NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim in Punjab on Saturday that “one of the Punj Pyaras Guru Gobind Singh was like my uncle” has evoked mixed reaction across the country, particularly in Punjab where the polling for 13 Lok Sabha seats is going to be held in the seventh phase on June 1.
Modi, who in the past has cited his “long and strong relations” with Muslims and Christians, invoked the “Panj Pyaras” of Guru Gobind Singh on Saturday at an election rally in Patiala.
“Aap ye pradhan mantri ki baat chhod dijiye. Mera toh aapse khoon ka rishta hai. Guru Gobindji ke paanch pyaaro mein se ek mere itwari kaka the (Forget the matter of being PM, I have a blood relation with you. One of the Panj Pyaras of Gobind Singh was like my uncle),” he said, adding that he belonged to Dwarka.
Modi was referring to Mohkam Chand, who was born to Tirath Chand and Devi Bai in Dwarka, and named Bhai Mohkam Singh by Guru Gobind Singh.
“Vote ke liye Modi kuch bhi karega”, said Dr Brij Mohan Kaushik pointing out that the Prime Minister is possibly stretching too far trying to establish a link with Dwarka from where one of the Punj Pyaras hailed.
According to historians and eminent experts of Punjab history, many belonging to lower castes who were oppressed at the hands of the upper caste across the country were attracted towards Sikhism and they came to join the religion at that point in time.
Mohkam Singh, who belonged to a lower caste, came to Punjab attracted by Guru Gobind Singh’s teachings. “His arrival in Punjab coincided with lower castes not being happy with the caste system, and his move was part of his protest against it,” experts said.
Guru Gobind Singh was fighting against Mughul emperor Aurangzeb and had established Khalsa Panth for creating a dedicated army to fight enemies.
He joined Guru Gobind Singh in Anandpur Sahib as the former was fighting the Mughals there.
Bhai Mohkam Singh arrived in Anandpur Sahib in 1685. He soon trained in martial arts, becoming an expert and, in turn, training Guru Gobind Singh’s army.
In 1699, 10th Sikh Guru Guru Gobind Singh, at a historic congregation in Anandpur Sahib, asked for the heads of five persons, who wanted to respect the five ‘Kakars’ (or items – kesh, kangha, kara, kachera, and kirpan) which the Guru had commanded Khalsa Sikhs to wear at all times. As most upper castes, who believed in mundan (shaving heads of male children), refused to keep long hair (one of the five requirements), five men offered their heads to the Guru” to set an example.
Guru Gobind Singh then took the first man inside a tent, where he had kept a goat. He then came out with a sword smeared with its blood. “Despite this, the other four men offered their heads. Later, they were baptised and Guru Gobind Singh named them the Panj Pyaras,” he said. Bhai Mohkam Singh was the fourth to offer his head.
The Panj Pyaras were considered Guru Gobind Singh’s loved ones. Apart from Mohkam Singh, the others included Bhai Daya Singh from Lahore, Bhai Dharam Singh from Hastinapur, Bhai Himmat Singh from Jagannath Puri and Bhai Sahib Singh from Bidar. The Panj Pyaras are deeply revered by Sikhs, who see them as symbols of steadfastness and devotion.
Bhai Mohkam Singh was martyred in the battle of Chamkaur in 1705.
“The Prime Minister has never been bothered about correctness or facts in history as he prefers to twist the truth according to his political convenience”, a veteran journalist Yogesh Dikshit said.
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