36th Sikhs (British Indian Army)Havildar Ishar Singh
vs
Afridi and Orakzai tribesmentribal lashkar
Date
1897
Location
Saragarhi, North-West Frontier (today Pakistan)
Period
Tirah campaign (British India)
Outcome
Post held to the last man; heavy attacker losses
By the numbers
Side
Strength
Losses
36th Sikhs
21
21 killed (all)
Afridi and Orakzai tribesmen
~10,000-14,000 (est.)
~180-600 killed (claimed)
Attacker numbers and losses are contemporary estimates and vary between sources.
Balance of forces
36th Sikhs21
Afridi and Orakzai tribesmen~10,000-14,000
Attacker numbers are estimates and vary.
Quick answer
At Saragarhi on 12 September 1897, twenty-one Sikh soldiers of the 36th Sikhs held a small signalling post1 on the North-West Frontier against several thousand Pashtun (Orakzai and Afridi) tribesmen. Refusing to surrender, they fought to the last man and killed many times their own number; it is remembered as one of the greatest last stands in history.
On 12 September 1897, on a rocky ridge on the North-West Frontier of British India, twenty-one Sikh soldiers held a small signalling post against several thousand Pashtun (Orakzai and Afridi) tribesmen. Refusing to surrender, they fought to the last man, killing many times their own number before the post fell. The Battle of Saragarhi is remembered as one of the greatest last stands in history and a byword for Sikh courage and devotion to duty.
A post on the frontier
Saragarhi was a small signalling post that relayed messages between Fort Lockhart and Fort Gulistan2 in the Samana hills, held by twenty-one soldiers of the 36th Sikhs under Havildar Ishar Singh3. In 1897 a great uprising swept the North-West Frontier, and thousands of Afridi and Orakzai tribesmen moved against the isolated forts and the post that linked them.
Map of the Tirah campaign of 1897 from Andrew Hilliard Atteridge's history of 1899, showing the Samana range with Fort Lockhart and Fort Gulistan, the two forts Saragarhi linked. Public domain
Ten thousand against twenty-one
On the morning of 12 September a huge tribal force, estimated in the thousands, surrounded Saragarhi4. The defenders signalled the attack to Fort Lockhart by heliograph2, but no relief could reach them in time. Ordered, and choosing, to hold, the twenty-one Sikhs prepared to defend a position that could not be saved.
Twenty-one men chose to die at their post rather than leave it.
The last stand
Through the day the defenders threw back assault after assault, firing steadily as the tribesmen charged the walls. The soldier Gurmukh Singh signalled the course of the fighting to the end. At last the wall was breached and the fighting became hand-to-hand2; the defenders fought on until all twenty-one were killed, having inflicted heavy losses on the attackers.
The burnt-out ruins of Saragarhi Post, photographed after British troops retook the ridge in 1897, with Fort Lockhart on the skyline. Public domain
Honour and legacy
All twenty-one defenders were posthumously awarded the Indian Order of Merit3, then the highest gallantry award open to Indian soldiers4. The stand is commemorated every year as Saragarhi Day on 12 September5 by the Sikh Regiment, and is honoured across India as a symbol of courage and duty. It is studied around the world alongside the great last stands of history.
Frequently asked questions
When and where was the Battle of Saragarhi?
It was fought on 12 September 1897 at the Saragarhi signalling post in the Samana hills of the North-West Frontier, in what is now Pakistan.
How many soldiers defended Saragarhi?
Twenty-one soldiers of the 36th Sikhs of the British Indian Army, under Havildar Ishar Singh, defended the post.
Who won the Battle of Saragarhi?
The tribesmen captured the post, so it was a tactical defeat, but the twenty-one defenders held to the last man and inflicted heavy losses, making it a celebrated moral victory and last stand.
Were the defenders honoured?
Yes. All twenty-one were posthumously awarded the Indian Order of Merit, and the battle is commemorated annually as Saragarhi Day on 12 September.
Why is Saragarhi so famous?
It is remembered as one of the greatest last stands in history, a small band holding to the death against overwhelming odds, and it became a lasting symbol of Sikh and Indian military courage.
Sources and notes
Numbered notes in the text point to the works below.
H. L. Nevill, Campaigns on the North-West Frontier (John Murray, 1912), ch. on the 1897 risings, quoting the Pioneer's account of the defence of Saragarhi. ↩ abc
Amarinder Singh, Saragarhi and the Defence of the Samana Forts (Bookwise (India) Pvt. Ltd., 2017). ↩ ab
