The false belief that the Sikhs are an ethnic group is commonly spread worldwide. However, the Sikhs are representatives of a monotheistic religion in India called Sikhism, where martial skills weren’t a necessity at first. Nevertheless, the Sikhs are famous for more than six dozen large battles.
However, the real number of battles is much higher as a lot of small conflicts are still unrevealed by historians. Let’s take a deep dive into the topic and learn more about people of peace living for war in the post below.
Brief Description
The Sikhs are people who profess Sikhism. It’s one of the oldest religions in the world, with roughly 25 million followers all over the globe. The notable sign of Sikhs is a turban and kangha, which is a small wooden comb. The turban is a type of headwear made of a piece of cloth.
Anyway, this type of headwear is popular in a large number of counties. Therefore, if you’re a learner aimed at researching this topic, you should take a deeper look to explore this culture in more detail. Alternatively, you can order essay online and let professionals create a mind-blowing paper for you.
Location
The Punjab region is the original territory of Sikhs. These days, it’s an Indian state bordering Pakistan. However, almost half of the territories of the ancient Sikh Empire belong to Pakistan as well.
The region is surrounded by mountains and has a lot of water resources. It allows locals to be successful farmers. The majority of Sikhs work in the agriculture industry.
Traditions
The Sikhs should always wear five items in accordance with their beliefs. These items are considered five articles of faith. They are a kangha, kachera, kesh (uncut hair), kara and a kirpan. The kachera is a type of undergarment that has the appearance of boxer shorts. The kara is a metal bracelet. The kirpan is a traditional curved sword.
If you want to learn about the traditions of Sikhs in more detail, you will need to spend the entire evening surfing the Internet. If you need more free time to search, but you’re overburdened with homework, the question, “Is it possible to pay someone to do my homework?” may appear in your head. If so, feel free to reach a paper writing company and delegate your assignments to professionals.
The Sikhs and War
Due to a large number of circumstances, the Sikhs participated in conflicts all their history. They had to fight to protect the Sikh Empire. Moreover, they continued participating in wars even after the Empire’s fall.
The Sikhs are great warriors, and their religion has a concept of war formulated with the passing of time. According to this principle, they have to fight to defend righteousness, even if there are no chances to win.
The religion also promotes some rules that should be followed by Sikh soldiers, especially if it’s a Just War. The main rules are:
- all the ways to avoid war conflicts should be used;
- mercenaries aren’t allowed to fight;
- revenge or enmity should be avoided;
- all the ways to succeed should be used;
- civilians should be kept safe;
- looting and territory annexation are prohibited.
Keep reading to learn more about the major war conflicts in which the Sikhs have fought. However, if you’re a history undergraduate who is researching to create an outstanding paper, don’t hesitate to buy custom essay online. Expert writers will help you deal with your assignments quickly and effortlessly.
The Gurkha-Sikh War
This war involved the Sikh Empire and the Nepalese army in 1809. Nepal and several allied kingdoms invaded the Sikh Empire to enlarge their territories. Even though the Nepalese army was twice larger, Sikhs could usefully defend their territories.
The Afghan-Sikh Wars
It is a set of wars that incorporates six major battles between the Sikh Empire and the Durrani Empire. The Sikhs performed guerilla warfare against enemies who invaded their territories. Consequently, the army of the Durrani Empire had to leave the Sikhs Empire and return home.
The Sino-Sikh War
This war implied five major battles after invading Ladakh, a region in India, by Sikhs. The final battle, which the Sikh empire won, ended the war.
The First and Second Anglo-Sikh Wars
These military conflicts occurred between the Sikh Empire and the East India Company. Even though the Sikh Empire won some battles, they didn’t have enough resources to win the wars. As a consequence, the British possession of the region was accepted by the Empire.
The Great War
During World War First, the Sikhs served in the British Indian Army. Undivided India provided roughly 1,5 million volunteer soldiers who helped the British Empire to win the war. Sikhs also were in the number of volunteers. They were called the Black Lions by soldiers on the front lines.
World War Two
During World War Two, India remained under Britain’s control. The British Empire recruited a lot of Sikhs to fight against the Japanese army. They helped to protect Malaysia, Singapore, India and dislodged the Japanese soldiers from Burma. Moreover, as great and disciplined warriors, the Sikhs helped during the Allied invasion of Italy.
Outcome: Modern Conflicts
These days, the former Sikh Empire’s territory is divided between India and Pakistan. The contemporary conflicts of Sikhs are small and caused by disagreements between the Sikhs, Hindus, and Pakistanis, especially the Muslims. Most of the attacks are performed by small fanatical groups of people who want to spread their religion or bring independence to particular territories.