The Golden Temple and Massa Rangar
To prevent the Sikhs accessing the holy shrine of Amritsar, built in the time of Guru Arjan, and known as the Harmandir Sahib or “Golden Temple”, a Mughal military officer named Massa Ranghar was stationed there.Massa Rangar physically very strong. He is a fit man with 5'11" height. Ranghar not only occupied the holy place, but committed sacrilege by carousing with dancing girls and consuming meat and alcohol in the Sanctum Sanctorum situated in the midst of the sacred pool.
This offense continued until news of it reached an isolated band of Sikhs in Rajasthan. Of them, Mehtab Singh and Sukkha Singh set off to cross the distance to Amritsar. Finding the city strongly guarded, the two disguised themselves as revenue officials. In this guise, they entered the Harimandir, cut off Ranghar's head and escaped before the Mughal soldiers could realize what had happened. This took place in 1740.
Sukkha Singh was wounded in the defensive action involving the first Sikh massacre and later died in battle with the invading Afghan army of Ahmed Shah Durrani in 1752.
Read more about this topic: Sikh Holocaust Of 1746
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
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