Baba Deep Singh

From SikhiPedia

Baba Deep Singh (1682-1757) is revered as one of the most hallowed [martyrs] in Sikh history. The term "Baba" is used to give respect to an elder in India. He is also revered as a highly religious person in Sikhism, and remembered for his sacrifice and devotion to teachings of Sikh Gurus.

Early life

Deep Singh was born into a Sikh family in 1682 in the district of Amritsar. His father, Bhagto Singh , was from the village of Pahuwind.

He went to Anandpur on the day of Vaisakhi in 1700, where he was baptised as Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh. Deep Singh took Khande di Pahul (ceremonial initiation into Khalsa). As a youth, he spent considerable time in close companionship of Guru Gobind Singh. He started learning weaponry, riding and other martial skills. From Bhai Mani Singh, he began learning, reading and writing Gurmukhi and the interpretation of the Gurus' words. After spending two years at Anandpur, he returned to his village in 1702 and married and settled down. He was summoned by Guru Gobind Singh at Talwandi Sabo in 1705, where he helped Bhai Mani Singh in making copies of the Guru Granth Sahib. Before departing for Deccan, Guru Gobind Singh installed him as the caretaker of Damdama Sahib.

Warrior

Misldar

In 1709, Deep Singh joined Banda Singh Bahadur during the assaults on the towns of Sadhaura and Sirhind. In 1733, Nawab Kapur Singh appointed him a leader of an armed squad(jatha). On the Vaisakhi of 1748, at the meeting of the Sarbat Khalsa in Amritsar, the 65 jathas of the Dal Khalsa were reorganized into twelve Misls. Baba Deep Singh was entrusted with the leadership of the Shaheedan Misl.

The Demolition of the Darbar Sahib

In April 1757, Ahmad Shah Durrani raided Northern India for the fourth time. While he was on his way back to Kabul from Delhi with precious booty and young men and women as captives, the Sikhs made a plan to relieve him of the valuables and free the captives. The squad of baba Deep Singh was deployed near Kurukshetra. His squad freed a large number of prisoners and raided Durrani's considerable treasury. On his arrival in Lahore, Durrani, embittered by his loss, ordered the demolition of the Darbar Sahib. The shrine was blown up and the sacred pool filled with the entrails of slaughtered cows. Durrani assigned the Punjab region to his son, Timur Shah, and left him a force of ten thousand men under General Jahan Khan.

Baba Deep Singh, aged 75-years old, felt that it was up to him to atone for the sin of having let the Afghans desecrate the shrine. He emerged from scholastic retirement (he had been making copies of the Guru Granth Sahib), and declared to a congregation at Damdama Sahib that he intended to rebuild the temple. Five hundred men came forward to go with him. Deep Singh offered prayers before starting for Amritsar: "May my head fall at the Darbar Sahib." As he went from hamlet to hamlet, many villagers joined him. By the time baba Deep Singh reached Tarn Taran Sahib, ten miles from Amritsar, over five thousand peasants armed with hatchets, swords, and spears accompanied him.

Martyrdom

According to the Sikh tradition, baba Deep Singh had vowed to avenge the desecration of the Golden Temple by the Afghan army. In 1757, he led an army to defend the Golden Temple. The Sikhs and the Afghans clashed, in the battle of Amritsar, at the village of Gohalwar on November 11, 1757.

Tradition has it that Deep Singh continued to fight after having been decapitated, slaying his enemies with his head in one hand and his sword in the other.<ref name=deol/> In this version, only upon reaching the sacred city of Amritsar did he stop and finally die. This tale recalls the words of the first Guru, Guru Nanak:

   Shouldst thou wish to play the game of love,
   come unto my Path with thy head on thy palm.
   And, once you step unto this path,
   You may well give up thy head, rather than the cause.

The Sikhs recovered their prestige by defeating the Afghan army and the latter were obliged to run away.

The spot where Baba Deep Singh's head fell is marked in the Golden Temple complex, and Sikhs from around the world pay their respects there. Baba Deep Singh's 30kg Khanda (double-edged sword), which he used in his final battle, is still preserved at Takhat Sri Hazur Sahib.

Trivia

• It was only after his death that the Misl that Baba Deep Singh Ji was named as Shaheedan(the Martyrs) in memory of his martyrdom.
• Baba Deep Singh is considered to be the first Jathedar of the Damdami Taksal.
• Baba Deep Singh's family descendants are located mainly in Punjab (India) and England. In Punjab the primary family home is located in District: Hoshiarpur, Village:Dogarpur. This residence was established by the late Nihang Naranjan Singh.