2401:4900:4198:6D01:0:31:C5E9:3F01 at 17:16, 3 July 2021

2021-07-03T17:16:34Z

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{{short description|18th-century Sikh martyr}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2017}}

{{Infobox nobility
| birth_date = 1720
| birth_place = [[Amritsar]]
| death_date = 1745
| death_place = [[Lahore]]
| religion = [[Sikhism]]
| father = Bhai Jodh Singh
| mother = Bibi Dharam Kaur
| name = Bhai Taru Singh
| image = Bhai Taru Singh.jpg
| caption = Sculpture depicting Bhai Taru Singh being scalped by [[Mughal tribe|Mughal]] soldiers|left
}}
'''Bhai Taru Singh''' ({{Circa|1720}}
– 1 July 1745)<ref name="searchsikh">{{cite web|title=Sikh Martyrs – Bhai Taru Singh|url=http://www.searchsikhism.com/taru.html|publisher=Search Sikhism|access-date=25 January 2007|archive-date=19 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120819091417/http://www.searchsikhism.com/taru.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> was a prominent [[Martyrdom in Sikhism|Sikh martyr]] known for sacrificing his life, in the name of protecting [[Sikhism|Sikh]] values, by having had his head [[Scalping|scalped]] rather than [[Kesh (Sikhism)|cutting his hair]] and [[Islam and Sikhism|converting to Islam.]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Fowler|first1=Marsha|url=https://archive.org/details/religionreligiou0000unse/page/261|title=Religion, Religious Ethics and Nursing|last2=Kirkham|first2=Sheryl|last3=Sawatzky|first3=Rick|last4=Taylor|first4=Elizabeth|date=2011|publisher=Springer Publishing Company|isbn=9780826106643|location=New|page=[https://archive.org/details/religionreligiou0000unse/page/261 261]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=French|first1=Louis|title=Martyrdom in the Sikh Tradition: Playing the "Game of Love"|date=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780195649475|page=146}}</ref>

A 3D-animated film about Bhai Taru Singh was released globally on 27 April 2018.<ref name=":0">{{IMDb title|id=tt8296892|title=Bhai Taru Singh}}</ref>

==Biography==
Bhai Taru Singh was born around 1720 into a [[Sandhu]] [[Jat]] family in [[Amritsar]] during the reign of the [[Mughal Empire]]. He was raised as a Sikh by his widowed mother and had one sister, Tar Kaur. Singh was engaged in [[Agriculture in India|agriculture]] at Poolha, [[Kasur District|Kasur]], [[Lahore District]],<ref name="The Encyclopedia of Sikhism">{{cite book|last1=Singh|first1=H.S.|title=The Encyclopedia of Sikhism|date=2005|publisher=Hemkunt Press|location=New Delhi|isbn=9788170103011|page=195|edition= Second }}</ref> where he had a small farm and grew [[maize]].<ref name="The Sikh way of Life">{{cite book|last1=Singh|first1=Ranbir|title=The Sikh way of Life|date=1968|publisher=India Publishers|page=136}}</ref>

Upon witnessing Sikh fighters save a poor girl from the clutches of the Mughal oppressors, Bhai Taru Singh decided to become initiated into the [[Khalsa]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=French|first1=Louis|last2=Singh|first2=Pashaura|title=Dealing with Deities: The Ritual Vow in South Asia|date=2006|publisher=SUNY Press|location=New York|isbn=9780791467084|page=210}}</ref> During this time, Sikh revolutionaries were plotting the overthrow of the Mughal governor of Punjab, [[Zakariya Khan Bahadur|Zakaria Khan]]. Singh and his sister gave food and other aid to the ''[[Gursikh|gursikhs]]'' (devout Sikhs of the [[Sikh gurus|Guru]]). An informant reported them to Zakaria Khan and the two were arrested for treason. Some sources, however, say that a ''[[mahant]]'' (akin to a 'great priest') was the one to have tipped off Mughal authorities because Bhai Taru Singh was harboring Sikh fighters.<ref name="The Encyclopedia of Sikhism" /> Though his sister's freedom was bribed for by the villagers, Singh refused to seek a pardon.<ref name="sikhlink">{{cite web|url=http://www.sikhlink.com/bhai-taru.htm|title=Martyr:Bhai Taru Singh|publisher=Sikh Link|accessdate=12 November 2016|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201190546/http://www.sikhlink.com/bhai-taru.htm|archivedate=1 December 2008}}</ref>

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 [[Kesh (Sikhism)|''keshas'']] ('unshorn hair') blessed by [[Guru Gobind Singh]]. Zakaria Khan then gave him the choice of either execution or conversion to Islam and having his hair cut off as an offering. Upon his refusal to forsake his religion, in a public display, Bhai Taru Singh's scalp was cut away from his skull with a sharp knife to prevent his hair from ever growing back. 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.<ref>{{cite book|last1=French|first1=Louis|title=Martyrdom in the Sikh Tradition: Playing the "Game of Love"|date=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780195649475|page=220}}</ref> According to Sikh sources, after cutting Singh's scalp, Zakaria Khan was stricken with unbearable pain and the inability to urinate. As a last resort, Khan sent an apology to the [[Khalsa Panth]] for his persecution of Sikhs and begged for forgiveness. It was suggested that if Khan hit himself with Singh's shoes, his condition might be lifted. Although it would cure Khan of his condition, he died 22 days later from having hit himself with the shoes, just as Singh predicted.{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}} Upon hearing that he had outlived the Khan, Bhai Taru Singh died on 1 July 1745.<ref name="Qaiser">{{cite web|url=http://www.allaboutsikhs.com/Gurudwaras/Gurudwara-Shaheed-Ganj-Bhai-Taru-Singh-Naulakha-Bazar-L.html|title=Gurudwara Shaheed Ganj Bhai Taru Singh|publisher=All About Sikhs|author=Iqbal Qaiser|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061105113525/http://www.allaboutsikhs.com/Gurudwaras/Gurudwara-Shaheed-Ganj-Bhai-Taru-Singh-Naulakha-Bazar-L.html|archivedate=2006-11-05}}</ref>

==Legacy==
In [[Anno Domini|AD]] 1762, the [[Bhangi Misl|Bhangi Sikh Sardar]] army conquered [[Lahore]] and took over the [[Town square|public square]] where Singh was scalped. The [[Abdullah Khan Masjid|Abdullah Khan Mosque]] adjacent to the square was also occupied and converted into [[Shaheed Ganj Mosque#Sikh rule, occupation of the mosque and construction of gurdwara|Shaheed Ganj Gurdwara]].<ref>[http://indiankanoon.org/doc/1035515/ Masjid Shahid Ganj Mosque vs Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak ... on 2 May 1940]</ref> On the location today, [[Gurdwara Shaheed Bhai Taru Singh|Gurudwara Shaheed Bhai Taru Singh]] in [[Naulakha Bazaar]], marks the place where Singh's scalp was removed.<ref name="Qaiser"/>

=== Pop culture ===

* A print representing Singh's martyrdom is present in the 2007 film ''[[The Darjeeling Limited]]'', in a scene set in a [[Sikh Temple|Sikh temple]].<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xc0rHJ3zY7A</ref>
* A 3D-animated film about Bhai Taru Singh was released globally on 27 April 2018, directed by Vismaad Singh.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Vismaad Unveils Poster & Teaser of 3D Animation Film "Bhai Taru Singh"|url=https://www.ghaintpunjab.com/GhaintPunjab/Article/5903/vismaad-bhai-taru-singh|access-date=2018-02-23|website=www.ghaintpunjab.com}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Gurudwara Shaheed Bhai Taru Singh]]
* [[List of Sikhs]]
* [[Chhota Ghallughara]]

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* [http://www.bhaitarusingh.com/ Bhai Taru Singh - Animated Film]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Bhai Taru}}
[[Category:Sikh martyrs]]
[[Category:Punjabi people]]
[[Category:1720 births]]
[[Category:1745 deaths]]
[[Category:Executed Indian people]]
[[Category:People executed for refusing to convert to Islam]]

Bhai Taru Singh - Revision history

2401:4900:4198:6D01:0:31:C5E9:3F01 at 17:16, 3 July 2021