Bhai Taru Singh


Bhai Taru Singh was a prominent Sikh martyr known for sacrificing his life for protecting Sikh values, having had his head scalped rather than cutting his hair or converting to Islam. A 3D animation film on Bhai Taru Singh is up for a global release on 27 April 2018.

Biography

Bhai Taru Singh was born around 1720 into a Sandhu Jat family Amritsar during the reign of the Mughal Empire. He was raised as a Sikh by his widowed mother and had one sister, Tar Kaur.
Bhai Taru Singh was engaged in agriculture at Poolha, Tehsil Kasur, in the Lahore district during the period when Sikhs were heavily persecuted by the Mughal empire. He had a small farm and grew maize. Upon watching Sikh fighters save a poor girl from the clutches of the Mughal oppressors Bhai Taru Singh decided to become a Sikh and initiated into the Khalsa.
During this time, Sikh revolutionaries were plotting the overthrow of the Mughal governor of Punjab, Zakaria Khan. Bhai Taru Singh and his sister gave food and other aid to the Gursikhs. An informant reported them to Zakaria Khan and the two were arrested for treason. However some sources say that a Niranjania mahant tipped of the Mughal authorities with the reason being Bhai Taru Singh harboring Sikh fighters. Though his sister's freedom was bribed for by the villagers, Singh refused to seek a pardon.
After a period of imprisonment and torture, Bhai Taru Singh was brought before the Khan and asked him where he got his powers from to undergo all of the agony. His reply was through his Keshas blessed by Guru Gobind Singh. Zakaria Khan then gave him the choice of converting to Islam or having his hair cut off. According to prominent early Sikh historian Ratan Singh Bhangu, in response to having his scalp torn off, Taru Singh cursed Zakaria Khan, saying he would be killed by his shoes.
Taru Singh died on 1 July 1745.

Legacy

In 1762 A.D., the Bhangi Sikh Sardar army conquered Lahore and took over the public square where Singh was scalped. The Abdullah Khan Mosque adjacent to the square was also occupied and converted into Shaheed Ganj Gurdwara. A gurdwara in the Naulakha Bazaar in Lahore marks the place where his scalp and hair was removed.
A print representing Singh's martyrdom is present in the 2007 film The Darjeeling Limited, in a scene set in a Sikh temple.
A 3D animation movie created by Vismaad on Singh is scheduled for global release on 27 April 2018