Shaheedi Jor Mela

Shaheedi Jor Mela (Get-Together) is organized every year in December at Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib, in the Fatehgarh Sahib district of Punjab, India to pay homage to the martyrdom of Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh, the youngest sons of the Sikh guru Guru Gobind Singh. During the three days of Mela lakh, devotees visit Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib and Gurdwara Jyoti Swarup to pay their obeisance.

Death

Among four sons of Guru Gobind Singh, two elder sons were martyred in the battle of Chamkaur while his two younger sons Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh were captured by the Muslim governor of Sirhind Wazir khan.

He offered them treasure and easy lives if they would only convert to Islam, but they refused and stuck their faith in Sikhism. They were [Tomb] alive by being bricked into a wall, but the wall collapsed. On 26 December 1705, they were killed at Sirhind. Gurudwara Fatehgarh Sahib, north of the Sirhind marks the site of their live entombment.

Mela

The first day of the Mela is observed purely in religious spirits. Later, political rallies and meetings are held by various political parties. Lakhs of devotees pay their obeisance at Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib and Gurdwara Jyoti Swarup on this historic occasion every year during this three-day Jor Mela. All nearby villagers organize langar for the devotees going to visit Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib for the Mela along all the roads leading to the gurdwara. It is held every year in December to commemorate the martyrdom of the kin of Guru Gobind Singh.

Each year, the district administration would do special arrangements for devotees and people visiting the Mela like parking areas, controlling the flow of traffic by setting up special barricades and nakas, medical & emergency services, and deploying heavy police force for security.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee has been arranging deewan, where the Sikh preachers, ragis, dhadi jathas will present devotional songs and give accounts of the Sikh history. Although Jor Mela is a religious event, a heavy police force is normally deployed all around the Mela site. This event is attended by lakhs of devotees every year and local authorities have to make elaborate arrangements for it.