Indian, not British

London, June 24: UK defence chiefs have abandoned plans to raise a regiment of British Sikhs amid fears that the move would be branded racist.

The proposal to create the regiment, reminiscent of those who fought for Britain in the two world wars, was dropped by the ministry of defence after discussions with the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE).

Sikh leaders had informed army recruitment officers that they could easily find enough volunteers to form a 700-strong regiment.

However, despite the infantry being under strength by 3,000 soldiers, the offer was rejected.

Lieutenant General Freddie Viggers — the adjutant general with responsibility for recruitment — is understood to have accepted the argument put forward by race commissioners at the CRE that creating a Sikh regiment would be divisive and amount to “segregation”.

Leaders of Britain’s 500,000 Sikhs were supportive of the idea of a new regiment, arguing that it would be no different from the Scots, Welsh and Irish Guards or the Royal Gurkha Rifles, which recruits exclusively from Nepal and is regarded as a model infantry regiment.

The decision to shelve the plans was last night criticised by politicians, members of the Sikh community and soldiers, who claimed that the army had fallen victim to political correctness.

Kuljit Singh Gulati, the general secretary of the Sikh temple in Shepherd’s Bush, west London, said: “The Sikhs have a long and distinguished heritage of serving with the British Army.

“I know there are many, many Sikhs who would join up and would serve wherever required. But if you want to get them in large numbers they need their own regiment, something they would take a huge amount of pride in.

“They would regard it as very prestigious. It is a shame that it now looks as though it will never happen.”

A senior army officer said: “The MoD has missed a golden opportunity in not tapping into the Sikh community’s desire to form a regiment. It’s nonsense to suggest this would amount to segregation and since when did the CRE dictate Britain’s defence policy?”

The decision will also dismay Prince Charles, who has expressed interest in the creation of dedicated units to boost the number of people from ethnic minorities in the services and to harness the military tradition of the Sikh faith in particular.

Last year, the armed forces were ordered to meet tough targets to recruit more men and women from ethnic minorities.