Akal Takht urges Centre to rename ‘Veer Bal Diwas’ as ‘Sahibzade Shahadat Diwas’

Days after the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) objected to the Punjab government’s proposed programme to celebrate ‘Veer Bal Diwas’ in Ludhiana on December 12, the Akal Takht has written to all Sikh Members of Parliament to impress upon the Central government to rename ‘Veer Bal Diwas’ as ‘Sahibzade Shahadat Diwas’.

The Central government has designated December 26 as Veer Bal Diwas to mark the martyrdom anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh’s sons Baba Fateh Singh and Baba Jorawar Singh.

Akal Takht Jathedar Kuldip Singh Gargaj said that although the Sahibzadas were young in age at the time of martyrdom but their sacrifice was no less significant than that of any adult.

He directed Sikh MPs to strongly represent Sikh sentiments in Parliament and press to officially declare the martyrdom day of the Sahibzadas as ‘Sahibzade Shahadat Diwas’. These letters have been emailed to the MPs’ official addresses.

The letter states that the Union government has been observing the Sahibzadas’ martyrdom day as ‘Veer Bal Diwas’ since 2022 which misrepresents Sikh ethos and tenets.

Letters have been addressed to Lok Sabha MPs Dr Amar Singh from Sri Fatehgarh Sahib, Gurjeet Singh Aujla from Amritsar, Harsimrat Kaur badal from Bathinda, Malwinder Singh from Sri Anandpur Sahib, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa from Gurdaspur, Gurmeet Singh from Sangrur, Sher Singh from Ferozepur, Sarabjit Singh from Faridkot, Charanjit Singh from Jalandhar, Amritpal Singh from Sri Khadoor Sahib and Amarinder Singh from Ludhiana. Rajya Sabha MPs Vikramjit Singh and Harbhajan Singh, besides Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, have also been informed.

Jathedar Gargaj said devotees have been conveying their objections to this nomenclature, prompting the Akal Takht to act. On its instructions, the SGPC had already written to the Centre urging that the day be renamed ‘Sahibzade Shahadat Diwas’ in line with Sikh beliefs.

However, the government has not yet taken a decision.

Earlier, a row had erupted when Sikh bodies, including the SGPC, objected to the state government’s plan to celebrate Veer Bal Diwas in Ludhiana on December 12. They said the event violated Sikh tenets, particularly the proposal to hold fancy-dress contests asking children to dress as the Sahibzadas, Mata Gujar Kaur Ji or Baba Banda Singh Bahadur—an act they said hurts Sikh sentiments.