Col Baljit
Delhi : Guru Teg Bahadur was a lighthouse of peace and universal brotherhood.
But how many are aware of the sacrifices of Dahiya Jats for our Guru,Sikhs,Humanity & Sanatan Civilisation ЁЯСЗЁЯСЗ
Badh Khalsa
The small village of Badh Khalsa in Sonipat district of Haryana has its name inscribed in the Sikh history in golden letters. This Jat village is proud of the supreme sacrifice of their ancestor, Bhai Kushal Singh Dahiya.
Badh Khalsa village is situated 15 kms from Sonipat and 40 kms from Delhi on Grand Trunk road NH 44. It тАШs located in the inner periphery of Western Peripheral Expressway near the tehsil of Rai.
Background
The period from 1658 to 1707 is considered as the dark period in IndiaтАЩs history when Aurangzeb ruled India enforcing Sharia law with ruthless fanatical zeal. He authorized compilation of Hanafi Sharia law through the work of several hundred Qazis, called Fatawa-e-Alamgiri, a Sharia-based compilation on state laws.
There was a ban on music and religious hymns. Hindu temples were destroyed at will in large numbers, and Hindus converted to Islam by force. Folklore records that Aurangzeb ate his dinner only after a certain number of Hindus were converted by measuring the weight of their тАЬJaneuтАЭ (the sacred Hindu threads) discarded by the new converts.
Pundit Kripa Ram Dutt led a delegation of Kashmiri Pundits to Anandpur Sahib seeking intervention of Sikh Guru. Guru Tegh Bahadur volunteered to take up their cause with Aurangzeb. But on arrival at Delhi, he was imprisoned at the Kotwali of Chandni Chowk outside the Red Fort.
When attempts to convert Guru Teg Bahadur failed, three of GuruтАЩs closest disciples- Bhai Mati Das, Bhai Sati Das, and Bhai Dayala were brutally tortured and executed in front of the Guru, respectively, by Sawing from head to toe, by wrapping in cotton wool soaked in oil and setting on fire, and by Boiling live in water. When this failed, the Guru was tortured and beheaded in public on 24 Nov 1675 to terrorise Hindus. No one was allowed to pick up the remains of Guru as it lay in open display of religious bigotry. The locals were wailing at the macabre sight but no one dared to disobey the royal order.
That night, a blinding sandstorm (Kali Andhi) struck Delhi. The Mughal soldiers on guard lost their bearings and a man called Bhai Jaita (Baba Jiwan Singh) picked up the severed head of the guru and fled into the night.
Simultaneously, Lakhi Shah Vanjara, a contractor in the Mughal Court, came with a bullock cart of cotton bales and carried away the body, under the cover of darkness. He drove past the Red Fort arriving at his home in Raisina. Lakhi Shah placed the body inside his hut and set it on fire to make it a fire accident and thus offered an honourable cremation. Today, Gurudwara Rakabganj stands at the site of that house.
Dahiya Jats of Sonipat
Bhai Jaita wrapped the GuruтАЩs severed head in a cloth and rushed towards Anandpur Sahib in Punjab hills to deliver it to his 9 yrs old son Gobind Rai (later Guru Gobind Singh). Enroute, he temporarily halted at the village of Rai Garhi (Garhi means temporary shelter) in Sonipat. He was being hotly pursued by the Mughal soldiers who soon reached village looking for him.
Kushal Singh Dahiya, an elder of this Jat village, whose face resembled with that of Guru, assessed the situation and offered his head to fool the Mughals. He ordered his son to sever his head and give it to the Mughal soldiers of Aurangzeb.
Bhai Jaita managed to escape with the help of villagers and reached Anandpur Sahib and the Mughal soldiers mistakenly took the severed head of Kushal Singh Dahiya back to Delhi. Aurangzeb recognised the ruse. Mughal army came back in full revenge.
The whole village was destroyed in retribution for this act of deceit. Several people were brutally killed while others fled. Years later, some families came back and the name of village was changed from Rai Garhi to Badh Khalsa (Badh mean slashing, Khalsa means Pure).
Memorial
Today, the village has a Gurudwara and statue of Bhai Jaita, to mark the place where Bhai Jaita rested.
Each year, Badkhalsa holds an annual fair to remember Shaheed Bhai Kushal Singh Dahiya, whose statue is installed there. The memorial is maintained by Archeological Survey of India.
Thus, the Dahiya Jats of Sonipat sacrificed their lot for the Guru and Sikh panth.
Waheguru ka Khalsa ЁЯЗоЁЯЗ│
Waheguru ki Fatah ЁЯЗоЁЯЗ│