No govt celebrations in December to mark martyrdom of Guru Gobind Singh’s younger sons

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday announced there would be no government celebrations in future in December, the month during which the younger sons of Guru Gobind Singh were martyred during Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s rule.

Mann made the announcement here after laying the foundation stone of a memorial to commemorate the martyrdom of 21 Sikh soldiers during the historic battle of Saragarhi.

He also said the construction of the memorial will be completed within six months and there is no cap on funds needed for it.

The chief minister said that the month of December during which the “sahibzadas and Mata Gujri ji were martyred, is the month of mourning for entire humanity”.

Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh, Guru Gobind Singh’s sons, laid down their lives while defending their faith. Mata Gujri, the mother of Guru Gobind Singh, is revered for her legendary courage and supreme sacrifice.

Mann said he has already directed officers to ensure that “no function of happiness is celebrated at the government level during this month (December) in the future”.

This will be a tribute to the sahibzadas and Mata Gujri by the state government and the people, he said.

Mann said the exemplary valour of the 21 soldiers of the 36th Sikhs regiment stationed near the Samana ridge (now in Pakistan), who laid down their lives in a battle following an attack by nearly 10,000 Afghans on September 12, 1897, hardly finds any parallel in world history.

The chief minister also slammed previous governments for allegedly ignoring this place of “immense importance.” He said that the previous state government had announced to construct a memorial and Rs 1 crore was released in 2019.

However, the work never started as additional funds of Rs 25 lakh that were required for the memorial were never allotted, Mann further said.