Tour in France to Highlight Sikh Contributions During WWI

April 27, 2005

Source: The Times of India

http://www1.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1089603.cms

On April 27, 2005 The Times of India reported, "Call it following the heritage trail or the Lion's. On Saturday, 45 Sikhs will leave from England for France for 'a truly Sikh experience.' A day-long battlefield tour, first of its kind, will take them to the Battlefields of Neuve Chapelle and Ypres where the Sikh Regiment was to play a crucial role during WWI in 1915. Within 20 days of the declaration of the First World War, Sikh troops were dispatched to Europe as part of the Indian expeditionary force and many Sikhs laid down their livesin the war. This is the first Sikh 'officially' organised major tour to these battlefields, says Harbinder Singh, director of Maharaja Duleep Singh Centenary Trust (MDSCT)."