Where Sikhs Went 1914-18

As we expand our work on telling the story of Sikhs who fought during the Great War - we recognise there are two crucial parts of the history we we need to tell in order to create greater understanding of their deeds.

Where Sikhs served and fought during the conflict and how many there were.

Understanding this is important, in our view, to appreciating the sacrifices Sikhs soldiers made during the conflict.  They were leaving their homes and villages to travel very far overseas, many didn't think they'd return.

To address the first point, we've produced this new short introductory film which will help facilitate greater understanding of the Great War conflict and of the importance of the staunch Sikhs during it.

It concisely shows where Sikhs went as part of the Indian Expeditionary Forces (there were 7 in total).

You can watch it below:

And please do post your thoughts in comments - so we can gauge your opinions of our research and work in bringing this history to mass audiences.

Slough to Soldier trailer

Here's the trailer for our forthcoming short film series "Slough to Soldier: Why I joined the British Army".

We had an amazing experience meeting and filming Sikh officers and raw recruits - and discovering more about the significance of Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst for Sikhs.

The films will be released shortly - will post links here and on our FB page: www.facebook.com/dothyphen

All the films will appear on our Youtube page: www.youtube.com/dothyphenproductions

Trailer:  

Did the Great War allow Sikhs to prosper internationally?

In 1914 – a conflict broke out which would engulf the World in War.

From India, many thousands of Sikhs volunteered to fight for Great Britain.

Most had never stepped outside their villages or towns; but now they were being sent to serve in far flung parts.

Their story is all the more special because where they went – and what they did – ensured the growth and prosperity of the Sikh community all over the world.

The British had found the Sikhs, post-Punjab annexation, to be a community in need of direction.  In 1847, the Sikhs were leaderless and demoralised after the fall of the Sikh Kingdom under Maharaja Duleep Singh.

But what the Sikhs were were good fighters - the Anglo-Sikh Wars were a close fought affair and only favoured the British because of the duplicity of the Dogra brothers and infighting in the court of Lahore.

And so after annexation, the British remobilised the Sikhs under the Punjab Frontier Force and sent them to fight the other menace - the Afghans - in the North West Frontier Province. 

There in Afghanistan, the Sikhs excelled as they have always done as fighters.  And to British eyes the notion of Sikhs as a martial race was once again seen in their loyalty during the India Mutiny of 1857.

So why do we say - that 50 years later with the Great War - the conflict ensured growth and prosperity for Sikhs?

The Sikhs had until 1914, only ever ventured outside the sub-continent for work, study or pleasure.  

Work - Sikh soldiers and civil servants who served the Empire
Pleasure - Sikh raja's who could afford to travel for fun.

Study - the rare few sent to English universities.

The War opened up the possibility of actually living outside of the homeland because Sikhs now got to see what the lands of the ferenghi were actually like.  And they liked it.

Without this the mindset of the Sikhs would not have become more international - and taken risks in uprooting themselves and their families to live in far away places.

I'd like your thoughts on this - please do comment or get in touch.

Two Years Since "Sikhs@War"...

It's now two years since we made and launched our film "Sikhs@War: Jaspal's Story" - would you believe it!


The film follows Jaspal Singh, a teenager from Coventry, as he goes on a journey to discover and narrate the forgotten history of the 100,000 Sikhs who fought and died for Great Britain during the Great War. 


Seeing and learning about the battlefield is all the more personal for Jaspal who has been bullied because he looks different to other young people his age. Sometimes Jaspal feels he would like to cut his hair in order to fit in and not stand out, but he is inspired by stories of his Great Grandfather who fought during the World Wars with his identity intact.


You can watch the full film (for free) here - please share, tweet, facebook etc: 
http://www.dothyphen.co.uk/sikhs@war/play/sikhs-at-war-part-1.html#.T-ruM07kUp8.blogger

We had the privilege of launching the film in Parliament - hosted by the Attorney General Dominic Grieve MP QC.  You can view the launch video below:

Two years one - and we might have been a bit quiet on the production front but our research has churned up some interesting facts, one's which we will shortly bring you as we expand the "Sikhs@War" project to cover in depth the history of the Sikhs that fought during the Great War.


Very shortly we will give you an introduction to the theatre's of conflict that Sikhs fought in.


This will be followed by a look at the history of Sikhs at Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst and a series of shorts for the British Army about current Sikh recruits (called "Slough to Soldier").


All films are free to view on our website - a growing resource on this subject matter.


All films have been made to progress the understanding of this history.  


So please do share with your friends.

PS - as for Jaspal he's now studying mechanics and doing well in his career!

Sikhs of the Great War

Yesterday we tweeted via our handle @turbanology asking whether anyone had any questions or films they'd like us to make about Sikhs during the World Wars.

Thanks for all you replies.

One comment which struck in our mind was about where and how many Sikhs fought.  It was a very appropriate question to pick out, as the next short film we're making is about just that!

It cannot be overstated that a phenomenal amount of Sikhs fought during WW1 - and it is well documented that despite only being a minuscule % of the Indian population at the time, Sikhs formed a large part of the war effort.

When it comes to numbers, it is a question that needs much research - one which we are currently undertaking.   General Sir Frank Messervy is always quoted, and rightly so, in saying that:

"In the last two world wars 83,005 turban wearing Sikh soldiers were killed and 109,045 were wounded. 

But this is both conflicts combined - what of the Great War?  And what of the different arena's of the Great War?

Well that's the subject of our current research - which we will shortly be sharing with you in the form of a new Kindle book and short film about where Sikhs saw service.

Indian Expeditionary Force A was sent to Flanders which is well known; but fighting involving Sikhs also took place in many other areas.

IEF B and C was sent to East Africa - Sikh units formed part of the Imperial Services Infantry Brigade notably those raised in the Sikh princely state of Kapurthala.

IEF D was sent to Mesopotamia - the largest expeditionary force, it contained many Sikh infantry regiments as well as mixed Punjabi regiments which contained Sikhs.  Later in 1915, Sikhs that fought in Europe were sent to Mesopotamia where the war effort was also very crucial.

IEF E was sent to Sinai, and had the task of securing Jerusalem against the Ottomans

IEF F was sent to Suez with the crucial task of protecting the Suez Canal

IEF G was sent to Gallipoli, where Sikhs fought alongside ANZAC troops

Outside of these arenas, Sikhs were stationed in India, in the North West Frontier Province and in places such as Hong Kong, Malaysia which were vitally crucial to British interests.

But again - how many were there?  What units did they belong to?  And what are their stories?

This we will bring to you shortly.

British Sikh Heritage

That raising awareness of Sikh history and heritage in Britain is important, there can be no doubt.

The Sikhs have had more than a century of contact and collaboration with the British - it's something to be proud of and something that ties every Sikh community member today to a rich and prosperous story of successful integration.

It's a story that should make every British Sikh proud - of their faith and identity, of their flag and country.

British travellers saw the splendour of the court of the True Guru - Guru Gobind Singh.

British colonialists witnessed the fall of the Mughal Empire - and rise of Ranjit Singh, Lion of the Punjab.

British expansionists thought long over the declining power of the Sikh State post-Ranjit - eventually fighting two wars with the Sikhs and annexing the Punjab.

And all the while the art the heritage and the stories of those who witnessed these major Sikh events were brought back to Britain by eye witnesses.  Stories of the valour and bravery of the Sikhs permeated every corner of society.

Duleep Singh was the first Sikh to step foot in Britain, albeit after he converted to Christianity.  He lived the life of an English gent  - but perhaps his struggle with his faith at birth and his adopted country broke the boundaries for what future migrants might have to deal with.

As Duleep continued to sport his eastern garbs - including a Turban - as a novelty.  Something which was not lost on the locals.  British officers wore regimental Turbans when leading Sikhs in India, and Sikh soldiers parading in Britain during Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee were welcomed as celebrities.

Throughout this vast history, and the bits in between not mentioned; the story of British Sikh endeavours has been a rich and fruitful one.

One which has inspired many Sikhs today to fight for Great Britain - something I'm grateful to be capturing for a forthcoming mini-series of films for the British Army (below).

One which has seen many Sikhs contribute, across many sectors of our economy, to British prosperity - something we raised during the recent "Turbanology At Vaisakhi" events at Ernst & Young with the event "How Sikhs contribute to prosperity in Britain".

And in appreciating our connected history we get to move forward - as British Sikhs.

In promoting this story to those who don't know we show our pride in the journey our forefathers have made to become successful British Sikhs.

For me, British Sikh history has always been crucial - to know where we are going as a community we must understand where we've come from.  To contribute to the greatness of Britain we must focus on developing our own narrative.

And to be pivotal members of wider society, we must appreciate that which have enabled us to add flavour and colour to British life - and live in accordance with our Guru's principles in a modern western setting.

British Sikh Heritage is not the domain of one man or organisation - or the work of those who's ego or greed see them hogging the agenda for personal gratification.

British Sikh Heritage is the domain of all British Sikhs - one which we should all work at understanding and promoting.

Sandhurst Sikhs

We spent a WHOLE day filming at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst for the upcoming short feature series "Slough to Sandhurst."

What we thought would take a few hours ended up being a whole morning and afternoon - there is so much history and heritage at Sandhurst that it's not very easy to do it justice in a short film.  Nor is it simple to combine the stories of so many role models from the BME communities currently serving.

We were there filming with Sikh officers and soldiers (above cameraman Juggy with Capt Sartaj Singh Gogna and recruits) for a new short film series about the various stages people go through to join the British Army - from civvies inspired to serve, to walking through the doors at the recruitment office and signing up, to undertaking medicals, tests, being accepted as 'Soldiers under Training' and going through to Phase 1 training.

At Sandhurst, we filmed two young aspiring officers discovering more about what Sandhurst has to offer - and telling us about what inspired them to want to serve.  They had the opportunity to see the historic buildings - and the history contained in them relating to the British Raj in India.

We were all inspired in particular by Capt Sartaj Singh Gogna (above) an officer with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.  Capt Gogna joined the British Army 12 years ago, what's extraordinary is that he chose to start growing his hair and tie a Turban AFTER he joined.  While most find joining the military difficult with these articles of Sikh faith intact, Capt Gogna described the process of learning that led him to chose to don this very important headdress - and compliment his Officers uniform with a Turban.

We'll feature the interview in the "Slough2Soldier" series.  Our thanks for allowing us to film at Sandhurst to the Protocol Officer L Col Parkinson and the National Army Museum for making use of the display items (about which I will post a separate entry.)

Captain Makand Singh MBE

We had the pleasure of filming with Captain Makand Singh (Royal Logistic Corps) and his family - after his visit to Buckingham Palace to receive an MBE for services to Great Britain.

Captain Singh joined the British Army in 1977 at the age of 17 - when Britain was very different to now - what makes his story all the more fascinating for our upcoming series is that his father was the first Sikh to join an English regiment WITH his Turban and Beard.

It might seem bizarre because of the rich history of Sikhs fighting for Great Britain during the Worlds Wars, but we often forget that turbanned Sikhs who wanted to join mainland UK regiments had to conform to uniform policies at the time which did not make allowances for the Turban and uncut hair.

This was not because of any racist or discriminatory policy but because of the conformity of these units which ensured that all soldiers and officers were the same, in spirit de corps or administration.  It's similar to what US units have been through recently, although they too have now begun to allow Sikhs to maintain their distinct identity.

The British held the Sikhs in high esteem because of the bravery and valour shown during the Anglo-Sikh Wars, WW1 and WW2 - and in far flung parts of Empire.  But never had a Sikh joined a British unit in the UK...

That was until Makand Singh's father - Baldev Singh - applied to join.  He was rejected because he would not cut his hair.  Baldev Singh persisted, taking his case to policymakers - and won - being allowed to serve with his uncut hair.

Without his efforts, Sikhs today would have struggled to serve with their uncut and Turbans intact.  In fact, it is because of Baldev Singh's immovable belief in his Sikh identity that the British Army has developed into such a modern and diverse workforce with a focus on recruiting black and minority ethnic soldiers and officers.

His actions inspired many people, and foremost amongst them is his son Makand Singh - who this blog post celebrates as a role model and inspiration.

Captain Singh spoke very little English when he came to the UK from Malaysia and joined the Army - but he worked his way up becoming well known for his contribution to the forces especially within sports such as Hockey and Kabaddi (which he introduced to the Army).  

After 33 years in the Army - which includes postings to Germany, Belize and Hong Kong - Singh rightly adds the MBE to his achievements which include the prestigious Meritorious Service Medal for his commitment to recruiting members of the BME community.

Our interview with Makand Singh will feature in our new series coming soon - as we delve into what inspires young Sikhs to join and serve their country.  Hearing his answers outside the memorial celebrating the contribution of soldiers from all over Empire has enabled us to appreciate more the sacrifices our forefathers made for Great Britain.

Inspiration

What inspires Sikhs to join the British Army?

It's a question I'm currently asking a lot of officers and soldiers in Her Majesty's Armed Forces, for our new short film series.

Is it awareness of the Sikh contribution during the Worlds Wars and history with the British?  Or a desire to serve one's country and excel in the military?

If you're Sikh - either thinking of joining or are joining - I'd like your thoughts ... please comment to this post...

New Film Project

The team at Dot Hyphen Productions has spent the past few months working on bringing the "Turbanology" exhibition to central London in April - now that is over I'm pleased we can move forward with a series of exciting films.

Not to give much away, we've been tasked with looking at the role of Sikhs in the British Army - past and present.  Over the next few months I'll blog about what we're researching and finding.

We started the project, in fact, back in March by filming with a young Sikh from Slough who's joining the Army - and the Parachute Regiment!  Sounds very interesting, but more so when you hear that he is a Sikh with a full beard and wears a Turban!  So how will he cope when the job spec for the Reg is for him to jump out of planes?

We'll let you know soon...