Sikh Regiment

The Sikh Regiment
The Regimental Insignia of the Sikh Regiment
Active	1 August 1846–Present
Country	India
Branch	Indian Army
Type	Line Infantry
Role	Infantry
Size	19 battalions
Motto(s)	Nischay Kar Apni Jeet Karon (With determination, I will be triumphant).
War Cry	Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal (Victory belong to those; Who recite the name of God with a true Heart)
Anniversaries	September 12, 1897 (the day of the Battle of Saragarhi) is celebrated as the Regimental Battle Honour Day.
Decorations	21 Indian Order of Merits ,14 Victoria Crosses, 2 Param Vir Chakras, 2 Ashoka Chakras, 14 Maha Vir Chakras, 14 Kirti Chakras, 64 Vir Chakras, 15 Shaurya Chakras, 75 Sena Medals and 25 Vishisht Seva Medals and "Unit Citation" to 8th Battalion for their meritorious and gallant performance during the isolation of Tiger Hill in the Kargil Skirmish
Insignia
Regimental Insignia	Sharp-edged Quoit, or Chakra, which the Khalsa Armies had used in combat. The Chakra rings a lion, symbolic of the name (Singh) every Sikh carries

The Sikh Regiment is a 19 battalion strong, infantry regiment of the Indian Army, drawing a bulk of its recruits from the Sikh community. It is the most decorated regiment in the Indian army and was at one stage one of the highest decorated regiments in the British Empire. The first battalion of the regiment was officially raised just before the annexation of the Sikh Empire on August 1, 1846, by the British Empire. The Sikh Regimental Centre is located in Ramgarh Cantonment, 30 km (19 mi) from Ranchi, which is the capital of the state of Jharkhand in India. The Centre was earlier located in Meerut in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

The modern Sikh Regiment traces its roots directly from the 11th Sikh Regiment of the British Indian Army. When transferred to the Indian Army like its sister regiments, the numeral prefix (in the case of the Sikh Regiment, 11) was removed and extra battalions were raised, transferred or disbanded to meet army needs. With a humble beginning of two battalions, today the fraternity has grown to a regiment of 19 regular infantry and two reserve battalions strong.

About 5000 soldiers belonging to the Sikh regiment mutinied after the storming of the Golden Temple by the Indian Army in 1984.

Enlisted soldiers are strictly recruited from the Sikh community from Punjab & her surrounding states. They trained internally by the regiment, in which they tend to spend most of their careers. While officers are trained externally from either IMA, or NDA and tend to leave the regiment subject to promotion, officers assigned to the Sikh Regiment are drawn from all regions and areas of India. The war cry of regiment, taken from Sikh scriptures is: 'Jo Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal' ('whoever utters (the phrase following) shall be happy(fulfilled), true is the Holy God').