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Friday, December 25, 2009

The Battle of Saragarhi

Readers may read about the Great Battle of Saragarhi here.

The Saragarhi War Memorial located at Ferozepur in Punjab is almost in a state of neglect and the precincts are also under occupation of a certain religious sect, members of which are not exactly carrying out activities which go with the sanctity of the memorial.

Interestingly, the website of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had listed the memorial as a protected monument, but when the said notification was sought from them, they replied that it was an incorrect entry on their site and the memorial was not actually a protected monument. Interesting !

Strange that we are allowing our Military History to wither away.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Navdeep, as the lack of comments on this blog-post and the sea of comments on the 'elusive solution' blog-post would prove, we have become so selfish that we have no time for issues of public interest and are bothered only about red-lipstick on our OG collars.

Comments such as - navdeep not taking our side- also prove that people just do not want others to put the thinking cap on and want others to just parrot their own thoughts. The threshold of ability to take in and absorb difference of opinion has really gone down. God save the intellect and mental level of our counterparts

Unknown said...

i was at ferozpur when 150 anninversary of the saragarhi battle was celebrated in 1997. The then punjab government gave full support to the event. if the place is not being maintained....i think we r to be blamed, the then GOC was more interested in creating a non-existent history of athig of mamdot rather than looking after this memorial. why doesnt the army takeover this place ?

Navdeep / Maj Navdeep Singh said...

@Dilbagh Singh

Sir, easier said than done. The Army just cannot 'take over' any land. It has to be seen in whose name the rights vest. I think there is a trust which is supposed to look after the affairs and the Punjab Sainik Welfare department is also keen on playing a proactive role, but political compulsions sometimes take the better of all concerned. The easiest way out is for the ASI to declare it a protected monument.

Anonymous said...

ASI has a web site where in contact information available. I just mailed at the following address with a request.

directorgeneralasi@gmail.com
dga.asi@gmail.com

that's the least I could do as a citizen of this country.

JB Singh said...

We look towards stuff like the charge of the light brigade and ignore true heroism in our own history. The former was officers obeying a manifestly stupid order and sacrificing themselves needlessly while the latter was gallantry in the face of enemy to preserve a communication link between two garrisons.

Deh Shiva Bar Mohe Ehae,
Shubh Karman To Kabhi Naa Taron,
Na Daron Ar Sae Jab Jae Laron,
Nischae Kar Apni Jeet Karon,
Jab Av Ki Audh Nidhaan Baney,
At Hi Rann Mein Tab Joonjh Maron.

Anonymous said...

Navdeep it is a good job done by generating a food for thought.It is high time we get oyr acts together before we become history.

Anonymous said...

I have read the battle of Saragarhi for the first time in 2007 in one of the Academy..Its a feat to the Junior Leadership.. The nation must know that the Parliament of " The Great Britain" stands for two mins in silence every year in September some date to honour the heroes of he battle of Saragarhi..