Gurudwara Fatehgarh Sahib

Wazir Khan of Sirhind was a Mughal chief who was indulging in torturing Sikhs to a great extent. He was also mainly responsible for Guru Gobind Singh and his family deciding to leave Sirhind and moving over to Anandpur. However since there were heavy floods, the Guru and his family got separated. While the Guru successfully managed to wade through floods and reach Anandpur, his mother Mata Gujari Singh and two sons, Sahibzada Fateh Singh and Sahibzada Zorawar Singh were left stranded with no place to go. This is when, they fell prey to the tall claims made by Gangu, their cook. Gangu promised to take them to a safer place and they complied. However Gangu went back on his words and handed over the Guru's mother and his sons back to the Mughal chief Wazir Khan.

Wazir Khan initially coaxed all of them to convert into Islam religion and promised huge fortunes and titles if they agreed to do so. However, the Guru's family remained undeterred. He later on announced that they would be given death penalty if they didn't agree to convert into Islam. The Guru's family was not scared of death too and they remained firm on their stand. When Wazir Khan formally announced the death penalty confirmation, Nawab Sher Mohammed Khan from Malerkoila tried talking sense into him by telling that offering death penalty to small kids (the sons were aged 9 and 7 years) was very unreasonable. However Wazir Khan was not ready to heed anybody's advice.

The two kids were put up in a Golden Tower during the harsh winter. Wazir Khan planned to arrange bricks fully around them and cover them up alive so that they would die of suffocation. The Golden Tower was supposed to provide some cold during the hot summers. The tower was freezing cold during the winters and the kids were made to stand there for more than two days. On the 12th December of 1705, Wazir Khan again approached the kids and gave them the choice of taking up Islam or facing execution. The kids had no doubt in their minds and they opted for execution and gave their heads with courage to Wazir Khan, who eventually executed them. Mata Gujari was also kept imprisoned in the Cold Tower just a little distance from the Golden Tower. When she heard the news of her grandsons' execution, she immediately collapsed and breathed her last. What is horrific to note is that Wazir's cruelty did not end after killing the Guru's family in a cold blooded manner. He announced that the bodies will be offered for cremation only to a person who was willing to pay in gold for the land that was to be used for cremation.

Todar Mal, a very wealthy merchant and a devoted disciple of Guru Gobind Singh, paid gold out of his personal wealth and brought the land and then cremated the bodies. Sikhs across generations are still grateful to Todar Mal for this very fact and always regard him as the Deewan. Wazir Khan and the entire Mughal kingdom were brought down by a powerful and enraged Baba Banda Singh Bahadur who destroyed the entire Sirhind administration. He killed Wazir Khan and all others who were responsible for the Guru's sons' execution. The entire fort was demolished and a new structure was built on the place where the execution took place. This place came to be known as Fatehgarh Sahib, otherwise, known as "Town of Victory".

The broad entrance that is seen today at the Gurudwara was built in the year 1952 by Maharaja Yadavindra Singh. The place where the Guru's sons were covered with bricks is still maintained inside the Gurudwara. Gurudwara Bhora Sahib is the place where the historic wall is still being preserved.

How to Reach

By Air - Chandigarh is the nearest airport. This is a busy airport and is well connected to all the major cities in the country. The frequency of flights from these cities to Chandigarh is quite high.

By Train - The nearest railway station to the Gurudwara is the Patiala railway junction where there lots of trains to and from all big junctions in the city.

By Road - There are lots of state owned buses from Delhi and all other parts of Punjab into Patiala, which make travel a lot easier. One can also get lots of cabs from all major points in Punjab to reach this Gurudwara.

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