Joseph Quinn speaks to Amandeep Madra, founder of the UK Punjab Heritage Association, about Pubjabi and Sikh soldiers in the British Indian Army.
In this episode, recorded as part of South Asian Heritage Month, Amandeep tells Joseph about the important role that the former Raj province of Punjab played in Indian Army recruitment during the first and second world wars. He discusses the proud martial tradition of Sikhs in the British Indian Army, and why Punjabi Sikhs, together with fellow Punjabi soldiers of other faiths and traditions, often made up the largest cohort of India's wartime armies during the world wars. Amandeep also explains the reasons why the wartime service of Indian, Pakistani and other South Asian service personnel is so poorly documented today, and shares the important work of the UK Punjab Heritage Association in attempting to recover this lost military heritage.
