Sikhs soldiers participated at the flag raising ceremony at Possession Point, Hong Kong in 1841 when the Captain Elliot declared Hong Kong a British possession. Sikhs, Parsis and other South Asians made many contributions to the well-being of Hong Kong. The earliest policemen in Hong Kong were Indians (Sikhs) and the present police force still have some few South Asians, as well as Europeans. The top Hong Kong civil servant was once an Indian, Harnam Singh Grewal (a Sikh), whose family history in Hong Kong dates back to the late 1800s, was the Secretary for Transport and the Secretary for Civil Service in the 1980s.