The Saga of Saragarhi

The 36th Sikhs were raised in 1887 at a time when Russian expansion was feared and the North-West Frontier needed strong fortification. Their brief history is notable for one action that ocurred in 1897 when the regiment defended the Samana Ridge against a huge army of Pathans. Many acts of great bravery were performed by soldiers of the 36th during a few days in September of that year, most notably at Saragarhi.

The Saga of Saragarhi 

by Satyindra Singh*

September 12, 1897 is a day that needs to be recalled with intense pride, not only by the Indian Army but for the whole nation. But sadly, one discovers that whilst this battle of epic dimensions is taught to children in France, and is one of the stories of collective bravery published by UNESCO, it finds at best, peripheral mention in our history volumes for our children and future generations to draw sustenance from.

A foreign journal has mentioned that Saraghari is one of the five most significant events of its kind in the world beginning from the saga of Thermopylae associated with the heroic stand by a small Greek force against the mighty Persian army led by Xerxes in 480 B.C. The name of Thermopylae has passed into the history of mankind and has inspired heroism of every kind and a name which will indeed ever be associated with self-sacrifice. Saraghari epitomises self sacrifice by a very small band of our own soldiers barely a century ago.

Lt. General Harbaksh Singh, a distinguished soldier of yesteryear, who has done the nation proud in the War of 1965, and has been a colonel of this regiment, loaned me some records and journals in which there is invaluable material on the Saraghari saga and I draw sustenance from these and some other records, including the volume, “Saraghari Battalion - From Ashes to Glory”! In one of the these journals is recorded the Saraghari speech by the former President Zakir Hussain (then Governor of Bihar) delivered at the Sikh Regimental Centre, Ranchi on September 12, 1961. As Dr Zakir Hussain said on the occasion : “The mind travels back to the day, sixty four years ago, this day in 1897. On this fateful day, on a rugged, inhospitable ridge of the forbidding terrain, a brave little band of twentyone Sikhs stood its ground steadfastly to the utter last, in the midst of a swarming sea of hostile assailants, and bore unmistakable witness to the gallantry and honour of the Indian Army. It is an episode that we remember today - but it is nonetheless an historic event in the annals of our Army, rich with lessons of unsurpassed gallantry, self-effacing loyalty and unconditional allegiance to the call of duty.

“It was at dawn this day that the Orakzai and Afridi tribesmen, over 20,000 in number, who had been repulsed a few days earlier from Fort Gulistan, surrounded the little picquet post at Saraghari, thus severing Fort Gulistan from Fort Lockhart. No aid could be sent to the isolated picquet. The brave band of Sikhs in the picquet post put up a heroic fight. Very small in number, and with but limited ammunition, they kept the ever-swelling hordes at bay most of the day, inflicting heavy losses on them..... The brave little band of Sikhs, under Havildar Ishar Singh, to the last man but one, fell or were mortally wounded. Only Gurmukh Singh the signaller, was still alive. Cool and collected in this moment of imminent danger, face to face with certain death, this gallant soldier, with utter dedication to his duty, which was his worship, signalled to Fort Lockhart : “The enemy are in. Shall I go on signalling or shall I take a rifle?" He did take his rifle, and after all had gone never to return, he alone continued to defend the guard-room and shot twenty of the enemy. The enemy set the place on fire, and the bodies of the twentyone gallant Sikhs (including an equally gallant safai Karamchari, as also Havildar Ishar Singh, dead or dying were consumed in the flames. Yes, their bodies, but not their souls. For are these heroes really dead? No, they live on, more alive than any of us, they live in our hearts and urge us on to heroism and gallantry....."

When the news of the battle was flashed to London, the British Parliament rose to give a standing ovation when the story was related to a packed and emotion filled house. All the twenty-two brave heroes were awarded the Indian Order of Merit (IOM) posthumously. The award of twenty two IOM in one day, the highest gallantry award given to the Indian ranks those days, and equivalent to Victoria Cross (Param Vir Chakra) was something unheard of and remains unparalled in the annals of military history.

There are many lessons to learn. Firstly, see how these heroes were honoured and see how our pot-bellied and scam stained politicians honour our gallant heroes now; the comparisons are starkly revealing. Secondly, this great battle and supreme sacrifice need to find a place in our history volumes. Thirdly, some of our national leaders should annually participate in honouring them. There is much more awareness required at the national level of such great - and now forgotten - events.

Finally, of the two shrines (historical gurdwaras at Amritsar and Ferozpur) to commemorate the gallantry of these twenty-two immortals, the one at Amritsar deserves greater attention and sanctity, like the one in Ferozpur. The Amritsar shrine is surrounded by dhabas and shops and other encroachments. The one at Ferozpur, which is looked after by the Sikh Regiment, is appropriately honoured. Let the ‘managers’ of the Amritsar shrine also hand this Memorial over to the Sikh Regiment.