Professional Documents
Culture Documents
org/wiki/Battle_of_Saragarhi Year 1897 Great Battle of Saragarhi -21 Sikh soldiers from Indian Army killed 4800 Afghans soldiers
Battle of Saragarhi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coordinates: 3333N 7056E
Battle of Saragarhi
Part of Tirah Campaign War
12 September 1897 Tirah, North-West Frontier Province, British India (modern day Pakistan) Afghan Pashtun tactical victory, British Indian strategic victory
Belligerents
British India Pashtuns (Afghans)
Units involved
36th Sikhs of British Indian Army Afridis and Orakzais
Strength
21[1] 10,000[2][3]
* 600 Afghan bodies were found at the battlefield. Some of these were killed by the artillery fire from the British Indian relief party that recaptured the fort.[7][8]
The Battle of Saragarhi was fought during the Tirah Campaign on 12 September 1897 between twentyone Sikhs of the 4th Battalion (then 36th Sikhs) of the Sikh Regiment of British India, defending an army post, and 10,000 Afghan and Orakzai tribesmen. The battle occurred in the North-West Frontier Province, which formed part of British India. It is now named the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and is part ofPakistan.
The contingent of the twenty-one Sikhs from the 36th Sikhs was led by Havildar Ishar Singh. They all chose to fight to the death. The battle is not well known outside military academia, but is "considered by some military historians as one of history's great last-stands".[9]Sikh military personnel and Sikh civilians commemorate the battle every year on 12 September, as Saragarhi Day. The British and Indian armies polo teams also commemorate the battle annually by holding the Saragarhi Challenge Cup.[9]
Contents
[hide]
o o o o o o o
1 Situation 2 The Battle 3 Reception 3.1 British parliament 3.2 Commemorative tablet 3.3 Order of Merit 4 Remembrance and legacy 4.1 In Indian Schools 4.2 Saragarhi Day 4.3 Saragarhi Challenge Cup 4.4 Saragarhi and Thermopylae 5 Further reading 6 References 7 External links
Saragarhi is a small village in the border district of Kohat, situated on the Samana Range, in present day Pakistan. On the 20th April 1894, the 36th Sikh Regiment of the British Army was created, under the command of Colonel J. Cook.[10] In August 1897, five companies of the 36th Sikhs under Lt. Col. John Haughton, were sent to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, stationed at Samana Hills, Kurag, Sangar, Sahtop Dhar and Saragarhi. The British had partially succeeded in getting control of this volatile area, however tribal Pashtuns attacked British personnel from time to time. Thus a series of forts, originally built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Ruler of the Sikh Empire, were consolidated. Two of the forts were Fort Lockhart, (on the Samana Range of the Hindu Kush mountains), and Fort Gulistan (Sulaiman Range), situated a few miles apart. Due to the forts not being visible to each other, Saragarhi was created midway, as a heliographic communication post. The Saragarhi post, situated on a rocky ridge, consisted of a small block house with loop-holed ramparts and a signalling tower. A general uprising by the Afghans began there in 1897, and between 27 August - 11 September, many vigorous efforts by Pashtuns to capture the forts were thwarted by 36th Sikh regiment. In 1897, insurgent and inimical activities had increased, and on 3rd and 9 September Afridi tribes, with allegiance to Afghans, attacked Fort Gulistan. Both the attacks were repulsed, and a relief column from Fort Lockhart, on its return trip, reinforced the signalling detachment positioned at Saragarhi, increasing its strength to one Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) and twenty troops of Other Ranks (ORs). On September 12, 1897, 10,000 Pashtuns attacked the signalling post at Saragarhi, so that communication would be lost between the two forts.
Details of the Battle of Saragarhi are considered fairly accurate, due to Gurmukh Singh signalling events to Fort Lockhart as they occurred.[10]
Around 9:00am, around 10,000 Afghans reach the signaling post at Saragarhi.
Sardar Gurmukh Singh signals to Col. Haughton, situated in Fort Lockhart, that they are under attack. Colonel Haughton states he cannot send immediate help to Saragarhi. The soldiers decide to fight to the last to prevent the enemy from reaching the forts. Bhagwan Singh becomes the first injured and Lal Singh is seriously wounded. Soldiers Lal Singh and Jiwa Singh reportedly carry the dead body of Bhagwan Singh back to the inner layer of the post.
The enemy breaks a portion of the wall of the picket. Colonel Haughton signals that he has estimated between 10,000 and 14,000 Pashtuns attacking Saragarhi.
The leaders of the Afghan forces reportedly make promises to the soldiers to entice them to surrender. Reportedly two determined attempts are made to rush open the gate, but are unsuccessful. Later, the wall is breached. Thereafter, some of the fiercest hand-to-hand fighting occurs. In an act of outstanding bravery, Ishar Singh orders his men to fall back into the inner layer, whilst he remains to fight. However, this is breached and all but one of the defending soldiers are killed, along with many of the Pashtuns.
Gurmukh Singh, who communicated the battle with Col. Haughton, was the last Sikh defender. He is stated to have killed 20 Afghans, the Pashtuns having to set fire to the post to kill him. As he was dying he was said to have yelled repeatedly the Sikh battle-cry "Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal" (Victory belongs to those who recite the name of God with a true heart).
Having destroyed Saragarhi, the Afghans turned their attention to Fort Gulistan, but they had been delayed too long, and reinforcements arrived there in the night of 1314 September, before the fort could be conquered.
[1]
The Pashtuns later admitted that they had lost about 180 killed [4] and many more wounded[6] during the
engagement against the 21 Sikh soldiers, but some 600 bodies [8] are said to have been seen around the ruined post when the relief party arrived (however, the fort had been retaken, on 14 September, by the use of intensive artillery fire,[7] which may have caused many casualties). The total casualties in the entire campaign, including the Battle of Saragarhi, numbered at around 4,800.
The British, as well as the Indians, are proud of the 36th Sikh Regiments. It is no exaggeration to record that the armies which possess the valiant Sikhs cannot face defeat in war.
You are never disappointed when you are with the Sikhs. Those 21 soldiers all fought to the death. That bravery should be within all of us. Those soldiers were lauded in Britain and their pride went throughout the Indian Army.
Field Marshal William Joseph Slim, 1st Viscount Slim[11]
"The Government of India have caused this tablet to be erected to the memory of the twenty one noncommissioned officers and men of the 36 Sikh Regiment of the Bengal Infantry whose names are engraved below as a perpetual record of the heroism shown by these gallant soldiers who died at their posts in the defence of the fort of Saragarhi, on the 12 September 1897, fighting against overwhelming numbers, thus proving their loyalty and devotion to their sovereign, the Queen Empress of India, and gloriously maintaining the reputation of the Sikhs for unflinching courage on the field of battle."
an Indian soldier could receive by the hands of the British crown, the corresponding gallantry award being Victoria Cross. This award is equivalent to today's Param Vir Chakra awarded by the President of India. The names of the 21 recipients of the gallantry award are: 1. Havildar Ishar Singh (regimental number 165[12]) 2. Naik Lal Singh (332) 3. Lance Naik Chanda Singh (546)
The decision to include the battle story in the school curriculum was taken last year during a public rally presided over by the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal. Following this, the State Government had issued a notification that the battle story should be included in the school curriculum from this session. There had been a constant demand from the Sikh Regiment and various exservicemen's associations that the battle be included in the school curriculum. A similar request had also been put forward to Mr Badal during the battle's state-level centenary celebrations at Ferozepore in 1997. A subsequent letter sent to the Punjab Government by the Saragarhi Memorial and Ethos Promotion Forum had also urged the State Government that the battle has many inspiring lessons for children. On hearing the acts of valour, the British Parliament had then risen in unison to pay homage to the fallen soldiers. The unique battle is also taught in schools of France and figures as one of the eight collective stories on bravery published by the UNESCO.[21]
Observed by
Type
Significance
Date
Observances
Related to
Remembrance Day
Saragarhi Day, is a Sikh military commemoration day celebrated on the 12th of September every year to commemorate The Battle of Saragarhi.[3]Sikh military personnel and Sikh non-military people commemorate the battle around the World every year on September 12. All units of the Sikh Regiment celebrate Saragarhi Day every year as the Regimental Battle Honours Day. Saragarhi Memorial Gurudwara (temple) was built in memory of the 21 Sikh soldiers that fought at The Battle of Saragarhi.[22]
Saragarhi Battalion: Ashes to Glory by Kanwaljit Singh and H.S. Ahluwalia, New Delhi : Lancer International, 1987 (ISBN 81-7062-022-8)
1.
^ a b c The London Gazette: no. 26937. p. 863. 11 February 1898. Retrieved 10 November 2008. ^ The Tribune Online Edition (2007-04-15). "Of blood red in olive green". The Tribune. Retrieved 2007-11-01.
2.
3.
^ a b c Tribune News Service (2005-09-14). "Battle of Saragarhi remembered". The Tribune. Retrieved 2007-11-05.
4.
^ a b Maj. Gen. Jaswant Singh Letter to H.M. Queen Elizabeth II Institute of Sikh Studies (1999)accessed 2008-03-30
5. 6.
^ Himmat. R.M. Lala. 1971. p. 16. Retrieved 2012-06-16. ^ a b Subramanian, L.M. Defending Saragarhi, 12 September 1897, bharat-rakshak.com- accessed 2008-01-25
7. 8.
^ a b "The Frontier War," Daily News, London (16 Sep 1897) ^ a b Sharma, Gautam Valour and Sacrifice: Famous Regiments of the Indian Army, India, Allied Publishers (1990) ISBN 81-7023-140-X, via Google Books- accessed 2008-01-25
9.
^ a b c BBC News (2011-12-05). "India polo match honours Sikhs' 1897 Saragarhi battle". BBC News. Retrieved 2012-07-19.
10. 11.
^ a b c Pall, S.J.S. "The story of Valiant Sikhs", Amritsar, B. Chattar Singh (2004) page 98 ^ The Sikh Spirit (2001-11-01). "The Epic Battle of Saragarhi". Sikh Spirit. Archived from the original on 2007-12-13. Retrieved 2007-10-25.
12. 13.
^ Regimental numbers from photo of Saragarhi memorial plaque ^ Singh, Gurdev (1995). Harbans Singh, ed. The Encyclopedia of Sikhism (2nd edition ed.). Patiala: Punjabi University, Patiala.
^ A century later, Punjab resurrects some of its bravest men ^ Sikh Regiment ^ The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Mailbag ^ Chap ^ a b Singh, Kanwaljit & Ahluwalia, H.S. Saragarhi Battalion: Ashes to Glory, India, Lancer International (1987) ISBN 81-7062-022-8
17.
18.
19.
^ Robin Gupta An epic performance: A slice of history Chandigarh, The Tribune (20 March 1999)accessed 2008-04-19
^ French Education Ministry website- accessed 2008-04-19 ^ Vijay Mohan (2000-04-05). "Recounting battle of Saragarhi". The Tribune. Retrieved 2007-11-01. ^ Sharma, Dinesh K.The legend of Saragarhi Memorial Gurdwara, Times of India (11 Sep 2003)accessed 2008-01-25