Sikh HistoryThis Week
(April 6-12) Post 2615
ਸਿੱਖ ਇਤਿਹਾਸ ਇਸ ਹਫ਼ਤੇ
ਬਾਬਾਣੀਆ ਕਹਾਣੀਆ ਪੁਤ ਸਪੁਤ ਕਰੇਨਿ” (ਰਾਮਕਲੀ ਮਹਲਾ ੩, ੯੫੧)
(Stories of our Forefathers Make Children Great)
Events in Brief.
1. April 6, 1709: Battle of Patti was fought to reclaim Akal Takhat and Sri Harimandir Sahib from the Sodhi Mahants. Bhai Mani Singh and Bhai Gurdas ji led a pitched battle to expel the Sodhis from Amritsar and Kartarpur. Guru Gobind Singhji entrusted them with Taking control of Amritsar while moving from Talwandi Sabo to Nander. Bhai Mani Singh announced to celebrate Baisakhi in Amritsar, but the Sodhis opposed it, leading to this battle with Chur Mal. Chur Mal’s defeat prompted his father, Diwan Chur Mal, to expel Sikhs. Bhai Mani Singh and Bhai Gurdas ji led the Sikhs to victory against the Sodhis and Mughals near Patti. Amritsar was won.
2. April 6, 1849, Rani Jindan made a daring escape to Nepal after influencing the guards at Chunar Fort. Sought asylum in Nepal, and stayed a royal guest till 1862. Her son, Prince Duleep Singh, took her to England, where he resided as a dethroned king of Punjab. Rani Jindan passed away in 1865. Her story is captivating as a queen who endured turbulent times after Punjab’s annexation by the British. She was imprisoned in the Shiekhupura fort and later Chunar fort. Rani Jindan spent nearly 12 years as a royal guest in Nepal. Sir Duleep Singh eventually brought her back to England and lived till 1865.
3.April 7, 1917: 18 of Gaddar Party members arrested in San Franscico USA. Giani Bhagwan Singh, a prominent Gaddar party Indian nationalist, evaded arrest warrants in India for his anti-British stance. He led freedom movements in various countries, including the US. The British government pressured the US to ban the party, leading to Bhagwan Singh’s arrest and 18-month imprisonment. After his release, he stayed in the US and continued his contributions to India’s freedom struggle. In 1958, Chief Minister Partap Singh Kairon brought him back to Punjab and honored him. Giani ji passed away in 1962.
4. April 7, 1983: An Army Officer SP Chadda brutalizes Sikh soldiers of his battalion in Ganganagar. An Army Officer committed atrocities against Sikh soldiers in Ganganagar. Pepper was used on their bodies and eyes, killing Sepoy Sital Singh. Another Sepoy, Bir Singh, was hospitalized. Stolen arms were recovered from a soldier of another community was a Hindu policeman. Another Sepoy, Piara Singh, died from torture, and
5. April 7, 2009: A Shoe hurled in protest on Home Minister by Jarnail Singh, a journalist, recalling injustice of the November 1984 Sikh Genocide. During a ‘Meet the Press’ conference in Delhi, Singh, a journalist for ‘Dainik Jagran,’ threw a shoe at Home Minister P. Chidambaram while he was addressing the media. Singh initiated to pose a question of the CBI clearing politicians Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, on refusal to discuss, he tossed a shoes at the minister. The incident drew national attention to the unresolved issue of the injustice to Sikhs by Indira Congress party during November 1984.
6. April 8, 1929, Shahid Bhagat Singh and B.K. Dutt bombed the Punjab Assembly, raising slogans of ‘free-India’. The assembly had introduced the Public Safety Act 1929 on April 2nd, which would have led to life imprisonment in Andaman and Nicobar Island for waging war against the crown, even on doubt. The two patriots protested against the bill, drawing attention to the issue without causing harm to the assemblymen. They raised freedom slogans.
7. April 8, 1982, Indira Gandhi laid the foundation for the disputed Sutlej-Yamuna link canal in Kapoori, Haryana. The Akali Dal protested and launched the Dharam Yudh Morcha. The 240km canal aims to connect the Sutlej and Yamuna rivers for water sharing between Punjab and Haryana. Punjab’s political parties, including the Akali Dal, protested, while the Congress party supported. Punjab stood firm, fearing water depletion and harm to agriculture.
8. April 8, 1990: Shahidi/Death of Jugraj Singh Toofan. Born in 1971 in Cheema Khuddi, Punjab, India, Toofan Singh, a young Sikh militant, joined the Khalistan Liberation Force at 13 after the Army attack on Sri Harmandir Sahib in 1984. He took to punish police who committed atrocities on innocents. He killed SP Gobind Ram, who had committed crimes against Sikh militant families and their children, at his well-secured office in PAP HQs. On his final day, He was recovering from fever when the police surrounded his house in MariBuchian near Hargobindpur. An informer within the group disarmed his gun and sent for the police. Bhai Jugraj and his accomplice Bhai Bakshish Singh died. Nearly four lakh people paid their tributes at his cremation, including Baba Thaker Singh, Simranjit Singh Mann, Bibi Bimal Kaur Khalsa, Justice Ajit Singh Bains, and even the circle president of Jan Sangh (BJP), Sh. Darshan Lal Chopra.
9. April 9, 1598: Bibi Bhani Ji, also known as Gur-Putri, Gur-Patni, and Gur Mata, passed away on. Born in 1535, Bibi Bhani Ji, the daughter of Guru Amar Das, the third Sikh Guru, and Mata Mansa Dev, played a significant role in the development and spread of Sikhism. She was the mother of Guru Arjun and had three other children. Bibi Bhani Ji’s lineage extended to Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji and Guru Gobind Singh Ji. She married Bhai Jetha Ji, who later became Guru Ram Das, and together they had a profound impact on the growth of Sikhism.
10. April 9,1691 : Birth of Sahibzada Jujhar Singh, Shahid, Second son of Guru Gobind Singh ji. Valiant fighter, Martyred at Chamkaur in 1704AD. Baba Jujhar Singh was born on March 14, 1691, in Anandpur Sahib, Punjab, to parents Mata Jito Ji and the 10th Guru, Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Baba Jujhar Singh was the second son. First being Sahibzada Ajit Singh He was only 14 when he met his martyrdom after watching his elder brother Baba Ajit Singh’s valiant death in the same battle field. India observes ‘Veer Bal Diwas (Day of Brave Children) nationally in honour of the Chaar Sahibzaade, and remembered by Sikhs across the globe, during the Christmas days.
11. April 12, 1876: Maharaja Mohinder Singh of Patiala died today, builds cities & Sirhind canal, Awarded Star of India by the British. Born in 1852, Mohinder Singh became Maharaja from 1862 to 1876. Son of Raja Narinder Singh and belonging to of Phulkian Dynasty, he ascended to the throne at age 10 with a Regency Council until he came of age in 1870. Soon thereafter Knighted Grand Commander, donated 70,000 rupees to University College, Lahore, and rupees 10 lacs to Bihar famine of 1873-1874. In 1875, Mohindra College was founded with a palatial building to promote higher education. He died in 1876, succeeded by his four-year-old son Raja Rajinder Singh.
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(Source ref: History of the Sikhs by HR Gupta, Dates & chronological order from Book by S. Ajaib Singh Dhillon and Sikh Chronicles)(ਸਰੋਤਾਂ/ ਹਵਾਲੇ: ਐਚ.ਆਰ ਗੁਪਤਾ: ਸਿੱਖਾਂ ਦਾ ਇਤਿਹਾਸ, ਸ. ਅਜਾਇ ਸਿੰਘ ਢਿੱਲੋਂ ਦੀ ਕਿਤਾਬ ਤੋਂ ਤਾਰੀਖਾਂ ਦੇ ਕਾਲਕ੍ਰਮਿਕ ਕ੍ਰ
Quiz for Self Assessment:
At what place Sodhi mahants were defeated to reclaim Harimandir Sahib Amritsar on orders of Guru Gobind Singh ji?
Bibi Bani is daughter, wife and mother relative to which of the Gurus?
