Birth and Childhood:

Bhai Taru Singh was born October 6, 1720, in the village of Phoola in Amritsar district of Punjab, India. His father Bhai Jodh Singh, and mother Bibi Dharam Kaur, were of Sandhu Jatt lineage. Taru's father went to battle and lost his life while fighting, leaving his widow to bring up Taru, and his younger sister Taro, on their family farm. Their devoted mother taught her growing children to have a great reverence for scripture and the Sikh principles.

She imparted the importance of keeping the mind focused on the divine while engaging in honest work, and of sharing earnings and food with others, especially the needy.

Generous Nature:

Taru Singh received initiation into the Khalsa order from Bhai Mani Singh. Impressed by his elder's solid virtues, Taru Singh showed great devotion and a generous nature. He worked tirelessly in his fields. Mughal rulers levied heavy taxes on their citizens, especially Sikhs whom they sought to annihilate. Though they had little sustenance left over after paying revenue to the government, Bhai Taru Singh and Bibi Tar Kaur honored their father's memory and shared generously with their Sikh brethren. At times, the family went without food, or new clothing, in order to provide for Sikh soldiers lest they perish in hiding.

Compassionate Nature:

A Muslim by name of Rahim Bakash had a 16 year old unmarried daughter Salma who had been abducted and imprisoned by the Mogul commander of Patti. His pleas to the governor Zakaria Khan for his daughter's release had been denied.

Rahim Bakash learned of Bhai Taru's compassionate nature. Fearing the loss of his daughter's innocence, he journeyed to Bhai Taru's home and begged desperately for the Sikhs help. Bhai Taru arranged for a squadron of Sikhs in the area to storm the fortress in Patti and recover the girl. The commander who abducted the girl lost his life during the raid to rescue Salma.

Treachery:

Bhai Taru Singh and Tar Kaur risked their lives to carry food to the hideouts of Sikh freedom fighters who had revolted against tyrannical Mogul rule. Zakaria Khan, the tyrannically governor of Punjab engaged Harbaghat Niranjaia who also went by the name of Akil Das, to spy for him. The informant learned that Bhai Taru and his sister Tar Kaur often left the village with provisions, and suspected that they took supplies to the Khalsa regiments. Hoping for a reward, he fabricated charges and filed complaints with the governor, who then ordered the pair to be arrested and arraigned for conspiracy against the government.

Serviceful Nature:

Mughal soldiers arrived at Bhai Taru Singh's home to arrest him by order of the governor, Zakaria Khan. Bhai Taru indicated that to the soldiers that he would not resist and would go willingly with them, but that after their long march, he must first be allowed to cook food for them to appease their hunger. Bahi Taru explained that even as they had to obey orders, he had to obey his guru's order that all who hunger must be fed. Taru Singh his sister and mother prepared langar for the men. After seeing to the needs of those who had come to arrest him, Bhai Taru Singh and Bibi Tar Kaur accompanied the soldiers to Lahore.

Fearless Nature:

Horrified villagers, who loved the gentle souls of Bhai Taru and Bibi Tar Kaur, raised money to pay bribes and arranged for the pair's release. Bhai Taru accepted their help to free his sister, however knowing well the hardships endured by the local populace, he refused to accept any aid on his own behalf. Instead he fearlessly faced his Mogul captors. When urged to renounce his faith for Islam or face death, Bhai Taru replied that all must one day depart this existance, and that he chose to live and die a Sikh. He could neither be persuaded, nor tempted, by promises of wealth and women, to give up his Sikh beliefs.

Unwavering Resolve:

Infuriated, Zakaria Khan subjected Bhai Taru Singh to severe punishments and agonizing torture. The governor then had Bhai Taru brought before him. He pressed Taru Singh to cut off his long hair and thereby accept forgiveness, cajoling him with promises of paradise in the hereafter should he repent and embrace Islam. Bhai Taru Singh answered with unwavering resolve that hair is prayer, and he meant to honor his Khalsa oath. He vowed to keep his kes absolutely intact though it cost his life. Zakaria Khan called for a barber and gave the cruel order to forcefully sever Bhai Taru Singh's kes from his scalp.

Scalped Alive:

The barber's blade trembled in his hands. Bhai Taru Singh's kes proved to be as strong as his resolve, for the barber could not cut even a single hair from Bhai Taru Singh's noble head. Enraged at the barber's failure to perform, and incited by Bhai Taru Singh's defiant determination, Zakaria Khan grumbled that he ought to be beaten with shoes for his rebellious attitude, and called for a cobbler. On June 9, 1745, the merciless Mughal governor ordered the cobbler to chisel Bhai Taru Singh's scalp from his head while gloating triumphantly that in such a manner he should at last be parted his from his precious kes.

Repentance:

Bhai Taru Singh looked the governor straight in his eyes as if to pierce his soul and promised him that he would live to see the haughty governor himself be humbled. Bhai Taru Singh foretold that the governor should soon plead for a shoe beating on his own scalp in repentance of his despicable deed. After the cobbler had accomplished the removal of Bhai Taru Singh's scalp, the governor had his bleeding body dumped in a trench inside the prison compound. Compassionate prisoners revived Bhai Taru Singh and cared for his wounds. Before the day finished, governor Zakaria Khan developed an excruciating urinary blockage.

Malady:

Stricken with severe pain, Zakaria Khan called for his physicians. Upon examining him, the governor's medical staff discovered that he had a stone, blocking his urinary tract. They administered every known treatment, but could provide him no relief from his immense suffering. Consulting among themselves, the governor's staff came to the conclusion that the malady afflicting Zakaria Khan had resulted from his ruthless mistreatment of Bhai Taru Singh and his fellow Sikhs. They advised him to apologize and repent, for they could offer him no cure.

Retribution:

Zakaria Khan suffered unbearable agony as his belly became swollen by retained urine. In desperation he had a letter of apology composed which he signed and sent by messenger to be delivered to the Sikhs. Maddened by pain, he commanded that Bhai Taru Singh's own shoes be brought and begged to be beaten with them about the head. When slapped with the sole of the shoe, he expelled a little urine and gained a measure of relief. In this way Zakaria Khan passed his days in retribution until death claimed him.

Martyrdom:

Bhai Taru Singh received the news of the governor's fatality 22 days after having his scalp scraped from his head. Indicating that he felt no animosity towards the governor, Bhai Taru Singh thanked Waheguru for mercifully allowing him to live and took his final breath just weeks short of his 25th birthday.

Remembrance:

The site where Bhai Taur's scalping took place is marked by a modest brick shrine surrounded by the shops of Nakhas Bazaar in Lahore, Pakistan. It is said that Bhai Taru's Singh's kes, like his resolve, became hard as iron nails so that the barber's shears could not cut it.

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