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On June 25, 1999, the Sikh religion was subjected to an incredibly cruel and insulting joke, when members of Pakistan's Jamaat-e-Islami, addressed a vast gathering of Sikhs in a hotel in Lahore. "Do not consider yourselves alone in the fight for freedom. All the Muslims of the world are with you." thundered Maulana Aslam Sheikh. "Keep Khalistan alive"! thundered the Muslims, as the bewildered young Sikhs from UK, US and Canada looked on. It was a "Sang Sabha" organized by the Jamaat-E-Islami, Dal Khalsa, Babar Khalsa and International Sikh Youth Federation to revive the "Khalistan" movement for a state independent of India. Urdu Poets spouted "now Jamaat-e-Islami and Sikhs have become one." even as former ISI chief Hamid Gul wrote articles saying "Now is the time the Kashmiri Mujahideen established contacts with Khalistanis".
The young Sikhs of that audience who have been reared and raised in lands thousands of miles away from Punjab, listened in uninterrupted rapture to the obscene distortion of truth. For decades their impressionable minds had been poisoned with anti-India venom, their brains had been stuffed with anti-Hindu poison, their heritage and family history had been distorted and twisted to an unrecognizable extent. They did not know their own identity, how could these youths know what was the truth about their own religion and culture. For if there had been a single true Sikh in that audience, he would have screamed in protest at the insult that was taking place; a violation of the honor and heritage of every Sikh took place that day in the dark confines of a hotel in Lahore.
If even one Sikh among those hundreds had known of the centuries of hatred, oppression, genocide and rapine that these very same Muslims, who said "All the Muslims of the World are with you" effected on generations of Sikhs before, he would have cried in shame and rage at the hideous irony of that statement. He would have reminded the Muslims of the millions of Sikhs who died by Allah's sword. He would have remembered the vision of Guru Tegh Bahadur, Guru Gobind Singh, Guru Arjan Dev, Bhai Banda Bahadur and hundreds of the world's most revered Sikh leaders being sawn, burnt, boiled, quartered and torn alive by the same Muslims.
Perhaps if he knew anything about his own history he would also have remembered what happened to Sikhs at the hands of Muslims in the very same city of Lahore about three hundred years ago. In 1716 AD, Zakaria Khan, the son of the Muslim Governor of Lahore was chopping off the heads of thousands of Sikhs and loading them onto carts to carry them as a GIFT to the Muslim emperor of Delhi. The "gift" consisted of SEVEN HUNDRED CARTLOADS carrying the beheaded heads of Sikhs, along with thousands of prisoners in chains including Bhai Banda Bahadur. The soldiers at the front of the procession carried the heads of beheaded Sikh warriors impaled on wooden pikes.
As the procession of death reached Delhi, Farukhshiyar ordered his Minister Mohammed Amin Khan to prepare a fitting celebration in reception of the gift. On the 29th of February, 1716, the Muslims of Delhi lined the streets in full force in anticipatory delight of the fabulous show that was going to unfold. The crowd cheered as the front guard walked up with 2,000 soldiers each holding a Sikh warrior's head impaled on his gaily decorated upright spear. The heads of the murdered Sikhs were stuffed with straw, and stuck on Bamboo spears, their long hair streaming in the wind like a veil, and along with them to show that every living thing in Gurdaspur had perished, a dead cat on a pole. Immediately following this was Bhai Banda Bahadur's elephant. Banda Bahadur bruised and bleeding sat in an iron cage. He was bedecked out of mockery with a gold-laced red turban and a blinding crimson robe of brocade draped on his tattered body. The heavy robe of brocade was decorated with pomegranates. Behind him stood a mail-clad officer with a drawn sword. After him came thousands of Sikh prisoners strapped in pairs to camels' backs without saddles. Every one of their faces had been colored black by soot and pointed sheepskin or paper caps were dangling their heads in mockery. Each of them had one hand pinned to his neck, between two pieces of wood. The rear flank followed with the Muslim Commanders, Mohammed Amin Khan, his son Kamar-ud-Din Khan, and his son-in-law Zakaria Khan.
Even amidst this grotesque celebration of inhumanity, the Sikhs faced the pain and humiliation with heads held erect and proud. Not a single Sikh's face showed the slightest sign of agony or defeat. In the words of Islamic historian Mohammed Harisi, author of the Ibratnama, who saw the spectacle with his own eyes, "The crowds were pressing forward to get a better view. The road to the palace, was lined with troops and filled with exultant crowds, who jostled forward to have a chance at mocking the Sikhs. They spat on the prisoners and Banda Bahadur and laughed at their grotesque appearance. The Muslims shook their heads and poked and prodded the Sikhs as they passed. "HU! HU! infidel dog worshippers your day has come. Truly, retribution follows on transgression, as wheat springs from wheat, and barley from barley!! " Such were the cries that arose from the pious followers of the Quran. Yet their triumph was incomplete. For the Sikh warriors took all the insults with a smile. In a surreal scene, the warriors displayed not a single sign of fear or shame, they rode on, calm, cheerful, singing songs of their beloved Gurus. They were happy to die the death of martyrs. "Kill me first, O Deliverer" was the cry on every Sikh's lips as they reached the execution platform.
Sikh warriors were beheaded and their heads impaled on poles.
It took SEVEN days to behead and murder all the Sikh prisoners. The corpses were loaded on wagons and taken out of town to be thrown to the vultures. Their severed heads were hung up on trees and on stakes near the town square as celebratory symbols decorated with ribbons and bright banners.
For three months Banda Bahadur and his men were tortured to reveal where they had hidden the treasures which funded the Sikh resistance. Not one of them uttered a word of betrayal. It was on Sunday, 9th June, 1716 almost exactly 283 years ago from the day that Jamaat-E-Islaami made the obscene statement in Lahore, that Banda's cage was again hoisted on top of an elephant, and he was dressed in mock attire of an emperor, with a colourful red pointed turban on his head. His 4 year old son Ajay Singh was placed on his lap. Twenty Sardars marched behind the elephant as the procession passed through the streets of Delhi, and headed for the Kutub-ud-din mausoleum of Bahadur Shah, near Kutab Minar.
On reaching that graveyard, the captives were again offered a final ultimatum: conversion to Islam or death. None of them hesitated even a second to choose Death. Each one of the Sikh Sardars was subjected to incredible tortures before being executed. Their heads were then impaled on spears and arranged in a circle around Banda who was now squatting on the ground. As thousands of spectators watched, a short sword was thrust into Banda Bahadur's hands and he was ordered to kill his own son Ajay Singh. As the king of warriors sat unperturbed, the executioner moved forward and plunged his sword into the little child slashing him into two. Then pieces of flesh were cut from his son's bloodied corpse and thrown in Banda's face. The dead child's liver was torn out of his stomach along with other entrails and stuffed into Banda Bahadur's mouth. The father sat still as a stone, not a flicker of emotion crossing his face to betray any trace of horror. Mohammed Amin Khan then seized Banda by the hair and barked: "From your manner so far you appear to be a man of virtue, who believes in God, and in doing good deeds. You are also very intelligent. Can you tell me why you are having to suffer all this here?"
Banda's reply was, "When the tyrants oppress their subjects to the limit, then God sends men like me on this earth to mete out punishment to them. But being human, we sometimes overstep the laws of justice, and for that we are made to pay whilst we are still here. God is not being unjust to me in any way." At this the infuriated Mohammed Khan gestured to the executioner to step forward. The executioner grabbed Banda Bahadur's head in his rough callused hands and with a bloodcurdling shudder thrust the tip of his razor sharp dagger into Banda's right eye, twisting and turning into the socket as he slashed the optical nerves and gouged out the eyeball. The second eye met the same fate. Throughout the torturous moments of unimaginable agony, Banda Bahadur sat motionless like a rock. His spirit had taken him beyond the physical barriers into the realm where one can feel no pain.
The Muslims cheered in their bloodlust as the executioner slashed off Banda's left foot, then both of his arms. Then a pair of red-hot pincers were brought and chunks of Banda's flesh were torn off his frame. But Banda Bahadur did not budge. In the final moment before attaining Samadhi, the glorious warrior smiled in a final mocking gesture at his torturers. Trembling with fear at the surreal detachment of the man, the Muslims slashed at his body with their swords, mincing it into thousands of little pieces as if afraid that even the severed pieces of blood soaked flesh would arise any minute and fight back.
Every detail of the preceding event can be found in the accounts of writers such as Khafi Khan, Mohammed Harisi, Thornton, Elphinstone, Daneshwar and others.
Was there not even one Sikh who remembered the significance of this very June in Lahore as the Jamaat-E-Islaami insulted the memory of Banda Bahadur and thousands of Sikhs? Was there not even one who shuddered at the insult to the memory of his ancestors when the Jamaat-E-Islami mouthed such hideous lies?
The Muslims of Pakistan want to fool the Sikh into denying his very identity. They want Sikhs to forget thousands of past incidents like the Murder of Bhai Banda Bahadur. They want Sikhs to forget that their very lives are tied to the soil of India and to the eternal values of Hinduism. It is the Sikhs who are the true Kshatriyas; the warriors who stake their very lives to protect DHARMA. That is why the color of Punjab is Kesari.
Sikhs cannot and will not forget the memories of horror which were etched onto their souls by the very same Muslims. From Abdali to Akbar, from Aurangzeb to Jinnah, the story has always been the same. The ultimate mantle of bloodletting and genocide of Sikhs rests squarely on the followers of that most cruel and intolerant of creeds; Islam. It was for the purpose of fighting this same creed that the very concept of Sikhism was born. The sword of the Khalsa was formed to rid the world of the cancer of intolerance and oppression. A holy oath was taken to rid India of the oppressors, it was for this very reasons that the five symbols or Kakkars of Sikhi - Kesh, Kara, Kanga, Kirpan, Kacchera were created. Each one of these symbols represents an ideal of resistance against the Muslim conquerors and reinforces Hinduism as the source of Sikhism.
1.Kesh - the tradition of Kesh meaning the long hair which is not cut. The Sikh follows this tradition of Hindu warriors who vowed never to cut their hair until the Muslim aggressors were thrown out of India. Their hair is the symbol of the vow which is never forgotten. In Hinduism the cutting off of hair represents fruition of a duty or task. For the Sikhs this task is never finished as they are forever the protectors of the eternal Dharma of India, therefore the hair is never cut.
2.Kanga - the tradition of the Kanga meaning the wooden/ivory comb is the symbol of constancy and alertness, as it reminds the Sikh never to be complacent. It means that Sikhs must nurture and constantly nourish the fire of warrior spirit that burns within them, just as they must always keep their long hair combed in order for it to be clean and manageable.
3.Kara - the tradition of the Kara meaning the metal bracelet, symbolizes immovable determination. The courage and detachment of Banda Bahadur and millions of Sikh warriors was rekindled whenever they looked at their Karas and were reminded of the willpower and strength inherent in their tradition. The bracelet is also an indicator of the Hindu concept of Jiva and Atman, where the bracelet represents the material form of the Soul and the metal represents the commonality of the spiritual essence of all living beings, the Atman.
4.Kirpan - the tradition of Kirpan meaning the sword, symbolizes the defense of the oppressed. It is the representation of the fierce ideals of a Kshatriya race which has pledged its life to protecting Dharma and defending the land of its forefathers from foreign invaders who threaten its culture. It also reminds the Sikh warrior of the Hindu concept of the fleeting temporary nature of life, and focuses attention on the immortal glory of the Self or Brahman who lies beyond the fragile nature of this life.
5.Kachha - the tradition of Kachha meaning the short minimal clothing, symbolizes the highest Hindu concept of renunciation. The Sikh is a Kshatriya whose life is pledged to the fight against injustice, therefore renunciation is a key element as it makes the warrior detached from the material aspects of life and focuses his attention on to his Dharma or duty.
It is these symbols of their origins that make Sikhs the proudest, dignified patriots of India. It was the Sikh Gurus who preached the fact that Ram is everywhere. It was they who lovingly gave Ram the name "Wahe Guru".
The Sikh has not forgotten the words of Guru Tegh Bahadur who was dragged to the court of Aurangzeb and forced to bow at the Muslim emperor's feet. It was then that the valiant Guru said in a message that has echoed down to every Sikh warrior through the centuries:
"As a Sikh I must protect the Dharma. If you can succeed in converting this Tegh Bahadur, then believe me, every Hindu child of this country will accept Islam. But you will fail. Because God's Justice ensures that every community will have the right and the freedom to practice its religion."
It was at these words that his disciples Bhai Mati Das was sawn alive and Bhai Sati Das wrapped in cotton to be burnt alive even as the Quranic verses were read aloud. It was at these eternal words that Guru Tegh Bahadur was beheaded alive.
It is this identity that the Muslims of Pakistan want Sikhs to forget. This article has been written in dedication to that living, breathing heritage of Sikhism. Perhaps the Muslims of Pakistan do not realise that for a Sikh, India is the cradle of his identity. It was for the soil of India and the values and ideals of the eternal Sanatan Dharma that so many Sikhs gloriously martyred themselves. There may not have been a single true Sikh to protest the insult to his heritage on that day in Lahore, but there are countless proud ones who know the true meaning of Sikhi and will not fall for such lies.
Next week I will describe the details of how the Muslims have always "supported" the Sikhs by describing the history of genocide which was perpetrated on the Sikhs by them during the Mughal reign, during Independence, during the horror of Partition and even today as Gurudwaras are being taken apart brick by brick in Pakistan.
