British Sikh Support for UK Defence
The UK must prepare for the possibility of a wartime scenario on home soil, a major new government review has warned. (Independent news 24 June 2025)
June, 2025 National Security Strategy paper by the government has warned that the UK needs to actively prepare for the potential of a wartime scenario in its homeland.
The background is the Israeli airstrikes on Iran over a period of about two weeks. About 40 top Iranian military strategists and scientists and hundreds of civilians have been killed by Israel in strikes. In response, the Iranians were able to penetrate the Israeli air defence system, the Iron Dome, with Fattah-1 hypersonic missiles. Finally, the massive bunker-busting bombs ped on Iran by US stealth bombers have brought the world closer to World War III and global conflict which threatens the home defences of Western countries.
The ongoing Ukraine war with Russia and the highly controversial Israeli war in Gaza are the additional factors which pose questions about the readiness of UK for wartime scenario on home soil. Many European countries like Sweden and Finland have been preparing for such an eventuality.
Defence of a country concerns all its citizens regardless of their backgrounds and countries of origin. It is readiness to defend a society they have voluntarily chosen to be members of. Defence of a country concerns the majority community as well as all the minority communities which make up a nation. Defence is a test of the social cohesion of a society in time of global conflict.
This clarification of own chosen country, values and way of life is important for plural societies like the British multicultural society. Like a family, there may be internal differences in viewpoints but an external threat must be faced by all communities with complete unity. An attack on a nation is an attack on all citizens.
In this respect, Sikhs have a reputation as defenders of the people they live with and as loyal citizens of the countries they live in. So far as UK is concerned, historically and as the two World Wars have shown, Sikhs have been dependable allies and loyal citizens. That is a heritage and trust the next generation Sikhs should build upon.
Today, with almost uncontrolled immigration, changing demographics (population mix), massive demonstrations against government policies and extreme ideologies of some zealots, the question of loyalties does arise. Even some asylum seekers carry grudges against the British and Western democracies. Extreme religious ideologies have been preached in UK university campuses for decades. These anti-Western sentiments and demonstrations including by many, themselves running from own countries to seek refuge in the Western democracies, poses a challenge for the defence of the country. At such times, in addition to Parliamentary support, the government needs unequivocal assurance of national loyalty from community leaders.
Historically, at the start of World War II, the Sikhs had been leading the Indian freedom movement. Yet, they had no hesitation in also deciding to join the British war effort to defend the world against the powers led by Nazi Germany.
As mentioned in an earlier column, modern defence services include a wide range of leading edge technologies. There are career opportunities for young Sikhs with ambition. UK and many European countries are increasing their defence budget by billions of pounds. There will be large collaborative defence projects requiring diverse skills.
British Sikhs should support the UK defence effort.
Gurmukh Singh OBE
Principal Civil Servant retd (UK)
E-mail: sewauk2005@yahoo.co.uk
Sikh ideology articles: https://www.sikhmissionarysociety.org/