Culture and Ethos of The Regiment
Due to the cultural origin of its recruits, the Regiment maintains not only a strong Sikh culture but also a Punjabi culture. The Sikh faith plays a strong role in the day to day life and functioning of the regiment and its soldiers. The Sikh Light Infantry maintains its own regimental gurdwara for the daily worship for its soldiers. The Sikh recruits of the regiment have a long and strong standing history with the Sikh religion. The Mazhabi Sikhs had long stood in the armies of the Sikhs' Tenth Guru and in the later Khalsa Army raised by Ranjit Singh. which forged and established the Sikh Empire.
The religious life of the soldiers sees them conduct Shabad Kirtan and all other aspects of Sikh worship. The sikh religion also plays a large role in their life as active soldiers, through the teachings of the tenth sikh guru and the notion of "Sant-Sipahie" - Saint soldier. Sikhs embody the qualities of a "Sant-Sipahie"—a saint-soldier. One must have control over one's internal vices and be able to be constantly immersed in virtues clarified in the Guru Granth Sahib. A Sikh must also have the courage to defend the rights of all who are wrongfully oppressed or persecuted irrespective of their colour, caste or creed.
The regimental motto is derived from the tenth Guru of the Sikhs; Deg Tegh Fateh, meaning Prosperity in peace and victory in war. It incorporates Guru Gobind Singh's teachings of peace tolerance and community spirit, but to unsheathe the sword when a tyrant or oppressor threatens those ethos and refuses peaceful co-existence.
The battle cry of the regiment is "Jo Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal!" meaning "He who recites the name of the lord, shall forever be victorious!" The regimental Insignia is a combination of the Chackram and Kirpan, traditional weapons of the Akali Nihangs; a religious warrior monk order started by Guru Gobind Singh in the 18th century. Chakrams are still worn on the turban by the regiments soldiers, however its use is ornamental and for occasioned uniformed display or parades. It is not used in battle neither is it part of or incorporated in combat attire.
In addition to their religious lives, Soldiers in their free time also engage in traditional Punjabi culture. Bhangra a folk dance of the Punjab is a regular pastime of the soldiers.
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Famous quotes containing the words culture, ethos and/or regiment:
“A culture may be conceived as a network of beliefs and purposes in which any string in the net pulls and is pulled by the others, thus perpetually changing the configuration of the whole. If the cultural element called morals takes on a new shape, we must ask what other strings have pulled it out of line. It cannot be one solitary string, nor even the strings nearby, for the network is three-dimensional at least.”
—Jacques Barzun (b. 1907)
“Reading more than life teaches us to recognize ethos and pathos.”
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“We had an inspection today of the brigade. The Twenty-third was pronounced the crack regiment in appearance, ... [but] I could see only six to ten in a company of the old men. They all smiled as I rode by. But as I passed away I couldn’t help dropping a few natural tears. I felt as I did when I saw them mustered in at Camp Chase.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)