A special sound and light show, ‘Jang-E-Saragarhi’ dedicated to 21 valiant soldiers belonging to 36th Battalion of Sikh Regiment was organised at Indian Military Academy (IMA) on Wednesday night.
The event depicted the historic battle of Saragarhi fought on September 12, 1897, in which 21 Sikh soldiers of the 36th Battalion of Sikh Regiment in Saragarhi were up against an army of 10,000/ 14,000 soldiers consisting of Afridi and Orakzai tribes of Pathans. Saragarhi was a communication relay post between Fort Lockhart and Fort Gulistan in the Sulaiman Range of the North Western Frontier Province (NWFP). The detachment at Saragarhi was commanded by Havaldar Ishar Singh.
A communique from the IMA said that the Pathans planned for a massive assault on all flanks to divide the outnumbered Sikhs into much smaller groups. Undeterred, Havaldar Ishar Singh marshalled his meagre resources and his Sikh troops killed more than 600 enemy soldiers before perishing to enemy bullets.
In an unprecedented move to hail the unmatched valour, all the 21 soldiers were awarded the prestigious ‘Indian Order of Merit’, the highest gallantry award of that time which an Indian soldier could receive.
It was also for the first time in history that each and every member of a unit won the gallantry award for a single battle, the communique from the IMA said.
To commemorate valour of the men, the British built two Saragarhi Gurudwaras: one in Amritsar, close to the entrance of the Golden Temple, and another in Ferozepur Cantt in the district from where most of the men hailed from.
The sound and light show was witnessed by over 4000 spectators which included students, serving and retired Army personnel, and others.
At the end of the commemorative programme, the Commandant of IMA, Lt Gen S K Jha felicitated the participants for a spectacular display.