Sikh soldiers in the World Wars
After 1849 Sikhs were recruited in large numbers into the British Indian Army, and by the First World War they formed a substantial part of it. Sikh soldiers served on the Western Front in France and Flanders from 1914, at Gallipoli, in Mesopotamia, East Africa and elsewhere. In the Second World War they served in North and East Africa, Italy, Malaya and Burma. Many received gallantry awards, and many never returned home.
Their service is increasingly remembered in the countries where they fought, through memorials, research and community commemorations. It is also remembered within the wider history of empire: the soldiers fought far from Punjab under colonial command, and their families bore the cost. Honouring their courage and remembering that context together gives the fullest picture. Many Sikh families today treasure letters, medals and photographs of grandfathers and great-grandfathers who served. Sikh organisations in Britain, France, Italy and elsewhere now hold regular remembrance events for them.
The Komagata Maru (1914)
In the early twentieth century Canada restricted migration from India through rules such as the "continuous journey" requirement, which Indians could hardly meet. In 1914 a Sikh businessman, Gurdit Singh, chartered the Japanese ship Komagata Maru to carry passengers, most of them Sikhs from Punjab, from Asia to Vancouver. On arrival the ship was kept in the harbour for about two months and most passengers were refused entry. Supporters in Vancouver's small Sikh community raised funds and pursued legal efforts on their behalf.
The ship was forced to return to India. When it reached Budge Budge near Calcutta in September 1914, a confrontation with police led to firing in which passengers were killed, and others were arrested. The episode deepened anger against colonial rule and helped fuel the Ghadar movement among Punjabi migrants in North America. In 2016 the Prime Minister of Canada formally apologised in the House of Commons for the country's actions.
Jallianwala Bagh and the freedom movement
On 13 April 1919 — Vaisakhi day — a large unarmed crowd of men, women and children of different faiths had gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh, a walled garden close to Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar. Troops under Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer entered and opened fire without warning, and the enclosed ground left people little chance of escape. Many were killed and many more were wounded; the numbers remain disputed between official and unofficial accounts.
The massacre shocked India and turned many former moderates against British rule. Sikhs took a prominent part in the freedom struggle through the Ghadar movement, the Akali movement and many other channels, and figures such as Bhagat Singh and Udham Singh are widely remembered in Punjab. The Jallianwala Bagh is today a national memorial visited by people from across India and the world. Its memory remains closely linked with Vaisakhi and with Amritsar in the minds of many Punjabis.
Partition (1947)
When British India was divided in August 1947, Punjab was split between India and Pakistan along the Radcliffe Line. The partition was accompanied by terrible communal violence on all sides and by one of the largest migrations in history. Sikhs and Hindus left West Punjab for India, and Muslims left East Punjab for Pakistan. Families of every community lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods, and many women suffered grievously. The trauma of those months is still carried in the memories of many families.
For Sikhs the division carried a particular sorrow: Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Kartarpur, Panja Sahib, Lahore and many other historic places were now across an international border. The Panthic Ardas has long included a prayer for open access to the gurdwaras and shrines from which the Panth has been separated. The opening of the Kartarpur Corridor in 2019 was received by many Sikhs as a deeply moving answer to that prayer.
Rebuilding and the Punjabi Suba (1966)
Refugee families rebuilt their lives in East Punjab, Delhi and elsewhere, often starting from nothing. In the 1960s and 1970s Punjab's farmers, many of them Sikh, also became central to the Green Revolution. At the same time, after India's states were reorganised largely along linguistic lines, the Akali Dal led a long campaign — the Punjabi Suba movement — for a Punjabi-speaking state, involving mass protests and many arrests. Its leaders framed the demand in linguistic terms, while others saw it through religious and political lenses as well.
The Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966 created a smaller, Punjabi-speaking state of Punjab from 1 November 1966. Haryana became a separate state, some hill areas were transferred to Himachal Pradesh, and Chandigarh was made a union territory serving as the capital of both Punjab and Haryana. Questions about Chandigarh, river waters and Punjabi-speaking areas outside the new state remained unresolved and continued to shape Punjab's politics. Many of these issues would become part of the tensions of the following decades.
Timeline
- 1914
The Komagata Maru is refused at Vancouver; passengers are fired upon at Budge Budge on its return. Historical record
- 1914–1918
Sikh soldiers serve in France, Flanders, Gallipoli, Mesopotamia, East Africa and elsewhere. Historical record
- 1919
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar on Vaisakhi day. Historical record
- 1939–1945
Sikh soldiers serve in North and East Africa, Italy, Malaya and Burma during the Second World War. Historical record
- 1947
Partition divides Punjab; many historic Sikh places are left in Pakistan amid mass migration and violence. Historical record
- 1966
The Punjab Reorganisation Act creates a Punjabi-speaking Punjab state from 1 November. Historical record
- 2016
The Prime Minister of Canada formally apologises in Parliament for the Komagata Maru episode. Historical record
- 2019
The Kartarpur Corridor opens, allowing pilgrims from India to visit Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan. Historical record
Sources & further reading
- J. S. Grewal, The Sikhs of the Punjab (The New Cambridge History of India), Cambridge University Press
- Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs, Oxford University Press
- Pashaura Singh and Louis E. Fenech (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies, Oxford University Press
- Harbans Singh (ed.), The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism, Punjabi University, Patiala