Battle of Saragarhi The Battle of Saragarhi was fought during the Tirah Campaign on 12 September 1897 between twenty - one Sikhs of the 4th Battalion ( then 36th Sikhs ) of the Sikh Regiment of British India , defending an army post , and 10 , 000 Afghan and Orakzai tribesmen . The battle occurred in the North - West Frontier Province , which formed part of British India . It is now named the Khyber - Pakhtunkhwa and is part of Pakistan . The contingent of the twenty - one Sikhs from the 36th Sikhs was led by Havildar Ishar Singh . They all chose to fight to the death . The battle is not well known outside military academia , but is " considered by some military historians as one of history ' s great last - stand s " . Sikh military personnel and Sikh civilians commemorate the battle every year on 12 September , as Saragarhi Day . The British and Indian armies ’ polo teams also commemorate the battle annually by holding the Saragarhi Challenge Cup . Situation . Saragarhi is a small village in the border district of Kohat , situated on the Samana Range , in present day Pakistan . On the 20th April 1894 , the 36th Sikh Regiment of the British Army was created , under the command of Colonel J . Cook . In August 1897 , five companies of the 36th Sikhs under Lt . Col . John Haughton , were sent to the Khyber - Pakhtunkhwa , stationed at Samana Hills , Kurag , Sangar , Sahtop Dhar and Saragarhi . The British had partially succeeded in getting control of this volatile area , however tribal Pashtuns attacked British personnel from time to time . Thus a series of forts , originally built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh , Ruler of the Sikh Empire , were consolidated . Two of the forts were Fort Lockhart , ( on the Samana Range of the Hindu Kush mountains ) , and Fort Gulistan ( Sulaiman Range ) , situated a few miles apart . Due to the forts not being visible to each other , Saragarhi was created midway , as a heliograph ic communication post . The Saragarhi post , situated on a rocky ridge , consisted of a small block house with loop - holed ramparts and a signalling tower . A general uprising by the Afghans began there in 1897 , and between 27 August - 11 September , many vigorous efforts by Pashtuns to capture the forts were thwarted by 36th Sikh regiment . In 1897 , insurgent and inimical activities had increased , and on 3rd and 9 September Afridi tribes , with allegiance to 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 one Non - Commissioned Officer ( NCO ) and twenty troops of Other Ranks ( ORs ) . On September 12 , 1897 , 10 , 000 Pashtuns attacked the signalling post at Saragarhi , so that communication would be lost between the two forts . The Battle . Details of the Battle of Saragarhi are considered fairly accurate , due to Gurmukh Singh signalling events to Fort Lockhart as they occurred . 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 conquered . The Pashtuns later admitted that they had lost about 180 killed and many more wounded during the engagement against the 21 Sikh soldiers , but 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 , which may have caused many casualties ) . The total casualties in the entire campaign , including the Battle of Saragarhi , numbered at around 4 , 800 . Reception . British parliament . When the gallantry of Saragarhi was recounted to the Parliament of the United Kingdom , the recitation drew a standing ovation from the members . The saga of Saragarhi was also brought to the notice of Queen Victoria . Commemorative tablet . The tablet ( pictured right ) , inscription reads ; Order of Merit . 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 : Remembrance and legacy . The epic poem " Khalsa Bahadur " is in memory of the Sikhs who died at Sargarhi . The battle has become iconic of eastern military civilization , British empire military history and Sikh history . The modern Sikh Regiment continues to celebrate the day of the Battle of Saragarhi each 12 September as the Regimental Battle Honours Day . To commemorate the men the British built two Saragarhi Gurudwara s : one in Amritsar very close to the main entrance of the Golden Temple , and another in Ferozepur Cantonment , which was the district that most of the men hailed from . In Indian Schools . The Indian military , in particular the Indian Army have been pushing for the battle to be taught in India ' s schools . They want it taught due to the heroism shown by the Indian soldiers to acts as inspiration for young children – in the field of bravery . There were articles like these , printed in the Punjab ' s longest - established newspaper , " The Tribune " in 1999 : " 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 the Punjab since 2000 : Saragarhi Day . Saragarhi Day , is a Sikh military commemoration day celebrated on the 12th of September every year to commemorate The Battle of Saragarhi . Sikh military personnel and Sikh non - military people commemorate the battle around the World every year on September 12 . All units of the Sikh Regiment celebrate Saragarhi Day every year as the Regimental Battle Honours Day . Saragarhi Memorial Gurudwara ( temple ) was built in memory of the 21 Sikh soldiers that fought at The Battle of Saragarhi . Saragarhi Challenge Cup . The British and Indian armies ’ polo teams also commemorate the battle annually by holding the Saragarhi Challenge Cup . Saragarhi and Thermopylae . The battle has frequently been compared to the Battle of Thermopylae , where a small Greek force faced a large Persian army of Xerxes " ( 480 BC ) " . The comparison is made because of the overwhelming odds faced by a tiny defending force in each case , and the defenders ' brave stand to their deaths , as well as the extremely disproportionate number of fatalities caused to the attacking force . It is important to note that during the Battle of Saragarhi , the British did not manage to get a relief unit there until after the 21 had fought to their deaths . At Thermopylae , the 300 Spartans and their allies also stayed after their lines had been outflanked , to fight to their deaths .