21 Sikh soldiers vs 10,000 Afghan Tribesman.
Casualties - 21 Sikhs - 600 Afridi Afghans.
Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal
The contingent of the twenty-one Sikhs from the 36th Sikhs was led by Havildar Ishar Singh.
Photo - Corporal Richard Cave - British army
The Sikh volunteers dressed in First World War uniform parade with the Waterloo Band of The Rifles in front of RMAS’s Old College
In 1897 at the Battle of Saragarhi 21 Sikh soldiers defended a British Army post against 10,000 Afghan Tribesman. They fought to the death defending the post in Tirah, now in modern day Pakistan.
There is a long and cherished history of Sikhs serving in the British Army with some 135 among the ranks today. The values and standards demanded of our men and women in the Armed Forces are mirrored in the proud and noble Sikh warrior society. Selfless devotion to duty, being a cornerstone to both, having been spectacularly displayed on the 12th September 1897 at Saragarhi – the battle cry of the Sepoys being: Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal (He who cries God is Truth, is ever victorious).
The mutual respect and admiration between the British military and Sikhs was formally cemented at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst with the launch of the British Armed Forces Sikh Association in the presence of Lord Singh and Major General Robert Nitsch.
To conclude the day 36 Sikh volunteers from the Birmingham area, who have spent this year training in military drill, accompanied the Waterloo Band of The Rifles parading in front of RMAS’s Old College in First World War uniform and wearing khaki and black turbans inspected by Lord Singh and Major General Nitsch. The parade paid homage to the 1 million plus Dominion and Commonwealth soldiers who fought between 1914-1918 on the Western Front.
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From Wikipedia-
Saragarhi was a small village in the border district of Kohat, situated on the Samana Range, in present day Pakistan. On 20 April 1894, the 36th Sikh Regiment of the British Army was created, under the command of Colonel J. Cook.[10] In August 1897, five companies of the 36th Sikhs under Lt. Col. John Haughton, were sent to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, stationed at Samana Hills, Kurag, Sangar, Sahtop Dhar and Saragarhi.
The British had partially succeeded in getting control of this volatile area, however tribal Pashtuns attacked British personnel from time to time. Thus a series of forts, originally built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Ruler of the Sikh Empire, were consolidated. Two of the forts were Fort Lockhart, (on the Samana Range of the Hindu Kush mountains), and Fort Gulistan (Sulaiman Range), situated a few miles apart. Due to the forts not being visible to each other, Saragarhi was created midway, as a heliographic communication post. The Saragarhi post, situated on a rocky ridge, consisted of a small block house with loop-holed ramparts and a signalling tower.
A general uprising by the Afghans began there in 1897, and between 27 August - 11 September, many vigorous efforts by Pashtuns to capture the forts were thwarted by 36th Sikh regiment. In 1897, insurgent and inimical activities had increased, and on 3 and 9 September Afridi tribes, with allegiance to Afghans, attacked Fort Gulistan. Both the attacks were repulsed, and a relief column from Fort Lockhart, on its return trip, reinforced the signalling detachment positioned at Saragarhi, increasing its strength to one Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) and twenty troops of Other Ranks (ORs).
On 12 September 1897, 10,000 Pashtuns attacked the signalling post at Saragarhi, so that communication would be lost between the two forts.
Casualties - 21 Sikhs - 600 Afridi Afghans.
Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal
The contingent of the twenty-one Sikhs from the 36th Sikhs was led by Havildar Ishar Singh.
Photo - Corporal Richard Cave - British army
In 1897 at the Battle of Saragarhi 21 Sikh soldiers defended a British Army post against 10,000 Afghan Tribesman. They fought to the death defending the post in Tirah, now in modern day Pakistan.
There is a long and cherished history of Sikhs serving in the British Army with some 135 among the ranks today. The values and standards demanded of our men and women in the Armed Forces are mirrored in the proud and noble Sikh warrior society. Selfless devotion to duty, being a cornerstone to both, having been spectacularly displayed on the 12th September 1897 at Saragarhi – the battle cry of the Sepoys being: Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal (He who cries God is Truth, is ever victorious).
The mutual respect and admiration between the British military and Sikhs was formally cemented at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst with the launch of the British Armed Forces Sikh Association in the presence of Lord Singh and Major General Robert Nitsch.
To conclude the day 36 Sikh volunteers from the Birmingham area, who have spent this year training in military drill, accompanied the Waterloo Band of The Rifles parading in front of RMAS’s Old College in First World War uniform and wearing khaki and black turbans inspected by Lord Singh and Major General Nitsch. The parade paid homage to the 1 million plus Dominion and Commonwealth soldiers who fought between 1914-1918 on the Western Front.
-------------------
From Wikipedia-
Saragarhi was a small village in the border district of Kohat, situated on the Samana Range, in present day Pakistan. On 20 April 1894, the 36th Sikh Regiment of the British Army was created, under the command of Colonel J. Cook.[10] In August 1897, five companies of the 36th Sikhs under Lt. Col. John Haughton, were sent to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, stationed at Samana Hills, Kurag, Sangar, Sahtop Dhar and Saragarhi.
The British had partially succeeded in getting control of this volatile area, however tribal Pashtuns attacked British personnel from time to time. Thus a series of forts, originally built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Ruler of the Sikh Empire, were consolidated. Two of the forts were Fort Lockhart, (on the Samana Range of the Hindu Kush mountains), and Fort Gulistan (Sulaiman Range), situated a few miles apart. Due to the forts not being visible to each other, Saragarhi was created midway, as a heliographic communication post. The Saragarhi post, situated on a rocky ridge, consisted of a small block house with loop-holed ramparts and a signalling tower.
A general uprising by the Afghans began there in 1897, and between 27 August - 11 September, many vigorous efforts by Pashtuns to capture the forts were thwarted by 36th Sikh regiment. In 1897, insurgent and inimical activities had increased, and on 3 and 9 September Afridi tribes, with allegiance to Afghans, attacked Fort Gulistan. Both the attacks were repulsed, and a relief column from Fort Lockhart, on its return trip, reinforced the signalling detachment positioned at Saragarhi, increasing its strength to one Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) and twenty troops of Other Ranks (ORs).
On 12 September 1897, 10,000 Pashtuns attacked the signalling post at Saragarhi, so that communication would be lost between the two forts.
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