Sikh Organization Receives 450,000 Pounds To Research Histories Of Sikh Soldiers In British Indian Army

LONDON – A lottery fund inBritain has provided 450,000pounds to a Sikh organizationto fund research into regimentalhistories of Sikh soldiers inthe British Indian Army duringWorld War I.The United Kingdom PunjabHeritage Association(UKPHA) has been given450,000 pounds by theHeritage Lottery Fund, a bodywhich distributes a share of itsincome from the national lotteryto projects aimed at preservingand making accessiblethe nation’s heritage – to fundresearch into regimental histories,dispatches, correspondenceand interviews withdescendants of soldiers.Though Sikhs made up onlytwo per cent of the populationof British India, they formed20 per cent of the BritishIndian Army.”Yet the role of Sikhs in WorldWar I (WWI) is a largelyunknown aspect of the Alliedwar effort and, indeed, of theBritish story,” a press releaseissued by the United KingdomPunjab Heritage Association(UKPHA) said.The UKPHA has embarked onan ambitious and wide-rangingproject on World War I toreveal these men’s untold stories.It will shed much needed lighton both Sikh solders’ sacrificesand the contribution of all thenon-white Allied forces of theBritish Empire.