Tough Enough for Any Man — The Last Battle of Baba Deep Singh,Born in 1682  Baba Deep Singh (A

Tough Enough for Any Man — The Last Battle of Baba Deep Singh,Born in 1682  Baba Deep Singh (A baba is a Sikh saint) had a lifelong career as a Sikh soldier and warrior.  Upon retirement Deep Singh settled down to a life of quiet contemplation and spiritualism as a religious scholar.  Then the Durrani Empire invaded.Composed of modern day Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Eastern Iran, the Durani Empire had been founded by the Mughal warlord Ahmad Shah Durrani.  In 1757 he invaded the Punjab region of India. With the hope of quelling Sikh resistance, he occupied and destroyed the Harimander Sahib (Temple of God), one of the holiest sites in all of Sikhism. He also ordered the altar of the temple covered in the entrails of dead cows.  While Sikh’s do not consider the cow a sacred animal, the act was certainly offensive to the highest extreme. Unfortunately for Durrani, the destruction and defilement of the temple would not have the effect he desired.Upon hearing of the travesty, the 75 year old Deep Singh came out of retirement, took up his sword, and vowed to rebuild and restore the temple.  Drawing a line in the sand with his sword he proclaimed,“Jo to praym khaylan ka chaao, sir dhar talee galee mayree aao.” (Those who wish to play the game of love (to follow the Sikh path), come to me with your head in your palm.)  Hundreds of peasants crossed the line and joined Baba Deep Singh.  As he marched closer to Harimander Sahib, more and more joined his army until it numbered around five thousand.  When word arrived of Baba Deep Singh’s movement, the Durrani general Jahan Khan mobilized his own army of 20,000.  The two armies clashed near the village of Goharwal.  The Sikhs fought with courageous tenacity, beating back the enemy with ferocity.  Deep Singh was especially noted as a terror to behold, swinging a massive kanda sword that sliced the enemy to pieces.  However the Durrani began to gain the upper hand when reinforcements arrived. Worse yet, a blade also sliced through the neck of Baba Deep Singh, severing his head from his body.  At that moment, it seemed like the Sikhs were going to break.Undeterred by his terrible wound Baba Deep Singh picked up his decapitated head and continued the fight.  Upon the sight of Deep Singh, sword in one hand and head in the other as he continued to hack apart his enemies, the Durrani panicked and retreated.  Eventually the army was pushed out of India and forced to retreat back to Afghanistan.  At the end of the battle Baba Deep Singh entered the ruins of the Harimander Sahib and placed his head at the doorway.  He then collapsed and died.Today Baba Deep Singh is revered by Sikhs as one of the holiest saints and martyrs of Sikhism. -- source link

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