Ball set rolling for declaring Banda Bahadur memorial as national monument

Tribune News Service

Shubhadeep Choudhury                                                                                            

New Delhi, June 4

Ball has been set rolling for declaration of the memorial dedicated to Baba Banda Singh Bahadur at Mehrauli here as a National Monument protected by Archeological Survey of India (ASI).

Union Minister of State for Culture Arjun Ram Meghwal has assured National Monument Authority chairman Tarun Vijay, Delhi BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa and descendants of associates of Baba Banda Singh that he would get the proposal cleared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“I am sure the Prime Minister will take the sentiment associated with demand into consideration and approve the proposal,” Meghwal said and asked Tarun Vijay to start the necessary paperwork.

Meghwal, who released a poster of the proposed monument, also assured that he would take part in functions proposed to be held in Delhi this month to pay tribute to the legendary Sikh warrior.

June 9 has been tentatively decided to be the day when two functions will be held – one in the morning at Red Fort and the second at the site of Banda Bahadur’s execution at Mehrauli – to pay homage to the commander of the Khalsa army.

Tarun Vijay said the memorial is the actual structure in which Banda Bahadur was tortured. Despite the torture inflicted upon him and the execution of his four-year-old son in front of him, Banda Bahadur refused to give up his faith, Tarun Vijay said.

“We call the memorial as ‘Deuri’. There is a gurdwara adjacent to it. We keep the memorial clean and try to look after its maintenance,” Manjinder Singh Sirsa said.

“We want the ASI to declare the structure a National Monument and take care of its preservation so that people from far and wide come to see it and learn about Banda Bahadur,” Sirsa said.

Vijay said 740 Sikhs accompanying Banda Bahadur were also put to death by the Mughals at a place where the Old Delhi Railway Station now stands. These Sikhs were killed in batches of 100 every day over a period of seven days when they refused to embrace Islam, Vijay said, and regretted that the stories of their sacrifices did not find any mention in textbooks.

Members of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Sikh Sampraday, who are said to be descendents of the executed Sikhs who had accompanied Banda Singh, were also present at the function held at Meghwal’s house.

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