हिंदी
Chandigarh, Dec 25, 2025
Delhi Akali chief Paramjit Singh Sarna has said the demand to rename Veer Bal Diwas as Sahibzadey Shahadat Diwas was grounded in historical accuracy, ethical reasoning, and the party’s stated position going back several years.
Sarna recalled that in 2019 the Shiromani Akali Dal had formally supported replacing Bal Diwas, earlier observed on the birth anniversary of Jawahaharlal Nehru, with a national observance marking the martyrdom of the Sahibzadey of Guru Gobind Singh Sahib.
“There is no inconsistency, as is being alleged,” Sarna said. “The party has always maintained that the martyrdom of Sahibzada Baba Zorawar Singh and Sahibzada Baba Fateh Singh deserved national recognition. When the Centre instituted Veer Bal Diwas, it acknowledged that position. At the same time, the name attached to a commemoration carries weight, because language shapes how history is understood.”
He said the phrase Veer Bal, while emotionally evocative, was broad and imprecise, and risked obscuring the specific historical event being marked. “This is not a general observance of childhood courage. It commemorates a recorded shaheedi in which the Sahibzadey were bricked alive for refusing to renounce their faith. The term Sahibzadey Shahadat Diwas conveys that reality directly, without dilution.”
Sarna dismissed suggestions that the demand was politically driven or meant to undermine the government’s decision. “Remembering the Sahibzadey does not belong to any single party or government. The Shiromani Akali Dal has held the same view across different political phases. If the nation is to commemorate their martyrdom, it should do so in a manner that reflects Sikh historical understanding.”
He said aligning the national observance with the terminology of Sahibzadey Shahadat Diwas, as articulated by Bibi Harsimrat Kaur Badal, would strengthen public understanding rather than weaken it. “Recognition without precision reduces history to abstraction. Precision itself is a form of respect.”
Responding to criticism that renaming the day could reopen settled decisions, Sarna said commemorations were not administrative exercises but expressions of collective memory. “When the purpose is to honour martyrdom, refining the language to reflect that fact is not revisionism. It is responsible engagement with history.”
He said Bibi Harsimrat Kaur Badal’s statement should be viewed in this context. “She has reiterated what the party has consistently said since 2019. The central point remains unchanged, that the nation should remember the Sahibzadey as martyrs, with a shaheedi that holds a defined place in Sikh history.”
