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Thousands Of Heroes Have Arisen: Sikh Voices of the Great War 1914-1918
After the annexation of the Punjab in 1849, the British were quick to acknowledge the fighting prowess of the proud Sikh nation and started to recruit Sikhs into the British Indian army. This soldiering tradition continued into the early 20th century and when the Great War commenced in 1914, Sikhs were in high demand. They came forward in their thousands and enlisted in numbers disproportionate to their population. Although they made up approximately 1-2% of the Indian population they made up 20% of the British Indian Army at the beginning of the Great War.
The Great War was truly a global conflict for the Sikhs, who fought in every arena of the war including the Western Front, Gallipoli, Mesopotamia, Persia, Africa, Palestine and the Far East. Their contribution in manpower to the war effort reached over 100,000 men by the end of the conflict.
The Great War produced a vast literature of novels, poems and myths. But the story of these Sikh soldiers and the Sikh people is mostly forgotten. This book seeks to address this by telling the story of the Great War through the eyes of the Sikh soldier and Sikh people themselves, by examining their war time experiences from France, from the hospital, from the trench, from the village and an array of lands. The book also tells the story of parallel Sikh movements of the time, from fighting against racism in the Empire to would-be revolutionaries returning from aboard to uproot the British from India.
Most fascinatingly, the story is told in their own words by previously anonymous Sikhs such as Gajan Singh, a cavalryman, who tells of the horrors of the Somme in his own unique Indian way, and Mul Singh, who waxes lyrical about the grandeur of England he had encountered on a tour. Poetry from Gurdit Singh exhorting loyalty to a King-Emperor that he had no real knowledge of, and a letter full of emotion and desperation from Partap Kaur, a widow, whose husband had been killed in Flanders. Their voices are arranged by theme and ordered chronologically to allow the reader to understand how perspectives changed through the course of the war.
The book explores many reasons why Sikhs rose to the challenge of fighting in the Great War, and how this is linked to the Sikh psyche, their martial traditions, coercion and to the prevailing situation in the Punjab.
Utilising research from hundreds of unpublished letters written to and from Sikh soldiers, testimonies, newspaper articles, archives and a range of other sources, the book builds a picture of the human experience of Sikhs during the Great War, a war of the 20th century whose effects are still being felt a century later.
The Great War was truly a global conflict for the Sikhs, who fought in every arena of the war including the Western Front, Gallipoli, Mesopotamia, Persia, Africa, Palestine and the Far East. Their contribution in manpower to the war effort reached over 100,000 men by the end of the conflict.
The Great War produced a vast literature of novels, poems and myths. But the story of these Sikh soldiers and the Sikh people is mostly forgotten. This book seeks to address this by telling the story of the Great War through the eyes of the Sikh soldier and Sikh people themselves, by examining their war time experiences from France, from the hospital, from the trench, from the village and an array of lands. The book also tells the story of parallel Sikh movements of the time, from fighting against racism in the Empire to would-be revolutionaries returning from aboard to uproot the British from India.
Most fascinatingly, the story is told in their own words by previously anonymous Sikhs such as Gajan Singh, a cavalryman, who tells of the horrors of the Somme in his own unique Indian way, and Mul Singh, who waxes lyrical about the grandeur of England he had encountered on a tour. Poetry from Gurdit Singh exhorting loyalty to a King-Emperor that he had no real knowledge of, and a letter full of emotion and desperation from Partap Kaur, a widow, whose husband had been killed in Flanders. Their voices are arranged by theme and ordered chronologically to allow the reader to understand how perspectives changed through the course of the war.
The book explores many reasons why Sikhs rose to the challenge of fighting in the Great War, and how this is linked to the Sikh psyche, their martial traditions, coercion and to the prevailing situation in the Punjab.
Utilising research from hundreds of unpublished letters written to and from Sikh soldiers, testimonies, newspaper articles, archives and a range of other sources, the book builds a picture of the human experience of Sikhs during the Great War, a war of the 20th century whose effects are still being felt a century later.
360 pages, Hardcover
Published December 19, 2019
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March 28, 2021
From the very beginning of World War I, Britain knew it would need all its Empire could give to beat the Germans and their allies. They sent to India to tap into that massive well of manpower. Among those who answered the call was the small but disciplined Sikh community that sent over 100,000 men to fight. Sukwinder Singh Bassi has collected an archive of 700 letters along with other sources to bring the Sikh war to life and to honour their memory.
Bassi introduces the Sikhs and their religion, and how they became loyal soldiers of the crown. They fought all over the globe in World War I and punched well above their weight. Indeed, Bassi argues, ‘bravery and heroism became synonymous with the Sikh name’. The letters begin with favourable Sikh impressions of France, which they viewed as an alien but welcoming place. Their belief in their God led to fatalism and acceptance of war and the environment in which they fought. Thei courage often got them wounded and having to convalesce in English hospitals, though many fretted at having to go back to the trenches while others lamented the cost of war on the Sikh soldiers. Bassi turns to the famed Sikh loyalty to the King that the British had manipulated, particularly through religious texts, but in most cases appears genuine. Of course, part of their desire for victory was to get home quicker.
What they were trying to escape from was the hell of the Western Front. Bassi notes that the Sikhs fought in nearly every major engagement and some were suspicious that they were being used as cannon-fodder. The British withdrew the Indian infantry from the Western Front at the end of 1915, leaving the cavalry behind, but by then many of the Sikh soldiers had seen enough of mud, freezing cold, warplanes, gas, and German shells. Bassi includes mentions from behind the lines where the men could recover from their ordeal. The Sikhs fought in the Middle East, Mesopotamia, Gallipoli, and East Africa, among other flashpoints, and Bassi takes us on a tour of the world at war through their letters. Many letters complain of deprivation compared to the comforts of France, others make brief references to fighting and those killed and wounded, and some speak of their maltreatment when made PoWs. A few Sikhs enlisted in other Imperial armies such as Canada and Australia. Bassi also highlights letters, poems, and newspaper articles from India in addition to letters to family and loved ones from the front. He curiously leaves the topic of recruitment and pay until near the end of his collection. Bassi follows that with a section on sedition and conspiracies, arbitrary British efforts to suppress dissent, and the shocking episode of the Komagata Maru. Bassi concludes with an epilogue on the maltreatment of Sikhs by the British when they returned home from the War, including the infamous Amritsar Massacre.
Bassi’s collection provides a well-rounded look at how the Sikhs understood their war. He prefaces each chapter with a useful summary of what the letters mean when taken collectively. As for those well-chosen letters, they describe a war that is at once familiar but also capture how strange most of this was to the Sikh soldiers. There is some repetition in parts that slow us down, and we’re left wondering at what the censors deleted that might have changed some of the rosy pictures being sketched by the soldiers. Nevertheless, Bassi has made an important contribution to our knowledge of the Great War in all its facets, and his editing skills along with the eloquence of many of the soldiers, makes for an enjoyable and thought-provoking read.
Bassi introduces the Sikhs and their religion, and how they became loyal soldiers of the crown. They fought all over the globe in World War I and punched well above their weight. Indeed, Bassi argues, ‘bravery and heroism became synonymous with the Sikh name’. The letters begin with favourable Sikh impressions of France, which they viewed as an alien but welcoming place. Their belief in their God led to fatalism and acceptance of war and the environment in which they fought. Thei courage often got them wounded and having to convalesce in English hospitals, though many fretted at having to go back to the trenches while others lamented the cost of war on the Sikh soldiers. Bassi turns to the famed Sikh loyalty to the King that the British had manipulated, particularly through religious texts, but in most cases appears genuine. Of course, part of their desire for victory was to get home quicker.
What they were trying to escape from was the hell of the Western Front. Bassi notes that the Sikhs fought in nearly every major engagement and some were suspicious that they were being used as cannon-fodder. The British withdrew the Indian infantry from the Western Front at the end of 1915, leaving the cavalry behind, but by then many of the Sikh soldiers had seen enough of mud, freezing cold, warplanes, gas, and German shells. Bassi includes mentions from behind the lines where the men could recover from their ordeal. The Sikhs fought in the Middle East, Mesopotamia, Gallipoli, and East Africa, among other flashpoints, and Bassi takes us on a tour of the world at war through their letters. Many letters complain of deprivation compared to the comforts of France, others make brief references to fighting and those killed and wounded, and some speak of their maltreatment when made PoWs. A few Sikhs enlisted in other Imperial armies such as Canada and Australia. Bassi also highlights letters, poems, and newspaper articles from India in addition to letters to family and loved ones from the front. He curiously leaves the topic of recruitment and pay until near the end of his collection. Bassi follows that with a section on sedition and conspiracies, arbitrary British efforts to suppress dissent, and the shocking episode of the Komagata Maru. Bassi concludes with an epilogue on the maltreatment of Sikhs by the British when they returned home from the War, including the infamous Amritsar Massacre.
Bassi’s collection provides a well-rounded look at how the Sikhs understood their war. He prefaces each chapter with a useful summary of what the letters mean when taken collectively. As for those well-chosen letters, they describe a war that is at once familiar but also capture how strange most of this was to the Sikh soldiers. There is some repetition in parts that slow us down, and we’re left wondering at what the censors deleted that might have changed some of the rosy pictures being sketched by the soldiers. Nevertheless, Bassi has made an important contribution to our knowledge of the Great War in all its facets, and his editing skills along with the eloquence of many of the soldiers, makes for an enjoyable and thought-provoking read.
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