Bhai Bota Singh and Bhai Garja Singh ji

Bhai Bota Singh and Bhai Garja Singh ji
BOTA SINGH (d. 1739), an eighteenth century martyr of the Sikh faith who belonged to the village of Bharana in Amritsar district. In those days of dire persecution, he along with many fellow Sikhs had sought the safety of wastes and jungles. At nightfall, he would come out of his hiding place and visit some human habitations in search of food. Occasionally he would come to Amritsar by night to have a dip in the holy tank, spending the day in the wilderness around Tarn Taran. One day he was noticed by some people who thought he was a Sikh.

But one of the party said that he was not a Sikh, for had he been one he would not conceal himself thus. The taunt cut Bota Singh to the quick. Accompanied by his companion Garja Singh, a Rarighreta Sikh, and with a bamboo club in his hand, he took up position on the grand trunk road, near Sarai Nur udDin, near Tarn Taran. To announce his presence and proclaim the sovereignty of the Khalsa, he started collecting toll from the passersby. Finding everyone submitting tamely to his authority, he sent a communication to the provincial governor himself.


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