Birthplace of Bhai Daya Singh Found in Lahore

August 18, 2024

Jeevay Sanjha Punjab (JSP) is pleased to share that it has located the birthplace street (Janamasthan Gali) of Bhai Daya Singh within the walled City of Lahore.

Bhai Daya Singh (1661-1708) was one of the most well-known Sikhs of Siri Guru Gobind Singh Sahib and was the first Sikh volunteer to take Amrit from the Tenth Guru during the famous Vaisakhi of 1699 when the Guru ordained the Khalsa. He is fondly remembered every day in the Sikh Ardaas as one of the Panj Payaras (5 Beloved Ones) of the Tenth Guru Sahib.

Bhai Daya Singh was born in 1661 in Koocha Softi Khatrian, a part of Lahore's walled city. This was well-known until the late 1930s from books on Sikh history. Investigations carried out by JSP and interviews with local residents of Lahore in 2024 showed that the area's new name is Koocha Katri Bawa. It is located opposite Haveli Jamaedar Khushal Singh (now Government Fatima Jinnah College for Women).

In July 2024, the JSP research team visited this Koocha and met with its residents. This neighborhood now primarily has Shai Muslim descendants of Bhai Mardana living here.

Bhai Daya Singh’s status in Sikhi is exemplary. He was the first Khalsa to be formally initiated (take Amrit) by Siri Guru Gobind Singh Sahib at the Vaisakhi of 1699. He was also with the Tenth Guru when he left Chamkaur Di Garhi (fortress) in December 1704. He delivered the famous Zafarnama (letter of spiritual victory written by the Tenth Guru Sahib) to Emperor Aurangzeb in January 1707. He died at Nanded, Maharashtra, in 1708. Sikhs remember him daily in the Ardaas as one of the Panj Payaras.

Jeevay Sanjha Punjab brings the people of Charda and Lehnda Punjab together by discovering forgotten historical sites. Two recently forgotten sites located by JSP are:
- Gurdwara Boali Sahib of Fifth Guru at Dabbi Bazaar, Lahore
- Samadh Maharani Jindan, located in the Samadh complex of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Lahore