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Events / History pages which move your heart
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40 sikhs of Guru Gobind Singh Ji fought with 10 lac soldiers of the mughal army
When in need King Bahadar Shah, had fallen at the feet of Guru Gobind Singh, and now in Dec 1710, ordered that Sikhs, wherever seen, be killed.
'Chhota Ghalughara' (Small Holocaust) In 1746 about 20000 Sikhs (including women, children and the old) were killed. 30000 Sikhs killed in 1762 known as the 'Vadda Ghalughara' (Big Holocaust)
After the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Sikh leadership went into the wrong hands of Dogra Sikhs, who were traitors and had secretly joined the British rulers for their personal gains.
It is recorded in the official British records that whenever a sikh was taken to the execution room, he was given a chance to apologize, but they preferred dignified death than slavery.
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Singh Sabha Moment of 1873
Kanwar Dalip Singh, born on 1838 was the youngest son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. In 1849 Maharaja Dalip Singh was crowned the next king of the Sikh kingdom which was practically already under British rule. Lord Dalhouzi and Maharaja Daleep Singh had a meeting at Lahore in Dec. 1849. In 1850 Kanwar Dalip Singh was put to house arrest, shifted to Fatehgarh in UP. All attempts were made to isolate him from Punjab and from Sikhs, was kept always in the company of high class Christian society. In 1853 he was converted to a Christian and was then sent to England in 1854.
Maharani Jindan was arrested in Aug. 1847 and put in the fort of Shekhupura. Subsequently she was shifted to Banaras and then to Chunaar. From Chunaar she was transported to London where she died in 1863. Her mortal remains were put to flames in Naasik in Maharashtra but not permitted to take to Punjab.
To annex Punjab into their kingdom, the British started playing mischief even with Sikh religion. In 1848 a British Army Officer entered Golden Temple wearing shoes. He was beheaded by the then Jathedar of Akaal Takhat, Akaali Ganda Singh. The Jathedar along with 2 other Sikhs were put to gallows by the British the same year in Lahore. By 1849 the whole of Sikh Kingdom was annexed into British Raj.
In 1857 AD Bahadar Shah Zaffar an old man of 70 years was the last Mugal King of India. The rule of British had spread throughout India. Practically the king residing at Red Fort of Delhi had hardly any army and control anywhere in India. Indian population including the army of Hindu and Muslim States realized their folly for having become slaves of the British, raised a war of freedom and revolted against the British. Even the Indian soldiers of the British army at Meerut in UP joined their brethren. They requested and forced the old Mugal King to lead this war of Independence. After a few small fights here and there with the British, the war of freedom failed miserably and the British emerged with full and strong control all over India.
Bahadar Shah Zaffar was arrested and transported to Rangoon till his death. He was a poet. In his last days in exile, he lamented that what a king he was, he did not get even two yards of land for his burial in his own country.
It is often said that non-participation of Sikhs in the war of Independence of 1857 was unpatriotic act. It is never understood through the eyes of the Sikhs. Throughout the prosecution of the Sikhs for more than a century, no warrior group of India came to their rescue. Those who raised this war of Independence did not think it wise to consult Sikhs. How could Sikh come under the flag of a Mughal ruler who had been bitter enemies of the Sikhs? How could the Sikhs join an army of Hindus and Muslims who just eight years back had fought with the Sikhs at the instance of the British rulers to annex Sikh Raj to British Rule ?
To check the down fall of Sikh values, Singh Sabha Movement started at Guru Ka Bag in 1873. Most of the historical gurdwaras were under the control of British stooges called 'Mahants'. A revolutionary movement started to free the gurdwaras out of the British influence. The burning example of the interference of the British was honoring of General Dyer by the Chief of Akaal Takhat when he had massacred hundreds innocent people at Jallianwala Bagh at Amritsar in April 1919.
The administrative Control of Akaal Takhat was taken over from Mahants by the Sikhs in Oct. 1920. Shromini Akaali Dal was established in Dec 1920. Shromini Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee came into existence in the year 1925. In August 1942, in the quit India movement against Britishers about 60,000 sikhs courted arrests. The following data is the enough proof of participation of Sikhs (who constitute hardly 2 percent of the Indian population) in the freedom movement against the British rule.
Total Sikhs Percent Age
Martyrs 2175 1557 75
Life sentence 2646 2147 80
Death sentence 127 92 80
It is recorded in the official British records that whenever a sikh was taken to the execution room, he was given a chance to apologize, but they preferred dignified death than slavery.
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