Banda Singh Bahadur - Final Martyrdom

Dadi: "Beta, I must warn you - today's story is very painful. It is about the darkest kind of evil and the brightest kind of courage."

Guddu: "Is it scary, Dadi?"

Dadi: "It is difficult, beta. But it is a true story that Sikhs never forget, because it shows what real faith looks like when tested to the absolute limit."

Guddu: "Tell me, Dadi. I am ready."

Dadi: "Banda Singh Bahadur was born in 1670. As a young man, he was a spiritual seeker who met Guru Gobind Singh himself. The Guru transformed him from a wandering monk into a warrior for justice, giving him new purpose - to punish the tyrants who had martyred the Guru's young sons."

Guddu: "He was sent to fight?"

Dadi: "To liberate Punjab from Mughal oppression. And he succeeded, beta! He captured Sirhind, the city where the Guru's sons had been bricked alive. He established the first Sikh rule in Punjab. He abolished the feudal system and gave land to the peasants."

Guddu: "He sounds like a hero!"

Dadi: "He was. But the Mughal Emperor would not accept this. In 1715, the Emperor ordered all governors to arrest or kill Banda Singh. A massive army surrounded him and about 800 Sikhs at a fortress called Gurdas Nangal."

Guddu: "800 against the whole Mughal army?"

Dadi: "They held out for eight months, beta. Eight months! The siege cut off all supplies. The Sikhs ate grass, leaves, tree bark - anything to survive. When there was nothing left, they ate animal meat, even though it violated their principles."

Guddu: "They were starving!"

Dadi: "Finally, the Mughal commander swore on the Quran that if Banda Singh opened the gates, no one would be killed. Trusting this oath, the starving warriors surrendered. But beta, the oath was a lie."

Guddu: "They broke their promise?"

Dadi: "The moment the gates opened, Mughal soldiers rushed in and killed 300 Sikhs in cold blood. Banda Singh and the remaining 760 prisoners were captured and taken to Delhi."

Guddu: "What happened in Delhi?"

Dadi: "They were paraded through the streets like animals, beta. Banda Singh was put in an iron cage on top of an elephant, dressed in a jester's costume. The Mughals were so afraid of him that even after eight months of starvation, they kept him caged like a wild beast."

Guddu: "They were afraid of a starving prisoner?"

Dadi: "His spirit could not be starved. The procession included 700 soldiers carrying Sikh heads on spears, carts loaded with more severed heads - all to terrorize and humiliate."

Guddu: "That is horrible!"

Dadi: "But here is what amazed even the Mughals, beta. The captured Sikhs were given a choice: convert to Islam and live, or refuse and die. Not a single one converted. Not one showed fear or asked for mercy."

Guddu: "All of them chose death?"

Dadi: "For seven days, they were executed publicly - a hundred each day. They walked to their deaths singing sacred hymns, faces peaceful, faith unbroken. British observers in Delhi recorded their astonishment - they had never seen such courage."

Guddu: "And Banda Singh?"

Dadi: "They saved him for last, beta. First, they executed his 26 closest companions right before his eyes. Then came the cruelest test of all."

Guddu: "What did they do?"

Dadi: "They brought Banda Singh's four-year-old son, Ajai Singh, before him. "Kill your child," they commanded, "and we will spare your life.""

Guddu: "His own son? No!"

Dadi: "Banda Singh refused. So they killed little Ajai Singh in front of his father, and then... beta, the executioners did something so terrible I can barely speak it. They cut out the child's heart and forced it into Banda Singh's mouth."

Guddu: "Dadi..."

Dadi: "I know, beta. Even telling this story hurts. But Banda Singh's faith did not waver. He did not cry out, did not beg, did not curse. He remained centered in his devotion to God."

Guddu: "How is that possible?"

Dadi: "That is the question that haunts everyone who hears this story. Where does such strength come from? How can a human being endure such horror without breaking?"

Guddu: "What happened to him?"

Dadi: "After three months of imprisonment, on June 9, 1716, Banda Singh faced his final moments. His eyes were gouged out. His limbs were cut off. His skin was torn with hot pincers. Red hot rods were inserted into his wounds."

Guddu: "Dadi, please..."

Dadi: "The end came when the executioner's axe fell on his neck. But beta, through all of it - from the first wound to the last breath - Banda Singh Bahadur never renounced his faith."

Guddu: "He won, did he not, Dadi? Even though they killed him?"

Dadi: "You understand, beta. Yes, he won. They could destroy his body, but they could not touch his spirit. They could kill him, but they could not defeat him. His death became inspiration for generations of Sikhs who refused to submit to tyranny."

Guddu: "Did the Sikhs give up after losing him?"

Dadi: "Never! New warriors rose - Baba Deep Singh, Nawab Kapur Singh, and many others. Within ninety years of Banda Singh's martyrdom, Maharaja Ranjit Singh united the Sikhs and established the Sikh Kingdom of Punjab."

Guddu: "So his sacrifice was not wasted."

Dadi: "The great poet Rabindranath Tagore wrote about Banda Singh, calling what seemed like defeat actually a victory in the test of history. Sikh spirituality triumphed over brute force."

Guddu: "What does this teach us, Dadi?"

Dadi: "The hardest and most important lesson, beta. That some things are worth more than life itself - our faith, our honor, our principles. Banda Singh could have saved himself at any moment by converting. But what would he have lost?"

Guddu: "Everything that made him who he was."

Dadi: "Exactly. We will never face tests as extreme as his. But we will face our own tests - pressure to compromise our values, to give up what we believe in for an easier path. When those moments come, remember Banda Singh Bahadur."

Guddu: "I will remember, Dadi. I promise."

Dadi: "May you never need such courage, beta. But may you know it exists, passed down through generations, available to anyone who truly believes in something greater than themselves."