On this day, i.e. 26 March 1986, in the arrogance of power, the then Akali Dal Barnala government had opened fire on Hola Mohalla, killing many Sikhs and seriously injuring some. While this bloodbath committed by the police on historical ground is an indelible stain on the then Chief Minister Surjit Singh Barnala and his government, we too should hold some events in memory of these martyrs. These words were expressed in a press note issued by Baba Hardeep Singh Mehraj, who is active in Sikh circles.
He said that this Hola Mohalla, started by the tenth father Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji on the day of the formation of the Khalsa Panth in 1699, is celebrated every year at Sri Anandpur Sahib, in which the Guru’s Singhs and their beloved troops show their deeds. However, on March 26, 1986, in the field in front of Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib, the police opened indiscriminate fire on the Singhs of Damdami Taksal and All India Sikh Students Federation, in which Shaheed Bhai Ranjit Singh, Bhai Major Singh, Bhai Sukhwinder Singh, Bhai Satnam Singh and Kulwinder Singh were martyred, while the body of another Shaheed Singh could not be identified. More than fifteen Sikhs were seriously injured in this firing. He said that the then leader of Damdami Taksal, Bhai Mohkam Singh, was illegally detained by the police and the Sikh community was peacefully protesting and demanding his release, but in the arrogance of power, the Chief Minister Barnala had forgotten that the historical Takht and the historical day were forever stained with the blood of Sikh devotees. He also requested the entire Sikh community that a function should be held on this day in their memory to remember the martyrdom of these martyrs and to make a record of history.
