Shaheedi of Baba Deep Singh at Amritsar

Who: Baba Deep Singh (born 1682 at Pahuwind, son of Bhagta and Jioni), head of the Shahid misl; against him Jahan Khan, the Afghan commander-in-chief and deputy to Ahmad Shah Durrani's son Timur Shah, governor of Punjab.

What: In 1757 Jahan Khan invested Amritsar, razed the Sikh fort of Ram Rauni and filled the sacred pool of Sri Harmandir Sahib. The Shahid misl under Gurbakhsh Singh defended the shrine but could not hold. At Talwandi Sabo, Baba Deep Singh set out with his jatha. By Tarn Taran he led about 5,000 men. Jahan Khan's troops waited near Gohlwar village, 8 km ahead, and a fierce action followed. Deep Singh was gravely wounded near Ramsar, yet carried on fighting until he fell dead close to the Harimandar on 11 November 1757. Sikh tradition holds that he fought on headless, his severed head in his left hand and his khanda in his right, until he had redeemed his pledge to free the shrine. The Encyclopaedia calls this a legend, and another account says he was struck down by a blow to the neck near the pool. Wikipedia dates the battle 13 November.

The Damdami Taksal: Deep Singh took the vows of the Khalsa at Anandpur, studied the scriptures under Bhai Mani Singh, and rejoined Guru Gobind Singh at Talwandi Sabo in 1706. He stayed on to look after Damdama Sahib, taught scripture and martial skills, and in 1726 had four copies of the Guru Granth Sahib made from the recension prepared by Mani Singh. The Encyclopaedia names him founder of both the Shahid misl and the Damdami Taksal. The Taksal's own history says the Guru ordered him to stay at Damdama Sahib to teach the meaning of gurbani and preach gurmat, lists him as a founder after the Guru, and traces its line of heads down through Sant Jarnail Singh Khalsa Bhindranwale to the heads after him.

Where: Between Tarn Taran and Amritsar. Shrines stand on the circumambulatory terrace of the sarovar, where he fell, and near Gurdwara Ramsar, where he was cremated.

Why it mattered: His Shaheedi is the Panth's emblem of the scholar-warrior who defends Sri Harmandir Sahib. The Shahid misl bears his name. The Sikhs wrested control of the shrine, and in the 1758 campaign with Adina Beg and the Marathas had captured Afghan soldiers clean the sacred tank.