A 10-foot bronze statue of a turbaned Sikh soldier has been installed outside the largest gurdwara in Europe to recognise the contributions made by Sikhs in World War I.
The monument, Lions of the Great War, was unveiled on public land outside Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Smethwick near Birmingham on Sunday, just days ahead of the centenary of the end of the war. It was funded by the gurdwara¡¯s congregation. Preet Gill, the MP who represents Birmingham, Edgbaston, said, ¡°When I was a councillor two and a half years ago, local sculptor Luke Perry suggested it and we got together with the community and the council to collaborate and make it happen.¡±
Despite being small in number in British India, Sikhs played an important part in the war, making up more than a fifth of the British Indian Army, she said. ¡°This statue will serve as a reminder to Sikh soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the defence of democracy.¡±
Thousands of British Sikhs, as well as local leaders and British soldiers, attended the ceremony. In all, 1.5 million Indians fought for Britain in World War I, more than 20% of whom were Sikhs. Many were farmers from Punjab and known as ¡°Black Lions¡± in the war.