Eighth descendant of Nihang Singh, who captured Babri Masjid from Muslims in 1858, to organise langar in Ayodhya.

165 years after Nihangs captured Babri from Muslim occupants, descendants settled to run Langar in Ayodhya  to celebrate Ram Janmabhoomi temple inauguration. 

Nihang Baba Fakir Singh Khalsa had captured Ayodhya’s Babri Masjid in 1858 and performed a havan inside. His eighth descendent Baba Harjit Singh Rasulpur  wants to carry forward Nihang Baba Fakir Singh Khalsa’s devotion towards Lord Ram and serve devotees coming from across the world for spreading the message of Hindu-Sikh unity and the role of Sikhs to protect Sanatan Dharma. 

Ramjay Tiwari | HENB | New Delhi | Dec 20, 2023:: The eighth descendant of Nihang Baba Fakir Singh Khalsa, who captured the Babri Masjid from the Muslim occupants over a week in 1858, will be organising a Langar Sewa at the Ayodhya Ram Mandir inauguration on January 22, 2024. Jathedar Baba Harjit Singh Rasulpur, who is the descendant of Nihang Baba Fakir Singh Khalsa, said that he cannot stay away from contributing to the inauguration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.

Baba Harjit Singh Rasulpur said that like his ancestors, he also had true devotion and faith towards Lord Rama. “Now, when the Prana Pratishtha (consecration) of Lord Rama is being done on January 22, 2024, how I can stay behind?” he said.

He added that along with other Nighang Singhs (Sikhs), he will organise a Langar (Sikh kitchen for free food distribution) in Ayodhya on January 22 onwards and will serve the sangat coming from all over the country and abroad.

While narrating how the Babri Masjid was captured by Nihang Baba Fakir Singh Khalsa, Rasulpur said that 25 Nihang Singhs (Sikhs), under the leadership of Baba Fakir Singh Khalsa, had captured the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in the month of November in 1858. They had performed havan (sacrifice to the fire god) in the Babri Masjid.

Recalling the incident from November 1858, Baba Harjit Singh said the Nihangs, who see themselves as the Guru’s army and have their autonomous practices, had written “Ram Ram” on the walls of the Mughal mosque, said to be built over Lord Ram’s birthplace, and hoisted saffron flag. Following this, a case was registered against the 25 Nihangs at the Awadh police station on November 30, 1858 on the complaint of the muezzin (Masjid’s officer), he said.

The important historical event gained more significance on November 9, 2019, when the Supreme Court of India gave its verdict in favour of the Hindus, on the basis of evidence.

All the information was shared by Jathedar Baba Harjit Singh Rasulpur, the eighth descendant from the family of Nihang Baba Fakir Singh Khalsa.

“Even if I am Nihang Singh, I have equal faith in Sanatan Dharma as in Sikhism. All the fundamentalists, who try to create a divide among Sikhs and Hindus should know that the first FIR for Ram Temple was not against Hindus but against Sikhs. I have no affiliation with any political party and I am only a bearer of eternal traditions. I had to face criticism while maintaining coordination between Nihangs and Sanatan Hindu Dharma. This is because on the one hand, I am an Amritdhari (baptised) Sikh and on the other, I wear a Rudraksha mala around my neck,” said Jathedar Baba Harjeet Singh Rasulpur.

Giving a strong message to the separatists like Khalistanis, Baba Harjeet Singh Rasulpur urged Hindu-Sikh unity in the line  of Sikh Gurus  to protect Sanatan Dharma. 

In an interview taken by Manjit Shegal of Aaj Tak Baba Harjeet Singh Rasulpur expressed his pride and joy as a descendant of Baba  Fakir Singh Khalsa who liberated Babri Structure from the hands of Muslim occupants and performed there ‘havan’ and wrote ‘Ram Ram’ on the wall of that structure in 1858.

Baba Harjeet Singh Rasulpur remembered the sacrifice of Sikh Gurus and how they fought against Mughals to protect Sanatan Dharama even at the cost of lives of the sons of Sikh Gurus and their disciples. He remembered the sacrifice of Guru Teg Bahadur and his sons, the family of Guru Teg Bahadur, Bhai Daya Singh, Bhai Taru Singh, Bhai Dalyala Ji and many others.

Jathedar Baba Harjeet Singh Rasulpur Nihang described the Sikh  as a part of Sanatan and  Hindu-Sikh unity as a new horizon in the event of Ayodhya Ram Mandir inauguration scheduled on January 22, 2024.

…

__IE, TOI & Aaj Tak.