Havildar Ishar Singh is a soldier in the
36th Sikhs Regiment of the
British Indian Army. His superior and commander is an arrogant British officer who deems all Indians to be cowards, and is jealous of Ishar Singh because of his superior fighting skills. The regiment is posted at Gulistan Fort, on the border between British-held territory and the Afghan border. Once, while on a border patrol, the troops see a group of Pashtun Afghan tribesmen, led by Saidullah, on the verge of killing a married Afghan woman because she refuses to accept her husband, who has been chosen by her family without her consent. The British officer refuses to intervene and save the woman, saying she is an Afghan citizen and does not reside in British territory; since it is a family matter pertaining to tribal custom, the policy of the British Raj is to not interfere. In defiance of the orders of his officer, Ishar Singh fights off the tribesmen and rescues the woman by killing her husband. The British officer writes a strong report informing his commanding officer, who sits at the nearby Lockhart fort, of Ishar Singh's disobedience and insubordination. Soon enough, the Afghans attack the British-controlled Gulistan fort, but are held at bay by Ishar Singh, who fights valiantly and kills many Afghans. Nevertheless, Ishar Singh is blamed by his superiors for his actions, which caused the breach of peace with the Afghans. He is given a punishment transfer to Saragarhi fort, which sits between Gulistan and Lockhart forts, and enables communication between them. Ishar Singh duly travels to Saragarhi fort, where he finds the troop in a mess. He enforces discipline by punishing all to stay without food for an entire week. The troops are furious at first, but later begin to respect Ishar Singh after learning that he too was living without food. Meanwhile, Saidullah forms an alliance between the Afghan tribes and motivates them to mount an attack on British territories as a unified force. Ishar Singh and Lal Singh go to a nearby village in search of their informant, who hadn't reported to them for over three days. The British Commanding Officer, Col. John Haughton from Lockhart fort, sees the Afghan Forces marching towards Sargarhi and alerts Ishar. Ishar and his battalion see ten thousand tribesmen approaching and encircling the fort. Saidullah, with the entire Afghan army at his back, beheads the woman Ishar Singh had rescued earlier in front of the Saragarhi Fort. Despite the commanding officer's orders to fight, Ishar lies to them and says that the commanding officer has told them to abandon the fort and flee. Ishar wants them to decide on their own to stay and fight, not due to an order from a British officer. Ishar Singh and his men decide to fight till death. Khuda Daad, the cook, volunteers to fight, but Ishar Singh asks him to instead provide water to the injured soldiers (including the Afghans). The Afghans initiate the battle, and Bhagwan Singh is the first to be killed. Gurmukh Singh, a young, inexperienced soldier, is unable to fight; Ishar Singh asks him to keep the CO updated regarding the battle, and decides to prolong the battle to prevent the Afghans from advancing to the Gulistan and Lockhart forts. As the battle prolongs, Lal Singh alone fights the Afghans outside the fort and dies while asking one of the sepoys to close the gate to the fort. The Afghans destroy the west wall of the fort using explosives. Ishar Singh remembers his wife, Jeevani, one last time after removing the stripes from his uniform, and starts fighting the Afghans with a red-hot sword until he gets fatally stabbed. Saidullah kills Khuda Daad before himself being stabbed to death by Ishar while trying to remove his turban. Ishar's bravery impresses an Afghan chieftain who orders his men not to touch any Sikh's turban. At this, another Afghan chieftains named Gul Badshah orders the signaling post to be lit up so Gurmukh Singh's painful screams can be heard as a consolation. As the Afghans set the post on fire, Gurmukh Singh emerges with his body on fire. He chants "
Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akaal" thrice, grabs Gul Badshah and triggers the grenades attached to his body, resulting in a huge explosion. The shout echoes and reaches both the nearby forts. The Sikh soldiers present there also start chanting in the name of their Guru. The Afghans loot the fort and eventually set it on fire. The
British Parliament honours the fallen with a two-minute silence and posthumously awards them the first-class
Indian Order of Merit (
IOM) - the highest gallantry award (equivalent to the
Victoria Cross) an Indian soldier could receive in those times. == Cast ==