SHAHEED BHAI SUKHA  SINGH & BHAI MEHTAB SINGH BY AMRIT KAUR (Age 12 years)

In 1740, the government began attacking Amritsar. It had already started to kill Sikhs, but the Sikhs had retreated into the woods. The Sikhs in Bikaner heard about disrespect to the Golden Temple, Amritsar and got very angry. They learnt that Massa Ranghar was defiling the Golden Temple by drinking in its sacred premises and making girls dance there in front of him. There were two Sikhs named Bhai Sukha Singh and Bhai Mehtab Singh. They were very angry. So they wanted to do something about this. They dressed up as tax collectors. On the way to Amritsar they were stopped by the soldiers, and asked where they were going. They said they were tax collectors. The guards thought they were going to deliver money to Massa Ranghar. So the soldiers let them pass. Bhai Sukha Singh and Bhai Mehtab Singh were not stopped at the gate of the Golden Temple. Guards thought they were going to deliver the tax. Therefore they let them in. Bhai Sukha Singh and Bhai Mehtab Singh had made fake coins out of broken pottery that tinkled like real coins. They put the coins next to Massa Ranghar. When Massa Ranghar bent his head to look into the bags of fake coins, one Sikh cut his head off and the other picked it up. They rode off with the head faraway from Amritsar. The soldiers tried to stop them but they outsmarted them. They rode back to the forest and were praised by everyone. That day the government was humiliated a lot.

The moral lesson is that the members of the Khalsa Panth are the daring and brave saint soldiers of the Akal Purakh whose duty is to finish the oppression of the tyrant rulers.

BABA BOTA SINGH AND BABA GARJA SINGH

BY: Gurpreet Kaur Chadha (Age 12)

The time of the eighteenth century was a very hard period for the Sikh religion. The Sikhs made a lot of sacrifices in that period. The rulers of Delhi wanted to get rid of the Sikh religion in Punjab. The government gave legal permission to go into Sikhs’ houses and rob them. They would give rewards for people who would kill the Sikhs.

The Sikhs therefore, decided to leave their villages. They moved out into the forests, hills, and bushes along the rivers.

At night, the Sikhs would attempt to go to the Golden Temple in Amritsar for taking bath in the Sarover. Some Sikhs would get caught and killed. That is why there occurs in Sikh prayer: Amritsar De Darshan Ashnan. Since Sikhs were not in their villages, the governor of Punjab, Zakria Khan thought that all the Sikhs were killed, so he announced that no Sikh was left alive. This he thought would discourage other people from becoming Sikhs.

Then in 1739 two Sikhs, Baba Bota Singh and Baba Garja Singh were going to the Golden Temple to take a bath in the Sarover. They were spotted by two travelers from a distance. One said to the other, “I see a Sikh”. The other said, “They can’t be Sikhs, the governor has announced that all Sikhs had been killed.”

When Baba Garja Singh and Baba Bota Singh heard this, they decided to prove that Sikhs were still alive. They went over to the road and declared that the Sikhs were the rulers of Punjab. They started collecting tax from people passing by the road and they sent this message to the governor:

Baba Bota Singh Khlota Hat wich laikey sota mota Ana lavey gaday noon Taka Bavey Khota Akho Babo Kahn noon Baba Bota Singh Khlota Hat wich laikey sota mota

The people on the road paid the taxes and talked about the bravery of the Sikhs. When the governor found out about this he felt ashamed and sent troops to fight the two Sikhs.

They fought all day, back to back and killed many soldiers. Finally they were killed in the battle themselves.

STATE TERRORISM CAN NEVER KILL THE PEOPLES VOICE OF TRUTH

Article extracted from this publication >>  August 7, 1987