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13/09/24 09:03 AM IST

September 12 is observed as Saragarhi Day

In News
  • September 12 marks the 127th anniversary of the Battle of Saragarhi, regarded today as one of the finest last stands in global military history.
About Saragarhi
  • 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.
  • Though Saragarhi was usually manned by a platoon of 40 soldiers, on that fateful day, it was being held by only 21 soldiers from the 36th Sikh (now 4 Sikh) and a non-combatant called Daad, a Pashtun who did odd jobs for the troops.
  • Saragarhi helped to link up the two important forts which housed a large number of British troops in the rugged terrain of NWFP.
  • Fort Lockhart was also home to families of British officers.
  • The wife of the commanding officer of 36th Sikh, Lt Col John Haughton, was at the fort till May 1897 when she went home to deliver a baby.
Battle of Saragarhi
  • Around 9 am that day, the sentry at Saragarhi saw a thick haze of dust and soon realised that it was caused by a large army of tribal people marching towards the fort.
  • He estimated their number between 8,000 and 15,000.
  • The tribal folk wanted to isolate the two forts by cutting off the lines of communication between them.
  • Within minutes of sighting the tribal army, Sepoy Gurmukh Singh, 23, sent a message through the Morse code to commanding officer Lt Col Houghton, saying, “Enemy approaching the main gate…need reinforcement.”
  • Unfortunately, the Pathans had cut the supply route between Fort Lockhart and Saragarhi. Houghton radioed back, “Unable to breakthrough, hold position.” Sepoy Gurmukh Singh conveyed this message to platoon commander Havildar Ishar Singh. Fully aware of the consequences, the braveheart responded with a stoic, “Understood.”
  • Capt Amarinder says, “The soldiers at Saragarhi knew it was their last day, yet they didn’t flinch.”
Challenges
  • Capt Jay Singh-Sohal, a British officer whose film “Saragarhi: The True Story” is based on first-hand accounts of the battle, says, “The soldiers were not only outnumbered, they also had limited ammunition with around 400 rounds per man, one reason why Lt Col Haughton, urged them to use their fire-power carefully.”
  • The signalman Sepoy Gurmukh Singh was also short of hands. Sohal says the heliograph communication system, which uses sunlight and mirrors to flash messages via Morse code, was usually operated by three men.
  • While one sent the messages, the others would read the incoming message through binoculars, and the third would pen them down. On that day, Gurmukh was doing all three.
Havildar Ishar Singh
  • Havildar Ishar Singh was born in a village near Jagraon. He joined the Punjab Frontier Force in his late teens after which he spent most of his time on various battlefields. Soon after it was raised in 1887, Ishar was drafted into the 36th Sikhs.
  • He was in his early 40s when he was given independent command of the Saragarhi post. He was married, but the couple had no children.
  • Ishar Singh was quite a maverick who dared to disobey his superiors but he was loved by his men for whom he was always ready to go out on a limb.
  • Ishar Singh was a somewhat turbulent character whose independent nature had brought him more than once into conflict with his military superiors. Thus Ishar Singh—in camp, a nuisance, in the field magnificent.

Daad
  • Daad was the 22nd man, the non-combatant, in Saragarhi. In his book, Capt Amarinder called him the 22nd soldier. Sweeper Daad was from Nowshera, Pakistan.
  • He was denied any honour though he also fought bravely, killing five men before being stabbed to death.
Source- Indian Express

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