GS Paper - I

12 September marks the 127th anniversary of the Battle of Saragarhi, regarded today as one of the finest last stands in global military history. On this day in 1897, 21 soldiers were pitted against over 8,000 Afridi and Orakzai tribal militants and managed to hold down the fort for seven hours.

What was 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: What transpired on that day?

• 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.” Besides being outnumbered, what were the other challenges they faced?
• 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.

How are the slain soldiers remembered?

• In 2017, the Punjab government decided to observe Saragarhi Day on 12 September as a holiday.
• Even today the Khyber Scouts regiment of the Pakistani army mounts a guard and salutes the Saragarhi memorial close to Fort Lockhart.
• The British, who regained control over the fort after a few days, used burnt bricks of Saragarhi to build an obelisk for the martyrs. They also commissioned gurdwaras at Amritsar and Ferozepur in their honour.
• Now Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee has named a hall after Saragarhi. Actor Akshay Kumar’s film Kesari was based loosely on the battle.