Sikh Missionary
Society:
Articles: Sikh Martyrs:
Shaheeds Garja Singh, Bota Singh
Shaheeds Garja Singh, Bota Singh
Khalsa will remain ever alive.
Oppression they will always fight.
The first half of the eighteenth century was very harsh
for the Sikhs. They made unparalleled sacrifices during this period.
The Mughal government decided to finish the very name of the Sikhs from
the Punjab, the land of their birth. There was legal permission to
loot and rob the house of any Sikh. Rather, handsome cash awards
were given for killing a Sikh or getting him caught. This forced
the Sikhs to leave their homes and pass their days in inaccessible places,
i.e., hills in the north, deserts in the south or the bushes along the
rivers.
In their daily prayer, the Sikhs requested Akal Purakh
to grant them the gift of Amritsar de darshan ashnan. For this they
would visit the Golden Temple during night or other odd hours to bathe
in the sarovar. While making such attempts many Sikhs were killed
by the government forces guarding the approaches to the Golden Temple.
The Sikhs did not move about openly in the villages lest the police know
about their presence.
Taking advantage of the migration of the Sikhs to secret
places, Zakria Khan, Governor of Punjab, announced in all the villages
that Sikhs were extinct in Punjab. The government thought this would
break the will of the Sikhs and would also discourage people from taking
Amrit and joining the wave of the Khalsa Panth.
It was in 1739 that two Sikhs, Baba Garja Singh and Baba
Bota Singh, while going to Amritsar were hiding in the bushes along the
Tarn Taran-Amritsar Road. During those days the Sikhs used to travel
at night and hide during the day. Two travelers passing on that road
saw them from a distance. One said to the other, "They appear to
be Sikhs." The other replied, "I think you are mistaken. They
cannot be Sikhs. Didn't you hear the announcement, made with the
beat of the drum, that all Sikhs have been killed."
Baba Garja Singh and Baba Bota Singh heard that talk and
adopted a unique technique to demoralize the government. They decided
to prove that the announcement made by the government was wrong.
They were lying and fooling the people. The two Sikhs occupied the
road and declared that Khalsa were the rulers of Punjab. To spread
this message to the people in the region, they started collecting a nominal
toll from travelers using the road. They also sent an open message
to the Governor, the Khan, just to make a joke of the government.
"Tell poor Khan that Baba Bota Singh is ruling the state
with his heavy stick. He charges one nickel for a cart load and a
penny for a donkey-load."
The people would pay this small amount without any grudge.
They talked about the bravery of the Sikhs and the lies of the government
when they went to their villages. After some days, the government
sent well armed troops to catch the Sikhs. The Sikhs fought bravely,
killing many soldiers, finally obtaining martyrdom themselves. They
established the heroism of the Sikhs and proved that Sikhs were active
and alive.
State terrorism can never kill the people's voice of
truth.
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