The Battle of Saragarhi was fought on September 12, 1897, between the British Indian Army and the Afghan Orakzai tribe. At one end were the Pashtuns (or Pathans), commanded by Gul Badshah, and at the other contingents from British India 36th Sikhs (now the 4th Battalion of the Sikh Regiment), commanded by Havildar Ishar Singh.
The Pashtuns were 10,000 in number and the Sikhs were only 21. This uneven and extraordinary battle was a legacy created by some forgotten soldiers.
Around 9am, around 10,000 Afghans reached the signalling post at Saragarhi.
Gurmukh Singh signalled to Col. Haughton, situated in Fort Lockhart, that they were under attack. Col. Haughton said he could not send immediate help to Saragarhi.
The soldiers decided to fight to the last to prevent the enemy from reaching the forts. Bhagwan Singh became the first martyr and Lal Singh was seriously wounded.
The enemy broke a portion of the wall of the picket. Colonel Haughton signalled that he had estimated between 10,000 and 14,000 Pashtuns attacking Saragarhi.
The leaders of the Afghan forces reportedly made promises to the soldiers to entice them to surrender.
Reportedly two determined attempts were made to rush open the gate, but were unsuccessful. Later, the wall was breached.
Thereafter, some of the fiercest hand-to-hand fighting occurred. In an act of outstanding bravery, Ishar Singh ordered his men to fall back into the inner layer while he remained to fight.
However, this was breached and all but one of the defending soldiers was killed, along with many of the Pashtuns. Gurmukh Singh, who communicated the battle with Col. Haughton, was the last Sikh defender.
He was 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” (Shout Aloud in Ecstasy! True is the Great Timeless One).
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 September 13–14 before the fort could be conquered.
The Pashtuns later admitted that they had lost about 180 soldiers and many more wounded during the engagement against the 21 Sikh soldiers, but some 600 bodies were said to have been seen around the ruined post when the relief party arrived (however, the fort had been retaken on September 14 by the use of intensive artillery fire, which may have caused many casualties). The total casualties in the entire campaign, including the Battle of Saragarhi, numbered around 4,800.
All the 21 Sikh non-commissioned officers and soldiers of other ranks who laid down their lives in the Battle of Saragarhi were posthumously awarded the Indian Order of Merit, the highest gallantry award of that time, which an Indian soldier could receive by the hands of the British crown, the corresponding gallantry award to today’s Param Vir Chakra awarded by the President of India.
(The essay is contributed by Subrajoti Paul)
