Veer Baal Diwas 2023 - Date, Details, History And Significance

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will participate in the programme marking ‘Veer Baal Diwas’ on 26th December 2023 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. The Prime Minister will also lead a youth march through Delhi on this special day. To mark this day, a digital exhibition detailing the life story and sacrifice of the Sahibzades will be displayed in schools and childcare institutions across the country.

Veer Baal Diwas 

• Veer Baal Diwas is observed annually on 26 December.
• The celebration honours the martyrdom of 10th Guru Govind Singh Ji's Sahibzade, Baba Fateh Singh, and Zorawar Singh.
• The Prime Minister declared that 9 January 2022, the day of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji's Prakash Purab, will mark December 26, as "Veer Bal Diwas."

Veer Baal Diwas -History

• Guru Gobind Singh, the leader of the Sikhs in Punjab during the Mughal rule, had four sons. They were called Char Sahibzade Khalsa. 
• Gobind Singh founded the Khalsa Panth in 1699. 
• It was founded with the intention of protecting Sikhs from discrimination on the basis of their religion. 
• Guru Gobind Singh had four sons from three wives: Ajit, Jujhar, Zorawar and Fateh, all of whom were part of the Khalsa. All four of them were killed by the Mughal army before they turned 19.

About Sahibzada Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh

• Sahibzade Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh are two of Sikhism's most renowned martyrs.
• On the instructions of Emperor Aurangzeb, Mughal forces besieged Anandpur Sahib (1704).
• Guru Gobind Singh's two sons were apprehended in this incident.
• If he became an Islamic convert, he would not be slain.
• They were both handed the death penalty and hurled alive into a brick wall after rejecting this offer.
• Both of these martyrs chose death over violating religious values.

About Guru Govind Singh 

• Guru Gobind Singh, the last of the ten Sikh Gurus was born on 22 December 1666 in Patna, Bihar.
• The Nanakshahi calendar is used to calculate Guru Govind Singh's birth anniversary.
• Guru Gobind Singh became the 10th Sikh Guru at the age of 9 after the death of his father 'Guru Tegh Bahadur' i.e. the ninth Sikh Guru.
• He was assassinated in the year 1708.