Why are Punjabis Decreasing in Indian Army?

Take a look at this map. This map shows the number of people recruited into the army between 2017 and 2019 per 10 lakh people from each state. As you can see, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, and Punjab have had the most recruitment. Undisputedly, Punjab has had considerable involvement in the Indian army. It’s not a new trend. During World War I, Punjabis made up 20% of the British Indian soldiers, despite constituting only 1% of the total Indian population. Even after independence, Punj

ab continued to have the highest contribution to the army compared to other states. Immediately after independence, almost half of all India’s most senior officers were Punjabis. During that time, Punjabis constituted 5% of the total Indian population. This was why Punjab came to be known as the ‘shield,’ the ‘spear-head,’ and the ‘sword-hand’ of India. But gradually, the figures began to dip. In 2012, the then-chief of the National Defence Academy, Lt Gen Jatinder Singh, openly expressed anxiet

y over the decreasing number of Punjabis in the officer cadre in the Indian military. Why is the number of Punjabis in the Indian army dropping? This is what I want to discuss in this video. Just a small request. If you like this video, please subscribe to the channel. Before we explore the reasons behind the dip, we must first understand why Punjabis had a huge contribution to the Indian army in the first place. It’s due to two reasons—religious and historical. Sikhism began to spread in India

in the 16th century when Guru Nanak began teaching a faith distinct from Hinduism and Islam. The Sikh faith openly rejected state power, dominant religions—Hinduism and Islam, existing socio-economic inequality, casteism, and gender discrimination. Sikhism spread in India over the centuries under the leadership of Guru Nanak and his successors. By the time of the fifth guru, Guru Arjan, Sikhism had become well-established in India. Historian Gokul Chand Narang writes that Guru Arjan's court had

become "a place of splendor.” Mughal emperor Jahangir began to perceive Guru Arjan’s increasing influence as a threat. Thus, he ordered the execution of Guru Arjan. When Guru Arjan Dev blessed Emperor Jahangir's rebellious son Khusrau, Jahangir was outraged. Thus, he ordered the execution of Guru Arjan. This is said to be the turning point for Sikhism. This was when the militarisation of Sikhs began. Until now, the Sikhs were following a "poet-guru" tradition established by Guru Nanak. According

to this tradition, the Sikhs Gurus used poetry to spread their teachings. These teachings didn’t mention violence. But following Emperor Jahangir’s order, things began to change. Guru Arjan was executed in 1606. More than a month after the execution of Guru Arjan, Guru Hargobind, his son and the next appointed guru adopted a new attire. Guru Hargobind wore a saffron gown and churidar pyjama. Two swords dangled from his waist. The swords symbolized the philosophy of “miri-piri.” The first sword,

miri, represented political power, while piri represented spiritual prowess. Guru Hargobind chose a hawk as his pet. The experts of Sikhism claim that Guru Hargobind gave a new identity to the Sikh Gurus. They were no longer spiritual leaders. They had become warrior leaders. Haroon Khalid writes that militarisation of the Sikh became the foremost aim of Guru Hargobind Singh. He was always accompanied by 52 bodyguards. He also raised an army called “Sant Sipahi” or the Saint soldiers. A gymnasi

um was constructed in front of the Akal Takht, where the soldiers could train. Even the nature of devotional music and songs changed under Guru Hargobind. The songs began to talk about the war. Historian Khushwant Singh said that what started with Guru Hargobind reached its climax in 1675, when Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru, was executed. When the ninth Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur took over, Aurangzeb was the ruling Mughal Emperor of India. As discussed in a previous video, Aurangzeb implemented

many discriminatory policies. When Guru Tegh Bahadur fought against forced conversion, he was executed. He was succeeded by Guru Gobind Singh. In the year 1699, he created a new order among the Sikhs called the "Khalsa" or the “pure.” The Khalsa represented Sikhs who were willing to devote fully to the faith. Those who joined Khalsa had to follow five ‘Ks’ —Kesh (uncut hair), Kangha (comb), Kachha (short trousers), Kara (steel bracelet), and Kirpan (ceremonial sword). The intention was that the

Sikhs should forever be able to defend their faith. Khalsa gave a new direction to the Sikhs and led to the formation of an army. This is how Sikhism, which started as a socio-religious movement gradually acquired a political and military character. This idea of Guru Gobind Singh was realized in the 19th century in the form of the kingdom of Maharaja Ranjīt Singh. How did it happen? In 1707, the last Mughal ruler Aurangzeb died, and the Mughal Empire began to decline. Taking advantage of the si

tuation, Guru Gobind Singh began attacking the Mughals with the help of the Khalsa army. The Khalsa army grew and gradually split into semi-independent "Misls" (sects or groups). Individual Misls had separate areas and cities under their control. Ranjit Singh, the chief of one of these misls, initiated the unification of all the misls. When these "Misls" merged under Ranjit Singh, the Sikh Empire was formed. Under the rule of Ranjit Singh, the army began to modernize. He divided the army into th

ree regiments —Fauj-i-Khas (elites), Fauj-i-Ain (regular force), and Fauj-i-Be Qawaid (irregulars). Ranjit Singh convinced the deserters of the East India Company army to train his Khalsa soldiers. In the 1820s, he even employed veterans from the Napoleon wars to teach French patterns of warfare to his army. Under Ranjit Singh, the Khalsa army became one of Asia's greatest armies. Though the army comprised mostly Sikhs, it also had Hindus and Muslims in its ranks. With a powerful army, Ranjit Si

ngh expanded the kingdom and covered Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir, Gilgit, Ladakh, Peshawar, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The expansion met a hurdle in the 1830s in the form of the British. When Ranjit Singh was consolidating the Sikh Empire, the English East India Company had been expanding its influence over India. The company purchased pieces of land and hired guards to protect their establishments. Their establishments in Bengal, Madras, and Bombay were termed as “Presidencies,” with each ha

ving its own “Armies.” In the 1830s, the East India Company’s borders touched those of Punjab, bringing the two powers face-to-face with each other. The probable fate of the Sikh kingdom was predicted by a British officer in 1835. He said there was no apparent probability of Ranjit Singh’s successors running the Sikh Empire. He was proven right. Maharaja Ranjit Singh died in 1839, and within two years, several disputes arose to decide who would succeed him. Many of the potential successors were

killed in the fighting. Many soldiers started rebelling too because they were not receiving their payment. The British took advantage of this and over the next twenty years, the East India Company took over the entire region of Punjab after defeating the Sikh Empire in two Anglo-Sikh wars. Though the British defeated the Khalsa army, it acknowledged that the “Sikh Army was probably the most formidable opponent the British faced on the Indian Subcontinent.” The British realized the Khalsa army wa

s a band of highly trained and skilled soldiers. They even thought of recruiting Punjabi soldiers in the Bengal Army. Upper-caste Hindu and Muslim soldiers that mainly comprised the Bengal army, didn’t like this idea. Thus, a separate unit was formed for the Khalsa army called the Punjab Irregular Force. Some ex-Khalsa army soldiers were recruited into the British Army, but their numbers were few. But this changed in 1857, during the first war of independence. The revolt of 1857 began in the con

tingents of the Bengal Army when a section of native soldiers revolted against their British commanders. Soon, the rebellion spread to other parts of India, and the masses came out in support of the soldiers. What was the situation like in Punjab during this time? Most of its land had been taken over by the British, the Sikh leaders were stripped of their political and economic powers, and many soldiers of the Khalsa army had been discharged from service (as the British had a strong army already

). As a result, these soldiers were driven into poverty. During the revolt, these soldiers had to choose between these two —either they could support the revolt or quash it by helping the British. The Sikh soldiers chose to help the British. There were mainly two reasons for this. First, the rebels declared the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar as their leader. As we’ve already seen, the Sikhs suffered quite a lot at the hands of the Mughals. Many of their Gurus had been executed by the Mughals.

Aurangzeb even implemented discriminatory policies against them. Thus, it was out of the question for the Sikhs to participate in a revolt led by a Mughal emperor. Author Inderjeet Singh writes that when Bahadur Shah Zafar was declared the leader of the revolt, the British pasted posters in Punjab to remind the Sikhs of the Mughal atrocities. Historian and writer Khushwant Singh wrote that even the Punjab Muslims and Hindus did not join the rebellion. The second reason is that the Sikh soldiers

didn’t share the grievances of the Hindu or the Muslim soldiers. You must’ve come across this in your school days that the Hindu and Muslim soldiers revolted because they were told the new cartridges the British had introduced were greased with the fat of cows and pigs. The few Sikh soldiers employed in the army didn’t feel disrespected by the British. They were allowed to wear turbans and observe the practices of the Khalsa. The Punjabis instead complained of being excluded by their fellow sol

diers. They felt shunned and ignored by the upper-caste Hindu soldiers. A research paper talks about how the Hindu soldiers pressured some Sikh soldiers to renounce Sikhism for Hinduism. That’s why the Sikh soldiers began to leave the army. They decided to support the British. This changed the British’s perception of the Punjabi soldiers. The British felt that the Bengali soldiers stabbed them in the back by staging the revolt. On the other hand, the Sikh soldiers lent a helping hand to the Brit

ish in this dire situation. Governor-General Lord Canning remarked, "Punjab, from being a weakness, had become a source of strength for the British empire." The following years saw the British encouraging the induction of Sikh soldiers into the Army. For example, in 1929, 62% of the total 1.4 lakh soldiers were Punjabis. This can be attributed to the British’s belief in the Martial Race Theory. This man is considered the father of Martial Race Theory. The theory states that some Indian races lik

e the Marathas, Pathans, Punjabis, and Rajputs made good soldiers. And they came to be called the "Martial races." Author Omar Khalidi writes that the martial races were supposedly tall, broad-shouldered, light-skinned, and capable of enduring hardship. Others who were chubby were unfit for military service. Apart from being physically fit, the martial races were also considered docile to authority. In the 19th century, the British started to consider Punjab as the home to the best soldiers. In

1879, a British Commission Report noted, "Punjab is the nursery of our best soldiers.” The British Indian army was reorganized along this theory. Consequently, it won crucial battles for the British. One such battle inspired a Bollywood movie. The British continued to apply this theory to constitute the army barring the exception of WWII when there was a shortage of soldiers, and they had to recruit from other races as well. However, the leaders of independent India didn’t believe in this theory

. In September 1946, Jawaharlal Nehru sent a long letter to British officials and brought up the matter of army recruitment. He called for large-scale reforms to the Indian Army. But the British officials were against these reforms. They believed India was in a dire situation —it was seeing a lot of communal violence and was on the brink of a political change. Thus, in case of upheaval, the army could be called in to take control. That’s why the British were against these reforms. But Nehru disa

greed with this. He said it was necessary to transform the background of the Indian army. Nehru wanted to promote the recruitment of soldiers who didn’t belong to the “martial races.” The British eventually gave in and declared to do away with the Marial Race Theory for army recruitment. Researchers deem this a crucial decision. Studies have shown that the chances of civil war increase due to the imbalance in a group’s representation in the army. The Martial Race Theory was effective was the Bri

tish. They wanted the armies loyal to the colonial regime and not India. But the leaders of independent India wanted the Indian army to be loyal to the nation. That’s why it was crucial to reduce the imbalance in representation in the army. When there’s an imbalance in representation, the costs could be disastrous. This is what happened in the case of Pakistan. After independence, the officers from Punjab and North West Frontier Province constituted 90% of the Pakistani army. The remaining 10% w

ere officers from the provinces of Sind and Balochistan. East Pakistan had little representation. We are well aware of what this led to. In 1971, East Pakistan broke away from West Pakistan and formed the nation of Bangladesh. The leaders of independent India aimed to address the imbalance of representation in the army. Thus, it decided to recruit soldiers from a variety of communities. A new National Defence Academy was established near Pune in 1954, far from the Indian Military Academy at Dehr

a Dun. Author Steven Wilkinson, who’s written a book about the Indian army, said the Indian government was cautious in its choice of army chiefs. After independence, around 42% of the senior officers in the Indian army came from Punjab. But for the first 25 years of Independent India, only a few Punjabi were appointed as army chiefs. Despite the measures taken by the government, the imbalance of representation in the Indian army was still rife. This table shows the state-wise composition of the

Indian Army in 1965. Around 32% of the army recruits were from Punjab. Over the years, this figure dipped. By the 1990s, the figure fell to 7.6%. Apart from the government’s diversification strategy, other factors are also responsible for the dip in the representation of Punjabis in the Indian army. For instance, the army implemented the "recruitable male population" (RMP) policy in 1984. According to this policy, barring the officers’ posts, the Indian army calculates the RMP of every state. RM

P is the proportion of males between the ages of 17 and 25. The higher the proportion for a state, the greater the RMP, and more vacancies are allotted to the state. The ex-Chief Minister of Punjab, Parkash Singh Badal said this policy has affected the representation of Punjabis in the army. He also pointed out that Punjab has a large pool of youth, and unemployment is rampant among them. In this situation, the army is the best employment option for them. That’s why Badal urged the Center to rep

eal this policy. Another factor that some experts have pointed out is the Green Revolution. In the 1960s, high-yielding varieties of rice and wheat grains were introduced in India. Punjab benefitted a lot from these. Research showed that due to the green revolution, farmers' income increased by 70%. Punjab and Haryana benefited the most from the Green Revolution compared to the rest of the country. That’s why Lt. general remarked that following the success of the Green Revolution in Punjab, the

application of Punjabis in the army saw a dip. The third factor is drug abuse. A recent report showed that one in seven Punjabis is addicted to drugs. This has become a hurdle in recruitment. Brigadier KS Kahlon said, "There have been instances... where candidates have been caught using performance-enhancing drugs.” A few years ago, during a recruitment drive conducted in Patiala, Amritsar, and Jalandhar, many young applicants were found to have used drugs. The authorities even found empty syrin

ges outside the recruitment venues. Some have blamed the state’s poor education quality for this as well. Brigadier IS Galkhal said that many applicants who’re physically fit find it difficult to clear written exams. Some Punjabis might criticize the Indian government for implementing discriminatory policies to reduce Punjab’s representation in the army. Considering a broader viewpoint, I believe it’s crucial to have the representation of various regions and communities in the army. What’s cruci

al for Punjab's future is offering its youth better job opportunities. We’ve discussed this matter in some of our previous videos. Army shouldn’t be seen as the solution for unemployment. There’s certainly a decline in representation, but we must remember that Punjab still contributes significantly to the Indian army. Even though Punjab constitutes only 2.3% of India’s population, its share in the army is 7.7%. It’s because Punjab and Haryana fill the RMP quotas left vacant by some Indian states

. We should never forget Punjab’s contribution to our nation’s army. [“The history bears witness…”] [“Even the death changes its path when it faces the Sikh regiment.”] If you liked this video, please subscribe to the channel. If you liked this video, I recommend you watch this video in which I discussed why Gujaratis have lower representation in the Indian army. Do check it out.