"Nische kar apni jeet karon" by D.S. Sandhu (by Inderjeet Singh)

With 73 Battle Honours, the largest collection of Victoria Crosses-Param Vir Chakras and equivalent, the Saga of Saragarhi, the young soldiers of the Sikh Regiment are proud to wear the regimental colours of India's highest decorated regiment. Since it's raising more than 150 years ago, the regiment has been in the vanguard of various actions and operations both in the pre and post-independence era in India and abroad.

To annex Punjab, the British had to fight two wars against the Sikhs. During the First Sikh War (1845-46). Two fierce battles, laden with treason and treachery within the Sikh high command at Mudki and Ferozeshahr were fought. The Ferozeshahr battle was particularly fierce, with the British suffering heavy casualties. During both these battles the British were a witness to the reckless valour of the Sikhs, when time and again groups of Sikhs made cavalry charges against well-entrenched British positions. They also witnessed the tenacious defense that the Sikhs put up at many of their positions. Two more battles were fought during the Second Sikh War (1849) at Chillianwala and Gujarat. Chillianwala was the only battle of the two Sikh wars in which the Sikhs fought under capable leaders and without treachery in the high command. The net result of which was a defeat for the British. The Sikhs made very effective use of artillery, infantry, cavalry charges and hit and run tactics. At Chillianwala the Sikhs fai led to drive home their advantage because they failed to realize the magnitude of the punishment inflicted on the British army and they had no plans of what to do in such a case. This is one of the inevitable 'ifs and buts' of history.

Even before the Second Sikh War (1849) was fought the British decided to raise two infantry battalions composed of Sikhs. In 1846 the two battalions, Regiment of Ferozepore Sikhs (later the 14th Ferozepore Sikhs and then 1 Sikh) and the Regiment of Ludhiana Sikhs (later the 15th Ludhiana Sikhs and then 2 Sikh) were raised. In 1856 the 45th Sikhs (also known as Rattray Sikhs and then as 3 Sikh) was raised initially as a military police battalion and then it was transformed into a regular infantry battalion. The initial compositions of these battalions consisted of Sikhs, Muslims and Rajputs. All the three battalions took part in the suppression of the sepoy mutiny of 1857. The 14th Ferozepore Sikhs were at Mirzapore and became part of the British column for the relief of Lucknow. During this course the battalion fought a series of actions. The most noteworthy being the attack on Little Imambara. It was after this action that the battalion was permitted to wear the red turban as a mark of valour and distinct ion. The red turban is now the part of the regimental uniform of the entire Sikh Regiment. Another gallantry award was the grant of one rank higher for all ranks.

The 15th Ludhiana Sikhs was at Benaras and it saw action in and around the place. During one of these actions a British NCO was awarded the Victoria Cross. Rattray's Sikhs was in Bihar and the participated in 25 to 30 engagements, the most noteworthy being the action at Arrah. Here a small group of Sikh soldiers defended a group of British civilians in a judge's house against a group of 2,500 men until help arrived. Two Victoria Crosses both to British officers were awarded for this action. After the mutiny all three battalions took part in the Second Afghan War. Chitral (1894-95) is a double battle honour for the Sikh Regiment. The honour Defense of Chitral was earned by the 14th Ferzopore Sikhs, when a detachment of 88 men along with 300 men of Kashmir State Forces was responsible for the defense of the Chitral fort for 46 days. 14 IOM's were awarded to the Sikhs during these operations and all men in the fort were given six months pay as bonus. The British Lieutenant in command of the Sikh detachment wa s awarded the DSO. 15th Ludhiana Sikhs earned the Battle Honour Chitral as it was part of the relief force.

The 14th Ferozepore Sikhs after this served in East Africa and the China. 15th Ludhiana Sikhs were sent to Egypt and then to Sudan. It was in Sudan that it won the Battle Honour Tofrek (1885). Rattray's Sikhs were also at Tofrek and then were part of the Hazara expedition (1888) and Malakand Operations (1897). In 1887 two more battalions, 35th Sikhs ( later 10 Sikh) and 36th Sikhs (later 4 Sikh) were raised. The 36th Sikhs was raised a single class Jat Sikh Regiment [1] . The Battle of Saragarhi [2-4], fought by men of 36th Sikhs in 1897, is an epitome of raw courage, sheer grit and unshakable determination.

Saragarhi was a small signaling post located between Fort Lockhart and Fort Gulistan on the Samana Ridge in the N.W.F.P. On September 12, 1897 about 10,000 Afridis and Orakazais tribesmen swarmed towards Saragarhi, while another group cut off all links from Forts Gulistan and Lockhart. For the next six hours the small detachment of 22 men led by Havildar Ishar Singh stood firm and repulsed all attacks. With passage of time the ranks of the Sikhs started getting thinner and their ammunition was running out. But they never faltered and continued to punish the enemy. The enemy succeeded in making a large breach in the outer wall and swarmed in, the Sikhs fought to the last man. When the news of the battle reached London, the British Parliament rose to give a standing ovation. All the 22 men were given the posthumous award of Indian Order of Merit, Class 1, (IOM). This was the highest gallantry award given to Indian ranks in those days and was equivalent to the Victoria Cross (Paramvir Chakra). All dependants were given two squares of land and Rs. 500 as financial assistance and memorials were built at Ferozepore and Amritsar. The award of so many posthumous IOMs to a single group of men in one day was something unheard of and remains unparalleled in the annals of military history.

After Saragarhi the tribesmen then attacked Fort Gulistan, which was held by 160 men of 36th Sikh. The fort held out until relief arrived. A group of Sikh soldiers in a daredevil attack managed to capture 3 Afghan standards ( flags). 30 IDSM's were won by the defenders of Fort Gulistan.In 1901 another battalion, composed entirely of Jat Sikhs was raised and it came to be known as 47th Sikhs (later 5 Sikh).

World War 1... (to be continue)

ref: http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/archivedf/feature-june2001.html