bhaskar saikia

In yesterday’s blog, I wrote that there is no finish line. But perhaps that isn’t entirely true. There is a finish line. It is the ultimate truth—death—a certainty that awaits every living being.

Yet, the real question is: what do we do before we reach that line? How do we make our lives echo beyond it—how do we become immortal in memory, in spirit, in essence?

I believe there are two ways.

The first way is through love and kindness. By touching people’s lives with genuine affection, empathy, and selfless acts, we etch ourselves into their hearts. No one remembers us for our material possessions or the heights of our career ladder, but for the warmth we shared, the hands we held, the comfort we offered. Love outlasts the body.

The second way is by giving ourselves to something supreme—something that defies logic, yet holds eternal meaning. This could mean standing up for what’s right when everything says we shouldn’t, or dedicating life to a cause larger than ourselves.

Today, on Saragarhi Day, we remember such an act of immortality.

On 12 September 1897, twenty-one soldiers of the 36th Sikh Regiment stood their ground at the small outpost of Saragarhi, on the western frontiers of British India. Against them stood an overwhelming force—10,000 to 12,000 enemy fighters. Outnumbered beyond imagination, they chose not surrender, but resistance.

The battle raged for an entire day. Each soldier fought to his last breath, laying down his life with unmatched courage. Their sacrifice inflicted heavy losses on the enemy and delayed their advance, safeguarding the neighbouring forts.

What makes this battle singularly unique in military history is this: all twenty-one soldiers were posthumously awarded the highest gallantry honour of the time. Nowhere else in the annals of warfare has every member of a single unit been decorated with the highest gallantry honour. Saragarhi stands alone.

The Battle of Saragarhi is not just a story of war, but of transcending the finish line. Those twenty-one men, though mortal, became eternal. Their names, their spirit, their sacrifice live on more than a century later, inspiring generations.

And so, while death marks the end, immortality is found in what we give: in love, and in unbelievable devotion to a higher cause. That is how we overcome the finish line—by ensuring our story never truly ends.