# Bravery Of Sikh Soldiers



## kds1980 (Nov 29, 2007)

Bravery of Sikh soldiers

Bravery of Sikh soldiers

THEY looked in silent admiration at each of the rare photographs displaying Sikh soldiers’ bravery in war. 

Others snapped photographs at an exhibition of over 200 black and white photographs of the soldiers who had served in the British Indian army during World War I and II. 

Amarjit Singh, who was busy clicking away with his camera, said he felt inspired by the photo-graphs. 

“This kind of exhibition is not common. It is a good opportuni- ty for me to build my own small library,” said the 49-year-old policeman from Batu Gajah. 

VIP visitors:British High Commission defence adviser Col Paul Edwards(in uniform)and Indian High Commission defence adviser Col P.K.Siwach(right)looking at the photographs on display at the exhibition.

The exhibition, displaying photographs obtained from the Im-perial War Museum in London, was held in conjunction with the 538th birthday of Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion. 

Organised by Harchand Singh, the exhibition was also a tribute to the soldiers. 

“I was inspired when I saw pictures of Sikh soldiers on the Inter-net,” Harchand Singh said. 

“Many of us think that the Sikh soldiers only served in (then) Malaya and Singapore. They also served in other parts of the world,” he said at the opening ceremony of the exhibition entitled Exploring the role of Sikh soldiers – Where valour is a tradition at Wadda Gurdwara Sahib in Jalan Gurdwara in Ipoh recently. 

Harchand Singh said the soldiers also served in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Indonesia and Myanmar, adding that he was planning to publish a book on the subject next year. 

One of the highlights of the exhibition is the section on the Battle of Saragarhi in 1897 when 21 Sikhs fought 14,000 Afghans at the signal post located at the modern-day Pakistan-Afghan border. 

The soldiers managed to kill 4,800 men in the battle recognised by Unesco as one of the greatest stories of bravery in the history of mankind.


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