Decode Politics: In Punjab, PM Modi invokes a Gujarat-Panj Pyaras link. What was it?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who in the past has cited his “long and strong relations” with Muslims and Christians, invoked the “Panj Pyaras” of Guru Gobind Singh on Saturday at an election rally in Patiala.

Modi claimed to have a “blood relation” with Punjab, noting that one of the “Panj Pyaras (five Sikh warriors)” belonged to Dwarka in Gujarat.

What did the PM say?

“Aap ye pradhan mantri ki baat chhod dijiye. Mera toh aapse khoon ka rishta hai. Guru Gobindji ke paanch pyaaro mein se ek mere itwari kaka the (Forget the matter of being PM, I have a blood relation with you. One of the Panj Pyaras of Gobind Singh was like my uncle),” he said, adding that he belonged to Dwarka.

Which of the five Sikh warriors was Modi referring to?

Modi was referring to Mohkam Chand, who was born to Tirath Chand and Devi Bai in Dwarka, and named Bhai Mohkam Singh by Guru Gobind Singh.

According to eminent historian and retired Panjab University professor Dr G S Dhillon, Mohkam Singh, who belonged to a lower caste, came to Punjab attracted by Guru Gobind Singh’s teachings. “His arrival in Punjab coincided with lower castes not being happy with the caste system, and his move was part of his protest against it,” Dhillon said.

He joined Guru Gobind Singh in Anandpur Sahib as the former was fighting the Mughals there.

How did Mohkam Singh become one of the Panj Pyaaras?

Bhai Mohkam Singh arrived in Anandpur Sahib in 1685. He soon trained in martial arts, becoming an expert and, in turn, training Guru Gobind Singh’s army.

In 1699, Guru Gobind Singh, at a historic congregation in Anandpur Sahib, asked for the heads of five persons who wanted to respect the five ‘Kakars’ (or items – kesh, kangha, kara, kachera, and kirpan) which the Guru had commanded