Silambam Asia where silambam greatly influenced many fighting systems. The Indian community of the Malay Peninsula is known to have practiced silambam as far back as the period of Melaka's founding in the 15th century, and likely much earlier. The soldiers of Kings Puli Thevar, Dheeran Chinnamalai had Silambam army named "thadii pattalam", Veerapandiya Kattabomman and Maruthu Pandiyar (1760–1799) relied mainly on their Silambam prowess in their warfare against the British Army. Indian martial arts suffered a decline after the British colonists banned Silambam along with various other systems. They also introduced modern western military training which favoured fire-arms over traditional
Gatka 2011, the Panjabi University Patiala have started to host All India inter-varsity gatka championships annually. Today gatka is most often showcased during the martial festival of Hola Mohalla, as well as Independence Day and Republic Day celebrations in the Panjab. Gatka is one of the competitions held during an annual sporting event in the rural Indian city of Kila Raipur, and the Sikh community of Malaysia often holds gatka demonstrations during Vaisakhi or the Sikh new year. Once considered a diminishing art by UNESCO and SAARC, the intense and concerted efforts of these gatka federations has popularized it amongst the