Question about Sikhs and the Indian army

[sidetrack]

I think that I’ve heard that sometime a few centuries ago (maybe it was like the 1600’s I’m not totally sure) Sikhs started to “militarize” and that to this day they make up a big portion of the Indian army and that it has to do something with them traditionally having been in the warrior caste.If this is true could someone please explain the history of this to me?.Thank you very much so for your time.

 

[LDNCatholic]

If I remember correctly, Guru Gobind Singh was the Guru responsible for the Sikhs becoming more militant.

 

[Arizona_Mike]

My understanding is that the Sikh religion requires the men to serve in their country’s military, if able, to protect their countrymen. It may be part of the same belief system that requires them to carry a knife to protect anyone who needs aid (if the laws in the area don’t permit it, they can wear a tiny one as a symbol within the turban.)

Under a law signed by Harry Truman, American Sikhs were allowed to enlist in the U.S, Army and were given modified grooming standards that allowed them to retain beards, not cut their hair (which is bound up under the turban), and wear a turban in uniform. (I think the law was rescinded about 10 years or so ago.) Before that, I had Sikhs for both my first sergeant and a platoon leader in my army unit, both very good, very squared-away soldiers. It was always kind of interesting to go to a different base and watch the double-takes when people saw soldiers with turbans and beards in U.S. uniforms.

 

[Warrior1979]

I’m not familiar with Sikhs in particular, but a lot of people westerners are completely unaware that India has a very old martial arts system. The founder of what is referred to as “kung fu” by westerners was Indian, part of a warrior caste, and very familiar with these arts.

 

[Arizona_Mike]

I’m not familiar with Sikhs in particular, but a lot of people westerners are completely unaware that India has a very old martial arts system. The founder of what is referred to as “kung fu” by westerners was Indian, part of a warrior caste, and very familiar with these arts.

I think that was Kalaripayattu, which is a very sophisticated system that seems to have escaped the attention of most western martial artists, as you said. The Sikhs have their own martial arts system, Gatka. William E. Fairbairn, who developed the hand-to-hand system taught to the Commandos and the OSS during WWII, incorporated some elements of Gatka in his system, which he learned from some of the Sikhs under his command in the Shanghai Municipal Police Riot Force during the 1920s.

 

[You]

Sikhs?

 

[Matthew_Holford]

Sikhs?

No.

 

[4Squarebaby]

Sikhs?

It was filmed on the Pakistani side of the border. The soldiers in the dark green uniforms were Pakistani Rangers and probably as close to 100% nominally Muslim as any military unit in the world. In the background in the tan uniforms were the Indian Army and those few with turbans and beards may have been Sikhs. For 2% of the population they do seem to be overly represented in India’s military

 

[LDNCatholic]

I’m not familiar with Sikhs in particular, but a lot of people westerners are completely unaware that India has a very old martial arts system. The founder of what is referred to as “kung fu” by westerners was Indian, part of a warrior caste, and very familiar with these arts.

Bodhidharma didn’t found Kung Fu. He may have been partially responsibly for the foundation of the Shaolin school of martial arts, but every nation on earth has martial arts, China wasn’t just sitting about finger painting until Bodhidharma turned up and showed them how to make a fist.

 

[Warrior1979]

I think that was Kalaripayattu, which is a very sophisticated system that seems to have escaped the attention of most western martial artists, as you said.

I had to look it up, and that was it. I could only remember the name of the warrior caste that practiced it (Kshatriya).