Sikhs are the warriors of India - they have been India's guardians and the hardest working and friendliest people. They are revered all across India and referred to as "Sardarji" - which is an honorific meaning "Commander" or "Leader".
Not to diminish the large contributions of many Sikhs in military service to India - that record is indisputable - but it's a bit far fetched to call them The warriors of India.
India has had many martial communities over its history and up to this day, and to focus only on the Sikhs in this regard is to tell a selective story of the past and present.
In my travels in India I've seen a large number of Indian military personnel drawn from all over the subcontinent. Indeed most of those I saw stationed on the front lines in Kashmir when I visited there just ahead of the Kargil war in 1999 were from southern India.
The British while ruling India classified the Sikhs as a "Martial Race". "Non-martial" races weren't allowed to be recruited into the British Army in India. For more see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martial_race
The interesting consequence of this, was when the Indian Army came in to existence, it had a highly disproportionate share of men from a handful of communities. I know this was true till a few years ago (haven't checked recently), but the Indian Army never released data on the state wise distribution of its personnel as a result.
Yup, and this led to an imbalance in the officer corps too, with sikhs being disproportionate to their population. Though it's generally not talked about, that imbalance in the officer corp has been corrected. Started during the 1980's.
Another interesting aspect of Indian Army regiments is that they are based on a region or caste for the enlisted members, but the officers can be from any part of the country. So if you're a south Indian officer then you must know hindi and if your parent regiment is say the Gorkhas, they'll teach you Nepali.
Also, there has been a greater emphasis on recruiting from all parts of the country for the enlisted members.
Military recruiting has certainly improved and has become much more diverse over the years. The Army doesn't release this data because of political considerations. Politicians are sure to demand quotas if those numbers come out. And letting politicians meddle with the internal systems of a really good institution like the Indian Army is a sure way to gut it.
To clarify recruiting means recruiting of enlisted members. Selection may be the right term for officers.
Comments
Sikhs are the warriors of India - they have been India's guardians and the hardest working and friendliest people. They are revered all across India and referred to as "Sardarji" - which is an honorific meaning "Commander" or "Leader".
Not to diminish the large contributions of many Sikhs in military service to India - that record is indisputable - but it's a bit far fetched to call them The warriors of India.
India has had many martial communities over its history and up to this day, and to focus only on the Sikhs in this regard is to tell a selective story of the past and present.
In my travels in India I've seen a large number of Indian military personnel drawn from all over the subcontinent. Indeed most of those I saw stationed on the front lines in Kashmir when I visited there just ahead of the Kargil war in 1999 were from southern India.
The British while ruling India classified the Sikhs as a "Martial Race". "Non-martial" races weren't allowed to be recruited into the British Army in India. For more see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martial_race
The interesting consequence of this, was when the Indian Army came in to existence, it had a highly disproportionate share of men from a handful of communities. I know this was true till a few years ago (haven't checked recently), but the Indian Army never released data on the state wise distribution of its personnel as a result.
Yup, and this led to an imbalance in the officer corps too, with sikhs being disproportionate to their population. Though it's generally not talked about, that imbalance in the officer corp has been corrected. Started during the 1980's.
Another interesting aspect of Indian Army regiments is that they are based on a region or caste for the enlisted members, but the officers can be from any part of the country. So if you're a south Indian officer then you must know hindi and if your parent regiment is say the Gorkhas, they'll teach you Nepali.
Also, there has been a greater emphasis on recruiting from all parts of the country for the enlisted members. Military recruiting has certainly improved and has become much more diverse over the years. The Army doesn't release this data because of political considerations. Politicians are sure to demand quotas if those numbers come out. And letting politicians meddle with the internal systems of a really good institution like the Indian Army is a sure way to gut it.
To clarify recruiting means recruiting of enlisted members. Selection may be the right term for officers.
As a non-Sikh Indian, that's the first time I've come across the meaning of the word "Sardarji".
Not proud of myself for this, but as kids, we'd crack "Sardarji" jokes which are basically the Indian equivalent of blonde jokes.
And it's still the first thing that comes up on Google :/
Sardar in Marathi also means the same thing - "Commander" or "Leader"