Foreign officials of the Sikh Empire

The Sikh Empire of the northwestern Indian subcontinent employed many foreigners, mostly Europeans and some Americans, in its administration and military. Fixty-two Europeans served in the Sikh Khalsa Army, coming from English, Russian, Spanish, Greek, German (incl. Prussian), French, and Austrian-backgrounds. The nationality with the largest representation in the Sikh Empire were the French, with there being sixteen French officers of the Sikh army. The foreign officials were known as Firanghis and served in various roles, such as generals, military advisors, administrators, and physicians.

Western/European officers from various backgrounds, including Britishers, Frenchmen, Germans, Italians, Spaniards, Americans, and Russians, also rose to high levels within the Sikh court in many instances. However, the Sikh court was wary of the Westerners within the court, and kept them therefore under strict regulation. These foreign Western members of the court were persuaded by the state to integrate themselves by marrying a local woman, settling down within the empire, swearing loyalty to the Sikh state, and adopt the cultural customs of the locals, such as growing out a beard or wearing a turban. The Western members of the court were also banned from publicly consuming beef or smoking. The Westerners adopted a mixture of both European and Punjabi clothing and some chose to wear Punjabi weapons on their person.