Sikh military personnel commemorate the battle of Saragarhi
September 12, 2017 5:48 PM
The Battle of Saragarhi is considered to be one of the greatest last stands in history and was fought before the Tirah Campaign on 12 September 1897 between Sikh soldiers of the British Indian Army and Pashtun Orakzai tribesmen occurred in the North-West Frontier Province now known as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
Saragarhi was a small village in the border district of Kohat situated on the Samana Range which is presently in Pakistan.
In August 1897, The British Indian contingent comprised 21 Sikhs of the 36th Sikhs now known as the 4th Battalion of the Sikh Regiment and were stationed at an army post attacked by around 10,000 Afghans on 12 September 1897, around 9 am, 10,000 Pashtuns attacked the signalling post at Saragarhi so that communication would be lost between the two forts and that's when the battle of Saragarhi Started.
The Sikhs were led by Havildar Ishar Singh, chose to fight to the death which is now considered by some military historians as one of history's greatest last-stands. Needless to say the odds of the battle were striking because ratio of Sikh-Afghan soldiers was 1:476 and even today the fearless too believe that even Alexander the Great would have had second thoughts about fighting this battle.
Sikh military personnel commemorate the battle every year on 12 September which is declared as a holiday in the State of Punjab and all units of the Sikh Regiment celebrate Saragarhi Day every year as the Regimental Battle Honours Day. Saragarhi Memorial Gurudwara was built in memory of the 21 Sikh soldiers who sacrificed their lives and were also awarded the prestigious Indian Order of Merit Class III award.
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