The Battle of Saragarhi was a last-stand battle fought before the

Tirah Campaign The Tirah campaign, often referred to in contemporary British accounts as the Tirah expedition, was an Indian frontier campaign from September 1897 to April 1898. Tirah is a mountainous tract of country in what was formally known as Federally ...

between the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi language, Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Q ...

and Afghan tribesmen. On 12 September 1897, an estimated 12,00024,000

Orakzai The Orakzai are a Pashtun tribe native to the Orakzai Agency and parts of Kurram Agency located in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. They speak the language Pashto. Location The Orakzai belong to the Tirah valley located in FATA or ...

and

Afridi The Afrīdī ( ps, اپريدی ''Aprīdai'', plur. ''Aprīdī''; ur, آفریدی) are a Pashtun tribe present in Pakistan, with substantial numbers in Afghanistan. The Afridis are most dominant in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal ...

tribesmen were seen near Gogra, at Samana Suk, and around Saragarhi, cutting off Fort Gulistan from Fort Lockhart. The Afghans attacked the outpost of Saragarhi where thousands of them swarmed and surrounded the fort, preparing to assault it. Led by

Havildar Havildar or havaldar (Hindustani: or (Devanagari), ( Perso-Arabic)) is a rank in the Indian, Pakistani and Nepalese armies, equivalent to sergeant. It is not used in cavalry units, where the equivalent is daffadar. Like a British sergeant ...

Ishar Singh Sardar Bahadur Ishar Singh Victoria Cross, VC, Order of British India, OBI (30 December 1895 – 2 December 1963) was a soldier in the British Indian Army and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the ...

, the 21 soldiers in the fort—all of whom were Jat Sikhs—refused to surrender and were wiped out in a last stand. The post was recaptured two days later by another British Indian contingent. All of the 21 soldiers involved in the battle were posthumously awarded the

Indian Order of Merit The Indian Order of Merit (IOM) was a military and civilian decoration of British India. It was established in 1837, (General Order of the Governor-General of India, No. 94 of 1 May 1837) although following the Partition of India in 1947 it was ...

, which was the highest gallantry award that an Indian soldier could receive at the time. The

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four ...

's 4th battalion of the

Sikh Regiment The Sikh Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army. Sikh regiment is the highest decorated regiment of the Indian Army and in 1979, the 1st battalion was the Commonwealth's most decorated battalion with 245 pre-independence and 82 ...

commemorates the battle every year on 12 September, as ''Saragarhi Day''.

Background

Saragarhi was a small village in the border district of

Kohat Kohat ( ps, کوهاټ; ur, ) is a city that serves as the capital of the Kohat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is regarded as a centre of the Bangash tribe of Pashtuns, who have lived in the region since the late 15th centur ...

, situated on the Samana Range, in present-day

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. On 20 April 1894, the 36th Sikhs of the British Indian Army was created under the command of Colonel J. Cook,Pall, S. J. S. 2004. ''The Story of Valiant Sikhs''. Amritsar: B. Chattar Singh. . p. 98 entirely composed of Jat Sikhs. In August 1897, five companies of the 36th Sikhs under Lieutenant Colonel John Haughton were sent to the northwest frontier of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

(modern-day

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

) and were stationed at Samana Hills, Kurag, Sangar, Sahtop Dhar, and Saragarhi. The British had partially succeeded in getting control of this volatile area, but tribal

Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically ...

continued to attack British personnel from time to time. Thus, a series of forts, originally built by

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He ...

, the ruler of the

Sikh Empire The Sikh Empire was a state originating in the Indian subcontinent, formed under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who established an empire based in the Punjab. The empire existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore ...

, were consolidated. Two of the forts were Fort Lockhart (on the Samana Range of the

Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and western Afghanistan, Quote: "The Hindu Kush mountains run along the Afghan border with the North-West Frontier Prov ...

mountains), and Fort Gulistan ( Sulaiman Range), situated a few miles apart. Fort Lockhart is located at . Due to the forts not being visible to each other, Saragarhi was created midway, as a

heliograph A heliograph () is a semaphore system that signals by flashes of sunlight (generally using Morse code) reflected by a mirror. The flashes are produced by momentarily pivoting the mirror, or by interrupting the beam with a shutter. The heliograp ...

ic communication post. The Saragarhi post, situated on a rocky ridge, consisted of a small

block house A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...

with loop-holed ramparts and a signalling tower. A general uprising by the Afghans began there in 1897 and, between 27 August and 11 September, many vigorous efforts by Pashtuns to capture the forts were thwarted by the 36th Sikhs. In 1897, insurgent and inimical activities had increased, and on 3 and 9 September

tribesmen, allied with the Afghans, attacked Fort Gulistan. Both the attacks were repulsed, and a relief column from Fort Lockhart, on its return trip, reinforced the signalling detachment positioned at Saragarhi, increasing its strength to three

non-commissioned officers A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

(NCOs) and eighteen other ranks (ORs).

The battle

Details of the Battle of Saragarhi are considered fairly accurate because

Sepoy ''Sepoy'' () was the Persian-derived designation originally given to a professional Indian infantryman, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire. In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its oth ...

Gurmukh Singh signalled events to Fort Lockhart by

as they occurred. * Around 09:00, approximately 6,000–10,000 Afghans reach the signalling post at Saragarhi. * Sepoy Gurmukh Singh signals to Colonel Haughton, situated in Fort Lockhart, that they are under attack. * Haughton states he cannot send immediate help to Saragarhi. * The soldiers in Saragarhi decide to fight to the last to prevent the enemy from reaching the forts. * Sepoy Bhagwan Singh is the first soldier to be killed and Naik Lal Singh is seriously wounded. * Naik Lal Singh and Sepoy Jiwa Singh reportedly carry the body of Bhagwan Singh back to the inner layer of the post. * The Afghans break a portion of the wall of the picket. * Haughton signals that he has estimated that there are between 10,000 and 14,000 Pashtuns attacking Saragarhi. * The leaders of the Pashtun forces reportedly make promises to the soldiers to entice them to surrender. * Reportedly two determined attempts are made to rush open the gate, but are unsuccessful. * Later, the wall is breached. * Thereafter, some of the fiercest hand-to-hand fighting occurred. * Havildar Ishar Singh orders his men to fall back into the inner layer, whilst he remained to cover their retreat. After the inner layer was breached all but one of the defending soldiers were killed, along with many of the Pashtuns. * Sepoy Gurmukh Singh, who communicated the battle to Haughton as signalman, was the last surviving defender. His last message was to ask for permission to pick up his rifle. Upon receiving permission he packed up the heliograph and held the door of his signalling shed. He is stated to have killed 40 Afghans and the Pashtuns were forced to set fire to the post to kill him. As he was dying, Singh is said to have yelled repeatedly the Sikh battle cry " Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal!" ("One will be blessed eternally, who says that God is the ultimate truth!").

Weapons

The weapons given and used by the Indian troops were of an older generation compared to the small arms issued to British troops. This was intentionally done after the

Indian Mutiny of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the for ...

to prevent any further mutinies and uprisings from getting out of hand. The Afghans used the original and copy of Martini-Henry rifles. The Martini–Henry was copied on a large scale by North-West Frontier Province gunsmiths. The chief manufacturers were the Adam Khel Afridi, who lived around the

Khyber Pass The Khyber Pass (خیبر درہ) is a mountain pass in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, on the border with the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. It connects the town of Landi Kotal to the Valley of Peshawar at Jamrud by traversi ...

. The Khyber Pass gunsmiths first acquired examples of the various British service arms during nineteenth-century British military expeditions in the North-West Frontier, which they used to make copies.

Soldiers

The names of the 21 Sikh soldiers were: #

Ishar Singh (regimental number 165) # Naik Lal Singh (332) # Lance Naik Chanda Singh (546) #

Sundar Singh (1321) # Sepoy Ramm 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)

Aftermath

Having destroyed Saragarhi, the Afghans turned their attention to Fort Gulistan, but they had been delayed too long, and reinforcements arrived there in the night of 13–14 September, before the fort could be captured. The Pashtuns later admitted that they had lost about 180 killedMajor General Jaswant Sing
Letter to H.M. Queen Elizabeth II
Institute of Sikh Studies (1999) - accessed 30 March 2008 and many more woundedSubramanian, L. M. (2006)

Bharat Rakshak. Accessed 21 April 2016. during the engagement against the 21 Sikh soldiers. Some 600 bodies are said to have been seen around the ruined post when the relief party arrived (however, the fort had been retaken, on 14 September, by the use of intensive artillery fire,"The Frontier War," ''Daily News'', London (16 Sep 1897) which may have caused some casualties). After it was retaken by the British, the burnt bricks of Saragarhi was used to make an obelisk for those fighters. The British also built gurdwaras at Amritsar and Ferozepur for them. The total casualties in the entire campaign, including the Battle of Saragarhi, numbered at around 4,800.

Commemoration

Commemorative tablet

The inscription of a commemorative tablet reads:

Order of Merit

The 21 Sikh non-commissioned officers and soldiers who died in the Battle of Saragarhi were from the

Majha Majha (Punjabi: ਮਾਝਾ (Gurmukhi), (Shahmukhi); ''Mājhā'') is a region located in the central parts of the historical Punjab region split between India and Pakistan. It extends north from the right banks of the river Beas, and reaches ...

region of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

and were posthumously awarded the

, at that time the highest gallantry award which an Indian soldier could receive. The corresponding gallantry award was the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

. The award is equivalent to today's

Param Vir Chakra The Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is India's highest military decoration, awarded for displaying distinguished acts of valour during wartime. Param Vir Chakra translates as the "Wheel of the Ultimate Brave", and the award is granted for "most conspicu ...

awarded by the

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Mur ...

Remembrance and legacy

The battle has become iconic of eastern military civilisation, the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading post ...

's military history and Sikh history.Singh, Kanwaljit & Ahluwalia, H.S. ''Saragarhi Battalion: Ashes to Glory'', India, Lancer International (1987) The modern

of the

continues to commemorate the Battle of Saragarhi on 12 September each year as the Regimental Battle Honours Day. To commemorate the men, the British built two Saragarhi

Gurdwara A gurdwara (sometimes written as gurudwara) ( Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ''guradu'ārā'', meaning "Door to the Guru") is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all fait ...

s: one in

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Maj ...

, very close to the main entrance of the Golden Temple, and another in Firozpur Cantonment, in the district that most of the men hailed from. The epic poem "

Khalsa Bahadur Khalsa Bahadur is an epic poem written by Chuhar Singh describing the chivalry and sacrifice of Sikh soldiers at the Battle of Saragarhi. The poem is 55 pages long, written using the ''baint'' verse form, and written in the Punjabi language. It w ...

" is in memory of the Sikhs who died at Saragarhi.

In Indian schools

The

Indian Armed Forces The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces are supported by ...

, in particular the

, has been pushing for the battle to be taught in India's schools. They would like the heroism demonstrated by the Indian soldiers to be taught as an inspiration to children. In 1999, various articles were printed regarding the matter in Punjab's longest-established newspaper, ''

The Tribune ''The Tribune'' or ''Tribune'' is the name of various newspapers: United States Daily California *''Oakland Tribune'' * ''The Tribune'' (San Luis Obispo) *'' San Gabriel Valley Tribune'' Indiana *'' Kokomo Tribune'' *''Peru Tribune'' * ''The Trib ...

'', such as: "the military action at Saragarhi is taught to students the world over and particularly to students in France." Although there seems to be no evidence for this claim (it is not, for example, on France's national school curriculum), the news was enough to provoke political debate, and the battle has been taught in schools in Punjab since 2000:

Saragarhi Day

Saragarhi Day is a Sikh military commemoration day celebrated on 12 September every year to commemorate the Battle of Saragarhi. Sikh military personnel and civilians commemorate the battle around the world every year on 12 September. All units of the

celebrate Saragarhi Day every year as the Regimental Battle Honours Day.

Saragarhi Day in the UK

The first recorded public discourse on Saragarhi was delivered by Viscount Slim in 2001 when he delivered the annual ''Portraits of Courage'' lecture at the

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

. This was hosted by the Maharaja Duleep Singh Centenary Trust. In May 2002,

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

( the future King Charles III) inaugurated the ''Jawans to Generals'' exhibition which featured a section on Saragarhi. The exhibition successfully toured the UK and was seen by over 100,000 visitors. Saragarhi was introduced back into the UK by writer and filmmaker Jay Singh Sohal and the British Army with the launch of the book ''Saragarhi: The Forgotten Battle'' in 2013 at Old College,

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

. It has since been commemorated each year on its battle honour day by the British Armed Forces. In 2014, the commemoration also took place at Sandhurst at the Indian Army Memorial Room. In 2015, it took place at the Honourable Artillery Company Museum in London, where was also due to take place in 2016. Various senior ministers and armed forces generals have paid tribute to Sikh service by mentioning the story of Saragarhi. In April 2016 the Defence Secretary

Michael Fallon Sir Michael Cathel Fallon (born 14 May 1952) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Defence from 2014 to 2017. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Sevenoaks from 1997 to 2019, ...

MP made mention as a special

Vaisakhi Vaisakhi (Punjabi: ), also pronounced Baisakhi, marks the first day of the month of Vaisakh and is traditionally celebrated annually on 13 April and sometimes 14 April as a celebration of spring harvest primarily in Northern India. Further, o ...

event at the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

. In June 2016 the

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces ( militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (United States) * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff ( ...

Sir Nick Carter did the same at a special British Sikh Association dinner. In November 2020, Wolverhampton City Council approved plans for the erection of a 10 ft tall bronze statue commemorating the battle outside of the Guru Nanak Gurdwara in

Wednesfield Wednesfield is a town and historic village in the City of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England, It is east-northeast of Wolverhampton city centre and about from Birmingham and is part of the West Midlands conurbation. It was historically w ...

. The statue of Havildar Ishar Singh, paid for by donations from the local Sikh community totalling £100,000, was unveiled on 12 September 2021.

In popular culture

In September 2017, ''Saragarhi: The True Story'', a documentary by UK-based journalist-filmmaker Jay Singh-Sohal, was screened at the

National Memorial Arboretum The National Memorial Arboretum is a British site of national remembrance at Alrewas, near Lichfield, Staffordshire. Its objective is to honour the fallen, recognise service and sacrifice, and foster pride in the British Armed Forces and civilia ...

in Staffordshire to mark the 120th anniversary of the epic frontier battle. A TV series, ''

21 Sarfarosh - Saragarhi 1897 ''21 Sarfarosh - Saragarhi 1897'' is an Indian historical drama television series starring Mohit Raina, Prakhar Shukla and Mukul Dev. The show is based on the Battle of Saragarhi, fought between Sikh soldiers of the British Indian Army and Pash ...

'' aired on Discovery Jeet from 12 February 2018 to 11 May 2018, starring Mohit Raina,

Mukul Dev Mukul Dev (born 17 September 1970) is an Indian television and film actor. He is known for his work in Hindi films, Punjabi films, TV serials and music albums. He has also acted in few Bengali, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu films. He received ...

, and Balraj Singh Khehra. '' Kesari'' (2019) is a film directed by

Anurag Singh Anurag Singh may refer to: * Anurag Singh (cricketer, born 1975), Indian-born cricketer who played in English county cricket during the 1990s and 2000s * Anurag Singh (cricketer, born 1990), Indian cricketer for Madhya Pradesh *Anurag Singh (direct ...

, starring

Akshay Kumar Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia (born 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian-born naturalised Canadian Quote: "(Former prime minister Stephen) Harper campaigned in 2011 alongside one of Modi's biggest celebrity backer ...

, that grossed over 100 crore worldwide in its opening weekend during the

Holi Holi (), also known as the Festival of Colours, the Festival of Spring, and the Festival of Love,The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...". is an ancient Hindu religious festival ...

festival. Two other

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

films based on the battle had been announced prior to ''Kesari'': * '' Sons of Sardaar: The Battle of Saragarhi''. In July 2016,

Ajay Devgn Vishal Veeru Devgan (born 2 April 1969), known professionally as Ajay Devgn, is an Indian actor, film director and producer who works in Hindi cinema. Devgn has appeared in over a hundred films and has won numerous accolades, including four ...

shared a poster of the film, a sequel to ''

Son of Sardaar ''Son of Sardaar'' is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by Ashwni Dhir. A remake of 2010 Telugu film '' Maryada Ramanna'' directed by S. S. Rajamouli, it featured Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Dutt, Sonakshi Sinha and Juhi ...

''. In August 2017, Devgn stated: "We are working on the script but it won’t happen for another two years because of the scale of the project." * '' Battle of Saragarhi''. In August 2016,

Randeep Hooda Randeep Hooda (; born 20 August 1976) is an Indian actor and equestrian known for his work predominantly in Hindi cinema. Hooda made his Hindi film debut with ''Monsoon Wedding''. He had a turning point in his career with the gangster film ''O ...

shared the first look on his Twitter page. This film is to be directed by

Rajkumar Santoshi Rajkumar Santoshi is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter of Hindi films. Having received several accolades including three National Film Awards and six Filmfare Awards, he made his directorial debut with the crime film '' Ghaya ...

, starring Hooda,

Vikramjeet Virk Vikramjeet Virk is an Indian actor who has worked in Telugu, Punjabi, Hindi and Malayalam language films. Early life Vikramjeet was born on 19 July 1984 to Sukhwant Singh Virk and Harjinder Kaur Virk in Tharwa Majra village, Karnal district, ...

, and

Danny Denzongpa Tshering Phintso "Danny" Denzongpa (born 25 February 1948) is an Indian actor, singer and film director who primarily works in Hindi films. He has acted in over 190 films since 1971. In 2003, Denzongpa was awarded the Padma Shree, India's four ...

. The film was shelved after the release of Kesari. Regarding speculation about many films being made about the battle, Hooda stated: "It is good because there were 21

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ' ...

heroes in that battle and each one of them deserved to have a movie made on them. So actually there should be 21 films made on them."

References

External links

* Luscombe, Stephen.
Tirah: Samana (1897)
" ''The British Empire''. Accessed 17 August 2020. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saragarhi 1897 in Asia Battles involving British India Battles involving the Sikhs British Indian history Conflicts in 1897 Last stands Military history of Afghanistan Military history of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Military of British India September 1897 events Tirah campaign