By Gaggan Sabherwal
South Asia Diaspora Reporter
12th September 2021
A statue of Havildar Ishar Singh, who led 20 Sikh soldiers and took on thousands of Afghan tribesmen in the Battle of Saragarhi in 1897, has been unveiled in the UK on Sunday.
The ten-foot-tall bronze statue is the country’s first-ever monument that specifically honours the fallen heroes of this battle. The structure stands on top of a 6-foot plinth and was unveiled at Wednesfield in Wolverhampton in England.
Several people including MPs, local councillors, military officers including Generals and Brigadiers and people living in the area and nearby attended today’s grand event.
The complete Saragarhi Monument includes an eight-metre steel plate depicting a mountain range and strategic outpost along with commemorative wording on it as well as the bronze statue.
What was the Battle of Saragarhi?
On 12th September 1897, the Battle of Saragarhi was fought between the British Indian army's 36th (Sikh) Regiment of Bengal Infantry and 10,000 Afghan tribesmen. The fight took place in what is now Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan.
The 21 Sikh soldiers made a valiant last stand fighting for more than six hours to the bitter end leaving around 180 to 200 Pathan tribesmen dead and although little-known, the Battle of Saragarhi is considered by some military historians as one of history’s great last stands. All 21 of the men were posthumously awarded the Indian Order of Merit, the highest gallantry award of that time for their courage and bravery.
Since then, every year, the 12th of September is celebrated as the Saragarhi Day by the Indian Army’s 4th battalion of the Sikh regiment and the heroic sacrifice of these 21 brave Sikh soldiers who died defending a British army post from the 10,000 Afghan tribesmen is remembered.
The only other memorial that commemorates the Battle of Saragarhi in the UK is a plaque at Uppingham School’s chapel in Leicestershire in East Midlands, honouring Colonel John Haughton, the Commandant of the 36th Sikhs.
A forty-year-old dream finally becomes a reality
It was Wednesfield’s councillor Bhupinder Gakhal’s long term dream to share the story of these 21 brave Sikh soldiers and the story of the Battle of Saragarhi.
Councillor Gakhal said his passion for this monument dates back 41 years, when he had visited India aged 14. There, inside a State Bank of India’s branch, he saw a calendar with an image of Sikhs standing on ruins and he asked the bank manager what it was. The manager said, "Son, this is your history, research it’’.
And since then, he has had this dream of erecting a monument to commemorate the Battle of Saragarhi and honour these 21 brave men.
‘’This is a very proud moment for the Sikh community as once it is erected, it will be there for generations to come. These 21 Sikhs could have run away but they didn’t and fought to the very last man’’, Mr. Gakhal told the BBC a few days before the statue’s inauguration ceremony.
Who made this statue and how much has this costed?
The ten-foot-tall sculpture has been commissioned by Guru Nanak Gurudwara in Wednesfield and is made by 38-year-old artist Luke Perry from the Black Country in West Midlands and it has costed around £100,000 to make this structure with an additional £36,000 spent on the landscaping.
Speaking to the BBC a few days before today’s unveiling ceremony, sculptor Luke Perry said, ‘’This battle is a big part of British history, but it has been forgotten because the British Raj is not taught in British school, and I am very glad to be a part of it’’.
Lions of the Great War monument
Now, this is not the first South Asian monument that Luke Perry has been involved with. Mr. Perry has also designed the famous Lions of the Great War monument, commemorating the Sikh soldiers who served in the British Indian army during the First World War.
The £30,000 structure was unveiled on 11thNovember 2018 in the industrial town of Smethwick located in West Midlands. This 10 feet Sikh statue was built to honour the South Asian soldiers who died for Britain in World War One and to also commemorate 100 years since the end of World War One. Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Smethwick had commissioned this statue which was paid for by the local Sikh community.
Who has paid for the Saragarhi statue?
The funds for this monument have been raised and collected by the local community and the worshippers of the Guru Nanak Gurudwara in Wednesfield. Besides this, Wolverhampton Council too has contributed £35,000 for this structure.
The statue doesn’t exactly resemble Havildar Ishar Singh or any of the other 20 men as there aren’t many images of the men available and so it is based on an artist’s impression. This gave the sculptor Luke Perry the opportunity to add his own creative touches to the structure.
‘’The statue is not instantly recognisable and so lot of people are saying that it looks like their grandfather and so it is easier to engage with. With artworks like Saragarhi I want to create sculptures that are a visible marker of the underrepresented but vital, real people in our communities. Because when you represent people, you empower them.", Mr. Perry told us.
The other famous Indians Statues in the UK
1. Statues of Mahatma Gandhi in the UK
A bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi by Fredda Brilliant was unveiled in 1968 at the centre of Tavistock Square in London, to mark the impending centenary of Gandhi's birth in 1869.
Another statue of Gandhi can be seen in Parliament Square, in Westminster in London. It was unveiled by the late Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on 14thMarch 2015. The Statue was made by the award-winning Scottish sculptor Philip Jackson.
A statue of India’s father of the nation was also unveiled in Manchester on 25thNovember 2019 outside the city’s cathedral. The 9-feet bronze statue was designed by artist Ram V Sutar and was made to mark the 150th anniversary of Gandhi's birth in 1869 and to celebrate Manchester's "multi-cultural and multi-faith" society. Gandhi had visited Manchester on his way to see mill workers in Lancashire in 1931.
Besides the above three, another Mahatma Gandhi’s statue was erected in the UK, in Leicester in 2009. The structure was funded with donations from local people to celebrate the man who led the campaign against British dominance of people in India during the early 20th century.
2. Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s statue in Bristol
Raja Ram Mohan Roy, the man often referred to as the 'Father of Modern India' is buried in Bristol, where he died suddenly in 1833. His statue was unveiled in 1997 on College Green, close to Bristol Cathedral. It was made by the Indian Sculptor Niranjan Pradhan and was commissioned by Bristol City Council.
3. British Indian agent Noor Inayat Khan’s statue in London
On 8th November 2012, a bust was unveiled in London to commemorate British-Indian agent Noor Inayat Khan, who worked in France during WWII before being tortured and shot by the Germans. Members of Noor Inayat Khan’s family attended the unveiling, which was carried out by UK’s Princess Anne. Ms Khan was posthumously awarded the George Cross for her work in France and for revealing nothing of use to her interrogators despite being tortured by the Gestapo for 10 months. The George Cross is the UK's highest award for gallantry and heroism.
4. Statue of fighter pilot Mahinder Singh Pujji in Gravesend
A statue Sqn Ldr Mahinder Singh Pujji who was the longest surviving fighter pilot from a group of 24 Indians who arrived in Britain in 1940 was unveiled on 28th November 2014 in Gravesend in Kent. Fighter pilot Mahinder Singh Pujji arrived in Britain in 1940 and died at the age of 92 in Gravesend in 2010. The statue was made to represent all the service personnel from across the world who have fought for Britain in conflicts since 1914.
5. Basaveshwara statue in London
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had unveiled a statue of 12th-century philosopher-statesman Basaveshwara on the south bank of the Thames in London on 14th November 2015. The ceremony took place on Mr. Modi’s last day of his three- day bilateral visit to Britain. The Basaveshwara statue installed at the Albert Embankment and was made as a mark of respect to the Indian philosopher and social reformer Basaveshwara who had attempted to create a casteless society and fought against caste and religious discrimination.
BBC Links of the published article : https://www.bbc.com/punjabi/international-58575088
Comments