Sikh raw recruits, 1933-1935 (catalogue reference CN 4/8/35)
It would have been men similar to those shown in this photograph who would have been recruited into the army to help fight in the First World War. In the Punjab no more than 5% of the population could read and among the rural communities the number was even lower. The British recruited heavily from the least educated rural population from the Punjab as these people were regarded as loyal and less likely to be attracted by political ideas.