On this day in 1897,21 brave soldiers of 36 Sikhs ( now 4 Sikhs) sacrificed their lives fighting indomitable bravery against more than 10000 enemies.
All 21 soldiers were awarded the Indian order of Merit after death for exemplary bravery and sacrifice.
12th September marked the 126th anniversary of the Battle of Saragarhi.
Key Points:
The Battle of Saragarhi is considered one of the finest last stands in the military history of the world.
Saragarhi was the communication tower between Fort Lockhart and Fort Gulistan. The two forts in the rugged North West Frontier Province (NWFP), now in Pakistan, were built by MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH but renamed by the British.Saragarhi helped to link up the two important forts which housed a large number of British troops in the rugged terrain of NWFP.
Twenty-one soldiers were pitted against over 8,000 Afridi and Orakzai tribals but they managed to hold the fort for seven hours.Though Saragarhi was usually manned by a platoon of 40 soldiers, on that fateful day, it was being held by only 21 soldiers from 36th Sikh Regiment (now 4th Sikh in Indian Army) and a non-combatant called Daad, a Pashtun who did odd jobs for the troops.
Though heavily outnumbered, the soldiers of 36th Sikhs, led by Havildar Ishar Singh, fought till their last breath, killing 200 tribals and injuring 600.
In 2017, the Punjab government decided to observe Saragarhi Day on 12th September as a holiday.
Even today the Khyber Scouts regiment of the Pakistani army mounts a guard and salutes the Saragarhi memorial close to Fort Lockhart.
(Ms. Pratyusha Mukherjee, an Independent Sr. Broadcast Journalist working for British media with 20 years of experience in covering the east and northeast, with specialisation in Defence and Sports.She is associated with us as Editorial head of Defence and Sports. In her illustrated career she has covered many major events and achieved International and Indian media awards for Journalism).
