The Indian soldier is generally excellent in sports and athletics. The skill of the Sowar in tent-pegging, lime-cutting, and his daring feats of horsemanship are well known. In the infantry, wrestling is a favourite amusement, and certain classes, more especially Gurkhas, are keen sportsmen in the all-round sense of the word.
The military and agricultural classes of India are seen at their best in the native army. Enthusiastic in his profession, endued with great pride of race and considerable spirit, the native soldier feels that there is a camaraderie and a community of interests between himself and his British officers which are wholly lacking in his relations with civil officials. Daily intercourse in the lines, and in various games and sports, affords opportunities for mutual acquaintance, and enables British officers to acquire that personal influence over their men which has been so largely responsible for the brilliant results achieved by most of our great men of India.
There are three great classes of Sikhs: the Sikh by race, the Sikh by religious sect, and the Sikh by political conviction. They are, however, divided tribally as follows:—
The Jat Sikhs,
The Khattri Sikhs,
The Kamboh Sikhs,
The Lobana Sikhs,
The Sikh Chuhras or Mazhbis,
The Sikh Tarkhans,
The Kalal Sikhs.
The Jat Sikhs.—Our Jat recruits are drawn from the Eastern Jats, a race of hardy husbandmen. They are, so to speak, a clan of Indian agricultural peasantry. They came originally from the highlands of Scythia. These men possess the necessary instincts of the soldier, and their history has been marked by stern, hard fighting.
The Khattri Sikhs.—These are the merchant caste of the Punjabis.
The Kamboh Sikhs.—These make excellent soldiers, being of very fine physique and possessing great courage. They have always been noted for their cunning strategy, which now, being far less "slim" than in former times, has developed into the permissible strategy of war.
The Lobana Sikhs.—These are the social equals of the Jats.