On 12 September 1897, on a rocky ridge of the Samana Range in the North-West Frontier of British India, twenty-one Sikh soldiers fought one of the most remembered last stands in military history. They belonged to the 36th Sikhs regiment of the British Indian Army, and their task was to hold a small signalling post called Saragarhi. Facing them were thousands of Pashtun tribesmen. The defenders did not retreat and did not surrender. By the end of the day all twenty-one had fallen, but the courage they showed has been honoured ever since, far beyond the frontier where they died.
A Post Between Two Forts
The Samana hills lay in present-day Pakistan, in the district of Kohat. The British held two fortifications there, Fort Lockhart and Fort Gulistan, but the two forts could not see one another directly. To bridge that gap, a small post was built midway at Saragarhi. It was little more than a block house with loop-holed walls and a signalling tower, yet its purpose was vital. From its tower a heliograph, a device that flashes messages using mirrors and sunlight, could relay signals between the two forts. Whoever held Saragarhi held the line of communication across the range.
The Twenty-One Defenders
The detachment numbered twenty-one men, all of them Sikhs of the 36th Sikhs, a regiment recruited largely from Punjab. They were led by Havildar Ishar Singh, a non-commissioned officer, supported by other ranks including the signaller Sepoy Gurmukh Singh. These were ordinary soldiers of their day, bearded and turbaned in keeping with their faith, carrying out garrison duty on a quiet stretch of frontier. None could have known that the morning of 12 September would test them as few soldiers are ever tested.
The Attack Begins
In early September a large force of Orakzai and Afridi tribesmen rose against the British posts along the Samana. On the morning of 12 September they appeared in great numbers around Saragarhi, estimates commonly cite around 10,000, cutting the small post off from relief. The defence is recorded as beginning at about nine o'clock in the morning. Ishar Singh's men opened fire from the ramparts, and from the signalling tower Gurmukh Singh began flashing reports by heliograph to Colonel Haughton at Fort Lockhart, describing the assault as it unfolded.
An All-Day Defence
Through the long hours that followed, the twenty-one held their ground against wave after wave of attackers. The relieving force at Fort Lockhart was itself unable to break through the surrounding tribesmen, and word was passed back that the post could not be reinforced. Still the defenders fought on. The tribesmen tried to rush the walls and were thrown back repeatedly. They are said to have attempted to breach a section of the rampart while others pressed the gate. The defence held into the afternoon, hour after hour, the rifles of the garrison thinning the attackers even as their own numbers fell.
Whatever the exact figures, the essential truth is plain: twenty-one men chose to stand and fight rather than abandon their post.
The Final Stand
As the defenders were overwhelmed, the fighting came down to the last men. Gurmukh Singh is remembered as the final survivor, signalling to the end before taking up his rifle. According to the accounts, the attackers had to set fire to the post to overcome the last of the resistance. By late afternoon Saragarhi had fallen and all twenty-one lay dead. The cost to the attackers was heavy. Contemporary reports placed their dead in the many dozens, with some accounts citing far higher numbers of killed and wounded around the ruined post.
Honour and Remembrance
The conduct of the garrison drew admiration on all sides. All twenty-one defenders were awarded the Indian Order of Merit, then the highest gallantry honour available to an Indian soldier, its closest equivalent being the Victoria Cross. The Sikh Regiment of the Indian Army marks 12 September each year as Saragarhi Day, and memorials stand in Punjab and beyond. For Sikhs across the diaspora and for soldiers of many nations, Saragarhi endures as a measured, enduring symbol of duty, discipline and courage held to the very last.