Submitted by: Harjit Kaur

If your children were taken from you….ripped apart in front of your eyes…..

Then their cut up bodies strung around your neck……

Would you continue to remember your Guru??

How strong and magnificent were the Mothers and Daughters of

the Khalsa Panth…..

Khalsa Women and Mir Mannu’s Jail

In the first half of the 18th century, state terrorism against the Sikhs was on the steady increase and was intensified by Mir Mannu, the new Governor of Lahore (1748-1753). By now the faith of the common people in Sikhi and the strength of the Khalsa had increased tremendously. Despite Mannu’s extreme torture and reign of terror, nothing could deter the Sikhs. A Punjabi folk song of that period goes like this in English:

We are the plants and Mannu a sickle,

But by now, everyone knows,

The more he cuts us, the more we grow.

For a while Mir Mannu was engaged in Afghanistan. The Sikhs got the opportunity to strengthen their positions in the areas already under their control. This irritated Mannu. He attacked Ram Rauni, a Sikh fort at Amritsar, blew it up and killed about 900 Sikhs there. The Sikhs started guerrilla warfare against Mannu’s forces, fighting from inaccessible places, in the jungles. Mannu ordered for the Sikh Women and their children be arrested and brought to Lahore.

Sikh Women and children were captured and ordered to convert to Islam. When they refused to do so, they were deprived of sleep and food and were forced to grind grain by working stone mills. Their babies were snatched from them, thrown up in the air and pierced with sharp spears as they fell down. Children were cut to pieces and strewn around the necks of their mothers. Mothers watched dogs preying upon their mortally wounded infants. This took place in 1753.

These great Sikh Women bore all these tortures with unbelievable courage. They meditated on WaheGuru and sang sacred hymns. Not even one of them swayed or changed her faith. In the end they were all murdered in cold blood.

In memory of these martyrs, there stands a Gurdwara Sahib called Shaheed Ganj in Lahore, Panjab. We remember the Sikh Women Shaheeds in our daily prayers. “Singhnian jinna ne sawa sawa mann de pisne peese, bachiye de tota galean vich pavaye, par Dharm na haariya” Sikh Women who happily grinded 60 kg Chakki (grinding instrument), had to put garlands of the dead bodies of their children around their necks but did not let pass the ideals of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji.

Namastang Ajeete. Namastang Abheete.

Namastang Abaahe. Namastang Adhaahe.

I salute WaheGuru, who cannot be conquered. I salute WaheGuru, who is fearless.

I salute WaheGuru, who is unshakeable. I salute WaheGuru, who cannot be overthrown.