Fatehgarh Sahibਫ਼ਤਹਿਗੜ੍ਹ ਸਾਹਿਬ

Fatehgarh Sahib is a town in the Malwa region of Punjab, India, and one of the most sacred pilgrimage sites in Sikhism. It is named for Baba Fateh Singh Ji, the seven-year-old son of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, who was bricked alive with his nine-year-old brother Baba Zorawar Singh Ji by the Mughal governor of Sirhind for refusing to renounce their faith. The shrine complex at Fatehgarh Sahib marks the spot of their martyrdom on 26 December — the date Sikhs commemorate each year, observed across India as Veer Bal Diwas, the day of the brave children.

The martyrdom of the Chhote Sahibzade

In December 1704, after months under siege at Anandpur Sahib, Guru Gobind Singh Ji's family was forced to evacuate. On the night of 20–21 December, under cold winds and rain, the family left first — and when the Mughals and hill chiefs broke their oath of safe passage and attacked, the Sikhs were scattered at the flooded Sarsa river. The Guru's mother Mata Gujri, with the two younger boys — nine-year-old Zorawar Singh and seven-year-old Fateh Singh — could travel no further and took shelter with Gangu, a former servant of the Guru's household, at his village Saheri. Fearing for his own safety, Gangu betrayed them to the officials at Morinda, and the three were arrested and sent to Sirhind, the headquarters of the Mughal governor Wazir Khan. They were locked in the Thanda Burj, the cold tower — a summer retreat of the officials that was bitterly cold in winter. On 24 December the boys were brought before Wazir Khan's court, surrounded by armed soldiers, and told their father, brothers, and all the Sikhs were dead. They were offered a safe and comfortable life if they converted to Islam. The Sahibzade refused, reminding the court that their grandfather Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji had also refused to convert and had been martyred for his faith. Brought back the next day and pressed again, they would not yield. Wazir Khan ordered them bricked up alive in a wall. Their martyrdom is commemorated on 26 December — the date fixed in Sikh remembrance, though historical accounts vary on the exact year and the boys' ages. Mata Gujri, held in the cold tower, died of shock on hearing the news.

The gurdwaras at Fatehgarh Sahib

Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib stands on the spot where the two younger Sahibzade were martyred. Within it lies Bhora Sahib, the underground sanctum marking the place where the boys were bricked alive — the wall is preserved and visible beside the shrine's golden dome. The main gurdwara was built in 1843–44 during the reign of Maharaja Karam Singh of Patiala in the Phulkian style of Sikh architecture. It rises on a high point of the town with Indo-Islamic form: a square plan, a ribbed lotus dome, and cusped arches, with a marble floor decorated in mosaic. The building has three storeys — a basement, a central pavilion, and the dome level above. The basement holds a copy of the Sikh scripture, Khalsa swords, daggers, and other historic relics, and is kept in marked silence as pilgrims sit and pray. The upper level houses the Guru Granth Sahib with kirtan singing; the upper levels and domes were added by Maharaja Yadavinder Singh in 1955. Nearby, Gurdwara Thanda Burj marks the cold tower where Mata Gujri was imprisoned, and Gurdwara Bimangarh marks where the bodies of the two children and their grandmother were kept for the night before cremation. The cremation itself was arranged by Diwan Todar Mal, a court official, who bought the land for the pyre at an infamous price — Wazir Khan demanded gold coins spread over every inch of the ground. Gurdwara Jyoti Sarup, about 1.5 kilometres southeast on the Sirhind–Chandigarh road, marks the spot of that cremation.

Sirhind: the Mughal city that became a shrine town

The town that grew around the shrine stands on the edge of old Sirhind, once one of the great Mughal cities of Punjab and the provincial capital from which Wazir Khan ruled. The Sikhs took their revenge in 1710, when Banda Singh Bahadur captured Sirhind and killed Wazir Khan. The town was renamed Fatehgarh — the fort of victory — after the youngest boy, Baba Fateh Singh Ji. Control swung between Sikhs and Mughal-appointed rulers until 1764, when the Khalsa recaptured the town, defeating and killing Zain Khan, the appointee of Ahmed Shah Durrani. Sirhind's fortunes as a Mughal city collapsed after that, and today its ruined mosques and tombs stand in the fields around Fatehgarh Sahib. Fatehgarh Sahib became the headquarters of its own district in 1992. Near the town stands Aam Khas Bagh, a Mughal-era royal inn first built by Emperor Akbar and rebuilt by Shah Jahan, and the archaeological site of Sanghol lies close by.

How is the martyrdom remembered today?

Every year between the 11th and 14th of Poh — usually 25 to 27 December — the Shaheedi Jor Mela, the martyrdom fair, draws hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to Fatehgarh Sahib for days of prayer and remembrance. The Government of India observes 26 December as Veer Bal Diwas, the day of the brave children, in honour of the two boys. Many pilgrims bring their own children to stand where the Sahibzade stood, filing past the preserved walls of Bhora Sahib in silence.

Visiting Fatehgarh Sahib

Fatehgarh Sahib lies about 5 kilometres north of Sirhind, 40 kilometres north of Patiala, and 42 kilometres west of Chandigarh, on the highway between Ludhiana and Patiala. It is a quiet district town of colleges and wheat fields for most of the year — home to institutions including the SGPC-run Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University and Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Engineering College — but every December the Jor Mela transforms it into one of the largest religious gatherings in Punjab. Punjabi is the official language, and the local speech is Puadhi.

Related: Guru Gobind Singh Ji — the tenth Sikh Guru, father of the Chaar Sahibzade. Anandpur Sahib — the Khalsa's birthplace, from where the family fled in 1704. Chamkaur Sahib — where the elder Sahibzade fell in battle. Gurdwaras in India — the complete guide to India's historic Sikh shrines.