Editing Sikhs (section)

== In the Indian and British armies ==
{{Main|Sikhs in the British Indian Army}}

According to a 1994 estimate, Punjabi Sikhs and Hindus comprised 10 to 15% of all ranks in the [[Indian Army]]. The Indian government does not release religious or ethnic origins of a military personnel, but a 1991 report by Tim McGirk estimated that 20% of Indian Army officers were Sikhs.<ref name="Kundu">{{cite journal|last=Kundu|first=Apurba|date=Spring 1994|title=The Indian Armed Forces' Sikh and Non-Sikh Officers' Opinions of Operation Blue Star|journal=Pacific Affairs|volume=67|issue=1|pages=48–49|doi=10.2307/2760119|jstor=2760119}}</ref> Together with the [[Gurkha]]s recruited from Nepal, the [[Maratha Light Infantry]] from Maharashtra and the [[Jat Regiment]], the Sikhs are one of the few communities to have exclusive regiments in the Indian Army.<ref name="Kundu" /> The [[Sikh Regiment]] is one of the most-decorated [[regiment]]s in the army, with 73 [[Battle Honours]], 14 [[Victoria Cross]]es,<ref name="nriinternet.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.nriinternet.com/Section4HistoryNRI/UK%20History/5_1016_SuccessStory.htm|title=The success story that UK's 4 lakh Sikhs are|last=TNN|website=NRI Internet|type=excerpts from talk by British High Commissioner Michael Arthur|access-date=4 April 2008}}</ref> 21 first-class [[Indian Order of Merit|Indian Orders of Merit]] (equivalent to the Victoria Cross),<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/06/24/nsikh224.xml|title=History of Sikh Gallantry|date=24 June 2007|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=4 April 2008|url-status=dead|location=London|archive-date=27 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227020801/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2007%2F06%2F24%2Fnsikh224.xml}}</ref> 15 [[Battle honour|Theatre Honours]], 5 COAS Unit Citations, two [[Param Vir Chakra]]s, 14 [[Maha Vir Chakra]]s, 5 [[Kirti Chakra]]s, 67 [[Vir Chakra]]s and 1,596 other awards. The highest-ranking general in the history of the Indian Air Force is a Punjabi Sikh, Marshal of the Air Force [[Arjan Singh]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Legends/Arjan.html|title=Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh|last=Pillarisetti|first=Jagan|website=Bharat Rakshak|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080327195335/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Legends/Arjan.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive -->|archive-date=27 March 2008|access-date=4 April 2008}}</ref> Plans by the [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|United Kingdom Ministry of Defence]] for a Sikh [[infantry]] regiment were scrapped in June 2007.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Rayment|first=Sean|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/06/24/nsikh124.xml|title=Sikh Regiment Dumped over 'Racism' Fears|date=24 June 2007|newspaper=The Telegraph|url-status=dead|location=London|archive-date=18 November 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071118172517/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2007%2F06%2F24%2Fnsikh124.xml}}</ref>

Sikhs supported the British during the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]].<ref>{{cite book|last=[[Kennedy Trevaskis]]|first=Hugh|title=The Land of Five Rivers: An Economic History of the Punjab from Earliest Times to the Year of Grace 1890|year=1928|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=London|pages=216–217}}</ref> By the beginning of [[World War I]], Sikhs in the [[British Indian Army]] totaled over 100,000 (20 per cent of the force). Until 1945, fourteen [[Victoria Cross]]es (VC) were awarded to Sikhs, a per-capita regimental record.<ref name="nriinternet.com" /> In 2002, the names of all Sikh VC and [[George Cross]] recipients were inscribed on the monument of the [[Memorial Gates (Constitution Hill)|Memorial Gates]]<ref>{{cite web
| title = Memorial Gates Official Website
| url = http://www.mgtrust.org/links.htm
| access-date =4 April 2008}}</ref> on [[Constitution Hill, London|Constitution Hill]], next to [[Buckingham Palace]].<ref>{{cite web |title=UK Government Report on the memorial |url=http://www.millennium.gov.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=1220&d=11&h=24&f=46&dateformat=%25o-%25B-%25Y |access-date=4 April 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206051955/http://www.millennium.gov.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=1220&d=11&h=24&f=46&dateformat=%25o-%25B-%25Y |archive-date=6 December 2008 }}</ref> [[Chanan Singh Dhillon]] was instrumental in campaigning for the memorial.

During World War I, Sikh battalions fought in Egypt, Palestine, Mesopotamia, [[Gallipoli]] and France. Six battalions of the [[Sikh Regiment]] were raised during [[World War II]], serving in the [[Second Battle of El Alamein]], the [[Burma Campaign|Burma]] and [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian campaigns]] and in [[Anglo-Iraqi War|Iraq]], receiving 27 battle honours. Around the world, Sikhs are commemorated in [[Commonwealth War Graves Commission|Commonwealth]] cemeteries.<ref>{{cite web
| title = India's High Commission in London 'Sikhs Pioneered Britain's Multi-Cultural Society
| url = http://www.hcilondon.net/Issues-in-focus/Sikhs-pioneered-Britain's-multi-cultural-society.html
| access-date = 4 April 2008
| archive-date = 13 December 2007
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071213072258/http://www.hcilondon.net/Issues-in-focus/Sikhs-pioneered-Britain%27s-multi-cultural-society.html
| url-status = dead
}}</ref>

<gallery widths="150" heights="100">
File:Sikhs in the First World War Q24777.jpg|Sikhs in the [[World War I|First World War]], marching with their scripture, [[Guru Granth Sahib]]
File:SikhsInFrancePostcard.jpg|alt=Postcard of marching Sikhs with rifles|French postcard depicting the arrival of the 15th [[Sikh Regiment]] in France during [[World War I]]. The bilingual postcard reads, "Gentlemen of India marching to chasten the German hooligans."
File:Indian sikh soldiers in Italian campaign.jpg|Indian Sikh soldiers in the [[Italian campaign (World War II)|Italian campaign]]
File:Sikh soldier with captured Swastika flag.jpg|Sikh soldier with captured [[Swastika]] flag of [[Nazi Germany]]
File:Japanese shooting blindfolded Sikh prisoners.jpg|alt=See caption|Japanese soldiers shooting blindfolded Sikh prisoners in [[World War II]]
</gallery>