What happened in Sargarhi 125 years ago?

On the invitation of the Pakistan Army, this week Sikh soldiers posted in the British Army visited the Sargarhi Fort in Orakzai district and installed plaques in memory of 21 Sikh soldiers who died in a skirmish here on September 12, 1897.

After this visit of the British Sikh soldiers, the question has come up that what actually happened here more or less 125 years ago today and why suddenly the Indian government in general and the Sikhs in particular are giving importance to this history.

Sikh Regiment Valor Day is celebrated every year in India on 12th September. In 2017, the Indian government of Punjab decided to officially celebrate Sargarhi Day and make the day a public holiday.

The closure committee at Shiromani Gurdwara also named a hall as Sargarhi. In 2019, the Indian film industry made a film on it called ‘Kesari’.

Sargarhi fort was built during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. It was actually an information center built almost between these two forts for communication links between Fort Lockhart and Fort Gulistan. The purpose of these forts was to protect the western borders.

Battle of Sargarhi in the words of the British commanding officer

On the life of Lt. Col. John Houghton, Commanding Officer of 36 Sikh Regiment stationed in Sargarhi, Major AC Yate wrote a book titled ‘The Life of Lt. Col. John Houghton’ in which he writes that the Afridi tribes not only referred to their unparalleled courage. They are known to be armed with modern weapons all the time.

When the Afridi, Orakzai and Shinwari tribes in Tirah revolted against the British government in 1897, Lt. Col. Hoghton was posted there. They were responsible for guarding the forts in the Samana mountain range west of Hangu.

The fort of Samana was situated 25 miles west of Kohat. To the north of Samana were the valleys of Khanki and to the south of Miranzai. Because of the mutiny, the British were particularly concerned about their military posts between Peshawar and Karam. Major General Yatman Biggs was sent to command in Hangu.

There were two important posts in the area of ​​Samana, one of which was Fort Lockhart (Mustan Qila) and the other was Fort Kiugnari (Gulistan Qila). The first fort was situated at a distance of nine and 12 miles from Hangu. Both these forts were captured by Sir William Lockhart in 1881. The walls of these forts were 12 to 15 meters high. There were 300 soldiers in one fort and 200 in the other. Between these two forts, a post was established at Sargarhi fort where 21 soldiers were stationed.

On 25 August, it was reported that a large army was gathering in the nearby valleys, with Orakzai and Afridi soldiers numbering around 25,000. Militants attacked some posts which were repulsed.

On 27th August, the Orakzai tribesmen attacked the British posts in the hills of Samana and captured some police posts. When Gulistan fort was attacked, Lt. Col. Hoghton arrived with reinforcements, but he soon realized that the attackers were outnumbered and did not have the required force to fight them. Therefore, they left Golestan fort and retreated. During this time, some British officers were also badly injured.

By August 28, Orakzai Lashkar had captured several important posts and British anxiety was steadily increasing. The Border Police and the Levies did not show resistance anywhere but thought it best to save their lives. The Orakzai tribes continued their advance till September 3.

Colonel Houghton Lockhart had gathered his forces in the fort and was preparing for the contest. Meanwhile, he got another bad news that Afridi tribes have come to help the Orakzai tribes and they have started joint attacks together. In the meantime, General Yeatman Biggs supported Fort Lockhart with a force of 25,000 troops from Hangu. He himself reached here on September 8.

An army of 25,000 was surrounded on both sides of the fort. Fighting broke out on both sides, but two days later the warriors of the Orakzai and Afridi tribes adopted another strategy and left Lockhart fort and marched towards Sargarhi. This time it was not possible to send reinforcements from Lockhart Fort to Sargarhi Fort.

12 to 20 thousand Lashkaris surrounded Sargarhi post on September 12. Whenever they attacked the fort, they would be bombarded by bullets from the front. The tribesmen continued to die, but they did not let the invasion slow down. At the same time, some tribals approached the fort wall under the cover of firing and started digging the wall.

Major Walks, who was watching the scene from Gulistan fort, sent a signal to Sargarhi that the army was making a hole in the wall. But the message could not reach. Colonel Houghton opened fire from the Lockhart fort with long-range guns to divert the attention of the tribesmen from Sargarhi, where there were only 21 Sikh soldiers to fight and who had only four hundred rounds per man.

At three o’clock in the day a signal was received from Sargarhi that the ammunition was running out, so Colonel Hoghton decided to assist the Sargarhi post with his whole force, but he had only gone a few paces when he saw that the game was over and that the tribesmen Patrolling the walls of the fort. Only 21 Sikh soldiers held back an army of 12 to 20 thousand from nine in the morning to three in the morning and fought to the death. On the other hand, more than two hundred soldiers of Lashkari were killed in this battle.

Eternal Enmity of Pashtuns and Sikhs

The battle of Sargarhi was between two nations of the subcontinent, the Sikhs who were fighting on behalf of the British Raj and the Pathans who were fighting for their independence.

The conflict between the Sikhs and the Pathans has been going on ever since Ahmad Shah Abdali first invaded Punjab in 1748 to gain control. In 1800, the Sikhs gained control of the Punjab and the opportunity to keep the Afghans across the Durand Line, but despite this, clashes between the Sikhs and the Pathans continued.

In 1849, the British defeated the Khalsa army and ended the Sikh Raj. In 1897, when the British faced a revolt by the Pathan tribes, they decided to deploy Sikh regiments in the tribal areas, keeping in mind the hostility between the Sikhs and the Pathans.

What actually happened on September 12, 1897?

There are conflicting opinions about the battle of Sargarhi in history. At nine o’clock in the morning the Pathan Lashkar attacked the Sargarhi post and the battle continued till three thirty in the afternoon when not all the Sikh soldiers were killed. No one survived the battle, so whatever information came in was given by soldiers stationed at Gulistan and Lockhart forts who watched the battle through binoculars.

These forts were located at a distance of two and a half miles from Sargarhi. The signal of Gormukh Singh, a sepoy sending signals from Sargarhi, was received at Lockhart Fort. A signal came at twelve o’clock giving the state of the battle and stating that one soldier had been killed and one non-commissioned officer wounded, three guns disabled, upon which Lieutenant-Colonel Hoghton ordered Lieutenant George Minn to 12 Troops were sent along to fire at a distance to distract the attackers but this tactic failed.

The second signal came at three o’clock in the afternoon in which they said that now they were the only children, so they were leaving signal work and going to fight. The battle was fought to the ‘last man and the last bullet’ and lasted six and a half hours in which only 21 Sikh soldiers fought against an army of thousands for six and a half hours, making it one of the most important battles in the history of warfare. Is. Havaldar Ashar Singh was commanding this battle.

However, there are contradictions in history as to whether the invading army consisted of 12,000 to 20,000 men. First of all, there was only a narrow path leading to the height of Sargarhi fort, through which only 150 people could pass to attack at the same time, so saying that there were 12,000 to 15,000 attackers is not an assumption. It seems Yes, it may be that the rest of the army is positioned elsewhere to prevent reinforcements from Lockhart and Golestan forts.

It is also claimed that 21 Sikh soldiers killed between 600 and 1000 Pathans. But official sources say that 400 Pathans were killed and 600 injured.

All the Sikh soldiers who died in this war were awarded ‘Order of Merit’ by Queen Victoria, the highest military honor of that time.

When the British regained control of this fort, they also built a conical minaret here in honor of the Sikh soldiers. Gurdwaras were built in his memory at Amritsar and Ferozepur.