NEW DELHI–The Central government organized the “Veer Bal Diwas” in the national capital on December 26, 2022, with a lot of pomp and show. The occasion was to mark the martyrdom day of two sons of Guru Gobind Singh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief guest on the occasion and he delivered a very emotional speech.
It is no doubt true that nine-year-old Zorawar Singh and seven-year-old Fateh Singh, the younger sons of Sikhism’s 10th Guru, were killed brutally. But the question is: Were they killed because of a religious war between Sikhs and Muslims? Or was it the result of a political warfare between the Sikhs and the Mughals. History is a witness that the Mughals had no enmity or quarrel with Guru Gobind Singh or the Sikhs. They were drawn into the battle against the Guru through a conspiracy of Hindu Pahari Rajas. But the speech of PM Modi tried to give an impression that the assassination of the Guru’s sons, called Sahibzades (Princes) by the Sikh community, was motivated by religion. If interpreted and analyzed, it amounts to pitting the Sikhs and Muslims against each other. There is no historical proof that the Sahibzades were assassinated because they refused to accept Islam. These interpolations in history have been incorporated just to perpetuate the hatred against Muslims and Islam. What does a child of seven or eight years know about religion? Moreover, the Quran explicity forbids any one, even adults, to be forced to convert to Islam. And therefore, how can someone claiming himself to be a staunch follower of the Quran go against Quranic dictates? The allegation that the Sikh princes were executed because they refused to embrace Islam, defies logic.
Sikh Body Condemns Observance of Veer Bal Divas
Surprisingly, Amritsar-based Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, the largest body of the Sikh community, has outrightly condemned the nomenclature of Veer Bal Diwas given to the martyrdom Day of the Sahibzades. They said that it amounted to “mischievous conspiracy to undermine Sikh history and religion.” SGPC wanted it to be titled as Sahibzade Shahadat Diwas that gives a different connotation to the event. But the central government simply ignored it. Sikh sources say that the government did not agree to the demand of SGPC because of the words Shahadat and Sahibzade which are of Urdu and Persian origin. Another reason for promoting Veer Bal Divas, sources say, is to undermine November 14, the birthday of India’s first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, which is officially celebrated Children’s Day. This is as per political agenda to erase the traces of Gandhi-Nehru family from India’s political history.
The government is silent about 1984 Sikh massacre in Delhi
The question arises: Why is the BJP-led central government so much enthused over observance of the execution of Sahibzades? Why is it not talking about the 1984 Sikh massacre in Delhi? More than 3,000 Sikh men, women, and children were brutally killed all over Delhi. Many Sikhs saved themselves by shaving off their beards. Sikhs, who lived all over Delhi and dominated in businesses, almost disappeared from the National Capital after the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Like Muslims, Sikhs today have been forced to live in their ghettos in Delhi due to the fear of threat to their life and property.
Why not build a Sikh Resistance Museum in memory of the 1984 Sikh massacre?
Why can’t the government build a Sikh Resistance Museum to remind future generations about the atrocities on the Sikh population in Delhi on the pattern of a Complex of Memorial Jewish Resistance Museum in Novogrudok in Germany where Jews numbering 6,000 were executed on December 7, 1941?
Why the government ignores the beheading of two sons of Bahadur Shah Zafar by the Christian-British rulers?
Two sons of Bahadur Shah Zafar, who led the freedom movement in 1857, were shot dead by barbaric Christian-British rulers. Their heads were severed at Delhi Gate, now called Khooni Darwaza, and presented to 87-year-old Bahadur Shah as gifts. He was humiliated in this manner because he had led the freedom struggle. Why is the government maintaining stoic silent about it? This is so because perhaps remembering Muslim contribution to India’s Independence and its development does not politically suit the powers that be.
What is the Truth behind the executions of Sahibzades?
Were the wars between Guru Gobind Singh who was based in the small town of Anandpur Sahib, and the Mughal Army that assisted the Hindu Pahari Rajas against the Sikh Guru, over religion? Were the two sons of Guru Gobind Singh put to death on the orders of Aurangzeb, or was it a connivance of the Brahmin cook of Guru Gobind Singh and Hindu Brahmin treasurer under Subedar Wazir Khan (Mughal ruler’s representative) at Sirhind? Were the Sahibzades executed because they refused to embrace Islam, or because of conspiracies of the Hindu Pahari Rajas who faced threats from Guru Gobind Singh?
Who rescued the Sahibzades and their grandmother- Mata Gurjari – when they fell in the river Sarsa while fleeing for safety of their lives? Who sheltered Guru Gobind Singh after he crossed the river Sarsa with his two elder sons fearing arrest by the Mughal police? Were those who gave shelter to Guru Gobind Singh during his war with Hindu Pahari Rajas and the Mughal Army Hindus, Sikhs or Muslims?
This story was originally published in indiatomorrow.net . Read the full story here