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What is the News?
The Prime Minister has announced that 26th December shall be observed as ‘Veer Baal Diwas’ to mark the martyrdom of Sahibzada Zorawar Singh Ji and Sahibzada Fateh Singh Ji.
Who were Sahibzada Zorawar Singh Ji and Sahibzada Fateh Singh Ji?
Sahibzada Zorawar Singh and Sahibzada Fateh Singh were the sons of Guru Gobind Singh. They are remembered as among the most respected martyrs in Sikhism.
How did they die?
A combination of Mughals and hillmen besieged Anandpur Sahib on the orders of emperor Aurangzeb.
The Mughals promised to leave the Sikhs alone if they would hand over the fortress of Anandpur Sahib. To this, Guru Gobind Singh agreed and left the town with his family.
However, the Mughals broke their promise and attacked them. Guru Gobind Singh entrusted his two sons, Jorawar (9 years old) and Fateh (7 years old) as well as his mother, Mata Gujri, to the care of a cook in his household named Gangu.
However, the cook, bribed by Mughals, betrayed the family. The family was then brought to Sirhind in the presence of Wazir Khan, the Nawab of Sirhind.
The two sons of Guru Gobind Singh were offered safe passage if they became Muslims. Both refused, and so Wazir Khan sentenced them to death. They were bricked alive.
| Read more: The Saroop of Sikh Holy Book |
Who was Guru Gobind Singh?
Guru Gobind Singh was the 10th Sikh guru. He was born in Patna, Bihar in 1666. He became the Sikh guru at the age of nine, following the demise of his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru.
He founded the Sikh warrior community called Khalsa in 1699. He introduced the turban to cover the hair along with the principles of Khalsa or the five ‘K’s.
He laid the rules of Khalsa warriors, like abstaining from tobacco, alcohol, halal meat, and imbibing the duty of protecting innocent people from prosecution.
He named Guru Granth Sahib as the religious text of the Khalsa and the Sikhs. He fought against the Mughals in the Battle of Muktsar in 1705.
He also wrote the Zafarnama which was a letter to the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.
| Read more: Union Minister of Home Affairs performed Bhoomi Pujan of Rani Gaidinliu Tribal Freedom Fighters Museum in Manipur |
Source: This post is based on the article “PM announces 26th December as ‘Veer Baal Diwas’ to mark martyrdom of Sahibzada Zorawar Singh Ji and Sahibzada Fateh Singh Ji” published in the PIB on 9th January 2022
