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The two sons of Guru Gobind
Singh were presented in the court of Nawab Wazir Khan, the then Governor of Sirhind.
He ordered Baba Zorawar Singh, nine years old, and
Baba Fateh Singh, seven years old, to embrace
Islam, but they flatly turned down his command. Baba Zorawar
Singh said in a soft but determined voice that they had been taught to
bow before the Guru and none else. As for accepting Islam, he said
"We have in our veins the blood of Guru Hargobind,
Guru Tegh Bahadur and
Guru Gobind Singh. None can force us to
renounce the faith of our forefathers".
Every one in the court was impressed
to hear the bold reply. Wazir Khan ordered the
two boys to be taken to prison and be brought before him the next
morning. Men were put on duty to frighten them into submission but the
two sahibzadas remained firm. The next day they
again behaved in the court of the Nawab with
great dignity and firmness. The Nawab was mad
with rage and wished to give them the severest punishment. Nawab Sher Mohammad Khan of
Malerkotla, who happened to be there, earnestly
pleaded that the children were too young and innocent to be punished but
on the advice of Sucha Nand,
Nawab Wazir Khan
ordered Zorawar Singh and Fateh
Singh to be bricked alive. When the wall came up to the chest they
were told that they could still save their lives by giving up their
faith, but they remained firm. They were bricked alive.
Diwan Todar Mal
broke this news to Mata Gujriji which proved
fatal to her. The renowed Hindi poet Maithillisharan Gupt
commemorates the unique sacrifice in a poem given below :-
"Jis kul Jaati desh ke bachche
de sakte hain
balidan,
us desh ka vartman kuchh bhi ho
par bhavishya hai maha mahan"
( The community and the nation which are capable of such a heroic
sacrifice have a great future in store for them regardless of their
present.)
A wave of anger swept the nation as a
reaction to this bloody incident. It soon burst like a volcano and the
people joined hands to wage a relentless struggle against Mughal tyranny.
When Guru Gobind
Singh came to know about this incident, he did not betray any emotion and
remained unshaken. He made up his mind to punish the culprits. He did not
allow this wave of protest to cool down and prepared the sikhs mentally to take on the mighty Mughals. The situation reached such a pass that
within the next four years, the entire Sikh community cried for revenge.
Guru Gobind Singh chose Baba Banda Singh Bahadur to lead the Sikhs to take revenge from the Mughals. Baba Banda Singh Bahadur
marched like a hurricane from Nanded. After
defeating the Mughals enroute,
he reached Sirhind. A decisive battle was
fought against Wazir Khan on May 12th and on
the 14th of May Banda's army had full control over the city of Sirhind. Now the Sikhs had gained ascendancy and they
scored several victories over the Mughals. The Mughals pride was, thus, razed to the ground.
The foundation of a sovereign Sikh state was
laid which ultimately culminated with the rise of Maharaja Ranjit Singh as a great political force on the
political map. However, the Sikhs continued to express their gratitude to
the Muslim rulers of Malerkotla, whose
ancestors had disapproved the forcible conversion and killing of the Sahibzadas.
The eastern gate of Gurdwara
Fatehgarh Sahib has been dedicated to the memory of the then Nawab of Malerkotla. Even
today Saka Sirhind
remains a source of inspiration and strength for the masses. It will
continue to remind them of their rich heritage and tradition of being
ready to make any sacrifice for their faith.
Lakhs of people are pay
their obeisance at Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib on
this historic occasion every year.
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