Blue not to be worn?

Although Dr. Ganda Singh mentiones about second marriage of Baba Jee and a Dera on his name but he reject all other slandering towards Baba jee. He writes: The life-history of Banda Singh has suffered the most at their hands under wrong notions. He has been slandered for and accused of things of which he was never guilty. Bhangu Rattan Singh is a Sikh writer of integrity and is generally reliable. though his account of Banda Singh is faulty on certain points.

He boldly points out Bhangu's assertions. Despite the fact that only on few instances Dr. Jee's book explain some conflicts but other than that Dr. Ganda Singh praised Baba jee' glory and admire him for his Kurbani to Khalsa Panth. His book concludes with following paragraphs.

... "Next to the Guru, Banda Singh was the first person to place before the Sikhs practical demonstration of staunch nationalism, and to teach them to sacrifice themselves smilingly at the altar of the Khalsa. The very thought of the noble example of the great martyr and his companions has contributed to elevate the minds of his people, who have, in tum, supplied the pages of history with still nobler examples. It was through him that the path to conquest was discovered by the Khalsa. He was the first man to deal a severe blow to the intolerant rule of the Mughals in the Punjab and to break the first sod in the conquest of that province by the Sikhs. Although it was forty years after his death that the capital of Lahore was occupied by the Khalsa and a regular Sikh Badshahat was decleared, with Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia as Padshah,19 it was Banda Singh Bahadur who laid the foundation of the Sikh Empire in 1710."

"It will be seen from what has been said in the foregoing chapters, that, all things, considered, Banda Singh was one of the most remarkable men that India has produced in the eighteenth century. The curtain has long since been rung down and the actor had passed away from the scene of his activities, never to appear again, but his spirit had again and again shone in the brave deeds of his coreligionists in the cause of the poor and the helpless. Although he who at one time was hailed as a defender of the faith, a friend of the oppressed and their never-failing fountain of hope, is no more, his dust has returned to dust and his spirit has blended with the spirit of his Savior, Guru Govind Singh, his name shall ever remain 'writ large on the roll of immortality' for his selfless sacrifices in the sacred cause of persecuted humanity and for his
martyrdom with unflinching devotion to God and the Guru."

Last line of above paragraph says it all. How can Baba Jee had martyrdom with unflinching devotion to God and the Guru if he disobeyed Guru Sahib, as slanderers say. It's a shame that even in today's' information age that having an access to vast resources for deciphering, still some people chose to slander Baba Jee.

"Ganda singh is a very well respected historian. And we should think twice before rejecting writings of a historian who does an honest professional and well researched job.

I think it would be erroneous to dismiss each and every single historical text just because the events do not hold up to khalsa ideals. At this rate what proof do you have that of any of Baba Banda Singh ji's life events. Why cannot what you say about Baba ji dismissed? What proof can be taken for this? Which historical source can you cite ? If you say Baba Banda Singh had bakshish of Guru Maharaj then same thing goes for Baba Binod Singh too"


Dr. Ganda Singh is an unparalled historian. His writing style is unmatched by any Sikh historian past or present. Dr. Sahib was not only a professioal historian he was a professional linguist. He knew many languages and for this reason he had much more resources then somone like Rattan Singh Bhangu. We only know some of the details of Baba Jis shaheedi and the events that lead to the shaheedi because of Dr. Sahibs research. He did not refer just to Sikh sources he referred to British, Hindu, and Muslim sources.

Whenever writing biographies Dr. Sahib wrote without any bias towards the individual. He wrote strictly as a historian presenting all information without filtering it. He allowed his audience to go through the account and let them use their own judgment/critical thinking to distinguish what is factual and what is myth. He never points out any faults in the info. provided because he wrote as a neutral historian. Only in the the beggining and ending of such biographis does he give his own opion on the individual. In regards to Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Ji he thought very high of him. Dr. Ganda Singh can and only should be read while keeping in mind he did not filter out any information from his soruces. He presented info. for people to view and come up with their own conclusion because this is what a true historian does.

For those who have doubts about Baba Banda Singh Bahadur, their doubts should be put to rest when Baba Jee passed the Agni Pariksha of their doubts by giving such a Shaheedi and not once asking for mercy or even flinching in pain as any normal human being would have done.

Baba Banda Singh Bahadur, Baba Ram Singh Kuka, Baba Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale all three of these Gurmukhs who struggled for the sovereignty of the Khalsa Panth had false propaganda against them by the rulers of Delhi in order to confuse the Sikhs about the question of Politically sovereign Khalsa Raaj because these Gurmukhs knew that Raaj Bina na Dharam Chale hain, so any Sikh leader who talks of Raaj will have propaganda against him by Delhi Sarkar.

Some people claim, without any historical evidence to back up their claim, that Siri Guru Arjun Dev Jee fainted after He sat on the hot iron plate.
Yet some others falsely suggest the notion that Sant Jarnail Singh Ji Khalsa was a Congress sponsored agent or he had hindus killed, which isn't true.
Bhai Inder Singh Ji, the point I am trying to make is that moorakhs and nindaks will always spread lies about our Great Shaheeds and Guru Sahibaan. But as Sikhs we have to retrospectively analyze these from a Gurmat point of view, and not just blindly accept and believe some propaganda which most likely manmukhs or non-Sikhs have spread. Some of our history has been tampered with and just because some false rumor has become really old, this doesn't mean that with due time we should believe these baseless claims. You quote certain writings and authors. I don't want to slander anybody here but some of those authors hhad questionable characters themselves. Such so-called historians have faults of their own and in order to hide behind the disguise of being appeared as a Sikh, they make up such stories which bear no historical evidence. But because they know that people will believe anything without questioning, they go on to write such blasphemous remarks or claims.
Historian Giani Rattan Singh Bhangu wrote his Sri Guru Panth Prakash by having others fill in the gaps for him. People at that narrated some historical accounts which were passed down generation to generation orally but were never compiled in a form of a book. He wrote Panth Prakash during Misl period. You don't think that by that period in history some lies must've spread about Sikhs, Guru Sahibaan and our great Shaheeds? He most likely didn't just consult Gursikhs at that time, but also non-Sikhs. Panth Prakash no doubt is a very descriptive narration of our history. If it wasn't for Bhangu, then today we wouldn't have known about Bhai Sukha Singh and Bhai Mehtab Singh and the associated historical account of them. But such non-Gurmat claims that Baba jee wore red and claims have to be dismissed. If he went against Gurmat and betrayed the Panth, then he wouldn't have given such a great Shaheedi. In fact, the Mughals wouldn't even had to kill him or his son, had he forsaken Sikhi and betrayed Khalsa. Then there wouldn't have been any reason to kill him any longer.
Baba Banda Singh Bahadur was first of all an Amritdhari Gursikh who remained steadfast in Gurmat principles and died for the cause of Sikhi. If he had worn red and done anything else against Gurmat, then Panth Khalsa would've sorted that out and he would've been given Tankhaah. You really think that the Panth would've ignored such anti-Gurmat things? Then how come no where is it mentioned that he was sorted out by the Panth? This is because non-Sikhs can easily spread lies but they don't know that when a Gursikh goes against Gurmat, he or she is also sorted out and given some type of Tankhaah or have that mistake be forgiven.

Now I want to ask you something and answer it honestly:

If put under such a sevre situation where it was either your Sikhi or your life? Which one would you choose? This too having to sacrifice some family member, especially a young child, would you be able to watch such treachery and remain unaffected by it?

Kulbir singh ji wrote

3. The allegation of replacing the Sikh salutation with Fateh Darshan too does not hold ground because Fateh Darshan is not a slogan but a short form of Fateh itself. Secondly it's a very frivolous thing and hardly big enough to discredit everything Baba jee did.

Response

Bhai sahib ji

Hukamnama of Baba Banda singh ji is cited showing he substituted ੴ ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਜੀ ਕੀ ਫਤਹਿ ॥ by ੴ Fateh Darshan. That is not small change and is testified in writing. Ganda singh writes on page 67 of his book quoting persian sources

quote

The sikhs advanced their morchals to the foot of walls close to the gates shouting "Fateh Darshan"

unquote

So we have a major violation of Hukam of Guru sahib . Why does he need to do it? h

Kulbir singh wrote

4. The allegation that Baba jee used to stop Singhs from eating fish and meat seems ridiculous. Who can consider this to be an allegation? Only Bhangu or his contemporaries.

My response

He also asks singhs not to eat onions.From where does that come? There is no such injunction to sikhs from Guru sahib

Kulbir singh wrote

6. The allegation that he got married twice should be rejected the same way as we reject the notion that our Guru Sahibaan got married more than once. We don't believe that any of our Guru Sahib kept more than one wife at the same time, with the exception of Mata Sahib Kaur, who was wed to Guru Sahib spiritually but not in the worldly sense.

My response

Our Guru sahibs should not be equated with mortals. At least we agree that he married twice.

Kulbir singh wrote

2. There are many errors in the history written by Bhangu and his contemporaries e.g. writing that Tat Khalsa used to eat meat and Baba jee stopping them, forcing so called Bandai Khalsa to eat pork soup at Siri Harmandir Sahib,

Response

Ganda singh also writes that Bhanghu's version on making Bandai khalsa to eat meat is not correct>he writes that Bandai khalsa were made to take meat soup. I think it was derogatory on part of mainstream khalsa if they did it.

Kulbir singh ji, no one stops anyone to accord respect to Banda singh ji. In that josh we should not be carried away and fall into hands of our enemies by labelling mainstream khalsa as traitors.

Bhai sukhdeep singh

That letter is to Mata sundri ji and not Mata sahib kaur ji.I have quoted Dr Tarlochan singh who wrote the article and at top it is written quote and then unquote.

WE know that one beer of Dasam Granth is written by Baba Binod singh ji. Dr Tarlochan singh is clarifying about that beer.Please read what is quoted in my post.

Tough singhs do not cave in when confronted by enemies. Baba Binod singh was advising Baba Banda singh to make a pincer move, break cordon and escape.This they did earlier when they were surrounded in a fort.Surrender is not found in annals of sikh history.

During Baba Binod singh's time it was Khalsa dal. Then there were those who followed banda singh.They were bandai khalsa.Khalsa faced immense persecution after Banda singh. After Baba Binod singh Darbara singh became jathedar of dal.

Jathedar Darbara singh died in 1734.It was then that Nawab kapoor singh became jathedar. He was born in 1697 , took amrit in 1721 and joined khalsa dal in 1726.Please do not tell that there was no khalsa dal jathedar from 1706 onwards till kapoor singh.

Singh 91 ji

These are same people who have raised issue of Tatt Khalsa versus bandai khalsa. These people first raised finger on bani of dasam pita ji and simultaneously at core sikh concepts of Waheguru Gurumantra, amritvela , no entity called soul,no reincarnation etc.All this is written in books of kala afghana.I have read some of his books.

They are raising such issues on purpose.Goal is to malign sikh institutions for example Institution of khalsa. Raking up of Banda singh Bahadar only saviour of sikhs and tat khalsa a traitor was a couple of years back. Now they are attacking Zafarnamah, which is undisputed writing of Guru Gobind singh ji. There was a similar thread posted on sikhnet where discussion was on color " Neela".Then someone barges in and writes that this color is adopted by Nihungs from Moghals to win favours.Is that not ridiculous? The same man later goes and writes that Tat khalsa was traitor and was in the employ of Moghals. Nowhere there is an evidence of that as Dr Ganda singh had gone through moghal records like roznamchas of emperor.

Bandai khalsa are not on the scene after death of Baba Banda Bahadar.It was khalsa dal after him.So someone has to blunt their attack that if Khalsa went against Baba Banda singh , there were religious and military reasons..

Sikhs do not surrender against any odds. Baba Gurbakhash singh who faced forces of Abdali in parkarma of Darbar sahib proved it. He came forward and fought and met sure death>he knew death is staring at his face. So if you ponder with cool mind , you will find that Baba Binod singh's advice to Banda singh to break cordon by pincer move was right one rather than be captured as a sitting duck.

Bhai Inder Singh jeeo,

The impression we get from your posts is that Baba Banda Singh Bahadur was shunned by mainstream Khalsa and that there existed a division in Panth when Baba jee was alive and that this division was Bandai Khalsa and Tatt Khalsa. There is no historical evidence that this is true. At the time when Baba jee was alive, there was no resolution passed against Baba jee from Siri Akal Takhat Sahib nor there was any other evidence of so called Tatt Khalsa taking any action against Baba jee. If anything, the whole mainstream Panth stood with Baba jee till he got Shaheed. This is proven by the fact that 700 Singhs including prominent generals of that time e.g. General Baaz Singh stood with Baba jee and gave their shaheedi along with him.

It's possible that after Baba jee's Shaheedi there was some political division between Singhs which was later made famous as a division of so called Bandai Khalsa and Tatt Khalsa. Another thing that is possible is that the Mughal intelligence worked to preach against Baba jee in order to weaken the Panth. Whatever the case, Baba jee's Sikhi and reputation stayed unstained throughout his life. His glorious Shaheedi proves that he was a great Gursikh and not a fickle charactered individual who would give way to Kaam and get married twice. A Kaami person is also a Mohi (one who has moh, attachment) person and would have never been able to see the tortured death of his 5 year old son. So it is concluded that all slandering of Baba jee is an anti-Panthik activity that was started by the enemies of Khalsa Panth in order to weaken the Panth.

Kulbir Singh

Kulbir singh ji

You have been provided all historical evidence about Baba Banda singh's misconduct. There are other texts that say samething about him.Those are Twarikh guru Khalsa ,Suraj Parkash, Bhai Kahan singh Nabha's Mahankosh.John Malcolm , an English Colonel, who visited Amritsar while pursuing Holkar in 1805 saw last gurmatta of sikhs in 1805. He wrote a book "sketch of Sikhs".He terms him as a heretic on page 1843.

Giani Gian singh writes and bhai sahib bhai veer singh testifies in a commentary that Baba Banda singh was caught with 200 singhs .They were taken to Lahore first and then more singhs were caught from here and there to add to their strength. Suraj parkash gives account of a dialogue between Baba Banda singh and Baba Binod singh when Baba Binod singh tells banda to leave garhi.banda is adamant and Baba Binod singh says that you (Banda singh) are a cause of problems of panth and will get singhs killed as sittin ducks.Then Kahan singh intervenes and get the dispute resolved. It shows that Singhs were not happy with his style of functioning but stayed with him because Guru sahib had sent him.That is what kahan singh tells his father Baba Binod singh.

Coming to his second marriage, Dr Ganda singh has written in detail about this in his book.Bhai sahib bhai veer singh ji has endorsed it in his commentary in suraj parkash writing names of his off springs that are taken in ardas at his dera. Dr ganda singh writes that his descendants were awarded jagirs by Maharaja ranjit singh when they approached him. It is hard to understand logic provided that he married second time but it was not for kaam.

Introduction of fateh darshan that is testified in hukamnama and then continuing it as war cry,made khalsa angry. This salutation was not abandoned by his core followers. This made mainstream khalsa angry.His core followers continued with this practice after hm.Proof of that is slip which was thrown in Sarovar for them had fateh darshan written on it.It sank.That was divine message for bandais .

After Banda singh was caught there was massive persecution of sikhs in Punjab for years.It was this time when there heads were priced.Bhai Mani singh writes to Mata sundri ji in his letter that it was very bad time for sikhs as a reign of terror is unleashed.Singhs have left for forests. If he was safe God knows for how long.

When terror subsided around 1721,Banda's followers came to Darbar sahib and claimed ownership.Mahant Amar singh was head. Though they were very few Mata sundri ji tried to resolve feud in a dignified manner by instructing Bhai mani singh ji.

Conclusion is to present Baba Banda singh spotless sikhs have to rewrite their entire history. Someone was cursing sikhiwiki for writing against baba Banda singh.I checked it afterwards.That writing is copied by sikhiwiki from singh's blog where he is giving historical texts and not his opinion. It is also important to note that mata Sundri ji was head of sikhs even during Banda singh's time. Bhai mani singh was taking instructions from her. Jassa singh ahluwalia was brought up under her care at delhi and when he came of age was sent to join Nawab Kapoor singh. When Banda singh was cautioned by her ,he retorted angirly. That shows his ego.

No one is against anyone who wants eulogize Baba Banda singh.But it should not be done at cost of mainstream khalsa by terming them as traitors as they made our history with their countless sacrifices.

Bhai Kulbir Singh jio

We have said enough on subject of Baba Banda singh ji. I thank administration of Gurmatbibek for providing me an opportunity
to present my views on this sensitive subject of sikh history.

I seek forgiveness if i have hurt inadvertently anyone's sentiments by my posts.May Waheguru keep all of you in
Charhdi kala.

Bhai Inder Singh jee,

It's sad to read your last post above because you have written about Baba Banda Singh very derogatorily e.g. referring to him as "Banda" alone. If you don't want to address him as Baba Banda Singh, that's your choice but at least write "Singh" beside his name.

Quote

You have been provided all historical evidence about Baba Banda singh's misconduct. There are other texts that say samething about him.Those are Twarikh guru Khalsa ,Suraj Parkash, Bhai Kahan singh Nabha's Mahankosh.John Malcolm , an English Colonel, who visited Amritsar while pursuing Holkar in 1805 saw last gurmatta of sikhs in 1805. He wrote a book "sketch of Sikhs".He terms him as a heretic on page 1843.

I repeat nth time that all the historical texts that you have quoted have been written 2 or 3 generations after Baba jee's shaheedi and therefore we must take their testimony with a grain of salt. We are not saying that all of them had evil intentions behind it but it seems like they were definitely ill-informed. None of these historical evidences that you have provided are eye-witnesses of the period from 1708-1716. So how can we believe them with closed eyes and by shutting down our Bibek Budh?

Here are some facts about Baba Banda Singh jee that may help us understand his greatness and importance.

• Baba jee is the lone Sikh leader in the history of Sikhi who was chosen by Guru Sahib Himself to lead the Panth; therefore, are we to believe that Guru Sahib's choice was as bad as you are making it out?

• Baba jee is the one who avenged the shaheedi of Sahibzaade and that of Pir Budhu Shah.

• Baba jee is the one who conquered Sirhind, which was as important as Lahore and Delhi in those days. Not only that, he defeated the imperial army with simple swords and spears which in today's world would be equal to Bangladesh defeating USA; so dramatic was the difference in the military equipment and training of the imperial army and irregular Sikh force.

• Baba jee is the one who established Khalsa Raj for the first time and the only leader in Sikh history so far, who conquered but did not take any title for himself. He did not declare himself as the king or Maharaja as later Sikh leaders did. He appointed General Baaz Singh and others as governors of the newly conquered lands and himself took no title and retired to the hills for Bhagti and Naam Simran. Can you find such example of detachment from world as Baba jee. Sampradayak scholars talk about detachment of Raja Janak but that was in Satjug or whichever jug it was. Why do they ignore the example of detachment that Baba jee set right in Kaljug?

• Baba jee was the messiah of poor people and peasants. For the first time in the history of India, he abolished the jagirdari system and gave land to peasants who were actually tilling the land. How do you think the Jats became so prominent in Punjab? Before Baba jee, Jats were just peasants but Baba jee made them landowners and abolished the jagirdari system whereby one person could own thousands of acres. Baba jee did not have any caste bias as later Sikh leaders did. He accepted even recent Muslim converts and embraced them magnanimously. It took Sikhs another 200 years in early 1900s to accept Muslim converts (Maulvi Karim Baksh as Sant Lakhbir Singh in early 1900s).

• The jagirdari system that Baba jee had abolished was reintroduced by later Sikh Sardars including Raja Ranjit Singh.

• Baba jee can't be compared to any Sikh leader of any time. This is the only time when the Sikhs were led by a Brahmgyani leader and Baba jee was an ideal Sikh in every sense. Just compare him to the later Sikh kings and Sardars; do you see any comparison? Baba jee was a totally different league altogether and this is why the later historians could not do justice with him.

• He had no attachment to any worldly wealth. He did not keep a single coin for himself but gave all it to Panth. Baba jee is the one released the first coins of Khalsa Raj and did not have even his mention on the coins but only mentioned Siri Guru Nanak Dev jee and Siri Guru Gobind Singh jee.

• Never has a Sikh leader been so big in spiritual Avastha as Baba jee was. His presence in the battlefield was enormous. The Sikhs were losing the battle of Sirhind against Vazir Khan but as soon as Baba jee came in the battlefield, right away the tide turned against the Mughals. Our tradition says that Baba jee had knowledge of celestial weapons and he used one of his celestial weapon at the battlefield of Sirhind, decimating the Mughal army. This celestial weapon was an arrow that Siri Guru Gobind Singh jee Himself had given to Baba jee.

• Just as glorious was the rise of Baba jee, same was his martyrdom. In order to scare him, more than 700 Singhs were martyred along with him but Baba jee stayed totally unmoved. In order to break him, they brought his 4 or 5 year old son and threatened to kill him but still Baba jee stayed determined. Then they actually started killing our prince - Ajay Singh but Baba jee accepted it as Bhaana (Will) of Vaheguru. Then they took out the pumping heart of his son Ajay Singh with a knife and put it in the mouth of Baba jee but Baba jee did not even flinch. The torturers were obviously offended and they decided to torture Baba jee as much as possible. They took out his eyes, and cut him to little pieces but Baba jee did not even blink. He remained steadfast and absorbed in Naam Abhyaas. Where do you find such example of valour and which other supreme leader of Sikhs went through so much testing? How can we dare to discredit Baba jee based on frivolous incidents.

• We Sikhs are acting so naively with respect to Baba Banda Singh jee. Based on petty issues we are disowning our greatest leader of all times and Hindus are taking advantage of this and claiming that Baba jee was a Bairagi Sadhu. They try to prove that Sikhs could not avenge the martyrdom of our Sahibzaade and it took a Hindu to lead the Sikhs to do so. Furthermore, the credit goes to Baba Banda Singh to uproot the Muslim rule of many hundred years but unfortunately by disowning him and by discrediting him, we are implicitly saying that it was a Hindu leader who uprooted the Muslim rule from North India. It's a blunder to disown such great leader as Baba jee but alas, how do we explain this to anparh (uneducated) Nihungs and other naive Sikhs who are hell bent on taking such jewel from us. All we can do is plead before Vaheguru for mercy.

• The status of Sikhs opposing Baba Banda Singh is same as the ones who opposed and are still opposing the cause of Sant Jarnail Singh jee Bhindranwale. They accuse Sant jee of same things that their predecessors accused Baba jee of e.g. 11th guru, causing violence, trying to establish independent Sikh Raj etc.

Quote

Suraj parkash gives account of a dialogue between Baba Banda singh and Baba Binod singh when Baba Binod singh tells banda to leave garhi.banda is adamant and Baba Binod singh says that you (Banda singh) are a cause of problems of panth and will get singhs killed as sittin ducks.Then Kahan singh intervenes and get the dispute resolved. It shows that Singhs were not happy with his style of functioning but stayed with him because Guru sahib had sent him.That is what kahan singh tells his father Baba Binod singh.

Quoting the example of Baba jee's argument with Binod Singh, you conclude that "Singhs" were not happy with his style of functioning. If your statement is true, then please tell us why even Kahn Singh, the son of Binod Singh did not support him and leave with him? This incident just proves that all Singhs actually stayed with Baba jee and did not leave him. It's Binod Singh who left the fort alone. So it proves that Binod Singh did not have support of mainstream Singhs of that time.

As this humble Daas has stated before, Baba jee layee jaan haazir hai and we will vigorously defend Baba jee against slandering and groundless allegations. What is the "Aukaat" of the rehit-less Brahmanical historians who have written against Baba jee. Every human being, including high Avastha Gursikhs are prone to small mistakes but to turn these small mistakes into weapons of mass slandering against Mahapurakhs like Baba jee is mischievous and all should refrain from doing so. They are not serving the Panth by doing so.

Kulbir Singh

Quote

Bhai Kulbir Singh jio

We have said enough on subject of Baba Banda singh ji. I thank administration of Gurmatbibek for providing me an opportunity
to present my views on this sensitive subject of sikh history.

I seek forgiveness if i have hurt inadvertently anyone's sentiments by my posts.May Waheguru keep all of you in
Charhdi kala.

Bhai Inder Singh jeeo, this Daas had written earlier also that we should agree to disagree on this one topic. I had already posted my last post before your post above came through. In any case, it was a pleasure discussing Sikhi history with you.

Kulbir Singh

Bhai Kulbir singh jio

I apologize if i mentioned Baba Banda singh ji as only Baba Banda in my last post.It was not my intention at all to address him
in this way.i rechecked my post and found that i wrote Baba ji as Baba Banda singh.But when giving reference of Suraj parkash
i wrote Banda.My due apologies for that.

It is very unsikh way if we address him in a derogatory manner as he has contributed a lot for sikhs. Please check all my previous posts and you will find that i always addressed Baba ji with respect.

Bhai sahib jio, history is always written after the dust settles. I read there were sikhs who were over 100 years when Bhai bhanghu met them.For example Baba Darbara singh who was succeeded by Nawab kapoor singh was 95 years when he died in 1733. Bhai Koer singh wrote Gurbilas in 1751 and i am sure he might have met many singhs who were from Guru sahib's time. 100 years of gap for writing historical events is not that big.

Again my due apologies if you feel i disrespected Baba Banda singh ji by improper addressing.

"Baba jee can't be compared to any Sikh leader of any time. This is the only time when the Sikhs were led by a Brahmgyani leader and Baba jee was an ideal Sikh in every sense. Just compare him to the later Sikh kings and Sardars; do you see any comparison? Baba jee was a totally different league altogether and this is why the later historians could not do justice with him.

• He had no attachment to any worldly wealth. He did not keep a single coin for himself but gave all it to Panth. Baba jee is the one released the first coins of Khalsa Raj and did not have even his mention on the coins but only mentioned Siri Guru Nanak Dev jee and Siri Guru Gobind Singh jee.

• Never has a Sikh leader been so big in spiritual Avastha as Baba jee was. ."

I agree that Baba Ji was a Brahmgiani leader, but I dont think its correct to say there has never been any leader with spiritual avastha. Akali Phoola SIngh Ji who led the Shaheedi Jatha Misal was a great leader of lots of naam kamaaee and whose rehni-behni cannot be matched. His parents died at a young age. He donated all his wealth to the panth and spent time doing naam abhyiaas and seva. For his humble seva of "kar seva" and his reputation for protecting the week he was selected as Jathedar.

On the battlfied he brought terror to the dushtman and inspired the Singhs when outnumbered. He was the first to detect the cunningness of the British and he was the first to propagate the princples of Gurmat to the Western world. When Metclaf offered him money for the Guru Ka Langar he politely refused and said its principle to not accept donations from the outside. When the British demanded Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji that Akali JI be arresed and imprisoned Raja Ranjit Singh denied the request on the grounds that the Panth would never accept and tolerate such a thing. Akali Ji was the leader who made the strong pathans flee from Punjab. When he was ambushed and shot by a coward pathan the whole panth was saddned and begged him to not leave. He loved the panth and he told them to not trust the Dogras and not do roti beti da sanjh with internal forces bent on destroying the panth. He told them to always think about the chardi kala of the panth. He was the leader who united the Missals when they were fighting with one another, and urged them to not think about their own jathebandi but think about the whole panth. Lahore Darbar was established when Sukerchakia Missal and Bhanga Missal fighting only after the mediation of Akali Ji. Only after the unity of the misal was the Sikh Kingdom established.

Quote

I agree that Baba Ji was a Brahmgiani leader, but I dont think its correct to say there has never been any leader with spiritual avastha. Akali Phoola SIngh Ji who led the Shaheedi Jatha Misal was a great leader of lots of naam kamaaee and whose rehni-behni cannot be matched.

I think my writing was a bit ambiguous due to which you came to the conclusion that I wrote that no Sikh leader has ever been of the level of Baba jee. What I meant was that no supreme leader of Sikhs has been of as high a Avastha as Baba jee. Akali jee no doubt was a great Sikh but he was not the supreme leader of Sikhs. Sure he was the Jathedar of Shaheedi misl and probably one of the greatest religious leader (save Baba Sahib Singh Bedi) of his time but politically there were other leaders e.g. Raja Ranjit Singh. On the other hand Baba Banda Singh jee was the supreme leader of his time, both religiously and politically. Other supreme leaders of Panth have been Nawab Kapur Singh, Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and in modern time, perhaps for some time Master Tara Singh. Out of the supreme leaders that we have had, Baba jee was unmatched. As for other high spiritual Gursikhs, Baba Buddha jee was the greatest Sikh in spiritual sense (as per Bhai Sahib Randhir Singh jee's writing).

Kulbir Singh

No doubt both leaders had different circumstances and had a different role in Sikh history. Baba Banda SIngh Bahadur Ji was personally selected by Guru Sahib to lead polically and religiously . Akali on the other hand was leader of a Misal at a time when they were fighting one another for land. The Shaheedi Misal which was previously run by AKali Jis father ( Ishar SIngh) was one of the only Misals which did not care for land and only care about the chardi kala panth. This philosophy was inherited by Akali JI. His main goal was to unite the panth at a time when it was broken. His goal was to establish a Sikh kingdrom and drive out the tyrants. The misal he lead were the most spiritually inclined and they wore the heads in their hands in the battlfied.

The most ambitious jathedar of the misals was Mahraraja Ranjit Singh Ji. Akali Ji could have led the panth as king but he did not have worldy ambitions. His only goal was to serve and fight for the panth. At one time the panth wanted to select him as supreme leader, but he refused as he had a close relationship with Raja Ranjit Singh. When the two had a fall out due to gurmat principles ( roti beti da sanjh with dogras) it was Baba Sahib Singh who convinced Ranjit Singh to seek forgiveness from Akali Jee. The first glimpse the Western world got of the unwordly Khalsa spirit was through Akali Jee. His very memory makes the hair on my body stand up!

No matter how much we say about Baba Jee it will be less. Baba Jee has shown how a supreme Sikh leader should be. Religiously he was Rahitvaan, politically he only lived and eventually died for the Panth, proving his loyalty was only for the Panth. In his lifestyle, he was like a humble Fakir. Never wearing expensive clothing or accumulating wealth even though he was the ruler of present day Punjab, Haryana and all the Pahari Rajas of himachal were his tributaries. When Baba Jee first started with a few Singhs, they had nothing. But as they began beating the Mughals, the weaponry of the Mughals began falling into the hands of the Singhs. Bhai Sahib Bhai Randhir Singh Jee mentions Baba Banda Singh Bahadur and how Khalsa in 1947 should have taken inspiration from Baba Jee here:

ਗੁਰੂ ਅਕਾਲ ਦਾ ਆਸਰਾ ਲੈ ਕੇ ਰਣ ਵਿਚ ਜੂਝ ਪਵੋ। ਗੁਪਤ ਅਕਾਲੀ ਛਿਨਵੇਂ ਕਰੋੜ ਫੌਜਾਂ ਅਕਾਸ਼ ਤੋਂ ਬਰਕਤਾਂ ਦੇ ਤੀਰ ਵਰਸਾਉਣਗੀਆਂ। ਮਤ ਖ਼ਿਆਲ ਕਰੋ ਕਿ ਤੁਸਾਡੇ ਪਾਸ ਬੰਦੂਕਾਂ ਆਦਿਕ ਸ਼ਸਤਰ ਨਹੀਂ। ਮਤ ਸੋਚੋ ਕਿ ਮੁਕਾਬਲੇ ਵਾਲੇ ਗ਼ਨੀਮ ਪਾਸ ਮਸ਼ੀਨਗਨਾਂ ਤੋਪਾਂ ਤੇ ਹਵਾਈ ਜਹਾਜ਼ ਹਨ। ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਤੁਸਾਨੂੰ ਏਹ ਸਾਰੀਆਂ ਰਹਿਮਤਾਂ ਅਰਪਣ ਕਰੇਗਾ।

ਜ਼ਰਾ ਪਿਛੇ ਝਾਤ ਮਾਰ ਕੇ ਆਪਣਾ ਖਾਲਸਈ ਇਤਿਹਾਸ ਨਿਹਾਰੋ, ਜਦੋਂ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਦਸਮੇਸ਼ ਪਿਤਾ ਅਸਾਡੇ ਦੁਸ਼ਟ-ਦਮਨ ਪਾਤਸ਼ਾਹ ਨੇ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਨਦੇੜ ਤੋਂ ਜੋ ਹੁਣ ਦੀ ਪ੍ਰਸਿਧ ਹਜ਼ੂਰ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਹੈ, ਬਾਬਾ ਬੰਦਾ ਸਿੰਘ ਜੀ ਨੂੰ ਕੇਵਲ ਪੰਝੀ ਸਿੰਘਾਂ ਦੀ ਅੜਦਲ ਵਿਚ, ਦੁਸ਼ਟਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਦਮਨ ਕਰਨ ਲਈ ਪੰਜਾਬੇ ਤੋਰਿਆ ਸੀ, ਓਦੋਂ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਪਾਸ ਕੇਹੜੀਆਂ ਤੋਪਾਂ ਤੇ ਮਸ਼ੀਨਗਨਾਂ ਸਨ? ਕੇਹੜੇ ਹਵਾਈ ਜਹਾਜ਼ ਸਨ? ਕੇਵਲ ਖਾਲਸਾਈ ਸਪਿਰਿਟ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦੇ ਸੀਨੇ ਅੰਦਰ ਦਗ ਰਹੀ ਸੀ। ਇਸ ਦੇ ਸਾਹਮਣੇ ਲਖੂਖਹਾਂ ਦੁਸ਼ਟ ਤੁਰਕਾਂ ਦੀਆਂ ਫ਼ੋਜਾਂ ਛੈ ਤੇ ਖੈ ਹੋ ਗਈਆਂ। ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦੀਆਂ ਸਾਰੀਆਂ ਤੜੀਆਂ ਤੋਪਾਂ ਖਾਲਸਾ ਜੀ ਨੇ ਖੋਹ ਲਈਆਂ। ਨਤੀਜਾ ਕੀ ਹੋਇਆ ਕਿ ਤੁਰਕਾਂ ਦਾ ਛੇ ਸੋ ਸਦੀ ਦਾ ਜੰਮਿਆ ਥੰਮਿਆ ਰਾਜ ਉਖਾੜ ਕੇ ਫ਼ਨਾਹ ਫ਼ਿਲਾਹ ਕਰ ਦਿਤਾ। ਤੁਸੀਂ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਹੀ ਬੀਰਾਂ ਜੋਧਿਆਂ ਦੀ ਸੰਤਾਨ ਹੋ। ੳਹੋ ਖੂਨ ਤੁਸਾਡੀਆਂ ਰਗਾਂ ਵਿਚ ਲਹਿਰੇ ਮਾਰ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ। ਓਹੋ ਹੀ ਖੰਡੇ ਦਾ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤ ਤੁਸੀਂ ਪਾਨ ਕੀਤਾ ਹੋਇਆ ਹੈ। ਕਸਰ ਹੈ ਤਾਂ ਹੰਭਲਾ ਮਾਰਨ ਦੀ ਹੈ। ਇਹ ਜੋ ਕੁਝ ਜੁਲਮ ਤੇ ਜਬਰ ਜਰਵਾਣਿਆਂ ਵਲੋਂ ਹੋਇਆ ਹੈ, ਤੁਸਾਡੀ ਸੁਤੀ ਕਲਾ ਨੂੰ ਜਗਾਵਣ ਲਈ ਹੀ ਹੋਇਆ ਹੈ। ਜੋ ਕੁਛ ਪਾਪ ਅਤਿਆਚਾਰ ਅਤਿਆਚਾਰੀਆਂ ਨੇ ਕੀਤੇ ਹਨ, ਏਹੀ ਇਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦੀ ਜੜ੍ਹ ਪੁਟਣ ਲਈ ਅਤੇ ਪਾਪ-ਰਾਜ ਖ਼ਤਮ ਕਰਨ ਦੇ ਪੇਸ਼ਖ਼ੈਮੇ ਹਨ। ਤੁਸੀਂ ਧਰਮ ਵਿਥਾਰਨਾ ਹੈ, ਦੁਸ਼ਟ ਦੋਖੀਅਨ ਦਾ ਮੂਲ ਉਪਾਰਨਾ ਹੈ। ਜੈ ਬਿਜੈ ਤੁਸਾਡੀ ਹੈ। ਫਤਹ ਦਾ ਸੇਹਰਾ ਤੁਸਾਡੇ ਮਸਤਕ ਨੀਸ਼ਾਨ ਹੈ।

Amazing passage about Baba Banda Singh jee and his companions, from Bhai Sahib jee's writings, Nimana jee. Thanks for sharing.

Kulbir Singh

Great learning here from Bhai Kulbir Singh Jee and Bhai Inder SIngh Jee-, Bhai Jasjit Singh jee and all , more for learning - as Nimana jee says shaeeds are a different breed :

1- they come and go for reason only known to them on a misison statement engrained within them from Akal Purakh
2- they are on a different palying field than any average sikh.
3. I doubt if any one can truly do justice in writing about them mainly due to their jeevans being way way beyond the normal human being
4. Supremecy of each shaeed can never be mathed or measured due to one simple fact - laying down all including their life for the kaum
5. Their life and contribution cannot be concluded as they Shaheed - and alive for the kaum for ever.
6. Their actions are always hard to comprehend by their own people and and the enemy.

I still feel the Sikhwiki page needs to present a balanced view from some pieces from this thread as it is of course important - both sides should be presented as our shaheeds were shaheeds for the entire kaum - not just the meat eating or non meating - or Non gurmat orientated or Gurmat orientated.