Amritsar: Nearly eight decades after Partition severed access to one of the most significant Sikh military sites in the region, the Sikh community in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) on Saturday observed the 129th anniversary of the Battle of Saragarhi at Saragarhi village in Hangu district.The ceremony drew Sikh intellectuals and religious figures from gurdwaras across Pakistan, besides members of the local Sikh and Hindu communities, said Sunny Singh, president of Gurdwara Saragarhi Singh Sabha.While the bhog of the Akhand Path was performed at the gurdwara on Saturday, only a handful of devotees were permitted to visit the actual site of the historic Saragarhi Post to pay homage to the 21 Sikh soldiers who laid down their lives there. The remains of the post still exist at the site, Sunny said.Notably, the Battle of Saragarhi was fought on September 12, 1897, when 21 soldiers of the 36th Sikh Regiment of the Bengal Infantry of the British Indian Army faced an estimated 10,000 Pashtun tribal fighters. Led by Havildar Ishar Singh, the Sikh soldiers held their position against overwhelming odds and, according to historical accounts, inflicted heavy casualties on the attackers before all 21 were killed in the battle. Their last stand at Saragarhi is regarded as one of the most remarkable acts of military courage in history.The gurdwara president informed that the shrine was constructed at Prem Nagar, located around 120 km from Peshawar and about 150 km from the Afghanistan border. It is linked to Saragarhi Hill, around 43 km away, where the historic post stood at an altitude of 6,743 feet.A gurdwara was established at Prem Nagar after Sikh and Hindu devotees from across Pakistan, including those from Peshawar, Nankana Sahib and Panja Sahib, contributed towards the purchase of a 3,200-sq-ft plot of land, Sunny said.He further said that during the function, it was announced that the 130th anniversary of the Battle of Saragarhi would be observed at an international level next year, and preparations for the event would begin soon.Meanwhile, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) organised a Gurmat Samagam at Gurdwara Saragarhi Sahib here.
