Recently many scholars, especially in the West, have contended that the assertion of a distinct Sikh identity in the mid-nineteenth century was very largely due to advertent support extended by the British. W.H. McLeod holds that "there were several Sikh identities available during the period immediately following the 1849 annexation and one such identity (the militant Khalsa version) was vigorously promoted by the British in order to serve their own military purposes. The same identity was accepted by the stronger1 of the Singh Sabha leaders and became the focus of their reforming activities late in the nineteenth century."2 Richard Fox refers to the Sikhs in the Indian army "transmuted into Singhs by the British."3 Scholars like N.G. Barrier and Rajiv Kapur have also referred to the recruiting and organisational policy of the British Indian army as the major instrument for fostering the distinct Sikh identity. Rajiv Kapur observes : "Recruitment into the army provided strong encouragement for the development and maintenance of a separate Sikh identity."4 Barrier5 and Fox6 both find themselves caught in an intricate and incoherent analysis of the British motives in dealing with the Sikhs.