Hakikat Rai
| Haqiqat Rai | |
|---|---|
| Born | Sialkot |
| Died | Lahore |
| Other names | Hakikat Rai Balkham Puri |
| Citizenship | Mughal Empire |
Haqiqat Rai was an 18th-century Sikh martyr from Sialkot, who was executed in Lahore (Mughal Empire) for refusing to convert to Islam.
Haqiqat Rai was born into a Hindu family, in Sialkot, Punjab, Mughal Empire. He was the grandson of Bhai Nand Ram Ji, a devotee of Guru Har Rai Ji. His maternal great grandfather was Bhai Kanhaiya Ji. His uncle (mother’s brother) Bhai Arjan Ji was also martyred. Sardar Kishan Singh Ji was his father-in-law. His father's name was Bagh Mal Rai, a wealthy Hindu trader. At the age of 14, Rai was sent to a Maulvi to learn Persian. One day some of his Muslim classmates were making fun of various Hindu deities, ridiculing his religion. In return he asked them how they would feel if anyone insulted Muhammad or Ayesha. For this, his classmates reported this to the Maulvi as it was taken as an insult of Islam.
As a result, he was taken to Lahore (then a provincial capital in the Mughal Empire), where he was given an option to convert to Islam to save his life but he refused and leave his Hindu faith. As a result he was beheaded at a young age. He attained martyrdom at the age of 14, during the governorship of Zakariya Khan. Quasi Abdul Haq, who was responsible for the Fatwa, was also beheaded later on by Sardar Dal Singh and Saradar Mana Singh and shown around the city of Batala Different sources give different dates of his death, including 1732, or 1735.
In 1782, a poet named Aggra (aka Agra or Aggar Singh) wrote a Punjabi var (ballad) titled Haqiqat Rai di Var. Maharaja Ranjit Singh particularly revered Haqiqat Rai as a Hindu martyr.
In the first decade of the twentieth century (1905–10), three Bengali writers popularized the legend of Haqiqat Rai's martyrdom through their essays. The three accounts differ greatly. The Arya Samaj organized a play Dharmaveer Haqiqat Rai, advocating deep loyalty to Hinduism. It also printed copies of the legend, and distributed them free of cost or at a nominal price of 2 paisa.
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