Source: – @JungNihang / Twitter.
A powerful image I came across (from https://t.co/ZnyVIIe1NU) that reminds me of Bota Singh and Garja Singh – two Sikhs who made a bold stand against the Mughals in Punjab at a time when persecution against the Khalsa was at its peak in the 18th century. pic.twitter.com/g5BchfZvVX
— ਜੋਧਸਿੰਘ (@JungNihang) March 19, 2020
In the 1700s, the Mughal governor of Lahore, Zakriya Khan, initiated a genocide of Khalsa Sikhs in Punjab. He announced official rewards as such:
— ਜੋਧਸਿੰਘ (@JungNihang) March 19, 2020
-A free blanket for anyone who shaved a Sikh's hair
-10 rupees for any informants on a Sikh's whereabouts
-50 rupees for a dead Sikh pic.twitter.com/IfrqUXM8AI
The campaign was carried out with quite some impunity in the Majha (central Punjab) countryside, with many locals reporting Khalsa Sikhs in their locality for the Mughals or killing them on their own. Within a year, the Khalsa had all but disappeared from the public eye.
— ਜੋਧਸਿੰਘ (@JungNihang) March 19, 2020
A lone Sikh named Bota Singh was found roaming around by a group of surprised villagers — who said they couldn't believe in his existence, as it was common knowledge going around that the Mughals had completely extinguished the Khalsa from the face of the Earth.
— ਜੋਧਸਿੰਘ (@JungNihang) March 19, 2020
Bota Singh felt outraged at the very thought of the Mughals extinguishing the Khalsa being common knowledge – and set out to prove it wrong. With a close companion, Garja Singh (a Mazhbi/Dalit), he set up a small post on a crowded road which he proudly proclaimed as a toll-booth.
— ਜੋਧਸਿੰਘ (@JungNihang) March 19, 2020
The two stopped all incoming traffic on its way to Lahore and charged a toll fee of an anna for a bullock cart and a paisa for a donkey. Charging any form of tax was the exclusive right of the state – so this was the Singhs' way of claiming this as their sovereign domain.
— ਜੋਧਸਿੰਘ (@JungNihang) March 19, 2020
Bota Singh sent a letter announcing his toll booth to Zakriya Khan, became and enraged who dispatched a force to apprehend the two, who refused to surrender and instead said they would defend their toll booth with a fight even if it meant certain death.
— ਜੋਧਸਿੰਘ (@JungNihang) March 19, 2020
The two Singhs then engaged the Mughal dispatch and fought fiercely with movements on the battlefield as agile as a wrestlers’ and with rapid and skillful use of their weapons – swords, daggers, a soti (long stick) and spears. pic.twitter.com/4jTrcP3wp4
— ਜੋਧਸਿੰਘ (@JungNihang) March 19, 2020
The two Singhs then engaged the Mughal dispatch and fought fiercely with movements on the battlefield as agile as a wrestlers’ and with rapid and skillful use of their weapons – swords, daggers, a soti (long stick) and spears. pic.twitter.com/4jTrcP3wp4
— ਜੋਧਸਿੰਘ (@JungNihang) March 19, 2020
The Singhs then quickly stood up on one leg and smashed their soti and spear one last time before being knocked to the ground. As the Mughals prepared to cut them down, the two crawled on the ground and refused to surrender – all while looking at their enemy straight in the eyes.
— ਜੋਧਸਿੰਘ (@JungNihang) March 19, 2020
Please don’t direct critiques of the overall article to me, my response was specifically to this serial and its ending line. Take it at face value – what does it seem to immediately suggest?
— ਜੋਧਸਿੰਘ (@JungNihang) March 18, 2020
Rattan Singh poetically describes this as such:
— ਜੋਧਸਿੰਘ (@JungNihang) March 19, 2020
“akkha tā soī morrhe jis chit kichh sankai, jin jeevan aasa taji nahi vahi aankh churai”
“Only the people go fear death turn their face away from the enemy; the ones who have given up all hope for life keep their eyes there only”
This story is described in Episode 98 of Panth Parkash by Rattan Singh Bhangoo.
— ਜੋਧਸਿੰਘ (@JungNihang) March 19, 2020