Bhai Taru Singh

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Bhai Taru Singh (c. 1720 – 1 July 1745) was a Sikh martyr who gave his life to defend his faith. He was born around 1720 in Amritsar to Bhai Jodh Singh and Bibi Dharam Kaur and grew up as a Sikh. He worked on a small farm at Poolha, Kasur, near Lahore, where he grew maize. After seeing Sikh fighters save a poor girl from Mughal oppressors, he joined the Khalsa and helped the gursikhs (devout Sikhs).

Taru Singh and his sister were betrayed to the Mughal ruler Zakaria Khan and arrested for treason. He refused to seek pardon or to convert to Islam. During torture, Khan asked where his strength came from. Taru Singh replied that it came from his unshorn hair blessed by Guru Gobind Singh. Khan ordered a barber to cut his hair to strip him of his power, but Taru Singh’s hair did not give way. Enraged, Khan then ordered Taru Singh’s scalp to be cut off. According to Sikh tradition, Taru Singh cursed Zakaria Khan, saying he would be killed by his shoes. Khan later died after injuring himself with Taru Singh’s shoes. Taru Singh died on 1 July 1745.

In 1762, Lahore was captured by the Bhangi Sikhs, who took over the square where Taru Singh was scalped. The nearby Abdullah Khan Mosque was turned into Shaheed Ganj Gurdwara. Today, the place is marked by Gurdwara Shaheed Bhai Taru Singh in Naulakha Bazaar, commemorating where his scalp was removed.