# Battle Of Aliwal



## Admin (Jun 3, 2009)

*Battle of Aliwal*

Described as the 'near              perfect battle' and scene 
            of the spectacular charge by HM 16th Queen's Lancers.​ War: First              Sikh War.
Date: 28th January 1848.
Place: In the              Punjab in the North West of India.






            HM 16th Queen's Lancers charging the Sikh square at the Battle of Aliwal​Combatants: British              troops and Indian troops of the Bengal Presidency against Sikhs of              the Khalsa, the army of the Punjab.              
Generals: General Sir Harry Smith against Ranjodh Singh.
            Size of the armies: The British and Bengali army of 12,000 men and              30 guns against the Sikh army of 30,000 men and 67 guns.
             Uniforms, arms and equipment (this section is identical for each of              the battles in the two Sikh War sections):
            The two wars fought between 1845 and 1849 between the British and              the Sikhs led to the annexation of the Punjab by the British East              India Company and one of the most successful military co-operations              between two races, stretching into a century of strife on the North              West Frontier of British India, the Indian Mutiny, Egypt and finally              the First and Second World Wars.
The British contingent comprised              four light cavalry regiments (3rd, 9th, 14th and 16th Light              Dragoons- the 9th and 16th being lancers) and twelve regiments of              foot (9th, 10th, 24th, 29th, 31st, 32nd, 50th, 53rd, 60th, 61st,              62nd and 80th regiments).
The bulk of General Gough’s “Army of the              Sutlej” in the First Sikh War and “Army of the Punjab” in the Second              comprised regiments from the Bengal Presidency’s army: 9 regular              cavalry regiments (the Governor-General’s Bodyguard and 1st, 3rd,              4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 11th Bengal Light Cavalry), 13 regiments              of irregular cavalry (2nd, 3rd, 4th, 7th to 9th and 11th to the 17th              Bengal Irregular Cavalry), 48 regiments of foot (1st to 4th, 7th,              8th, 12th to 16th, 18th, 20th, 22nd, 24th to 27th, 29th to 33rd,              36th, 37th, 41st to 54th, 56th, 59th, 63rd and 68th to 73rd Bengal              Native Infantry), horse artillery, field artillery, heavy artillery              and sappers and miners.
The Bombay presidency contributed a force              that marched in from Scinde in the West and gave considerable              assistance at the Siege of Multan; the 19th Bombay Native Infantry              gaining the title of the Multan Regiment for its services in the              siege, a label still held by its Indian Army successor. A Bombay              brigade under Brigadier Dundas joined General Gough’s army for the              final battle of the Second Sikh War at Goojerat, where the two              regiments of Scinde Horse, Bombay Irregular Cavalry, particularly              distinguished themselves. The brigade comprised: 2 regiments of              Scinde Horse, 3rd and 19th Bombay Native Infantry and Bombay horse              artillery and field artillery.
Each of the three presidencies in              addition to their native regiments possessed European infantry, of              which the 1st Bengal (European) Infantry, 2nd Bengal (European)              Light Infantry and 1st Bombay (European) Fusiliers took part in the              Sikh Wars.
Other corps fought under the British flag, such as the              Shekawati cavalry and infantry and the first two Gurkha regiments:              the Nasiri Battalion (later 1st Gurkhas) and the Sirmoor Battalion              (later 2nd Gurkhas).
General Gough commanded the British/Indian              army at 6 of the 7 major battles (not Aliwal). An Irishman, Gough              was immensely popular with his soldiers for whose welfare he was              constantly solicitous. The troops admired Gough’s bravery, in action              wearing a conspicuous white coat, which he called his “Battle Coat”,              so that he might draw fire away from his soldiers.
Gough’s tactics              were heavily criticised, even in the Indian press in letters written              by his own officers. At the Battles of Moodkee, Sobraon and              Chillianwallah Gough launched headlong attacks considered to be              ill-thought out by many of his contemporaries. Casualties were high              and excited concern in Britain and India. His final battle, Goojerat,              decisively won the war, cost few of his soldiers their lives and was              considered a model of care and planning.
Every battle saw vigorous              cavalry actions with HM 3rd King’s Own Light Dragoons and HM 16th              Queen’s Royal Lancers particularly distinguishing themselves. The              British light cavalry wore embroidered dark blue jackets and dark              blue overall trousers, except the 16th who bore the sobriquet “the              Scarlet Lancers” for their red jackets. The headgear of the two              regiments of light dragoons was a shako with a white cover; the              headgear of the lancers the traditional Polish tschapka.                  

 
 





HM 16th Lancers charging the Sikh line at the Battle of Aliwal.​HM regiments of foot wore red coats and blue trousers with shakos              and white covers.
            The Bengal and Bombay light cavalry regiments wore pale blue              uniforms. The infantry of the presidency armies wore red coats and              peakless black shakos.              
The weapons for the cavalry were the lance for the lancer              regiments and sword and carbine for all; the infantry were armed              with the Brown Bess musket and bayonet.
Commands in the field were              given by the cavalry trumpet and the infantry drum and bugle.
In              the initial battles the Sikh artillery outgunned Gough’s batteries.              Even in these battles and in the later ones the Bengal and Bombay              horse and field artillery were handled with great resource and were              a major cause of Gough’s success.
Many of the more senior British              officers had cut their military teeth in the Peninsular War and at              the Battle of Waterloo: Gough, Hardinge, Havelock of the 14th Light              Dragoons, Cureton, ****, Thackwell and others. Many of the younger              men would go on to fight in the Crimea and the Indian Mutiny.
The              Sikhs of the Punjab looked to the sequence of Gurus for their              spiritual inspiration and had established their independence              fiercely resisting the Moghul Kings in Delhi and the Muslims of              Afghanistan. The Sikhs were required by their religion to wear the              five “Ks”, not to cut their hair or beard and to wear the highly              characteristic turban, a length of cloth in which the hair is              wrapped around the head.
The Maharajah of the Punjab, Ranjit              Singh, whose death in 1839 ended the Sikh embargo on war with the              British, established and built up the powerful Sikh Army, the “Khalsa”,              over the twenty years of his reign. The core of the “Khalsa” was its              body of infantry regiments, equipped and trained as European troops,              wearing red jackets and blue trousers. The Sikh artillery was held              in high esteem by both sides. The weakness in the Sikh army was its              horse. The regular cavalry regiments never reached a standard              comparable to the Sikh foot, while the main element of the mounted              arm comprised clouds of irregular and ill-disciplined “Gorcharras”.
The traditional weapon of the Sikh warrior is the “Kirpan”, a              curved sword kept razor sharp and one of the five “Ks” a baptised              Sikh must wear. In battle, at the first opportunity, many of the              Sikh foot abandoned their muskets and, joining their mounted              comrades, engaged in hand to hand combat with sword and shield.              Horrific cutting wounds, severing limbs and heads, were a frightful              feature of the Sikh Wars in which neither side gave quarter to the              enemy.





            Troopers of HM 16th Queen's Lancers killing Sikh gunners at the              Battle of Aliwal​It had taken the towering personality of Ranjit Singh to              control the turbulent “Khalsa” he had established. His descendants              found the task beyond them and did much to provoke the outbreak of              the First Sikh War in the hope that the Khalsa would be cut down to              size by the armies of the British East India Company. The commanders              of the Sikh armies in the field rarely took the initiative in              battle, preferring to occupy a fortified position and wait for the              British and Bengalis to attack. In the opening stages of the war              there was correspondence between Lal Singh and the British officer,              Major Nicholson, suggesting that the Sikhs were being betrayed by              their commander.
Pay in the Khalsa was good, twice the rate for              sepoys in the Bengal Army, but it was haphazard, particularly after              the death of Ranjit Singh. Khalsa administration was conducted by              clerks writing in the Persian language. In one notorious mutiny over              pay Sikh soldiers ran riot looking for anyone who could, or looked              as if they could, speak Persian and putting them to the sword.
The              seven battles of the war and the siege of the city of Multan were              hard fought. Several of the battle fields were wide flat spaces              broken by jungly scrub, from which the movement of large bodies of              troops in scorching heat raised choking clouds of dust. As the              fighting began the dust clouds intermingled with dense volumes of              musket and cannon smoke. With the thunder of gunfire and horse              hooves, the battle yells and cries of the injured, the battles of              the Sikh Wars were indeed infernos.





            HM 16th Queen's Lancers at the Battle of Aliwal after breaking the              Sikh squares​Winner: The British and              Bengali troops of General White’s army.
British and Indian              Regiments: 
            British:
            HM 16th Queen’s Light Dragoons (Lancers), now the Queen’s Royal              Lancers. *
            HM 31st Foot, later the East Surrey Regiment and now the Princess of              Wales’s Royal Regiment.*
            HM 50th Foot, later the Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Regiment and now              the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment.*
            HM 53rd Foot, later the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry and now the              Rifles.*

            Army of Bengal:
            Governor General’s Bodyguard.*
            1st Bengal Native Cavalry.*
            3rd Bengal Native Cavalry.*
            5th Bengal Native Cavalry.*
            4th Irregular Cavalry.*
            Shekawati Cavalry.*
            3 Batteries of Horse Artillery.*
            2 Field Batteries of Artillery.*

            24th Bengal Native Infantry.*
            36th Bengal Native Infantry.*
            47th Bengal Native Infantry.*
            48th Bengal Native Infantry.*
            Nasiri Gurkha Battalion.*
            Sirmoor Gurkha Battalion.*

            The Indian Army regiments:
            Cavalry:
            The Governor General’s Bodyguard continues as the President of              India’s Bodyguard.*
            4th Bengal Irregular Cavalry in1861 became 3rd Bengal Cavalry, in              1903 3rd Skinner’s Horse and in 1922 1st Duke of York’s Own              Skinner’s Horse.*
            All the regular Bengal cavalry regiments that fought at Aliwal              ceased to exist in 1857.
            Infantry:
            47th Bengal Native Infantry in1861 became the 7th Bengal Light              Infantry, in 1903 7th Duke of Connaught’s Own Rajputs in 1903 the              3rd Battalion (Duke of Connaught’s Own) the 7th Rajput Regiment and              from 1950 the 3rd Battalion, the Rajput Regiment of the Indian              Army.*
            Nasiri Gurkha Battalion in 1861 became 1st Gurkha Light Infantry, in              1910 became 1st King George V’s Own Gurkha Rifles (the Malaun              Regiment) and in 1947 became 1st Gurkha Regiment of the Indian              Army.*
            Sirmoor Gurkha Battalion in 1861 became 2nd Gurkha Rifles and in              1906 2nd King Edward VII’s Own Gurkha Rifles (the Sirmoor Regiment)              and in 1947 was transferred to the British Army.*
            The remaining Bengal infantry regiments that fought at Aliwal ceased              to exist in 1857.
            *These regiments have Aliwal as a battle honour.

            Order of battle of General Smith’s army at the Battle of Aliwal:
            Commander: General Sir Harry Smith.
            Cavalry Division: Brigadier General Cureton.
            Brigadier Macdowell’s brigade: HM 16th Queen’s Lancers, 3rd Bengal              Light Cavalry and 4th Bengal Irregular Cavalry.
            Brigade Stedman’s brigade: Governor General’s bodyguard, 1st Bengal              Light Cavalry, 5th Bengal Light Cavalry and Shekawati Cavalry.

            Horse Artillery: Major Laurenson, 3 batteries.

            Infantry Division:
            1st Brigade: HM 31st Foot, 24th and 47th Bengal Native Infantry.
            2nd Brigade: Brigadier Wheeler; HM 50th Foot, 48th Bengal Native              Infantry and Sirmoor Battalion of Gurkhas.
            3rd Brigade: Brigadier Wilson; HM 53rd Foot and 30th Bengal Native              Infantry.
            4th Brigade: Colonel Godby; 36th Bengal Native Infantry and Nasiri              Battalion of Gurkhas.
            Artillery: 2 field batteries and 2 eight-inch howitzers. 





            Map of the Battle of Aliwal​ Account: 
            Following the Battle of Ferozeshah, Tej Singh withdrew his Sikh army              across the Sutlej River, while General Sir Hugh Gough formed his              force on the south bank and awaited reinforcements. Seeing this              inactivity on the part of the British and Bengali army, Tej Singh              detached Ranjodh Singh with 8,000 troops and 70 guns to march east              along the river and cross so as to menace the British base at              Ludhiana, thereby causing Gough great concern as a large slow column              of supplies with the British siege train was coming up from the              East.

            Gough dispatched General Sir Harry Smith with a brigade of infantry,              cavalry and guns, to clear the Sikhs away from his line of              communication and prevent the Sikhs from taking Ludhiana.

            Smith with little difficulty captured two small forts occupied by              the Sikhs on the south bank of the Sutlej River, Fategarh and              Dharmkot, and moved on towards Ludhiana. Ahead of him Ranjodh Singh              was following much the same route but with little apparent urgency.             

            Gough reinforced Smith with HM 16th Lancers and another battery of              guns and ordered him to march to Jagraon on the more southerly road,              where he was to take under his command HM 53rd Foot. He was then to              march to Ludhiana, where he would find Colonel Godby with four              native regiments, including two battalions of Gurkhas (later the 1st              and 2nd Gurkha Rifles), and four guns. 





            HM 16th Queen's Lancers at the Battle of Aliwal

            Ranjodh Singh being still on the riverside road leading to Ludhiana,              stopped and dispersed his army across the countryside. Smith sent              word to Godby to join him at the village of Suneth for a joint              assault on the Sikhs. Smith left his baggage under guard at Jograon              and at 12.30am in the early hours of 21st January 1846 marched out              to join Godby.

            While on the march word reached Smith that further Sikh forces had              come up, giving Ranjodh Singh around 10,000 troops and 40 guns, and              that the Sikhs were marching to cut the route from Jograon to              Ludhiana at Baddowal. 

            In the light of the strength of Ranjodh Singh’s army Smith resolved              to march around the Sikh army and on to Ludhiana, which he managed              to achieve, even though the Sikhs had the benefit of being on the              road. The British and Bengali infantry reached Ludhiana in a state              of exhaustion, many of the foot soldiers carried by the cavalrymen              on their horses.

            Smith found that Godby was still at Ludhiana. After a day’s rest for              his troops Smith marched out to attack Ranjodh Singh at Baddowal,              but found that the Sikhs had left to return to the Sutlej where more              troops were crossing the river to join them.

            Smith received further reinforcements from Gough and now having              12,000 men and 32 guns marched north in pursuit of Ranjodh Singh.

            The reinforcement that had crossed the Sutlej to join the Sikh army              was the Avitabile Regiment, a crack Sikh infantry corps trained by              the Italian mercenary, General Avitabile. With this addition Ranjodh              Singh was poised to take the offensive when Smith’s army came up              with him in his fortified position between the villages of Aliwal              and Bhundri, his back to the River Sutlej.

            Smith formed his army with the cavalry in the rear and the infantry              of two brigades, Wheeler’s and Wilson’s, in the first line,              supported by two further brigades, Godby’s and Hick’s, in the second              and continued his advance.

            At a range of 600 yards the Sikh artillery opened fire along the              length of their positions, causing Smith to halt and consider what              move to make next.

            Smith directed Godby and Hicks to move out from the second line,              storm Aliwal on the right and then attack the Sikh line in enfilade.              These two brigades took Aliwal and turned towards the Sikh centre,              at which Ranjodh Singh brought up a body of cavalry to restore his              collapsing flank.

            Brigade Cureton launched Brigadier Stedman’s cavalry brigade (5th              Bengal Light Cavalry, the Bodyguard, 1st Bengal Light Cavalry, 4th              Bengal Irregular Cavalry and the Shekawati Cavalry) in a series of              charges against the Sikh horsemen, driving them back from Aliwal and              leaving Godby free to advance beyond the Sikh line towards their              camp on the bank of the Sutlej, at the point where the fords gave              Ranjodh Singh’s army the only escape route across the river.

            Under the pressure of this attack the Sikh line swung back along the              river bank, pivoting on the village of Bhundri. A force of cavalry              emerged into the plain beyond Bhundri to threaten the British and              Bengali flank. Brigadier Cureton ordered Captain Bere’s squadron of              HM 16th Queen’s Lancers and the 3rd Bengal Light Cavalry to drive              this force back. It is said, but with little authority, that the 3rd              did not press home their attack, unlike Bere’s lancers who charged              the Sikh horsemen with great violence and hunted them to the bank of              the Sutlej. Returning from their charge, Bere’s squadron encountered              the Avatabile Regiment of infantry, which formed to receive cavalry;              the formation being a triangle, rather than a square. Again the              squadron charged home, in spite of receiving a devastating volley,              and broke up the Sikh infantry. 

            The second squadron of the left flank of HM 16th Lancers, commanded              by Captain Fyler, charged further battalions of the Avatabile              Regiment, breaking them up.

            Two horse artillery guns acting in support of the wing unlimbered              and opened fire on the remains of the Sikh regiment, completing the              ruin. 





Major Smyth of the 16th Queen's Lancers, the commanding officer              of 
            the regiment at the Battle of Aliwal; wearing the Sutlej Campaign              medal​             Meanwhile the right wing of the 16th Lancers, commanded by Major              Smyth, charged another battalion of Sikh infantry and a battery of              guns, Smith beginning the attack with three rousing cheers for the              Queen. In this charge many of the soldiers and officers became              casualties. General Smith met the squadrons fighting back through              the Sikh line and called out “Well done 16th”. Smith ordered the              survivors of the right wing to join Bere’s squadrons and the whole              regiment delivered a last devastating charge, capturing the village              of Bhundri and driving the garrison to the river bank.

            HM 53rd Foot came up behind the cavalry and cleared Bhundri of the              remaining determined pockets of Sikhs.

            While the cavalry fights were raging on the flanks, the British and              Bengali infantry regiments, supported by artillery, pressed over the              fortifications forcing the Sikh troops back to the Sutlej; a large              force being driven out of a nullah by the 30th Bengal Native              Infantry into the path of a barrage of grape from 12 guns;              “unkennelling them” as General Smith described the feat.

            As the Sikh regiments took to the fords to escape across the Sutlej,              a battery of 9 Sikh guns unlimbered on the river bank to cover the              retreat, firing only one salvo before being overrun by the pursuing              British and Bengali troops.

            Ranjodh Singh attempted to bring some of his guns back across the              river, but only two reached the far bank, two more being abandoned              in the stream and a further two sunk irretrievably in quicksand.

            On the far bank Ranjodh Singh formed a new line but his troops were              quickly dispersed by artillery fire.

Casualties: General Sir Harry Smith’s army suffered 589              casualties. The casualties were spread evenly through all the units,              provoking the admiration of the Duke of Wellington for Smith’s use              of all arms of his army. The only exception was HM 16th Lancers              which suffered 144 casualties. The Sikhs admitted to 3,000 killed              and lost all their 67 guns, camp and baggage. 





The death of Cornet Bigoe Williams of the 16th Lancers at the              Battle of Aliwal​Follow-up:             
            Following the Battle of Aliwal the Sikhs abandoned all their              positions south of the Sutlej, other than Sobraon, and crossed the              river. With the safe arrival of the siege train Gough moved to              attack the Sikh stronghold of Sobraon.
Regimental anecdotes and              traditions: 
            • At Moodkee and Ferozeshah the Bengal sepoys and the sowars of the              cavalry regiments showed a marked reluctance to engage with the              feared Sikh soldiers. Aliwal changed this, the Bengalis attacking              the Sikhs with great élan, driving them across the river in flight.
            • HM 16th Lancers was the second British cavalry regiment to win              acclaim in the Sikh Wars, after HM 3rd King Light Dragoons at              Moodkee and Ferozeshah.
            • The 16th Lancers took to crimping their lance pennons in              commemoration of the battle after which it is said that the pennons              were stiffened with blood. On the other hand there is convincing              evidence that the troopers of the regiment preferred to discard              their lances and fight with the sword as a more effective weapon. A              Squadron of the Queen’s Royal Lancers still crimps its lance pennons              in memory of the battle.
            • One of the officers of the 16th Lancers at Aliwal was Lieutenant              William Morris. 9 years later in 1854, as Captain Morris, he              commanded the 17th Lancers in the Charge of the Light Brigade at the              Battle of Balaclava. While in India Morris became close friends with              Lieutenant Lewis Nolan, the staff officer who precipitated the Great              Charge. At the commencement of the Charge Nolan rode beside his              friend at the head of the 17th before becoming one of the first              casualties to the Russian guns.
            • Sir Harry Smith’s dispatch for Aliwal and Sobraon said of Cureton,              “The manner in which this famous officer handles his cavalry, under              the hottest and most galling fire, ranks him amongst the first              cavalry officers of his age.”
            • Major Smyth, who commanded the 16th Lancers at the Battle of              Aliwal, was considered a character. Over 6 foot in height he had in              1831 been committed to prison for a year for killing an opponent in              a duel. The regiment gave him leave of absence and Smyth returned to              duty after completing his sentence, ending his army career as a              lieutenant-general.              





            HM 16th Queen's Lancers charging the Sikh infantry at the Battle of              Aliwal. Sergeant Newsome leads the front rank.​• The charge of the right wing of HM 16th Lancers is said to have              been led by a Sergeant Newsome, who shouted out “Hullo boys, here              goes for death or a commission.” He leapt his horse over the              kneeling front rank of Sikh infantry and went to grab a Sikh colour.              He was killed by 19 bayonet wounds. It is reported that the squadron              managed to break into the square because Newsome’s horse was so              fiery and ill-trained that it went straight through the infantry.              Peacetime cavalry training had horses breaking around an infantry              square which made it difficult to persuade them to do otherwise in a              real battle. 





The Sutlej campaign medal of Captain Lawrence Fyler of HM 16th              Lancers
 engraved with the battle of Aliwal, now in the Fitzwilliam Museum in              Cambridge
 Medals and decorations:              British and Indian soldiers who took part in the First Sikh War              received the medal entitled “Sutlej Campaign, 1845-6”.
            Where a soldier took part in one or more battles, his medal would              have the first battle inscribed on the reverse side of the medal and              the remaining battles on clasps on the ribbon.
            The battles being described as: “Moodkee 1845”, “Ferozeshuhur 1845”,              “Aliwal 1946” and “Sobraon 1846”. 
            Description of the medal: 
            Obverse.-Crowned head of Queen Victoria. Legend: “Victoria Regina.”
            Reverse.-Victory standing beside a trophy, holding a wreath in her              outstretched hand. Inscription: “Army of the Sutlej.”
            Mounting.-Silver scroll bar and swivel.
            Ribbon: Dark blue with crimson edges. 1 ¼ inches wide.             References:
            • History of the British Army by Fortescue.
            • History of British Cavalry by the Marquis of Angelsey.





                The Sutlej Campaign Medal (1845-1846)​


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## Sikh royalist (Oct 19, 2009)

dear aman singh,
i have questioned the authenticity of this article the number of Sikh soldiers mentioned is controversial can u give an explanation?


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## Admin (Oct 19, 2009)

Well Wikipedia is referring to Britishbattles.com in their external links, so i think the britishbattles.com figures should be believed. 

Or you would like to read these two books to know the truth...


Hernon, Ian (2003). Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-3162-0. 
Farwell, Byron (1999). _Queen Victoria's little wars_. Wordsworth Military Library. ISBN 1-84022-216-6.
Regards


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## Sikh royalist (Oct 25, 2009)

aman,
why were the Sikhs defeated? being the best warriors in this world the only thing that i see as a reason of defeat is over confidence actually the armies that attacked Sikhs under the Britishers were fearing the Sikhs at first what do you say?


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## BhagatSingh (Oct 25, 2009)

Sikhs are *not* the best warriors of the world. We think the opposite because they won some battles, being out-numbered themselves. But it wasn't because 1 Sikh was better than 1 Mughal or Afghan. It was because we strategically raided and harrassed them. Sikhs periodically harrassed the enemy during the resting periods of the battle. We cut off their access to resources before the battle. We looted villages who did not agree to refrain from paying taxes to the government (Mughals), and protected those who did waht we said. We could easily harrass then defeat the Afghans, when they took slaves with them because their hands were full.

The reason we lost to British is because they had better strategy, and knew how to "divide and conquer". Nowadays battles are won or lost depending on who has better technology... more gunpower.


See this link below:
Sikh War Tactics and Strategy

I hope that paints a better picture of Sikh history. It shouldn't demean it in anyway, as our cause was great!


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## Sikh royalist (Oct 25, 2009)

bhagat first of all thank you for letting me know that there is another man here who has a keen interest in the Sikhs as a study material for war tactics.

i believe that Sikhs are the best warriors in this world because of the following reasons:-
1.Sikhs never surrender
2.Sikhs are loyal
3.Sikhs are one of the most disciplined soldiers
4.Sikhs never fear death
5.Sikhs have courage
6.Sikhs fight to the last drop of blood in their bodies
7.and because they are Sikhs
there are so many reasons left,writing which the dawn will turn dusk
you need to be a Sikh yourself to know who we are.

you know bhagat why were Sikhs defeated at the hands of Britishers
let me tell you i believe that invaders and intruders have three ways,strength and power for weak,persuasion for fools and tactics and time for strong,mighty and brave(-by myself) and the Britishers were well aware of this as long as we had Maharajah Ranjeet singh they waited and then attacked.

and still the Brits were so scared of the Sikhs that when the Sikh soldiers attacked them they started chewing grass(to show they were cows) and that is well known.........


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## Admin (Oct 25, 2009)

> and still the Brits were so scared of the Sikhs that when the Sikh soldiers attacked them they started chewing grass(to show they were cows) and that is well known.........



Wow! Can we have a documented reference for this!! 

Thanks


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## Sikh royalist (Oct 31, 2009)

aman brother,
i think you should refer Punjabi century by Prakash lal Tandon very informative on the Punjabi culture and traditions.
although not on historical facts you can see the page 11 of the book.


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