[4][5][6] The first battalion of the regiment was officially raised just before the partial annexation of the Sikh Empire on 1 August 1846, by the British East India Company.
21 soldiers of the 36th Sikhs fought in the Battle of Saragarhi against 6,000-10,000 Pashtun tribesmen in 1897 during campaigns in the North-West Frontier, in what is considered by some military historians as one of history's greatest last stands.
During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947-1948, the 1st battalion of the Sikh Regiment was the first unit to be airlifted to Srinagar to aid in the defence of the Kashmir Valley against Pakistani irregular forces.
The war cry of the regiment, taken from Sikh scriptures, is Jo Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal.
[15] The Sikh Regiment's 9th battalion was disbanded after a large number of its troops mutinied.