Eldest son of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji; martyred at Chamkaur
Sahibzada Ajit Singh
Sahibzada Ajit Singh was the eldest son of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji. He led Sikh parties from the age of twelve, commanded the rearguard when Anandpur was evacuated and was martyred at Chamkaur at about eighteen. A Mughal letter of the time confirms that two of Guru Ji's sons fell there.
Sources disagree
- 1686: Gupta places the birth at Paonta in 1686.[Gupta]
Early life
Mata Sundari gave birth to him at Paonta on 26 January 1687. The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism says the family returned to Anandpur the next year, and that he was taught the sacred texts along with riding, swordsmanship and archery.[EoS][Macauliffe]
Campaigns at Anandpur
The Encyclopaedia records several actions, and names the Bhatt Vahis as its source for one of the dates. In May 1699 he led 100 Sikhs to Nuh and recovered property looted from a sangat coming from Pothohar. In August 1700 he held Taragarh Fort with Bhai Ude Singh, and he fought at Nirmohgarh that October. In March 1701 he led another expedition against raiders of a sangat, and in March 1703 he took 100 horsemen to Bassi to rescue a young bride seized by a local chief. Macauliffe tells the Bassi story too. Apart from the Bassi story, these actions were read only in the Encyclopaedia.[EoS][Macauliffe]
The Sarsa and Chamkaur
He commanded the rearguard when Anandpur was left in the night of 5-6 December 1705, and he held off attackers at Shahi Tibbi until Bhai Ude Singh relieved him. He crossed the flooded Sarsa with Guru Ji, his brother Jujhar Singh and about fifty Sikhs, and they reached Chamkaur the following evening.
The next day, with arrows and ammunition gone, the Sikhs went out in small parties to fight hand to hand. He led one of these sorties and attained martyrdom. Gurdwara Qatalgarh at Chamkaur marks the place, and a fair remembers him and his brother in the month of Poh.
The event is confirmed outside Sikh sources. The Encyclopaedia quotes an official letter preserved in the Ahkam-i-Alamgiri, by Aurangzeb's letter writer, which reports Guru Ji besieged in a house at Chamkaur and the loss of his two sons.[EoS][EoS][Gupta][Macauliffe]
What the sources disagree on
- Date of Chamkaur
The Encyclopaedia dates the battle to 7 December 1705. Gupta dates it to 22 December 1704. The site follows the Encyclopaedia and notes the difference.[EoS][EoS][Gupta]
- Date of birth
The Encyclopaedia gives 26 January 1687, and Macauliffe Magh sudi 4, Sambat 1743, which he equates with 1687. Gupta says 1686.[EoS][Macauliffe][Gupta]
- His name in Sri Gur Sobha
Sainapati, a near-contemporary poet, writes Jeet Singh and Ranjit Singh in passages that seem to mean him. His modern translator, following Ganda Singh, treats these as the same person.[Src]