Indians For Guns

An incredible story

The Battle of Saragarhi

All the 21 Sikh non-commissioned officers and soldiers of other ranks who laid down their lives in the Battle of Saragarhi were posthumously awarded the Indian Order of Merit, the highest gallantry award of that time, which an Indian soldier could receive by the hands of the British crown, the corresponding gallantry award being Victoria Cross. This award is equivalent to today's Param Vir Chakra awarded by the President of India.
They were all born in Majha region of Punjab.
The names of the 21 recipients of the gallantry award are:
Havildar Ishar Singh (regimental number 165[12])
Naik Lal Singh (332)
Lance Naik Chanda Singh (546)
Sepoy Sundar Singh (1321)
Sepoy Ram Singh (287)
Sepoy Uttar Singh (492)
Sepoy Sahib Singh (182)
Sepoy Hira Singh (359)
Sepoy Daya Singh (687)
Sepoy Jivan Singh (760)
Sepoy Bhola Singh (791)
Sepoy Narayan Singh (834)
Sepoy Gurmukh Singh (814)
Sepoy Jivan Singh (871)
Sepoy Gurmukh Singh (1733)
Sepoy Ram Singh (163)
Sepoy Bhagwan Singh (1257)
Sepoy Bhagwan Singh (1265)
Sepoy Buta Singh (1556)
Sepoy Jivan Singh (1651)
Sepoy Nand Singh (1221)

quote from here

A glorious battle!

Indeed a day to remember with pride...a unique case study in itself..

Indeed, what a battle in Saragarhi. Hats off to these soldiers.Proud to be a Indian.


Baljit

Salute...

I do not understand why there is no state event to commemorate such deeds. Is it only because the nations wants to disown itself from a particular phase of its History? Or does it believe the only actions worth remembering were those of men in Khadi and not Khaki?

Salute to the brave warriors! XL, thanks for bringing this to notice.

Bowman, it's not only "disowning a particular phase of history". We do not celebrate post-15/08/1947 feats of arms, do we? As you said, it is the khadi-v/s-khaki phenomenon.

Some more details of the epic battle here.
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORC ... garhi.html

Of courage and bravery
A tale be told
Long forgotten, brought forth
From the memories of the old.

Of 21 men who
Died at duty's call
Who laid down their lives
And let not the fort fall.

'Twas the year 1897
The Battle of Saragarhi was waged,
10,000 Afghans, 21 Sikhs
Yet for hours the battle raged.

Outnumbered and surrounded
And still the men fought on
With a stubbornness and pride for which,
The Sikhs have long been known.

Charge after charge was repulsed
And nary a bullet was wasted
And though the battle was lost,
It was victory that the men tasted.

Now, the defenders ranks were dwindling
And the ammunition would soon be over.
The wall was breached; the gate was rushed,
It was the final hour.

Hand-to-hand fighting followed
As the men fell one by one
And each took sawa lakh with him
Before he was done.

A handful of men, a fort of stones,
Mud walls and a wooden door
But when the last man had fallen,
aleast 600 of the enemy were dead,
The wounded many more.

Under Havildar Ishar Singh,
They fought to the last man, last breath
They'd promised their all to the motherland
And fulfilled the promise with their death.

And the world stood up to honour
The heroic deeds of 21 men
That challenged the annals of history
To tell of more glorious action, if it can.

Today we forget our history
As we sway to foreign music and dance
While they teach the Battle of Saragarhi
To the students in far off France.

And we know not the men of Saragarhi
While the UNESCO includes their tale
In the 5 most significant events of its kind —
Collective bravery on the highest of scale.

And we remember not the men of Saragarhi-
The men who took a stand.
And we care not for the men of Saragarhi
Who laid their lives for our land.

— Ganeev Kaur Dhillon, Class 12, Carmel Convent School, Chandigarh


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"THE FINAL INSPECTION"

The soldier stood and faced God,
Which must always come to pass.
He hoped his shoes were shining,
Just as brightly as his brass.

"Step forward now, you soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To my Church have you been true?"

The soldier squared his soldiers and said,
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't.
Because those of us who carry guns,
Can't always be a saint.

I've had to work most Sundays,
And at times my talk was tough.
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.

But, I never took a penny,
That wasn't mine to keep...
Though I worked a lot of overtime,
When the bills just got too steep.

And I never passed a cry for help,
Though at times I shook with fear.
And sometimes, God, forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.

I know I don't deserve a place,
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around,
Except to calm their fears.

If you've a place for me here, Lord,
It needn't be so grand.
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."

There was a silence all around the throne,
Where the saints had often trod.
As the soldier waited quietly,
For the judgement of his God.

GOD spoke.....
"Step forward now, you soldier, You've borne your burdens well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets, You've done your time in Hell."

Author: Sgt Joshua Helterbran

> When I went through this poem - I felt goose pimples all over & tears welled up in my eyes!
Briha