COPY the main paragraph from the webpage in the link below and give out copies of the text to pairs, taking care to conceal its origin from an American Sikh site:

http://www.sikhpioneers.org/gadarmemorial.html 

ASK pairs to annotate words or phrases that appear to show the writer's attitude towards the Ghadar Party.

LEAD a discussion and reveal that the text comes from a modern American Sikh website. Explain that the text is an historical interpretation, that is, a view of history written after the time the events happened and looking back on them.

DISPLAY the definition of an historical interpretation given on Resource V: Slide 3 and then display the diagram on Resource V: Slide 4.

ASK pairs to discuss whereabouts on the diagram they might plot the pro-Ghadar text and lead a class discussion based on pupil suggestions.

NOW explain that many American Sikhs remain proud of the anti-British activities of Sikh members of the Ghadar Party during the First World War. Explain that how history is remembered (if it is remembered at all) is shaped by what happens afterwards.

NEXT display the following slides from Resource V and use the notes below to give an outline of events shaping Sikh history since the First World War, drawing a timeline for display at the same time with the relevant dates and events marked:

• Slide 5 shows Sikh soldiers of the British Indian Army attack an enemy position in Burma during the Second World War (1939-45). Sikh veterans of the First World War helped to recruit 300,000 Sikh soldiers for the over two million troops of the British Indian Army. At this stage India was still not an independent country.
• Slide 6 shows a Sikh soldier being inspected by the German general, Rommel. A few Sikhs joined anti-British Indian forces recruited by Nazi Germany and Japan, who promised India her independence.
• Slide 7 shows a map of the partition boundaries in Punjab (marked in red on the left side of the map) in 1947. When the British left India, two new countries were created: a largely Hindu-dominated modern India (the area to the right of the red line) and a mainly Muslim Pakistan (to the left of the red line).
• Slide 8 shows an old Sikh man fleeing with his family from the newly created Pakistan. The old Sikh homeland of Punjab was divided between the two countries and millions of people fled their homes either side of the border. There were widespread massacres and thousands of Sikhs died.
• Slide 9 shows two Sikh migrants in Britain in 1947. Sikhs started to settle here in larger numbers after India gained her independence.
• Slide 10 shows some of the population movements of the Sikh community. This was part of an historic movement of Sikhs over decades from India to other countries.
• Slide 11 shows men of the Indian Army take positions in the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar in 1984, which was occupied by a group of Sikhs who demanded greater rights from the Indian government. Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, ordered the Indian Army to storm the complex, killing many innocent people. Two of her Sikh bodyguards later shot dead Indira Gandhi in revenge. These events caused great bitterness between many Sikhs and the Indian government.
• Slide 12 shows Sikhs living in Britain. Today there are over 400,000 Sikhs settled in the UK.

LEAD a discussion about how these events may affect the way British Sikhs remember the First World War if at all (e.g. Is it too long ago to matter? How important might the First World War seem compared to the Second World War, the events of 1947 or 1984?).