In Chapter 4, the third case study investigates how martyrdom discourse was deployed by Sikhs during World War I. It begins with an analysis of the social and cultural situation at the turn of the twentieth century in Punjab, from where the majority of Sikh sepoys hailed, and the resulting relationships with the imperialist British Raj. After examining the socioeconomic conditions that led Sikhs to enlist in the British Indian Army, I discuss how a military mindset constructed a particular idea of Sikh character. The chapter proceeds with an analysis of Sikh traditions of martyrdom and the way the British Empire was colored as a prophesized entity, and therefore actions in its service construed as a sacred duty. Simultaneously, I describe the antagonism felt for the British Empire by emigrant Sikh communities especially in North America, creating a bifurcation of perspectives reflected in approval or dismissal of the self-sacrifice of Sikh soldiers and the creation of anticolonial martyr forms. The chapter concludes with an examination of how the failed promises of the British government following the war marginalized those Sikh martyrs who fell in their ranks during World War I.

Chapter nine commences with the increasing demand for textiles, especially cottons, as Europeans established several trading enclaves including in Madras, Bombay and Calcutta, all of which became important to the EIC. We turn next to newly ascendant groups who increasingly contested Mughal control of north India, especially to the Sikhs, a multiethnic religious community with strong martial orientations. Next we explore differences in various regions’ economic experiences as the empire weakened. While the imperial heartland’s economy was hit hard, other regions witnessed greater prosperity. The final section deals with Bengal where developments had significance for the subcontinent’s subsequent history, for it was there that the English first obtained an extensive foothold within the internal affairs of the erstwhile empire.