BACHITTAR SINGH, BHAI

BACHITTAR SINGH, BHAI (d. 1705), warrior and martyr, was the second son of Bhai Mani Ram, a Parmar Rajput and devotee of the Gurus. One of the five brothers presented by their father for service to Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708), he joined the order of the Khalsa on the historic Baisakhi day, 30 March 1699, and shot into prominence during the first battle of Anandpur against the hill chieftains, when, on 1 September 1700, he was selected by Guru Gobind Singh to face a drunken elephant brought forth by them to batter down the gate of the Lohgarh Fort.

As the elephant reached near the gate, Bachittar Singh, says the Gurbilas Patshahi 10, sallied forth on horseback and made a powerful thrust with his spear piercing the plate and injuring the animal in the forehead. The wounded elephant ran back creating havoc in the besieger\’s ranks. Bachittar Singh also took part in actions at Nirmohgarh and Basali and in the last battle of Anandpur. On the fateful night of 5-6 December 1705, when Anandpur was evacuated, he was one of those who safely crossed the torrential Sarsa rivulet. At the head of a flanking guard watching pursuers from the direction of Ropar, he had an encounter with a body of irregulars near Malikpur Ranghran in which he was seriously wounded. He was carried to Kotla. Nihang Khan where he died two days later (8 December 1705).

References :

1. Gian Singh, Giani, Panth Prakash [Reprint]. Patiala, 1970
2. Santokh Singh, Bhai, Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Granth. Amritsar, 1926-37
3. Garja Singh, Giani, ed., Shahid Bilas. Ludhiana, 1961
4. Kuir Singh, Gurbilas Patshahi 10. Patiala, 1968