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Subject: Sept 15th Anniversary of the legendary Battle of Saraghari
PunjabiSikhWarrior    9/21/2005 4:02:30 PM
So what would you do if 12,000 pathans(afghans) invaded your post? Well the Hindu's would convert to Islam (no doubt), the British will retreat, and the Sikhs will fight to the death... Battle of Saraghari is voted 1 of the most eight heroic military storys ever - official please read below - very insipring Saragarhi is the incredible story of 21 men of the 36th Sikh Regiment (currently the 4th Sikh Regiment) who gave up their lives in devotion to their duty. In keeping with the tradition , they fought to the death rather than surrender. The Battle at Saragarhi is one of eight stories of collective bravery published by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). It has been mentioned as one of the five most significant events of its kind in the world which includes the Saga of Thermoplyae associated with the heroic stand of a small Greek force against the mighty Persian Army of Xerxes in 480 B.C. The British colonial rulers had constructed a series of forts to control the North West Frontier Province - today a state in Pakistan and to provide security to troops against marauding tribesmen and their lashkars (large body of troops). Most of these forts had initially been built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh as part of the consolidation of the Sikh empire in Punjab and the British added some more. The British had only partially succeeded in gaining control over this region, consequently, skirmishes and sometimes serious fights with the tribals were a frequent occurrence. However, the NWFP was a good training ground for the Indian Army to hone its skills and techniques. Two such forts on the Samana ridge of the Hindukush & Sulaiman ranges that is Fort Lockhart and Fort Gulistan were a few miles apart. Since these forts were not inter-visible, a signalling relay post called Saragarhi was located mid-way on a bluff to provide heliographic communications between them. This post or picket had been fortified to provide safety and protection to the signalling detachment. In 1897 there was a general uprising in the NWFP engineered by Afghans as part of their policy, which came to be known as the 'prickly heat policy' to direct the wrath of the tribals against the British. In this uprising, Mullahs (Muslim religious leaders) played a prominent role. It was the duty of the 36th Sikh to occupy Gulistan and Lockhart forts. On 3rd and 9th September 1897, Orakazai and Afridi lashkars attacked Fort Gulistan. On both occasion the attacks were beaten back. The relief column from Lockhart on the return trip reinforced the signalling detachment at Saragarhi making its strength to 1 Non-Commissioned Officer and 20 Other Ranks. In a renewed effort, on 12 September 1897, 10000 - 12000 tribesmen laid siege to Fort Lockhart and Saragarhi, with the aim of overrunning the latter and at the same time preventing any help from the former. The Commanding Officer of 36th Sikh, Lt. Col. Haughton, was at Fort Lockhart and was in communication with the Saragarhi post through helicograph. The defenders of Saragarhi under the indomitable and inspiring leadership of their detachment commander, Havildar Ishar Singh, resolved to defend their post in the best tradition of their race and regiment. They were not there to hand over the post to the enemy and seek safety elsewhere. Havildar Singh and his men knew well that the post would fall, because 21 men in that make-shift fort of stones & mud walls with a wooden door could not stand the onslaught of 12,000 tribesmen. These fearless men knew that they will go down but they had resolved to do so fighting to the last. From early morning the tribals started battering the fort. The Sikhs fought back valiantly. Charge after charge was repulsed by the men of the 36th Sikh regiment. The tribal leaders started to make tempting promises so that the Sikhs would surrender. But Havildar Singh and his men ignored them. For quite some time, the troops held their own against the determined and repeated attacks by the wild and ferocious hordes. At Saragarhi, the enemy made two determined attempts to rush the gate of the post and on both occasions the defenders repulsed the assault. While the enemy suffered heavy casualties, the ranks of the defenders too kept dwindling as the fire from the attackers took its toll and their ammunition stocks were depleting. Unmindful of his safety, Sepoy Gurmukh Singh kept signalling a minute-to-minute account of the battle from the signal tower in the post to Battalion HQs. The battle lasted the better part of the day. When repeated attacks failed, the enemy set fire to the surrounding bushes & shrubs and two of the tribesmen under cover of smoke, managed to close in with the post's boundary wall in an area blind to the defender's observation and rifle fire from the post holes. They succeeded in making a breach in the wall. This development could be seen from Fort Lockhart and was flashed to the post. A few men from those
 
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PeregrinePike    RE:Questions for PSW   10/27/2005 7:28:56 AM
BTW, PunjabiSikhWarrior I find your idea of being "tall" or "fair skinned" quite funnny... ... girls (and disturbingly some guys) here PAY good money to get a tan. And if you are slacker like me, and want to catch a quick nap during an office meeting (or a lecture) being tall doesnt help - all eyes invariably come to you cyclically. It was definately a problem in India, but here it works just fine ;-)
 
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PeregrinePike    RE:sikh story   10/27/2005 7:47:02 AM
Some factual errors of ommission and commission: 1. >> During 17th Century, when Hindustan was ruled by Mughals, all the Hindu people were humiliated and were treated like animals. << Except Hindu nobles of course. The Mughals were more like the Norman invaders of England -- they usually left the Saxon (in our case Hindu) nobles well enough alone as long as taxes were paid and no rebellion occured. Hindus in inhospitable regions also maintained their independence: the desert Rajputs of Thar Desert, Marathas of the Western Ghats (highlands and hills), some rulers of jungle fortresses, South India and Himalayan hills come to my mind at first thought. So it ia a little bit of self glorification. 2. >> That time, our ninth Guru, Sri Guru Teg Bahadarji came forward,in response to a request of some Kashmir Pandits to fight against all these cruel activities. Guruji told the Mughal emperor that if he could succeed in converting him to Islam, all the Hindus would accept the same. << Aurangzeb's anger at the Guru was more political than this implies. While Aurangzeb was admittedly a fanatic and a zealot with genocidal tendencies -- and he REALLY wanted Kashmiri pandits to convert -- it is also true that he hated and feared his sons. He has basically imprisoned and poisoned his own father, and feared the same. When one of his sons rebled, it was a governor of Punjab. So he wanted to punish Punjabis -- and who better a scapegoat than the leader of the nancent Sikhs? 3. >> For the sake of whom he had sacrificed his life, none of the them came forward to lift his body, fearing that they would also be assassinated << Seeing how the "people" he died for lived in Kashmir and he was executed in Delhi, there is a geographical divide which cannot be overcome in three days. Also the Sikhs themselves didnt know of his execution living just miles away. It was a group of scavengers who found his mutilated body and took it to his son -- the tenth and last Guru Gobind Singh. They were immediately converted and set the precedent for the Mazhabi Sikhs - i.e Sikhs who converted from Hindu outcastes. They continue to form a loyal and devoted grouping of Sikhs. Many usually serve very bravely in India's Sikh Light Infantry Regiment.
 
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thetruth       1/2/2007 8:08:06 PM
seem's as if sardarji's turban is tied a little too tightly or perhaps it's still twelve o'clock for him...
 
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Bobby    Disappointment   5/9/2007 6:19:36 AM
 

You guy's disappoint me

 

One of you calls the so called terrorists cowards?

In life I suggest to all people never to judge a person or group unless you can at least walk one mile in their shoes.

 

How would you feel if people from your community were randomly picked up and tortured by the state police and if peaceful protest at atrocities were met with bullets. How would you feel if women in your community were rapped and harassed by people that should be their protectors (the police). And again, when your community tried to peacefully protest and try and get their voices heard, they were met with bullets. Tell me not as a Sikh or a Hindu or as a Muslim or as a Buddhist or as a group of HUMANS, is it right for any state to sit back and let atrocities happen against any of its citizens? Be they in the majority or a minority?

 Then to add insult to injury the state decides to attack a holy place which is there for the good of all humanity and is open to anyone.

 Was there not easier ways to end the conflict peacefully i.e. surround the place and not let any food in????

 But no!  why take the peaceful route when you can demonstrate your military might.

 If India had nothing to hide why the media blackout while this unforgivable act was perpetrated.

It does not matter one bit whether you support what the so called terrorists did or did not do but as fellow human beings you must but sympathize with the root causes of their actions?

 All states around the world have a huge propaganda machine to keep people in their place, if they did not then arguably there would be perpetual conflict in every nation.

 I put it to all of you if you knew the truth about what was really happening in India all of you regardless of religion, caste etc… would be deeply upset.

 Do not rely on what the TV news tells you, do not rely on what the magazines say. Become independent thinkers and stand up for each others rights to live as HUMANS and do not fall for the divisive measures that politicians and states use to control the masses. Stop the senseless quarrels about whose ancestors were the better warriors. Instead learn to accept your differences and feel proud that you have such a rich and varied heritage.

 If all of you stood up for what was right and what was just there would never be a conflict.

 I can guarantee that if all communities in India were treated equally, India would be a great nation.

 
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Ceetee       5/9/2007 5:33:55 PM


 I can guarantee that if all communities in India were treated equally, India would be a great nation.


We (Indians) try... sometimes we make advances, sometimes fools pull us back. But the road is a hard one for India, yet it is slowly inching along.
 
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