Kids' Corner
Thoughts on a Cold, December Day
by ANGAD SINGH
After the battle of Chamkaur, Guru Gobind Singh was forced to part from his family.
His mother, Mata Gujri, and his two younger sons, Fateh Singh and Zorawar Singh, fled to the forest and went to the village Kheri in the night of December 21.
They spent the night at Gangu's house, who was their cook. They trusted him, but the next day, he turned them over to the Mughal police, hoping for a reward.
On December 23, the two children were forced into Wazir Khan's court. He wanted to break the Sikhs' spirits by converting the Guru's own sons. Wazir Khan knew them, and knew that this would be hard, so he told them that they were going to die. They had no choice but to die, unless they converted to Islam.
Immediately they defied him, and he sentenced them to death, but was persuaded by Sher Muhammad Khan to keep them in the Cold Tower for two days and nights and to give them more time to think over their decision. After all, in their eyes, these two were just stubborn kids ... right?
A few days ago, I was washing the car on the afternoon of December 24. The sun was shining, but my hands were cold, my ears were frozen and my cheeks were numb after spending a few hours outside. Winter made the car cold to the touch, and I knew later that night the ground would freeze. I realized that 305 years ago, the Sahibzade were imprisoned on that same night.
I felt cold, but after hours upon hours in a tall cold tower, I could not imagine how they would have felt then.
While enduring this harsh weather, these young children had a decision to make, the biggest decision they would ever make.
They had to choose between Life and Death.
Today, if we faced that question, we'd have our own answers.
Whether the Chhottey Sahibzaadey knew it or not, the choice they would make would affect millions of Singhs and Kaurs around the world, from Punjab in 1705, all the way to Atlanta in 2010.
To live meant that they would enjoy a life of luxury, without persecution, without as many troubles ... but without their unshorn hair, without their faith.
To choose death meant to stand up for their father, stand up for their people, and do what was right.
That was then.
But what about now? What does their Sacrifice mean to us today?
Each day every Sikh faces his or her own challenges. Our Gurus didn't give us the easy way out, instead they gave us a distinct identity that would make us stand out anywhere we go.
As youth we often look to our elders as role models or as
advisors to our problems. We look to our history and the inspirational martyrs
such as Guru Arjan or Bhai Mani Singh.
But because of the Sahibzaadey, we now have someone younger than us to look up to.
Instead of being dependent on our parents, or older brothers and sisters, we can be independent like they were.
Their sacrifice gave every future generation of Singhs and Kaurs courage, valor, and inspiration in facing challenges. Their sacrifice means that today we have one more part of our history to be proud of.
Their sacrifice is something we as the youth today can look at and say, "If they can be strong independently in the face of death, then I can be strong in the face of any challenge too."
Conversation about this article
1: Bibek Singh (Jersey City, U.S.A.), December 29, 2010, 1:09 PM.
Very nice article!
2: Jodh Singh (Jericho, New York, U.S.A.), December 29, 2010, 5:44 PM.
It is a very tragic story of the atrocities committed by the Mughal rulers who butchered the two young children of Guru Gobind Singh.
3: Birinder Singh (Manteca, California, U.S.A.), December 30, 2010, 4:51 PM.
The full name of Guru Gobind Singh ji's mother, not widely known, is Mata Gujar Kaur ji.