Jujhar Singh


Sahibzada Jujhar Singh.

Early life

Like his elder brother Sahibzada Ajit Singh, he started training in martial arts such as the Gatka along with the study of the religious texts. In 1699, when he was eight years old, he received the rites of Khalsa initiation, called the Amrit Sanchar Ceremony. By the time of the siege of Anandpur by a powerful and combined host of Mughals and hillmen in December 1705, Jujhar Singh, nearing the completion of his fifteenth year, was an experienced young warrior, strong and fearless.

The Second Battle of [Chamkaur]

He was one of the band that successfully waded through the flooded Sarsa rivulet on horseback and made their way to Chamkaur by nightfall on 6 December 1705, with the adversary in hot pursuit. The band comprised his father, Guru Gobind, his elder brother Ajit and forty men. They erected a stockade and decided to fight to the last man.
By dawn, the Mughal forces of approximately 1 million had begun a siege of the Garhi and surrounding areas. As they ran out of ammunition and arrows, the Sikhs inside split themselves into batches of five each who would go out one after the other to engage the besiegers in hand-to-hand combat. Jujhar Singh led the last sally towards the end of the day, and laid down his life fighting near the place where he had earlier seen his elder brother fall. Gurdwara Qatalgarh in Chamkaur Sahib now marks the site where he and Ajit Singh fell.