Youngest son of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji; martyred at Sirhind
Sahibzada Fateh Singh
Sahibzada Fateh Singh was the youngest son of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji and Mata Jito. He was raised by his grandmother Mata Gujri after his mother passed away. He was martyred at Sirhind in December 1705 with his brother, aged about six by his recorded birth date.
Early life
The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism says he was born at Anandpur on 25 February 1699. Macauliffe gives the eleventh of Phagan, Sambat 1755, and agrees on the year. He was the fourth son, and was under two years old when Mata Jito passed away on 5 December 1700. Mata Gujri brought him up and he stayed with her until the end.[EoS][EoS][Macauliffe]
Separated at the Sarsa
Mata Gujri took charge of the two boys when Anandpur was evacuated in the night of 5-6 December 1705. At the flooded Sarsa the three were separated from Guru Ji. Their cook Gangu took them to his village of Kheri, now Saheri, near Morinda. The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism says he was tempted by money in the saddlebag, and he betrayed them to the officials at Morinda. They were sent to Sirhind and held in the Cold Tower of the fort.[EoS][EoS][Gupta]
Before Wazir Khan
On 9 December 1705, the Encyclopaedia says, the boys were brought before Wazir Khan, the faujdar of Sirhind. He offered them riches and honours if they accepted Islam, then threatened their lives, and they refused both. Sher Muhammad Khan of Malerkotla, who had fought against Guru Ji, spoke up for the children, and they were given more time. The order to wall them up alive came on 11 December. Tradition holds that the masonry collapsed when it reached their chests. On 12 December they refused again and were martyred by the sword.
Mata Gujri, held nearby, passed away on hearing the news. Seth Todar Mall, a rich Sirhind merchant, cremated the three the following day. Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib now marks the place, and a fair is held there every December.[EoS][EoS][EoS]
What the sources agree on
All the accounts read for this page place him at Sirhind, even where they disagree about which brother was with him. The Encyclopaedia and Gupta name Sahibzada Zorawar Singh, while Macauliffe and the closing lines in Sri Gur Sobha name Sahibzada Jujhar Singh.[EoS][Gupta][Macauliffe][Src]
What the sources disagree on
- His age
His birth date in the Encyclopaedia makes him six. Two other Encyclopaedia entries, on Sirhind and Fatehgarh Sahib, say seven, and so does Macauliffe. Gupta says five.[EoS][EoS][EoS][Macauliffe][Gupta]
- Date of the martyrdom
Most of the Encyclopaedia's entries give 12 December 1705, and its entry on Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji gives 13 December. Macauliffe gives 13 Poh, Sambat 1762, and Gupta gives 27 December 1704. Commemoration follows the Bikrami month of Poh and falls in late December.[EoS][EoS][Macauliffe][Gupta][EoS]
- How they were martyred
Macauliffe reports a general Sikh belief that the children were walled up and left to die, against the Suraj Prakash and a Gurbilas, which both say the sword. The Encyclopaedia and Gupta describe the wall being raised and then the sword. Macauliffe has the brothers contending for who should go first.[Macauliffe][EoS][EoS][Gupta]
- How many were captured
The letter in the Ahkam-i-Alamgiri speaks of the capture of Guru Ji's mother and one son. Sikh sources speak of two boys.[EoS]