Remembering Sahibzadas Baba Zorawar Singh Ji and Baba Fateh Singh Ji, sons of Guru Gobind Singh (Tenth Guru of Sikhs) on their martyrdom day. The day is celebrated every year as Veer Baal Diwas to honour them.
The week of Dec 20 – Dec 27 is remembered as Shaheedi week to commemorate the great sacrifice of Guru Gobind Singh. A week of immense loss, sacrifice, and faith.
December 20th – Guru Gobind Singh ji and around 400 Sikhs, left Sri Anandpur Sahib on the bitter cold and rainy night of December 20, 1704 (the cold month of Poh) under the pressure of a prolonged siege with food and ammunition exhausted.
December 21st – Mughals attacked Parva vichhora at Sirsa River, Gurus’s mother and two youngest sons got separated after escaping the Mughal siege of Anandpur.
December 22nd – The Battle of Chamkaur between the Khalsa army led by Guru ji and the Mughals.
December 23rd – Guru’s elder sons – Sahibzada Ajit Singh ji aged 17, and Jujhar Singh ji aged 13, also called the ‘Vade Sahibzaade’ fought bravely, but were killed by the much larger and well-equipped Mughal army.
December 24th – More Sikhs were martyred in the Battle of Chamkaur.
December 25th – Bibi Sharan Kaur performed the last rites of Chamkaur martyrs (Shaheed).
December 26th & December 27th – The younger sons, called the ‘Chhote Sahibzaade’, along with their grandmother were imprisoned in an Open Tower (Thanda Burj), on chilling winter days. Sahibzada Fateh Singh ji aged 6 and Zorawar Singh ji aged 9, were offered safe passage if they converted to Islam, which they refused; and subsequently, Wazir Khan ordered them to be bricked alive in the wall. Mata Gujri fainted on hearing about her grandson’s death and died shortly thereafter.
On 9th January 2022, the day of the Prakash Purab of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the Prime Minister of Bharat had announced that 26th December would be observed as ‘Veer Bal Diwas’, to mark the martyrdom of the sons of Sri Guru Gobind Singh – Sahibzadas Baba Zorawar Singh Ji and Baba Fateh Singh Ji.