Farmers to observe event at Fatehpur Rajputtan today

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, February 20

Farmers are all set to organise an event to mark the centenary of Sri Nankana Sahib massacre, which is popularly known as Saka Nankana Sahib, on February 21 amid the ongoing farm protest against the three agriculture laws.

An event on this occasion will be organised at Fatehpur Rajputtan village, near here. The event is being organised under the banner of Sanyukt Kisan Morcha. Lakhbir Singh Nizampura of the Vegetable Growers’ Association said 21 Sikhs from Nizampura village had sacrificed their lives in the movement to free Gurdwara Nankana Sahib from the control of Mahant Narain Das who enjoyed support of British.

After coming into being in October 1920, the Gurdwara Reforms Movement was the first step taken by the SGPC. Hence, a jatha of 21 unarmed Sikhs from Nizampura village, with an aim to take control of the gurdwara at first Sikh master Guru Nanak Dev's birthplace, had sacrificed their lives to free the gurdwara from the control of Mahant Narain Das, who enjoyed support of the British. However, the Mahant along with the help of local goons and in connivance with British officials closed all gates as Sikhs entered the premises and unleashed unfathomable violence on the peaceful jatha members and killed over 150 of them in cold blood. While many were killed in indiscriminate firing, the survivors and injured were burnt alive in boiling water during the attack. Only a 12-year-old survived by hiding under the palanquin on which Guru Granth Sahib was installed. Rattan Singh Randhawa, a farmer union leader, said, “While we would pay tributes to the martyrs, discussions on importance of peaceful protest during the current times would also be held. The Sikh history is filled with instances when Sikhs under the light of gurus met their fate at the hands of the oppressor while remaining in peace. Such was the impact that Mahatma Gandhi visited Nankana Sahib on March 3, 1921.”

What happened when

After coming into being in October 1920, the gurdwara reforms movement was the first step taken by the SGPC. Hence, a jatha of 21 unarmed Sikhs from Nizampura village, with an aim to take control of the gurdwara at first Sikh master Guru Nanak Dev’s birthplace, had sacrificed their lives to free the gurdwara from the control of Mahant Narain Das, who enjoyed support of the British. However, the Mahant along with the help of local goons and in connivance with British officials closed all gates as Sikhs entered the premises and unleashed unfathomable violence on the peaceful jatha members and killed over 150 of them in cold blood. While many were killed in indiscriminate firing, the survivors and injured were burnt alive in boiling water during the attack. Only a 12-year-old survived by hiding under the palanquin on which Guru Granth Sahib was installed.

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