By Sophie Johnson, ABC Asia
Troops of the 14th Sikhs of the 29th Indian Infantry Brigade examining a piece of shell from 'Asiatic Annie' that fell in their camp during World War I. Photo: Imperial War Museum © IWM (Q 13372)
Sikhs believe in equality and fighting for what is right, according to community members and historians - and it was these values that led nine Indian Sikh men to join the Anzacs to fight in World War I.
Among them was Desenda Singh, who fought in Egypt with the Australian Imperial Force during 1918.
His service brings great pride to his great-grandson, Nehchal Singh, who now lives in Melbourne.
"It's quite amazing and surreal for me to be connected to Australia in that way," he said.
"Even though I wasn't born here, I have a five-generational connection to the country … it's been a fascinating and really great story to be a part of."
Desenda Singh was a Private in the 34/3 Light Horse Regiment and was known for wearing a blue and gold turban.
He returned to India in 1939 to be with his wife and children, after spending decades in Australia.
Discovering the family history
Singh was born in India and only found out about his ancestor's history during the centenary celebrations of Anzac Day.
Even Desenda's daughter (Singh's grandmother) was unaware of her father's secret military history.
After uncovering a photograph and genuine war medals, Singh took to Facebook, hoping to find the truth about his great-grandfather's time abroad.
"I connected the dots and got started to learn more and eventually got these goosebumps about all this history of us being connected to Australia," he said.
Since then, Singh has done further research and connected with historians to discover more about his family history, strengthening his gratitude for both his ancestor and the other Anzacs.
He said despite Australia's controversial history of racism, as a whole, he sees the country as a very inclusive and welcoming place - a sentiment he is sure his great-grandfather would share.
"There are things which are not ideal, but equally there are things which are very great," he said.
"Fighting shoulder to shoulder with his Aussie mates; that was probably the climax of [Nesenda Singh's] Australian life."
Other Sikh soldiers
Crystal Jordan and Len Kenna are historians with the Australian Indian Historical Society and have written a book about the Indian Anzac soldiers.
"Out of 16 men that actually did embark that were of Indian origin, we believe nine were Sikhs that served overseas," Jordan said.
The Sikh soldiers enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force during World War I were:
- Amah Singh
- Hazara Singh
- Nain Singh Sailani
- Davy Singh
- Gurbachan Singh
- Sarn Singh (Johal)
- Ganessa Singh
- Sirdar Singh
- Desanda Singh
The pair said shared values likely compelled the men to enlist in the Australian army.
"The master Sikh Guru said that Sikhs should defend themselves against and fight against evil," Mr Senna said.
"As a result of that, they saw it as a religious duty to fight the Germans, who they saw as evil."
Historically, Sikhs have considered themselves warriors and were unafraid to fight.
Although their contribution was small in the scale of the Australian army, their fight was significant in solidifying an identity for the Sikh community in the country.
"You can't grow a tree without roots," Kenna said.
"They were trying to send down roots to say to their children 'we were in there' … if you haven't got a history, you haven't got an ownership of anything."
- ABC
