Iamaulik7 at 21:28, 11 March 2026

2026-03-11T21:28:48Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Infobox Military Unit
| unit_name = 36th Sikh Regiment, 4th Battalion
| image = Group photograph of men of the 36th Sikhs taken in 1897.jpg
| caption = Group photograph of men of the 36th Sikhs taken in 1897
| dates = 1887-1922
| country = [[British Raj|Indian Empire]]
| branch = Army
| type = Infantry
| size =
| command_structure = [[Bengal Army]] (to 1895)<br>[[Bengal Command]]
| garrison =
| ceremonial_chief =
| ceremonial_chief_label =
| colonel_of_the_regiment =
| nickname = Akal Murat
| motto = Bole So Nihaal, Sat Sri Akal
| colors = Scarlet; faced yellow, turbans
| colors_label = Uniform
| march =
| mascot =
| battles = Punjab Frontier<br /> Samana<br /> Saragarhi
| notable_commanders =
| anniversaries =
}}
The '''36th Sikhs''' was an infantry regiment in the [[British Indian Army]]. They could trace their origins to 1887, when they were the 36th (Sikh) Bengal Infantry. Composed of [[Jat Sikh]]s, it was created by Colonel Jim Cooke and Captain H. R. Holmes.<ref name="Smyth">{{cite book |author1=Smyth, John |author-link1=Sir John Smyth, 1st Baronet |title=The Valiant |date=1970 |publisher=A. R. Mowbray |isbn=978-0264645100 |page=25 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ikdAAAAAIAAJ |access-date=25 March 2019 |quote=The 36th Sikhs, with a class (all Sikhs) composition of Jat Sikhs, was raised in the summer of 1887, as was their sister regiment, the 35th Sikhs. The 36th were formed by Colonel Jim Cooke and Captain H. R. Holmes.}}</ref> They had one other change in title in 1901, when they became the 36th Sikh Infantry. They finally became the 36th Sikhs in 1903, after the [[Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|Kitchener]] reforms of the Indian Army. During this time they fought an action in 1897, in defence of the Samana Ridge against a huge army of [[Pathans]] in the [[Battle of Saragarhi]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armyunits/indianinfantry/36thsikhs.htm|title = The British Empire, Imperialism, Colonialism, Colonies}}</ref> To honour the visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales to India they took part in the [[Rawalpindi Parade 1905]].
During [[World War I]] they were stationed as part of the [[Concessions in Tianjin|Garrison of Tianjin]] in China and took part in the [[Siege of Tsingtao]].
[[File:British, Indian and Japanese soldiers in Tsingtao (Qingdao), China, 1914.jpg|thumb|right|305x305px|A detachment of the 36th Sikhs along with the 2nd Battalion, The [[South Wales Borderers]], sent to assist the Japanese in capturing Germany's naval base at Tsingtao (Qingdao) in China, 1914.]]

After World War I, the Indian government reformed the army again moving from single battalion regiment to multi battalion regiments.<ref>Sumner p.15</ref> The 36th Sikhs became the 4th Battalion [[11th Sikh Regiment]]. After independence this was one of the regiments allocated to the new [[Indian Army]].

== In popular culture ==
The 36th Sikhs and the [[Battle of Saragarhi]] are dramatized in the Indian Hindi-language movie [[Kesari (2019 film)|Kesari]], released in 2019.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book|last1=Barthorp|first1=Michael|last2=Burn|first2=Jeffrey|year=1979|title=Indian infantry regiments 1860-1914|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=0-85045-307-0}}
*{{cite book|last=Sumner|first=Ian|title=The Indian Army 1914-1947|year=2001|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=1-84176-196-6}}

[[Category:British Indian Army infantry regiments]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1887]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1922]]
[[Category:Bengal Presidency]]
[[Category:Modern Sikh military]]

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36th Sikhs - Revision history

Iamaulik7 at 21:28, 11 March 2026