The Indian Ex-Servicemen Society of BC commemorated the highest gallantry battle of “SARAGARHI” on 12th September at The Riverside Banquet Hall.
The Battle of Saragarhi isone of the greatest last stands in history that was fought on September 12, 1897, by 21 Sikh soldiers of the British India Army against Afghans in the Samana Valley of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which was then part of India. During this battle, all the 21 soldiers of 36 Sikh Regiment fought till their last breath against the Afghan hordes with unprecedented courage and unparalleled valour and went down as superheroes. Here’s the story of the Saragarhi’s legendary battle.
Saragarhi was a small village in the Kohat district along with the Samana range (modern-day Pakistan). The British succeeded in gaining control over the Khyber Pakhtunwa region, although they were prone to attacks from rebellious Pashtuns. Saragarhi served as a communication post between Fort Lockhart and Fort Gullistan which served as headquarters for the British Indian army in the North-Western region, as these two forts were not visible to each other despite being a few miles apart.
Khalsa Bahadur is an epic poem written by Chuhar Singh describing the chivalry and sacrifice of Sikh soldiers at the Battle of Saragarhi. The poem is 55 pages long in the Punjabi language.
In remembrance of these 21 warriors, the British built two Gurudwaras, one in Amritsar near the Golden Temple and another in Ferozepur Cantonment, which was in the district where these men hailed from.
Bollywood also paid tribute to the chivalry of these Sikh soldiers by releasing movie name Kesari.
Even today, 12th September is celebrated as the Saragarhi Day in honour of the sacrifices made by those 21 brave soldiers and it’s observed as the Sikh military commemoration day.
