Preface To 'Martyrdom Of The Innocents And Guru Gobind Singh's Zafar Namah' By Teja Singh

On my visit to the Gurudwara Fatahgarh Sahib, the ruins of the palaces of Sirhind often reminded me of the glorious, as well as the gloomiest, period of Wazir Khan, the Nawab of Sirhind. Atrocities and ruthlessness inflicted by him upon the nocent people brought him the gloom and doom. The ruins at were once a centre of pomp and show, authority and bauchery, now give a deserted and dreaded look to passers-by. But, at the same time, they give a feeling of elation and sense of pride about the courageous attack by Banda Singh Bahadur, who brought the haughty heads to perdition. Infact, the very battle of Sirhind was a victory of good over evil and a matter of pride for the Sikh nation.

A dilapidated well-formed part of the doomed complex, now lies partly buried close to the berm of a road leading to Gurudwara Fatahgarh Sahib. The depredation of the palatial palaces inspired me to write this epic relating to the unjustified and unfair martyrdom of the two innocent sons of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. The younger sons of the Guru, Sahibzada Zorawar Singh and Sahibzada Fatah Singh were first entombed alive with bricks and then tortured to death by the order of the then Nawab Wazir Khan of Sirhind. Opposite these ruins, across the road, now stands Gurudwara Fatahgarh Sahib with gleaming, gilded domes as a reminder of the martyrdom of those tender but brave ones, aged nine and seven. Whenever, I paid visit to Gurudwara Fatahgarh Sahib along with Baba Harbans Singh Ji of Kar Sewa fame, for supervision of construction of certain Gurudwara buildings, the (sorrow) reflection of those ruins used to inspire me to write befittingly about the martyrdom of the two innocents. For a considerable period however, my mind remained in the moments of complexity as to what exactly to write and how to elaborate the epic to put it into a book form. This perplexity remained for a number of years until one day I felt bold, picked up a pen and began composing. During the gestation period of writing, I was encouraged and continued on. But now, by the Grace of the Lord and my repeated humble prayers on the Lotus feet of Mata Gujri Ji, the mother of Guru Gobind Singh Ji , I have been able to accomplish this work to some extent. I have based this poetic work on the sacred Sikh scriptures and historical facts, relating to the martyrdom of the two innocent sons of the great Guru.