BANDI BIR

BANDI BIR (Warrior Bound), a poem in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore, based primarily on McGregor`s History of the Sikhs and Cunningham`s A History of the Sikhs was composed by him in October/November 1899. The poem celebrates the heroism of the Sikh warrior Banda Singh Bahadur (1670-1716). The opening stanzas tell how Guru Gobind Singh`s message had turned the Sikhs into a self respecting and fearless people.

The rest of the poem is devoted to panegyrizing the resolute resistance put up by Banda Singh Bahadur and his men against Mughal oppression and to describing how bravely he met his end after he had been arrested at Gurdas Nangal along with his companions. Before being executed with the cruellest torments, Banda Singh was, says the poet, ordered by the Qazi to kill his own son holding him in his hands. The poem was a source of inspiration to. several other Bengali writers as well as to Bengali militant youth engaged in the struggle for India`s independence.