Today, on 12 September 1897, this war was fought between 21 Sikh soldiers of the 36th Sikh Battalion of the British Indian Army and ten thousand Afghans The Afghans attacked the northwest Frontier Province. These people wanted to capture the Gulistan Fort. Only 21 soldiers were stationed at the Saragarhi security post near the fort. These valiant soldiers did not surrender to the Afghan raiders and managed to save the fort. All the soldiers were martyred at the end of the war. Posthumously, all the martyred soldiers were awarded the Indian Marit of Order Award.
This date is recorded in history as an Incredible courage of Sikhs. The battle fought between the British-Anglo Army and the Afghan Army is popularly known as 'Battle of Saragarhi'. It has been included in the greatest battles of the world. In this war, 21 soldiers of Sikh Regiment were killed by an army of 10,000 soldiers of Afghans and they killed about 600 Afghans by killing them.
Construction of gurudwara in memory of martyrdom
The British, who punished hundreds of Sikhs in the country's freedom struggle for black water and execution, not only honored the martyrdom of Sikhs of Saragarhi, but a gurudwara was also built in memory of their martyrdom. The construction of this gurdwara of the martyrdom of 21 Sikhs located in the Chowk Chowk fountain of the city was completed in the year 1902. It was inaugurated by Sir WM Young, the Governor of British Government in Punjab. The Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee has constructed a large inn with this gurudwara.
Eight kilometers from the Samana Valley in Kohat, district of Pakistan's northwest Frontier Post (renamed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), where the Khuram and Kankei valleys are separated. The fort of Saragarhi is present in its place. Its shabby walls still tell the saga of 21 brave Sikh soldiers who were martyred while fighting in battle with the tribal Pathans in 1897 on behalf of the British.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh built the fort
This pass is present in the position of the Heart and Fort Gulstan Triangle by bringing the fort Saragarhi at a peak of six thousand feet, about 47 kilometers away from the Khyber region and at a similar distance from it. Fort Lock Heart and Fort Gulistan have been converted into Army Cantt in Pakistan, while Fort Saragarhi is being used by Pakistan Army today.
In the year 1897, along with the said forts, Saratup and Sangar Fort were also present in the Samana Valley, in which five companies of 36 number Sikh Battalion were stationed. His commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel John Hughton. Thousands of tribal Pathans attacked the Sangar Fort on the night of 11 September 1897 due to the rebellion against the British rule, but they could not enter the fort by demolishing the walls of the fort.
After this, the next day, on the afternoon of 12 September, at 3:30 in the morning, he attacked the garrison of Saragarhi with full Lashkar. Just half an hour before the attack in this fort, Colonel Jan Huyghton sent 93 soldiers to protect the Kabbalahs from any nearby fort, so when the Kabalis attacked Saragarhi, there were only 20 commanders of Havildar Ishar Singh Others were Sikh soldiers. Nayak Lal Singh, Lions Nayak Chanda Singh, Soldier Ram Singh, Ram Singh, Hira Singh, Uttam Singh, Daya Singh, Jeevan Singh, Bhola Singh, Gurmukh Singh, Narayan Singh, Jeevan Singh, Nand Singh, Bhagwan Singh, Bhagwan Singh, Sundar Singh, Buta Singh, Jeeva Singh and Sepoy Gurmukh Singh.
These 21 brave Sikhs did not lose courage. Ardas under the guidance of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, took up his own front to fight. The soldiers present in the fort said in response that we have taken our weapons by doing ardas to counter the enemy. Now we cannot think of retreating in any situation. These 21 warriors battled with close to twenty thousand for a full six hours till then with great bravery.
The whole bullet coin in the fort ended with them and then one by one all the soldiers were martyred. With their martyrdom, the Saragarhi outpost was captured by the tribes. There was a mass movement to commemorate the 21 soldiers who were martyred. Honored with the largest Indian Order of Merit of the Indian Army. His memory was established in Waziranstan (now Pakistan), Amritsar and Ferozepur.
The bravery of these 21 heroes was saluted in the British Parliament. All of them were posthumously awarded the Indian Order of Merit, an honor equivalent to Paramveer Chakra. The martyred Sikh soldiers in the war were related to Ferozepur and Amritsar. In view of this, the British Army built memorials at both places.
