Namdhari Shaheedi Diwas: 66 Kukas executed by cannon
As many as 66 'Kukas', including 12-year-old Bishan Singh, were executed by cannon on January 17, 1872, by the British Empire’s representative in Punjab, Deputy Commissioner John Lambert Cowan, for daring to attack the fort at Malaudh in Ludhiana district, followed by another at the erstwhile state of Malerkotla.
To add insult to injury of leaders and followers of the Namdhari Sect, founded by Satguru Ram Singh, Cowan misled his masters in the British Government through a telegram – ‘tranquility restored’, labelling the Kukas' anguish as a revolt. Cowan had also ignored orders received mid-execution which read, 'Avoid any hasty action’.
Though Cowan was dismissed for violating the order to keep the Kukas in custody, he justified his action, saying, ‘I acted from no vain motive or from cruelty or a desire to display authority. The punishment was imperatively necessary to prevent the spread of an insurrection’.
The Namdhari Sect was founded by Satguru Ram Singh on April 12, 1857, at Bhaini Sahib in Ludhiana district. He mobilised people for the freedom of the country and against social evils. He was a pioneer among those who used non-cooperation as a weapon to free his country from British rule. His movement included the boycott of government services, foreign goods, educational institutions and courts of law.
Kooka Platoon was created in Kashmir in the 1860s. Three Namdharis were hanged on August 5, 1871, and two in Ludhiana on November 26, 1871, following attacks on slaughterhouses in Amritsar and Raikot.
It was on January 15, 1872, that 200 Kukas led by Hira Singh and Lehna Singh attacked Malerkotla, where the assaulters had to surrender following the loss of lives on both sides.
Though the British Empire had advised Cowan to detain the arrested Kukas for further trial, he ordered them to be tied in front of the cannon and blew them up in groups of seven. Forty-nine Kukas were killed on the first day of the execution, and 16 others the next day.
Bishan Singh, aged 12, who was asked by Cowan and his wife to save his life by renouncing the sect, chose to kiss the cannon. He pounced on Cowan in rage and tugged at his beard. Before being killed, his hands were chopped off by Cowan’s soldiers.
Another Kuka, Waryam Singh, was asked to return as he was too short to reach the gun. Waryam brought stones and earth from nearby fields to prepare a platform to stand on for reaching the cannon.
Satguru Ram Singh, along with prominent chiefs, were arrested and exiled as the Malerkotla episode had given a reason to the British government to snub their movement.
As a tribute to the unmatched sacrifice of the Kukas, Namdhari Shaheedi Samarak has been built on the outskirts of Malerkotla. A huge 'khanda' with three fans, with 22 holes each, embodies the 66 martyrs. On January 17 every year, rich tributes are paid to the martyrs at a state-level function held there.