Sahibzada Baba Fateh Singh Ji

Sahibzada Baba Fateh Singh was the youngest of the four sons of Guru Gobind Singh. The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism says he was born to Mata Jito at Anandpur on 25 February 1699. His mother died on 5 December 1700, and he was brought up by his grandmother, Mata Gujri, who stayed with him to the last.

The Guru's party left Anandpur on the night of 5 to 6 December 1705. While crossing the Sarsa, then in spate, Mata Gujri, Fateh Singh and his brother Zorawar Singh were separated from the Guru. Their cook, Gangu, took them to his house near Morinda and then planned to betray them for a reward. On 7 December officials at Morinda took the three into custody, and they were sent to Sirhind and held in the Thanda Burj, the Cold Tower of the fort.

The days at Sirhind

• 9 December 1705: Fateh Singh, aged six, and Zorawar Singh, aged nine, were brought before the faujdar, Wazir Khan, who tried to win them to Islam with promises of riches and honours. They refused. A death sentence was pronounced, but Nawab Sher Muhammad Khan of Malerkotla pleaded for the children and they were given more time.
• 11 December: they were ordered sealed alive in a wall. The Encyclopaedia's entry on Mata Gujri says the masonry crumbled before it covered their heads, and its entry on Zorawar Singh adds that by tradition it crumbled at chest height. They were sent back to the Cold Tower for the night.
• 12 December: they refused again and were put to death. Mata Gujri, in the Tower, died as the news reached her. The wealthy merchant Seth Todar Mall of Sirhind cremated the three the next day.

The place, now Fatehgarh Sahib, is marked by four Sikh shrines. The Encyclopaedia says a religious fair is held there from 25 to 28 December every year, and the Tribune reports the Shaheedi Jor Mela running from 25 to 27 December in memory of the younger Sahibzadas. Sources disagree on the exact day of the execution. This profile follows the Encyclopaedia, which gives 12 December 1705. Wikipedia's article on the Saka Sirhind places the events in December 1704, with the execution on 26 or 27 December.

Fateh Singh is remembered with his brother Zorawar Singh among the Sahibzade of Guru Gobind Singh, and the place of his martyrdom now bears the name Fatehgarh Sahib.