On 26 December in 1705, Zoravar Singh, aged 9 and Fateh Singh, aged 6 (younger sons of Guru Govind Singh, 10th Sikh Guru) were buried alive into a wall under orders of barbaric Mughal Governor Wazir Khan. Guru Gobind Singh fought many battles against Mughals. His two elder sons Ajit Singh and Jujhar Singh attained martyrdom in battlefield fighting against Aurangzeb’s Mughal forces in the Battle of Chamkaur. The Sikhs won this battle. The Mughals including Aurangzeb were known to break promises. In 1705, Mughals under orders of Aurangzeb laid siege of Anandpur Sahib. The Sikhs offered resistance until the stock of food ran out. Mughals promised that if the Anandpur Sahib fortress was handed over to them, they would not harm the Sikhs and the Guru and his family. Guru Gobind Singh agreed. The Guru and his family and a small group of Sikhs had not gone far when the Mughals started chasing them, thus breaking their promise. Guru Gobind Singh entrusted his cook Gangu to take care of Mata Gujri, his mother and his two younger sons Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh. There had been traitors who, for the sake of money, had put the motherland at stake and facilitated enemies to harm their own fellow countrymen. There is no dearth of traitors today too. Gangu, bribed by the Mughals, did not keep the words of his Guru. He facilitated the Mughals under Wazir Khan (Nawab of Sirhind) to capture them. The story of valor of Bibi Dalair Kaur who guarded Anandpur Sahib in Guru Govind Singh’s absence is described in a chapter in #SaffronSwords Part 2 along with 51 more episodes of valor of our warrior ancestors from 8th century to independence. Saffron Swords Part 1 link: https://www.amazon.in/Saffron-Swords…/dp/B07Q139493. Hindi edition: https://www.amazon.in/Saffron-Swords-Hindi…/dp/194242650X/. Wazir Khan was brutal to the young sons of Guru Gobind Singh. He agreed to spare their lives if they converted to Izlam. Zoravar Singh and Fateh Singh did not agree and stood up for Dharma till their last breath. They were then buried alive. Mata Gujri who died of shock after hearing about the execution. When Diwan Todarmal, a wealthy trader from Sirhind, heard about the execution, he requested the authorities that he should be allowed to perform their cremation. He was ready to buy the required land nearby. Mughal administrators laid a condition that he could buy only as much land as he could cover with gold coins. Todarmal paid 7,800 gold coins then. Imagine the value of the gold coins in 1705! He bought the land a day after the martyrdom of the Sahibzadas. He cremated their bodies including that of Mata Gujri following proper rituals. It is time our history textbooks feature them for current and future generations to draw inspiration. Children’s day should be celebrated as a tribute to the sacrifices of Zoravar Singh and Fateh Singh. Vande Mataram! – Manoshi Sinha. Images sourced from Google.
