Sikh Bravery Depicted in “Sikhs at War” Documentary

Amritsar, India (CHAKRA) — Sikhs, brave and clad in their complete Sikh appearance (Sikhi Saroop), were depicted in Jay Singh Sohal’s documentary “Sikhs at War” which was based in Birmingham and released on the Internet in late January.

“Sikhs at War” depicts the bravery of Sikhs when fighting for the World Wars under the British Empire simply in the name of a King and country they had not ever seen. The contribution of Sikhs in the wars was prominent but is easily forgotten thus making the documentary an important release for the community’s history.

The film was already screened earlier at the British parliament last December.

Regardless of being just 2% of the Indian population, more than 100,000 Sikhs–20% of the British Indian army participated in the the world wars.

A great deal of bravery and courage was shown by the Sikh community when fighting in various continents including Europe, Africa and at Turkey, all places miles and miles away from their homeland.

Twenty-two Conspicuous Gallantry crosses were award and of those 22, fourteen were rewarded to Sikh fighters from India. A great number of Sikhs left India to fight and thousands of them never arrived back to their homes in the farms of Punjab.

During the two world wars, about 83,000 Sikhs were killed and a huge number of 109,000 were wounded causing permanent injuries.

Sohal launched his movie with pride for his community with an event that turned out to be very meaningful. He was very pleased with all the support he received, especially that of the British Attorney General, Dominic Grieve, who he expressed a personal thanks to for supporting the launch.

Sohal stated that for someone as senior as Dominic Grieve to support his cause, it was made clear to him that the Sikh community plays an important role in all areas of British life.

The documentary is the first of its kind to depict the Sikhs story in the World Wars and it focuses on a young boy’s search to become like his great grandfather by following his steps to the trenches in Flanders.

At age 15, Jaspal Singh was inspired by his forefathers and chose to have a Sikh identity by wearing a turban and maintaining uncut hair. Despite being bullied for his attire, he stayed strong and true to his Sikh values. The sacrifices of his forefathers gave him the strength to do what he believed was right and he continues to stay true to his cause even today with the release of “Sikhs at War”.

Hardeep Singh, also part the movie crew, stated that Jaspal, being from Coventry, then moving to Ypres and Neuve Chapelle has discovered a lot about his Sikh brothers, sisters and forefathers and through that he has learned the important role Sikhs played in stopping the German advance towards Europe.