Show on Battle of Saragarhi brings tale of Sikh soldiers alive

Tribune News Service

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Ludhiana, October 31

To make people aware about the Battle of Saragarhi, a light and sound show was organised by the Punjab government at Guru Nanak Stadium on Tuesday evening.

The event was attended by a large number of Army and police personnel, civil administration officials and city residents. The show was developed by director Harbax Latta.

The Battle of Saragarhi is an example of bravery of the Sikh youth. As many as 21 jawans and one cook of the 36 Sikh Regiment, under the leadership of Jawan Ishar Singh, had fought bravely with more than 10,000 Afghans at Saragarhi and killed more than 600 enemies on September 12, 1897.

Notably, the British government constructed four memorials to commemorate the gallant action of the 21 Sikh soldiers of the 36 Sikh Battalion (now 4th Battalion Sikh Regiment), who laid down their lives defending the Saragarhi post on September 12, 1897, in North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), now in Pakistan.

The first memorial was at the site where the war was fought, second at the battalion headquarter at Ford Lockhart in North-West Frontier Province and the other two were in the form of gurdwaras at Ferozepur and Amritsar.

The show was organised in coordination with the district administration and Army units by the government so that residents could be made aware of the historical importance of the battle and the extent of bravery shown by Indian jawans.

Those who attended the function include Station Commander of Ludhiana military station, Brigadier Manish Arora, Deputy Commissioner Pardeep Kumar Agrawal, Chief Income Tax Commissioner BK Jha, ADC (Jagraon) Neeru Katyal Gupta, SDM Damanjit Singh Mann and several others.