Days ahead of the 127th anniversary of the Battle of Saragarhi, hockey Olympian Col Balbir Singh (retd), 79, has penned a book that establishes the connect between hockey nursery Sansarpur and the highly decorated 4th Battalion of the Sikh Regiment…

Olympian Balbir Singh pens a book on connection of Saragarhi battle with Sansarpur village in Jalandhar. Photo: Sarabjit Singh

Days ahead of the 127th anniversary of the Battle of Saragarhi, hockey Olympian Col Balbir Singh (retd), 79, has penned a book that establishes the connect between hockey nursery Sansarpur and the highly decorated 4th Battalion of the Sikh Regiment that fought the historic battle.

His memoir is titled ‘Olympian’s Tryst with Soldiering’ with a sub-title ‘From Sansarpur to the Saragarhi Battalion (4 Sikh)’. Col Balbir Singh says that the idea that inspired him to write the book was the fact that he always felt that there was something special about his village. “It was here that the 21 bravehearts of the British Indian empire, who had fought the historic battle against the Afghan tribes, were raised and trained. Years later, it was this village that churned out 14 Olympians for the country,” he said.

The opening lines of the first chapter of the book read: “4 Sikh was originally raised as 36 Sikh in 1887 at Jullundur Cantonment in very close proximity to Sansarpur, where a large area was available thence. All basic training was given to the bravehearts on the soil of Sansarpur. After 10 years, the Saragarhi battle was fought…There is no parallel to the bravery displayed by the soldiers of 36 Sikh on 12 September 1897, yet it may not be possible to find a place on earth that can boast of having more Olympians and gold medallists than the Kulars of Sansarpur village.”

Col Balbir Singh has also listed out the names of 11 hockey players from Sansarpur who have represented 36 Sikh, years after the Saragarhi battle. These include Sep Ishar S Kular (1910-11), Sep Teja Singh Kular (1935-38), Sep Gurpal S Kular (died in WW-II), Sub Kapoor S Kular (1947-60), Sep Bikar S Kular (1947), Hav Ajit S Kular (Services team 1951), Sub Modan S Sohal (Services team 1966-67), Hony Lieut Jaswinder S Kular (Services team 1966-68), Naik Gurdip S Kular (1964-1970), Sep Swaran S Kular (1964-1968) and Balbir S Kular (Dec 1964-Dec 1970).

Col Balbir also mentions that he coincidentally had the opportunity to play a tournament near the foothills of Saragarhi in Afghanistan in 1962 for the Indian University as a 16-year-old boy. He recalls in his book: “I got the opportunity to see the Saragarhi Fort from a distance during my visit to Kabul, Afghanistan, for the Jashan Celebration Hockey Tournament in 1962. The team travelled by train through Pakistan, reached Peshawar by Frontier Mail and then by road to Kabul through Khyber Pass, Durand Line and the famous Jamrud Fort.”

The author has inter-woven the stories with a lot of historical record and rare photographs from the bygone times, making the read inspirational and funny at the same time. Having himself been a fauji and a hockey player, he has highlighted a close bond that once existed between the services and sports, making the book an interesting read for all services personnel and sports enthusiasts.