Which he had once snatched from a Pathan soldier.Ĭharat Singh helped him in wearing that armour,Īs well as decorated Sukha Singh’s horse for an encounter. He saddled his horse covering it with a steel armour, With these words Sukha Singh sent for his steel armour,Īnd covered his head and hands with steel helmet and gloves. Now see how I deal with that audacious Pathan?” Remarked Sukha Singh, “Blessed are you, my dear boy, (4) Īn early reference to a Sikh wearing a helmet appears as Rattan Singh chronicles how a Sikh warrior named Sukha Singh donned armour, including a helmet as he prepared for battle with a Pathan: With the assistance of Pathan soldiers of Kasur. These Gilja sect Pathan soldiers launched an expedition, They had steel covers even on their horses. With feet in steel shoes and hands in steel gloves, They had steel coverings even around their legs. With steel helmets on their heads, bodies wrapped in steel armour, They were being led by the highest Pathan chiefs. Huge horses had they, being themselves very tall, We would like to have a glimpse of them.” (2) They boasted, “where are those so-called brave Singhs, They consisted of the most muscular giants of men, Rattan Singh was well acquainted with Sikh history being the grandson of famous Sikh warrior, Mehtab Singh, who had killed Massa Ranghar and his chronicle based on family history and Sikh oral tradition provides important insights into the Sikh struggle for survival during the Misl era.Ĭhronicling the Sikh battles with the enemy forces of Afghan Ahmed Shah Durrani who invaded Punjab a number of times between 18, Rattan Singh mentions that the Afghans who were havily armoured wore helmets:Īs his troops left Lahore (on their way to Delhi), One of the three oldest chronicles of early Sikh history during the post-Guru era is the composition Sri Gur Panth Prakash written by Rattan Singh Bhangoo started in 1808 and completed in 1841. During the post-Guru period of the 18th century as groups of Sikh warriors under the command of a number of regional chieftains (Misls) engaged in a war for survival and eventual Sikh sovereignty in Punjab against hostile Mughal and Afghan forces, we find the very first references to Sikhs wearing helmets.

Sikh misls sikhiwiki