Saragarhi

Saragarhi is a sleepy hamlet in the north western frontier province of present day Pakistan. A bleak, and forgotten tract of land which a hundred odd shepherds and potters call home. Nestled among the dusty dunes and under the threat of being over run by brambles, it is a place that is rainless and in ruins. Little would you know that, it bears silent testimony to an epoch making edifice of human courage and self sacrifice.

In the late 19th century, Saragarhi was a small fortification used by the British as a heliographic communication point between two larger forts , named fort gulistan and fort lockehart. At that time, the British were trapped in a war against fierce Afghan pashtun tribesmen. Twenty one soldiers of the 36th Sikh regiment were given the duty of manning the communication posts in Saragarhi. A task which was crucial in the safeguarding of the two forts against the zealous marauders. On the night of September 12, 1897, an army of 12,000 pashtun tribesmen launched a massive attack on Saragarhi with the aim of snapping the communication link and leaving the forts open to attack.

Seeing the vast troop movements, the communications officer, Gurumukh Singh, signaled for reinforcements, which were promptly refused by the British commanding officer. They decided to fall back into the fortification and hold the line rather than surrender. The chief afghan warlord tried to entice them, by promising to spare their lives. But for the Sikh soldiers, there was no such thing as an honourable surrender.

In a fierce firefight that lit up the cold afghan night, the men fell one by one, with their muskets in hand. The communication officer sent a steady stream of messages to his superior regarding the state of the battle. After six hours of fighting, the walls were finally breached and all but one of the soldiers were killed. The last man standing was Gurumukh Singh who calmly asked permission to abandon his post so that he could pick up his rifle and die with his comrades. He shot and killed 20 of the belligerents before they set fire to the communication post and burnt him alive.

The next morning reinforcements arrived and routed the afghan forces. They were utterly stunned to find the bodies of 21 bravehearts who’d fought twelve thousand belligerents till the last man and till the last bullet. Dying for their honour - nothing more, nothing less.

"How can a Man die Better than facing Fearful Odds,

For the Ashes of His Fathers and the Temples of His Gods?"

- Dedicated to the sacred memory of Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, elite NSG commando who martyred himself on 28.11.2008 at the TAJ.