Come Mother's Day, and everyone celebrates it like a festival. Come Valentine's Day, and we have love (even one-sided), blooming with the flowers of hope that he/she might be the love of life. But, what about the sons/daughters who fought for the Motherland? What about a day that is synonymous to bravery and love for the country? Many of us don't even know about this day, let alone the act and formality of remembrance. I am talking about 'SARAGARHI DAY' (12th September).
You think the Battle of Thermopylae (the one depicted in the movie 300) was the greatest one ever fought? You think only 300 Spartans fought against a million Persians? Think again ! There was an army of around 7000 men (Spartans/Thespians/Thebans n others) against 1-1.5 lac men of Xerxes 1. But a far greater battle was fought in our own country yet unknown to us, by 21 Sikhs against 10,000 Afghans. And that was 'THE BATTLE OF SARAGARHI'.
Why I consider this as the greatest LAST STAND ever? Read on:
1. Just compare the numbers. In the Battle of Thermopylae, there was 1 Greek against 15 Persians. In the Battle of Saragarhi, it was 1 Indian (Sikh) against 475 Afghans. See the odds !!!
2. Greeks didn't have any choice. Xerxes was going to attack anyway. They were forced to fight. The brave soldiers of 36th Sikh Regiment had the choice to step back at the cost of the Saragarhi fort, breakage of any future correspondence between Fort Lockhart and Fort Gulistaan and providing a base for future attacks. Our men chose 'Death' and refused to give up under the leadership of Havildar Ishwar Singh.
3. The Greeks could fight for 3 days because they had blocked the ONLY direction of attack i.e. they were facing attack from only one direction. Saragarhi post was surrounded by Afghans.
4. Sepoy Gurmukh Singh, who was continuously sending minute to minute proceedings of the battle, was the last standing soldier after 20 of his friends were killed. Even in that condition, he killed 20 Afghans (claimed by Afghans; actual number may be more). Afghans had to put the whole post on fire just to kill him.
5. 20,000 Persians were killed i.e each Greek killed only 3 enemies. On the other hand 600 Afghans were killed i.e. each soldier killed 29 enemies. Even if we go by the no. of causalities claimed by Afghans (180 killed and many more wounded), the ratio comes to around 8 (more than the double).
6. Never ever in the history of Indian Army (or anywhere in the world), before or after 1897, did all the soldiers of a single regiment involved in the same battle, won Indian Order of Merit (today's equivalent of Param Vir Chakra).
7. Even British Parliament accepted and said, ''It is no exaggeration to record that the armies which possess the valiant Sikhs cannot face defeat in war."
8. The unique battle is also taught in schools of France (but not in India. What a shame!!) and figures as one of the eight collective stories on bravery published by the UNESCO.
The 21 Sikhs, that day proved true, the words of Guru Gobind Singh:
Chidiya te main baaz tudaaun,
Gidran te main sher banaun,
Sawaa lakh se ek ladaaun,
Tabe Gobind Singh naam kahaun.
RESPECT !!!
If we can watch 2 hours of movie to remember the Spartans, can't we just spare a few moments to pay tribute to the 21 brave soldiers ? Is our ignorance (I am not blaming anyone. We are never taught this in school) not enough of an insult to them that now we want to burden it with another layer of indifference?
Think again !!!
