Bhai Mani Singh Shaheed (martyr) (1670 - 9 July 1737), a great Sikh personality of the eighteenth century, occupies a very esteemed position in Sikh history, when he assumed control and steered the course of the Sikhs' destiny at a very critical stage. A great scholar, a devoted Sikh, and a courageous leader, Bhai Mani Singh willingly laid down his life to uphold the dignity of the Sikh religion and the Sikh nation. The nature of his martyrdom has become a part of the daily Sikh Ardas (prayer).

Birth

The exact date of Bhai Mani Singh's birth is a bit of a mystery. Giani Thakur Singh lists his year of birth as 1672 while some other writers put it at 1670, but according to Sohan Singh Seetal, a well known Sikh historian, Bhai Mani Singh was born in 1664. Principle Satbir Singh listed his year of birth as 1672 in his 1970 edition of his, "Sada Itihaas", but later editions listed his year of birth as 1662. [1]. Dr Santokh Singh also lists the date of Bhai Mani Singh's birth as 1662 [2]. These earlier dates are indirectly based on Giani Giani Singh’s references to Guru Tegh Bahadur’s visit to village Akoi/Malwa in 1665. Based on critical analysis of ancient Sikh writings, it appears that Bhai Mani Singh may have been born no later than 1665.
Error in Identification

According to Shaheed Bilaas a book edited and published by Giani Garja Singh ji in 1961, the birth date of Bhai Mani Ram (alias Bhai Mani Singh Rajput) of Alipore, Multan was 1644.
Bhai Mani Singh Shaheed came, according to Bhai Kesar Singh ji Chhibbar, his contemporary, of a Kamboj family, but according to Giani Gian Singh Dullat [1822-1921], author of the Panth Parkash, of a Dullat Jatt family of Kamboval village (now extinct), near Sunam in Sangrur district of the Punjab. Since Giani Gian Singh himself belonged to Dullat lineage, hence he has claimed Bhai Mani Singh as one of his Dullat ancestors.
Since Bhai Kesar Singh Chhibber, a contemporary of Bhai Mani Singh, claims to have personally met and seen the latter several times during his early age, he therefore, is a very reliable eyewitness on Bhai Mani Singh's family particulars. Moreover, being a non-Kamboj himself, Bhai Chhibber can be assumed to be absolutely non-committed with regard to his write-up on Bhai Mani Singh's ethnic background. In contrast, Giani Gian Singh ji Dullat is far removed in time by over a century and half from Bhai Sahib ji. And he has also an understandable motivation for investing Bhai Mani Singh ji with a Dullat Jatt lineage and thus connecting him with his own (Dullat) family to claim credit and honor for his family. Hence, his claim or evidence on Bhai Mani Singh's ethnicity |ethnic identity apparently becomes much weaker and dubious as compared to the evidence of a non-committed eyewitness like Bhai Kesar Singh ji Chhibber.
In the service of the Guru

Bhai Mani Singh is said to have been brought in the early years of his childhood to the presence of Guru Tegh Bahadur at Anandpur. He was not the same age as the Guru's own son, Gobind Rai. Mani Singh remained in his company even after he had ascended the religious seat as Guru. Mani Singh accompanied the Guru to the seclusion of Paonta where Guru Gobind Singh spent some three years in large part given to literary work.
Bhai Mani Singh took Amrit at the hands of Guru Gobind Singh Ji on the day of the creation of Khalsa. When Guru Gobind Singh Ji left Anandpur on the night of December 20, 1704, his family got separated at river Sirsa during the confusion created by the Mughal attack. Bhai Mani Singh took Mata Sundri Ji and Mata Sahib Devan to Delhi via Ambala.
In 1706, Bhai Mani Singh escorted Mata Sundri Ji the wife of Guru Gobind Singh to Talwandi Sabo where the Guru was staying. It was there that she learned of the Martyrdom of her four sons and their Grandmother. When Guru Sahib left Agra with Emperor Bahadur Shah for Nanded in 1707, Mata Sahib Devan and Bhai Mani Singh accompanied him. Afterwards Bhai Mani Singh escorted Mata Sahib Devan Ji back to Delhi where she lived with Mata Sundri Ji for the rest of her life.
Mata Sundri Ji came to know of the trouble that was brewing between the Tat Khalsa and Bandai Khalsa military factions of the Sikhs. She appointed Bhai Mani Singh as the Granthi of Harimandir Sahib and sent him to Amritsar with Mama Kirpal Singh (Chand), the maternal uncle of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. On his arrival at Amritsar in 1721, Bhai Mani Singh restored peace among the Khalsa and put the affairs of Harimandir Sahib in order.
The Mughal Empire

By 1737, the Mughal government of Lahore had strictly prohibited the Sikhs to visit Amritsar and bathe in the holy tank. To overcome this restriction, Bhai Mani Singh applied to Governor Zakariya Khan for permission to hold the Diwali festival at the Golden Temple. The permission was granted for a promised payment of Rs.5,000 to the Governor. Bhai Mani Singh was certain that he would be able to pay the sum out of the offerings that would be made by the Sikhs who were invited to come.
The Sikhs came in large numbers, but Zakariya Khan, under the pretext of keeping order, sent a force under Diwan Lakhpat Rae to Amritsar. It marched towards the city on the day of the festival in order to intimidate and disperse the Sikhs and the festival broke up at the approach of the Mughal army.
Execution

Bhai Mani Singh was arrested for not paying the stipulated sum. He was asked by the Qazi to embrace Islam or else face death. Bhai Mani Singh stoutly refused to barter his faith and boldly opted for death. By orders of Zakarya Khan, Bhai Mani Singh was executed at Nakhas, Lahore in December, 1737 AD. The Nakhas has since been known as Shaheed Ganj - the place of martyrdom [3].
This was a gruesome execution in which Bhai Mani Singh's executioner was ordered to chop Bhai Mani Singh's body to pieces joint by joint starting from the extremities. The irony of the execution was that Bhai Mani Singh had the last word. When the executioner started to cut into Bhai Mani Singh's wrist, Bhai Mani Singh gestured to his fingers telling the executioner that he should follow the orders of his commander with strictness, like a true Muslim. Very puzzled by the interruption, the executioner and guards asked the Great Shaheed what he meant. Bhai Mani Singh replied, " you have been ordered to execute me by chopping my joints, have you forgotten that my joints start with my fingers.
A scholar

Bhai Mani Singh acted as scribe when at the age of 14 Guru Gobind Singh Ji - the then Guru of the Sikhs - dictated Sri Guru Granth Sahib. He also transcribed many copies of the sacred Sikh scriptures which were sent to different preaching centers in India. He also taught the reading of Gurbani and its philosophy to the Sikhs.
Bhai Sahib was responsible for collecting the Gurbani[4] of Guru Gobind Singh Ji and compiling it in the form of Dasam Granth (Book of the Tenth Guru). Besides this, Bhai Sahib also authored Japji Sahib Da Garb Ganjni Teeka (teeka means translation and explanation of a work). He expanded the first of Bhai GurDas's Vaars into a life of Guru Nanak which is called Gyan Ratanawali. Mani Singh wrote another work, the Bhagat Ralanawali, an expansion of Bhai GurDas's eleventh Vaar, which contains a list of famous Sikhs up to the time of Guru Har Gobind.