Sikh Khalsa Army

Before the reign of Ranjit Singh, the armies in Punjab consisted purely of cavalry. After Ranjit Singh became the Sardar of Sukerchakia Misl he gradually unified most of the Punjab through conquests and diplomacy. However the Afghans, the British and the Gurkhas remained a threat while his empire was in its infancy. Therefore, in 1805, he began recruiting regular forces and employing deserters from the East India Company as officers or soldiers. This latter tactic did not work particularly well because most of the deserters were constantly in touch with the British. The British were alarmed with the rapid conquests of Ranjit Singh and sent many diplomatic missions to help the Phulkian sardars from a possible conquest of their lands and to check the growing power of the Sikh sovereign.

A Muslim regiment under Charles Metcalfe, 1st Baron Metcalfe was sent to Amritsar for talks with the Maharaja. The soldiers created noise through their chants as they approached Ranjit Singh’s fort in Amritsar and passed near the Golden Temple and caused an irregular detachment of Nihang guards to inquire about the disturbances during prayer, before they were challenged by the Muslim soldiers who fired upon them. The Sikh Nihangs shot off many Musket and matchlock volleys rather than a sword charge. It resulted in the death of many of Metcalfe's escorts, while others were wounded. This impressed Ranjit Singh and left a deep impact on him, as the Nihangs had quickly adopted the line formations of Metcalfe's escorts and then shot off their volleys, essentially immobilizing the entire Muslim battalion. The Maharaja then accepted The Treaty of Amritsar (1809), and saw the British as allies for the moment as he took the British refusal to engage after the assault on Metcalfe's convoy as well as the Sikh army's frequent unanswered incursions and attacks south of the Sutlej on British army officers in Ludhiana as signs of weakness on the British's part.

Throughout 1805, Ranjit Singh recruited many East India Company deserters in his army. The early results were unimpressive. During the visit of Charles Metcalfe, he was shown a band of soldiers, most of them wearing traditional kurtas and colourful turbans, while others wore European infantry ornaments. They had either traditional matchlock or European muskets.

Previously, as the Sikhs refused to join infantry service, Pashtuns, Gurkhas and Purbias served in this sector of the army. However, with the passage of time and owing to Ranjit Singh's efforts, Sikhs too began to join the infantry in large numbers. In 1822 Ranjit Singh employed a veteran of the Napoleonic Wars, General Jean-Baptiste Ventura to train the infantry in European style. In a few years, under his command, the infantry was modernized in French pattern. Similarly, in 1822, Ranjit Singh employed another French Napoleonic War veteran, General Jean-François Allard to modernize the Sikh cavalry. In 1827 Claude Auguste Court was hired to modernize the artillery, and in 1832 Colonel Alexander Gardner was employed to modernize the artillery.

Ranjit Singh wanted to westernise his army thoroughly. However, due to various reasons he couldn't discard the military system that he had inherited from his forefathers. The military system of the Sikh Empire under Ranjit Singh finally evolved as a compromise between the old and the new ideas. Thus, the military system of the Sikh Empire is termed as a Franco-British system in the Indian subcontinent.

Sikh Matchlock musket, known as toradar.

The regular army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh was called the Fauj-i-Ain.

Infantry
Ranjit Singh was fully aware of the importance of infantry. The task of recruitment started after 1805 and continued throughout Ranjit Singh's reign. Earlier Sikhs refused to join it, but gradually Sikhs formed the bulk of the infantry. It was divided into battalions, companies and sections.

Cavalry
The cavalry was very strong. It was divided into risalas and had higher pay than the infantry.

Artillery
Special attention was paid to the artillery and it also gradually became very strong.

The Fauj-i-Khas was the elite wing of the army. It was strictly trained under French pattern and had a separate emblem and flag. It consisted of four infantry battalions, two cavalry regiments and one artillery troop. Its weapons and equipment (including clothing) was of the best kind. The Fauj-i-Khas was supplied with the best available ammunition and they were very loyal to Ranjit Singh, whom they usually escorted.

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  Ghorchara (Horse-mounted) Bodyguards of Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab.
• 
  Sikh Khalsa Akali Nihangs.
• 
  Misldar Sowars were part of the Ghorcharas.

The regular military force was backed up and supported by a further 52,000 well-trained and equipped professional-grade irregulars, known as Fauj-i-Be Qawaid. In addition, a large reservoir of feudal and militia forces was available. Military jagirs were given to the ex-rulers of Misls. They in turn had to give tax to the state or a significant number of soldiers, known as Jagirdar Fauj. It consisted mostly of Cavalry and Infantry. It was the weakest part of the army. Other part of the Irregulars consisted of the Akalis, also known as Nihangs. They were devout Sikhs, heavily armed with many traditional weapons and refused European style training. They only wore blue or yellow robes. Their leaders were Akali Phula Singh and Akali Sadhu Singh. They sustained heavy casualties in the Battle of Sobraon.

Another part of the Irregular force were the Ghorcharas and the Fauj-i-Kilajat. Ghorcharas were the relatives of the nobles of the Sikh Empire. They also refused any type of training and usually taunted the Europeans. The Fauj-i-Kilajat was the army defending the forts and also acting as police. Each fort had 50 to 250 of these men and their officer was called Killedar or Thanedar.

The Gurkha–Sikh War was a small conflict between the forces of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (Sikh Empire) and the Gurkha Army in 1809.

Sikh soldiers receiving their pay at the Royal Durbar.

Sikhs formed the bulk of the Sikh Empire's army. The Sikh Army was mainly Punjabi with a predominantly Sikh cadre,[7] but also had a significant multi-religious component made up from other parts of the Punjabi people. There were soldiers of different religious backgrounds (i.e. Muslims and Hindus) and there were soldiers of different tribal backgrounds: Pashtuns, Dogras, Khatris, Jats, Kashyap Rajputs, Ramgarhias, Nepalis and European mercenaries. A promotion to a higher military rank was based on military skill, not hereditary background, so the Sikh Khalsa Army was a classic meritocracy. Enlistment in the army was entirely voluntary, and only strong, physically fit men were recruited. The task of recruiting officers was in the hands of the Generals or the Maharaja himself. Every year, a lot of money was spent on presents and honours for the soldiers who had displayed gallantry. Titles like "Fateh-o Nusrat Nasib", "Zafar Jhang" and "Bright Star of Punjab" were given to many Generals. For showing disloyalty to the state and other such crimes, a soldier could be imprisoned or exiled. No man ever in the Sikh Empire was given the death penalty. Usually, the soldiers were granted two months of leave, either in the winter season or before it. When soldiers were required, leaves were cancelled and they were granted leave at the end of the campaign. The pay of the Sikh Khalsa Army was higher than the pay of the British East India Company and other Asian armies.

Sikh Khalsa Army rank	Monthly Pay
Sepoy or Topchi	Rupees 7–8 1/2
Sowar (Cavalry)	Rupees 20–25
Naik	Rupees 10–12
Havildar	Rupees 12–16
Jamadar	Rupees 15–20
Subedar	Rupees 20–35
Mahzor	Rupees 25–50
Adjudan	Rupees 30–55
Risaldar(Cavalry)	Rupees 35–50
Kumedan	Rupees 60–125
Kalnal	Rupees 250–325
Jarnail	Rupees 375–450

Fauj-i-Khas infantry standard

The Nishan Sahib Sikh flag flew throughout the empire. The Nihangs had the Blue Flag, while different regiments of the army from different religions were allowed to have banners of their own. The regular regiments of different Sikh sardars had mostly blue-coloured flags and banners. The infantry regiments had flags with depictions of plants and cavalry regiments had depictions of horses on their flags. The Fauj-i-Khas had its own French tricolore flag with the French imperial eagle on it. Most of the Sikh flags had the inscription of the motto of the Khalsa: "Deg Tegh Fateh", in Persian Nastaʿlīq script.

After the death of Ranjit Singh, the Sikh Empire witnessed the murders of Ranjit Singh's sons, one after another, organised by the Dogras. Then the Dogras urged the army to make the Lahore Durbar declare war on the British. They did so, and the Dogra-led Sikh Army was betrayed by its commanders who revealed battle plans to the British, even though the Sikhs heroically resisted the British. This led to the defeat of the Khalsa and the British signed the Treaty of Lahore, which was mostly against Sikh sovereignty. Besides demanding a lot of money, the British imprisoned Jind Kaur, the Sikh regent and maltreated her. The Sikh Army was reduced to 20,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry. The disbanded soldiers were also furious with the British administration. This led to the Second Anglo-Sikh War, in which the Sikhs won many battles, but finally lost the Battle of Gujrat. On 10 March 1848 Sikh leaders Chattar Singh Attariwalla and Sher Singh Attariwalla were forced to surrender near Rawalpindi. On 14 March 1849, the Sikh Army also surrendered to the British. Many soldiers, while laying their weapons down, started crying and saying "Today Ranjit Singh has died". However, many Sikh Army soldiers were allowed into the British Indian Army, where they served with distinction in numerous battles and wars under the British crown.

Ranjit Singh encircled himself with an array of generals and soldiers. They were men from different clans, castes and regions. Some of the ranks come from English, like adjudan (adjutant), kalnal (colonel), jarnail (general)

Sikh Khalsa Army rank	Modern USA/UK/NATO equivalent
Kumedan or Jarnail	Major General
Sardar	Brigadier General
Adjudan-kumedan	Staff Colonel
Kalnal	Colonel
Kalnal-i-Sahni	Senior lieutenant colonel
Jamadar Kalnal	Lieutenant Colonel
Mahzor-i-Sahni	Senior Major
Mahzor	Major
Kaptan	Staff Captain
Subedar	Captain
Jamadar	First Lieutenant
Jamadar-i-Sahni	Second Lieutenant
Non-commissioned officers
Adjudan Safis	Chief Warrant Officer
Adjudan-Seph	Warrant Officer
Adjudan or Sarjan	Sergeant-Major
Sarjan Mahzor	First sergeant
Havildar	Sergeant
Muttasadi or Phuriya	Company clerk/supply Sergeant
Naik or Brigadier (Cavalry, Horse Artillery and Gendarmerie)	Corporal
Sepoy or Sowar (Cavalry) or Topchi(Artillery)	Private or UK equivalent

• Fauj-i-Khas
• Misl
• Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Generals
• Sikh Confederacy
• Fauj-i-Ain
• Ranjit Singh
• History of the Punjab

• Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Lord of the Five Rivers, By Jean-Marie Lafont. (Oxford University Press. Date:2002, ISBN 0-19-566111-7).
• History of Panjab, Dr L. M. Joshi, Dr Fauja Singh.