Crossword Genius

Indian devotee welcoming His Excellency as ruler (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sheikh

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'ruler' is the definition.
(sheikh is a kind of ruler)

'indian devotee welcoming his excellency' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'excellency' could be 'he' and 'he' is found in the answer.
'indian' could be 'sikh' (I've seen this before) and 'sikh' is found within the leftover letters.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'as' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for sheikh that I've seen before include "Arab tribal leader" , "Head of Arab tribe, village etc" , "Weapons maker" , "Arab ruler" , "Leader of an Arab family" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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