Punjab Government would set up a memorial dedicated to a Sikh martyr, Baba Jai Singh Khalkat, at his native village, Baran, in Patiala district at a cost of Rs 10.50 crore.
Announcing this, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Monday asked the organizing committee, under the chairmanship of former minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan, to execute the project.
He also directed the Rural Development and Panchayats secretary to get the estimate of the project verified from technical advisor to the Punjab government BS Dhaliwal so that this project could take off at the earliest.
Sekhwan told the Chief Minister that this monument would be constructed to keep the younger generations abreast with the sacrifices of the Sikh martyr.
Sekhwan, who prepared a concept paper on the life of Khalkat, said: “The
martyr was skinned alive after being hung upside down from a tree and later set on fire as ordered by the Mughal forces in 1753.”
Badal asked the Sikh scholars and historians to undertake focused research to unearth more such martyrs and heroes who still remained unsung in the annals of Sikh history.
He also asked the Rural Development and Panchayats Department to make efforts to step up the overall development of the villages Baran and Nawan Baran as a befitting tribute to the sacrifice of Khalkat.