which was situated between the present-day Gash-Barka and Anseba regions. History Excavations in Agordat uncovered pottery r ...

1940-41, 4 Sikh * Keren 1941, 4 Sikh * El Alamein 1940-43, 4 Sikh * Omars 1941, 4 Sikh *

Kuantan Kuantan ( Jawi: ) is a city and the state capital of Pahang, Malaysia. It is located near the mouth of the Kuantan River. Kuantan is the 18th largest city in Malaysia based on 2010 population, and the largest city in the East Coast of Peni ...

1941-42, 5 Sikh * Niyor Kluang 1941-42, 5 Sikh *

Mersa Matruh Mersa Matruh ( ar, مرسى مطروح, translit=Marsā Maṭrūḥ, ), also transliterated as ''Marsa Matruh'', is a port in Egypt and the capital of Matrouh Governorate. It is located west of Alexandria and east of Sallum on the main highway ...

1941-42, 2 Sikh *

Kota Bharu Kota Bharu, colloquially referred to as KB, is a town in Malaysia that serves as the state capital and royal seat of Kelantan. It is situated in the northeastern part of Peninsular Malaysia and lies near the mouth of the Kelantan River. The ...

1942, 5 Sikh *

North Arakan North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

1942-45, 1 Sikh *

Buthidaung Buthidaung (, ) is a town in Rakhine State, in the westernmost part of Myanmar (Burma). It is the administrative seat of the Buthidaung Township. Buthidaung lies on the west bank of the Mayu river, and experienced severe flooding in June 2010 and ...

1942-45, 1 Sikh *

Coriano Coriano ( rgn, Curién) is a ''comune'' in the province of Rimini. This town is known for being the city of the Motorcycle World Champion, in 250cc class, Marco Simoncelli. History Coriano's origins are ancient: it was an Umbrian, Etruscan an ...

1943-45, 2 Sikh *

San Marino San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...

1943-45, 2 Sikh * Poggio San Giovanni 1943-45, 2 Sikh *

Monte Calvo Monte may refer to: Places Argentina * Argentine Monte, an ecoregion * Monte Desert * Monte Partido, a ''partido'' in Buenos Aires Province Italy * Monte Bregagno * Monte Cassino * Montecorvino (disambiguation) * Montefalcione Portugal * Monte ...

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 The Sittaung River ( my, စစ်တောင်းမြစ် ; formerly, the Sittang or Sittounghttps://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/UNGEGN/docs/8th-uncsgn-docs/inf/8th_UNCSGN_econf.94_INF.75.pdf ) is a river in south central Myanmar in Bag ...

1945, 1 Sikh ;Post-Independence * Srinagar 1947, 1 Sikh * Tithwal 1948, 1 Sikh * Raja Picquet 1965, 2 Sikh *

Burki The Ormur ( ps, اورمړ), also called Burki or Baraki ( ps, برکي), are an Eastern Iranic people mainly living in Baraki Barak, Logar, Afghanistan and in Kaniguram, South Waziristan. Despite speaking their own distinct Eastern Iranian l ...

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 The Ethiopian Empire (), also formerly known by the exonym Abyssinia, or just simply known as Ethiopia (; Amharic and Tigrinya: ኢትዮጵያ , , Oromo: Itoophiyaa, Somali: Itoobiya, Afar: ''Itiyoophiyaa''), was an empire that historica ...

1940-41, 4 Sikh *

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

1941, 3 Sikh * North Africa 1941-42, 3 Sikh * Malaya 1941-42, 5 Sikh *

1942-45, 1 Sikh * Italy 1943-45, 2 & 4 Sikh * Greece 1944-45, 2 Sikh ;Post-Independence 1965 war

* Jammu & Kashmir 1947-48, 1, 5, 7 & 16 Sikh * Jammu & Kashmir 1965, 2, 3 & 7 Sikh *

1965, 4 Sikh * Sindh 1971, 10 Sikh * Punjab 1971, 2 Sikh *

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wi ...

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 Operation Blue Star was the codename of a military operation which was carried out by Indian security forces between 1 and 10 June 1984 in order to remove Damdami Taksal leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers from the building ...

in 1984. The Sikh Regiment's 9th battalion was disbanded after a large number of its troops mutinied.

Gallantry awards

Sikh marching contingent jointly won award for the best marching contingent among the two services in 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: * 2

Param Vir Chakra The Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is India's highest military decoration, awarded for displaying distinguished acts of valour during wartime. Param Vir Chakra translates as the "Wheel of the Ultimate Brave", and the award is granted for "most conspicu ...

s * 8

Maha Vir Chakra The Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) () is the second highest military decoration in India, after the Param Vir Chakra, and is awarded for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea or in the air. It replaced the B ...

s * 64

Vir Chakra Vir Chakra (pronunciation: ʋ iː ɾ a tʃ a kɾa) is an Indian wartime military bravery award presented for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy on the battlefield and is third in precedence in wartime gallantry awards a ...

s * 4

Ashoka Chakra Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...

s * 14

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

es * 21

Indian Order of Merit The Indian Order of Merit (IOM) was a military and civilian decoration of British India. It was established in 1837, (General Order of the Governor-General of India, No. 94 of 1 May 1837) although following the Partition of India in 1947 it was ...

s 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

in 1897: * 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,

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

Param Vir Chakra

* Lance Naik

Karam Singh Subedar and Honorary Captain Karam Singh PVC, MM (15 September 1915 – 20 January 1993), an Indian soldier, was a recipient of the Param Vir Chakra (PVC), India's highest award for gallantry. Singh joined the army in 1941, and took pa ...

, 1 Sikh Regiment * Subedar Joginder Singh, 1 Sikh Regiment

Ashok Chakra

* Subedar Surinder Singh * Havildar Bachittar Singh * Havildar Joginder Singh

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 Lieutenant Colonel Dewan Ranjit Rai, MVC (1913 - 1947) was an Indian Army officer who played a key role during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. As the Commanding Officer of the 1st battalion, The Sikh Regiment (1 Sikh), he was the first recip ...

* 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 Kaur Singh ( pa, ਕੌਰ ਸਿੰਘ; 1948/1949 – 27 April 2023) was an Indian heavyweight champion boxer from Punjab. Singh won three gold medals for senior national boxing championship, Asian Boxing Championship and Asian Games. Ear ...

(10 Sikh) Boxing

Alliances

* -

Duke of Lancaster's Regiment The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's, Lancashire and Border) (LANCS) is an infantry regiment of the line within the British Army, part of the King's Division. Headquartered in Preston, it recruits throughout the North West of England. The Du ...

References

NotesCitationsBibliography
1st King George V's own battalion,: The Sikh Regiment

A Legacy of Valour - An Illustrated History of the Sikh Regiment (1846-2010). Ramgarh: The Sikh Regiment Officers' Association, 2011
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External links

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{{Sikhism 1846 establishments in British India Sikh Sikh Military units and formations established in 1846 S