Sikh Regiment
The Sikh Regiment is the highest decorated regiment of the Indian Army, with 72 Battle Honours, 15 Theatre Honours and 5 COAS Unit Citations and 1596 other gallantry awards.
The Sikh Regimental Centre is presently located in Ramgarh Cantonment, 30 km from the Ranchi, capital of Jharkhand state in India. The Centre was earlier located in Meerut in Uttar Pradesh State.
Over its life of more than 150 years, the regiment has participated in various actions and operations both in the pre and post-independence era in India and abroad, including the First and the Second World War.
With a humble beginning of two battalions, today the fraternity has grown 20 battalions strong.
The war cry of regiment is: Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal (He who cries God is Truth, attains bliss)
History
Maharaja Ranjit Singh brought the then Punjab to "Khalsa Panth" and formed the Sikh Khalsa Army. Following battles by the Khalsa Army, XIV Ferozepur (1 Sikh, now 4 Mechanised Infantry), and XV Ludhiana (2 Sikh) were raised from the soldiers of the vanquished force on August 1, 1846.
The Sikh Regiment came into existence on 1 August 1846, with the raising of Regiment of Ferozepore Sikhs and Regiment of Ludhiana Sikhs by Captain G. Tebbs and Lieutenant Colonel P. Gordon respectively. The regiments were raised by reorganizing the armed forces of Maharaja Ranjit Singh by the then British rulers of India.
Although the regiment's official history dates back to 1846, the biological heritage has its roots in the noble teachings and sacrifices made by The Sikh Gurus.
Battle of Saragarhi and the Sikh Regiment
UNESCO has described the Battle of Saragarhi, and the Sikh soldiers (The Sikh Regiment) who fought in it (listed below), as one of eight stories of greatest collective bravery in the world. The contingent of the twenty one Sikhs was led by Havildar Ishar Singh, and all chose to fight to the death instead of surrendering. In recognition of their supreme sacrifice, the British Parliament rose to pay them respect, and each one of them was awarded the Indian Order of Merit. In the West, it has been compared to the Battle of Thermopylae.
Havildar Ishar Singh
Naik Lal Singh
Lance Naik Chanda Singh
Sepoy Sundar Singh
Sepoy Ram Singh
Sepoy Uttar Singh
Sepoy Sahib Singh
Sepoy Hira Singh
Sepoy Daya Singh
Sepoy Jivan Singh
Sepoy Bhola Singh
Sepoy Narayan Singh
Sepoy Gurmukh Singh
Sepoy Jivan Singh
Sepoy Gurmukh Singh
Sepoy Ram Singh
Sepoy Bhagwan Singh
Sepoy Bhagwan Singh
Sepoy Buta Singh
Sepoy Jivan Singh
Sepoy Nand Singh
Units
Regimental Battalion
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
Others
1st Battalion is now 4th Mechanised Infantry.
9th Battalion was disbanded in 1984
Operation Bluestar
Following Operation Bluestar, a large number of recruits at Ramgarh mutinied. They shot and killed the Commandant of the Sikh Regimental Center, Brigadier S.C. Puri and wounded some other officers. They then got hold of a number of trucks and started to proceed towards Punjab, but were stopped by army men in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
A large part of 9 Sikh which was in the Ganganagar area of Rajasthan mutinied. This battalion was disbanded on April 1, 1985. Following Operation Bluestar, the then COAS, General Arun S. Vaidya wanted to have more mixed battalions. So he passed an order that single class battalions should begin recruiting other classes as well as their parent class. These mixed battalion came to be known as Vaidya's Battalions. The 13 Sikh is the Vaidya battalion and its class composition consists of a company each of Sikhs, Dogras, Garhwalis and South Indians.
Awards and Citations
In all, the Regiment has to its credit 1652 gallantry awards and honours including
10 Victoria Crosses
2 Param Vir Chakra
Lance Naik Karam Singh in 1948 during Kashmir operations.
Joginder Singh (Subedar) during the Chinese Aggression of 1962.
14 Maha Vir Chakra (MVC)
68 Vir Chakra.
In addition it has also earned
73 battle honours
38 theatre honours besides four COAS Unit Citation, including
the one bestowed upon 8 Sikh during the 1999 Kargil episode
and two "Bravest of the Brave" citations.
The Museum of the 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.
Chief of Army Staff of India. (COAS) made a special instant award of "Unit Citation" to 8th Battalion, The Sikh Regiment for their meritorious and gallant performance during the isolation of Tiger Hill, which facilitated the capture of Tiger Hill top and battles of Helmet and India Gate, features to the West of Tiger Hill top, on night 07/08 July 1999, in Dras Sector.
During Operation Vijay, the unit displayed sterling performance marked with exceptional valour and grit in the face of the enemy.
