Politics over nomenclature of Veer Bal Diwas, Centre tell states to host events in schools

“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,” he said.Sarna added that aligning the national observance with the terminology Sahibzadey Shahadat Diwas, as articulated by Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, would strengthen public understanding. “Recognition without precision reduces history to abstraction. Precision itself is a form of respect,” he said.Meanwhile, AAP MP from Anandpur Sahib, Malvinder Singh Kang, wrote to Prime Minister Modi on December 9 on the issue. Akal Takht’s acting jathedar, Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargajj, also wrote to Sikh MPs urging them to formally request a name change. Congress MLA from Bholath, Sukhpal Singh Khaira, strongly objected to commemorating the martyrdom of the Sahibzadey under the name Veer Bal Diwas, saying it undermines the historical, spiritual and moral magnitude of their sacrifice.Responding to the controversy, BJP Punjab state spokesperson Pritpal Singh Baliawal issued a rebuttal to the Shiromani Akali Dal and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal.Citing an earlier public tweet by Harsimrat, Baliawal said she herself had advocated commemorating the martyrdom of the Sahibzadey under the title Bal Diwas in 2019. He questioned why a term considered appropriate by the Akali Dal until then had suddenly become objectionable after the breakdown of the BJP–SAD alliance.Baliawal further pointed out that in 2018, during an event organised at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi by the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal had expressed concurrence with the name Bal Diwas. He said the present opposition by the Akali Dal contradicted its own earlier stand.BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa also defended the Centre’s decision, saying the existing name appropriately honours the supreme martyrdom of the Sahibzadey.



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