Battle Of Saragarhi

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• The Battle of Saragarhi is considered one of the finest last stands in the military history of the world.
• 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.
  • Saragarhi helped to link up the two important forts which housed a large number of British troops in the rugged terrain of NWFP.
• Twenty-one soldiers were pitted against over 8,000 Afridi and Orakzai tribals but they managed to hold the fort for seven hours on September 12th, 1897.
  • 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 Regiment (now 4th Sikh in Indian Army) and a non-combatant called Daad, a Pashtun who did odd jobs for the troops.
• Though heavily outnumbered, the soldiers of 36th Sikhs, led by Havildar Ishar Singh, fought till their last breath, killing 200 tribals and injuring 600.
• In 2017, the Punjab government decided to observe Saragarhi Day on 12th 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.