This weekend we
are commemorating Shaheed Baba Deep Singh Ji. I wanted to share not only the
history of Baba Deep Singh, but also the history of events happening during his
lifetime. I knew that Baba Deep Singh Ji had been decapitated and had continued
to fight. I didn’t know most of the history below until I did some research. After reading about the
tortures the Sikhs faced during the holocausts and at the hands of Mir Mannu, I
was so proud of the bravery of the Sikhs in fighting and surviving these
injustices. It is thanks to the bravery of the Singhs and Kaurs during these times of
persecution that our religion survived and that we get to be Sikhs today. May we all learn from this history how to persevere through hardship. Our history is about survival, resilience, and faith in God.
Baba Deep Singh Ji
was born in January 1682 and was martyred Nov 13, 1757. He was born with the
name Deepa to parents Bhai Bhagata Ji and Mai Jeoni Ji in Pahuvind. At the age
of 12 he traveled with his family to Anandpur Sahib and met Guru Gobind Singh,
where he was asked to stay. His family returned home and but Deepa continued to
do sewa in Anandpur Sahib. He learned horsemanship, archery, and use of
weapons. At the age of 18 he received Amrit on Vaisakhi, and was then known as
Deep Singh. He spent eight years learning Gurmukhi from Bhai Mani Singh. In
1702, Guru Ji requested that he return to help his parents, and he was then
married. Two years later, he learned of the separation of Guru Ji from the
younger Sahibzaade and Mata Gujri during the battle with the Hindu Hillput
Rajas. He met the Guru at Damdama Sahib in Talwandi and learned of the
martyrdom of the Sahibzaade.
At Damdama Sahib,
he worked with Bhai Mani Singh to prepare the final text of Guru Granth Sahib
Ji, which was recited by Guru Gobind Singh Ji. He continued the sewa of
producing handwritten copies of the Guru Granth Sahib Ji for several years.
These copies went to Sri Akal Takht Sahib, Sri Takht Patna Sahib, Sri Takhat
Hazur Sahib, and Sri Takht Anandpur Sahib. A copy in Arabic was sent to the Middle
East. He was the first head Granthi at Damdama Sahib.
After the Jyoti
Jot of Guru Ji, Baba Deep Singh joined Banda Singh Bahadur in fighting at the
battle of Sirhind, during which Wazir Khan was killed. In 1733, he joined with
other Sikhs to form the Dal Khalsa, which was divided into the Buddha Dal and
Taruna Dhal, and further into five jathas. Baba Ji led one of these jathas,
which went on to be known as the Shahid misl.
This was a
horrible time of oppression and injustice. Zakariaya Khan Bahadur, Governor of
Lahore, rewarded anyone who removed a Sikh’s hair, took off the scalp of a
Sikh, give information on whereabouts of Sikhs. He sentenced anyone who
withheld information or gave shelter to the Sikhs. Bhai Mani Singh was martyred
in 1737, cut joint by joint. A Mughal officer named Massa Ranghar was stationed
in Amritsar to prevent the Sikhs from accessing Harmandir Sahib. He committed
many bad acts there, and in response, Mehtab Singh and Sukkha Singh killed him
and escaped in 1740. When Bhai Taru
Singh was arrested and was made shaheed in 1745 by removal of his scalp, Mehtab Singh also surrendered himself and was martyred on a wheel.
In 1746,
the Chotta Ghallughara took place (small holocaust, only named small because there
was a much larger one later). Mughal commander Jaspat Rai was killed fighting
against the Sikhs, and his brother Lakhpat Rai who lived in Lahore, vowed
revenge against the Sikhs. The Sikhs were outnumbered and under-equipped and
fought with all their might. They received no support from the hill Rajas, who
also attacked. About 7,000 Sikhs were killed and 3,000 were captured then
executed, the rest making it to the sanctuary of the Lakhi Jungle. At that time the Sikh population was small due
to persecution and this is estimated to be a loss of 1/3 of the total Sikh population.
In 1752, Ahmad
Shah Durrani led an invasion into India and it was during this time that Sukkha
singh (who had killed Massa Ranghar with Mehatab Singh) was martyred. Durrani was defeated by the Mughals and Mir Mannu took over
as Governor of Lahore until 1753. Under Mir Mannu's command, hundreds of Sikhs (women
and children included) were publicly executed daily at the present site of
Gurdwara Shahid Ganj. Many Sikhs were hiding in Jungles as each house was
searched. Women who were in jail were given 40 pounds of grain to grind daily
with an extremely heavy chakki. These women were offered freedom if they
converted to Islam. A heavy stone was placed on the chest of women unable to
grind. Their food for the day was a bowl of water and a quarter of a piece of
bread. Their children were speared, cut into pieces and the pieces were put as a garland around the mother’s necks. 300 children were killed in this way and not one
Kaur give up her Sikhi. One woman was tortured severely, and she continued to
jap Waheguru until she was finally killed. Seeing the fact that her faith was not broken after days of torture, many guards left their jobs.These women were strong and resilient! They did
not give up their religion. It is said that people used to sing “We are the
plants and Mannu a sickle, but by now, everyone knows, The more he cuts us, the
more we grow.” In 1750, Kapur Singh Virk led 500 Sikhs to attack Mir Mannu,
however he escaped. He died by falling off his horse in 1753 and the prisoners
were freed. These women are in our ardas daily.
In 1755, Ahmed
Shah Abdali invaded India and looted valuables and forcibly took Hindu and
Muslim women and children as slaves to sell them. No one dared to stop them;
not the Rajputs or the Maratha Khatris. Baba Ji’s Jatha attacked Abdali and
freed 300 women and girls, and 100 boys. They were taken home. This again shows how the Sikhs stand up for justice- it didn't matter that these were Hindus or Muslims, but just human beings.
Abdali appointed
his son Taimur Shah to "finish" the Sikhs. When Jahan Khan invaded Amritsar under
the direction of Taimur Shah in 1757, they defiled the sacred pool and started
demolishing the Gurdwara. Baba Deep Singh Ji was now 75 years old and gathered
Sikhs to go towards Harmandir Sahib. There were about 5,000 Sikhs. At Tarn
Taran Baba Ji drew a line on the ground with his Khanda, asking only those
willing to die to cross the line. All Sikhs crossed and Baba Ji recited "Jo to praym khaylan ka chaao, sir dhar talee galee
mayree aao, It maarag pair dhareejai, sir deejai kaan na keejai.Those who
wish to play the game of love (to follow the Sikh path), come to me with your
head in your palm. If you wish your feet to travel this path, don't delay in
accepting to give your head.” Jahan Khan headed to Tarn Taran with an army of
20,000. Baba Ji’s army reached 5 miles from Amritsar when the battle began. He
fought with a 15 kg Khanda. When it was almost won, reinforcements arrived for
Jahan Khan. Jamal Khan, a Mughal
commander, attacked Baba Deep Singh Ji and both were beheaded at the same time.
A young Sikh warrior called out, reminding Baba Ji of his vow to die at
Harmandir Sahib. Baba Ji stood, holding the severed head in his left palm and
the Khanda in the right, continuing to fight until he reached Harmandir Sahib.
Seeing this, many of the Mughals ran away terrified. Baba Ji matha tekked and
laid his head on the parkarma at Harmandir Sahib and became one with God. The
Sikhs won the battle. He was a true saint soldier.
(Note: it was when Ahmad Shah Duranni
returned that the Harmandir Sahib was
blown up in 1757 and the Vaddha Ghallughara happened where 20-50, 000 Sikhs died
in 1762.).
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaḍḍā_Ghallūghārā
http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Wadda_Ghalughara
https://www.allaboutsikhs.com/sikh-martyrs/baba-deep-singh-ji
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