Veer Baal Diwas

History glossary

Topic: Regional Resistance: Rajputs, Ahoms, Sikhs · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

Veer Baal Diwas means "Day of the Brave Children." India has observed it on 26 December every year since 2022. It honours the two younger sons of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru. These boys were Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh. Sikhs call the Guru's sons the sahibzade, meaning "the princes." The day remembers how even small children refused to give up their faith under Mughal pressure.

Example

In c. 1704–05, Wazir Khan, the Mughal governor of Sirhind in Punjab, captured the two boys. Zorawar Singh was about nine and Fateh Singh about six. They refused to convert to Islam. On his orders, they were bricked up alive and killed at Sirhind.

Don't confuse with

  • The martyrdom of the elder sahibzade: Ajit Singh and Jujhar Singh, Guru Gobind Singh's elder sons, died fighting in the Battle of Chamkaur. They were not executed at Sirhind.
  • Guru Tegh Bahadur's martyrdom was in 1675. He was beheaded in Chandni Chowk, Delhi, on Aurangzeb's orders. He was the boys' grandfather, not one of the children.

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