MURDER OF INNOCENTS
We have seen that when Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji evacuated the fort of Anandpur Sahib the Hindu and Muslim besigers forgot their solemn oaths, and fell upon him near the Sarsa stream. As said already, in the confusion which resulted from that attack, the Guru's mother, Mata Gujjar Kaur Ji, got separated from him and his Sikhs. His two younger sons. Baba Zorawar Singh and Baba Fateh Singh, were with her. In the biting winter wind of early dawn, she traveled as chance directed her. Her path lay through; thick jungle. Some way off, she met a Brahmin named Gangu. He had once been a cook at the Guru's house. His village Kheri was nearby. He offered to give her shelter in his house. She accepted his offer and went to his house along with her two grandsons.
The Brahmin proved to be a cheat. At night he stole Mata Gujri's saddle bag containing valuables and money.
Then she found the bag missing, she enquirered about it from her host. Thereupon he flew into a rage. He said that he had bee suspected and insulted. He at once went to the
Muslim Headman of the village. He said to him, 'The Guru's mother and two sons have just come to my house. We both can earn a large reward by handing them over to the authorities!’
The two went to the Muslim official of Morinda. They reported to him about the Guru's mother and sons. He was glad to hear the news. Taking a party of armed soldiers with him, he went to the Brahmin's house. He arrested Mata Gujjar Kaur Ji and her grandsons, and took them to Nawab Wazir Khan, the Governor of Sarhind.
The Nawab of Sarhind ordered them to be confined in a tower of his fort. They, had to pass the cold December night with the bare, hard floor as their bed. Next day, the Nawab ordered the children to be brought before him. When they took leave of their grandmother, she said,
All eyes were turned in their direction. Their slim bodies their calm bright faces, and their fearless appearance won the admiration of all present in the court, Sucha Nand, a Brahmin minister of the Nawab, advised the younger boy to bow before the Nawab.‘No”, said Baba Zorawar Singh ‘We have been taught to bow before none but God and the Guru. We will not bow before the Nawab, come that may.’
This bold, unexpected reply astonished everybody. Even the Nawab could not help admiring the brave little ones. Then he said to them, in a soft voice
‘Children your father and two elder brothers have been killed at Chamkaur. They were infidels and deserved that fate. But you are lucky. Good luck has brought you to an Islamic darbar. Embrace Islam, become one with us. You will be given wealth, rank, honour, and every form of pleasure. When you grow up, I shall marry you to beautiful daughters of respectable chiefs. You will live happy lives. You will be honoured by our great Emperor. If you say "No" to my offer, you will be' treated as infidels are treated. You will be put to death with tortures. '
Baba Zorawar Singh, looking at his younger brother, said in a whisper, 'My brave little brother, the time to sacrifice our lives has come. What do you think should be our reply?”
Baba Fateh Singh, who had seen only six winters, replied,
Then Baba Zorawar Singh raised his voice and said,
...Our choice is made. Let your sword do its work. We invite you to do your worst.'
These words were enough to inflame the haughty, bigoted Nawab. But Sucha Nand Brahmin chose to pour oil over the fire. He said, 'So such is their behaviour at this tender age. What will it be when they grow up? They will follow their father's example, and destroy imperial armies. The offspring of a cobra should be crushed in time.'
The Nawab whispered to him, 'What you say is true and wise. But I very much desire to make them embrace Islam. They will be valuable additions to our community. There need be no hurry. They are in our power. They cannot run away. Let us give them time to think and consult with their aged grandmother. We shall try again tomorrow to make them yield’
Then, turning to the two brothers, he said, 'I don't want to act in haste. I give you both time to think over the matter. Be wise and decide in favour of accepting my offer. You will live in peace, pleasure, and honour. If you refuse, you will be given such tortures that your cries will be heard far and wide. Then you will be cut into pieces like fodder.'
Then he ordered them to be taken back to the tower. Next day, they were taken again to the Nawab's court under a heavy guard. Before they left, their grandmother again exhorted them to adhere to their faith, come what might.On entering the court, they shouted louder than they had done on the previous day,
In the court the same threats were given and the same offers were made as on the previous day. They stood firm and gave the same answers as on the previous day. Sucha Nand Brahmin again pressed the Nawab to give immediate orders for their death. But the-latter again decided to give them more time to think over. He still had hopes that they would yield. So they were again taken back to the tower.
Next day, they were again taken to the Nawab's court. There the same offer was made by the Nawab and rejected by them. When the Nawab was convinced that they would not yield, he gave orders that they should be bricked alive and then beheaded.
On hearing this, the Qazis and other mean people like Sucha Nand Brahmin said aloud, 'That is as it should be.' But most of those present in the court set with their heads bent low, and their eyes wet and fixed on the ground.
Then Sher Mohammed, Nawab of Malerkotla, said 'Nawab Sahib, your order is against the rules of Islam. The Muslim law forbids the slaughter of tender-aged innocent children. These two have done no wrong. The rules of our religion clearly lay down that a son should not suffer for acts done by his father, and that every one is answerable for his actions. So, under the laws of our religion, these boys should be allowed to go unharmed. They should not be punished for what their father has done.'
The Sikhs have always remembered this protest of the Nawab with gratitude, and throughout their troubled relations with the Muslim powers, they have always spared the house of Malerkotla front their attacks.
But the Qazis said, 'What do you know of the holy law? How can you claim or pretend to know it better than we. The holy law gives them choice between Islam and death. Let them choose as they like.’
The Nawab expressed agreement with the Qazis. Two Pathan brothers were sitting near him. He said to them, 'You know that your father was killed by these boys' father. You may avenge his death. I hand them over to you. Kill them in a manner that I order.'
But the Pathans shook their heads and said, 'Our father was killed on a field of battle. He was not murdered. If these boys were full-grown men, armed with weapons, we would certainly have fought with them and killed them. That would have been a proper revenge. We cannot strike these innocent, unarmed tender-aged children. They have done us no worng.'
The Nawab was rendered speechless. He turned to left and right, seeking someone willing to do the bloody act. But all hung down their heads as a sign of their unwillingness, as a sign of their pity for the children. At last, looking behind, he saw two Ghilzai Pathans. The Ghilzai tribe was notorious for its heartlessness and cruelty. These two Pathans offered to do the bloody deed. The boys were delivered to them. They led them away for execution.
Under the Nawab's orders, a part of the outer wall of the fort was pulled down. The two children were made to stand in the gap thus created. The Pathans stood nearby. They had drawn swords on their shoulders, tightly held in their right hands. Their faces were fierce, their eyes were red, and their lips were tightly pressed together. An offical from the Nawab's court was also present. He was there to see that the Nawab's orders were duly carried out. 
A Qazi, with a copy of the Quran in his hand, also stood nearby. Masons were ordered to erect a wall round the children. They were told, Take care that'the bricks press well and tightly against their bodies.'
After each layer of the bricks, the Qazi urged the two to save their lives by accepting Islam. But they stood calm and firm. They were busy in reciting sacred hymns of the Gurus.
When they were buried in the wall up to the shoulders, the Nawab himself came and said to them in an affectionate tone, "There is still time for you to save your' lives, just recite the Kalma and the wall will be pulled down immediately."
The Sahibzadays shouted loudly,
"We shall not give up our faith, death does not frighten us."
Both the Nawab and Qazi were amazed at their steadfast determination. Tears flowed from the eyes of onlookers, as they observed,
"Blessed be their mother who gave birth to such children, and Blessed it the mother who taught them to give up their head, and not their Faith."
The wall went up still higher and it was shoulder high. Sahibzaday Zorawar Singh said to his younger brother,
pulled down. They brought the unconscious Sahibzadays out laid them flat on the ground and, in an instant, martyred them. People in the crowd were shocked at this ghastly act. They sighed in dismay, "What cruelty! How shall they answer for their crime in Mohammad's Court."In Sarhind there lived, at that time, a Sikh named Todar Mal. He Heard that Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s mother and two sons had been imprionsed by Nawab Wazir Khan. Taking a large bag of gold coins with him, he' hastened to the Nawab's court. His intention was to free them by paying as much as the Nawab would demand. But he arrived too late. The two brothers had been put to death by then. He visited the place where they had been bricked alive and beheaded. After paying homage to the two martyrs, he proceeded to their grandmother. With his eyes melting into tears, and in a voice, choked with sobs, Todar Mai told her of her grandsons' martyrdom. On hearing this, she said,
Saying this, she closed her eyes and began to repeat
‘Waheguru, Waheguru, Waheguru.’
Soon she was gone to meet her grandsons. Todar Mai touched her feet and sobbed in anguish.
Then he went to the Nawab. He sought his permission to cremate the three bodies. He was told, 'You may do so. But for the cremation you will need a piece of land. You will have to pay for it. You may have the requisite land by paying as many gold coins as placed closely together, would completely cover it.'
Todar Mai chose the site. He spread out gold coins to cover the whole piece of land that he required. He took out the two martyrs' bodies from the wall. He took out Mata Gujri's body from the tower. He took the three bodies to the site selected and purchased by him. He cremated them and later buried their ashes there.
On the spot where the three bodies were cremated was later erected a gurdwara named Joti Sarup. At the place where the two children were bricked alive and beheaded, stands the gurdwara called Fatehgarh Sahib. Nearby, at the site of the tower in which the three were kept imprisoned, and where Mata Gujri breathed her last, stands a gurdwara called Mata Gujri's Burj.
The Sound of the bricks being laid around the young souls of six and eight years, sends waves of reassurance and inspirit that strengths our commitment and dedication to our Sikhi and to our Guru Ji
