In the saga of Malerkotla on 17th January 1872, there were two children who attained martyrdom. One was Bishan Singh and the other was Harnam Singh. Bishan Singh was twelve year old. On the advice of his wife Mr. Cowen said to him,“Say that you are not a Sikh of Ram Singh and I shall spare your life” On hearing insulting words, his eyes started to flash with anger and he was enraged. He pounced and roared like a lion and caught hold of Kevin’s beard and said , “Will you dare to say again that I am not a Sikh of Sat guru Ram Singh?” He gave such a tug to the beard that Mr. Cowen that the sepoys standing nearby too were at their wit’s end. They quickly first chopped his hands off with a sword and later beheaded him.
Commenting on Bishan Singh Mr. Cowen writes, “One man escaped from the guards and made a furious attack on me, and as he was a very powerful man, I had considerable difficulty in realizing myself.”
The other child was Harnam Singh who was only nine years old. Since he could not come upto the height of the Cannon barrel being a child, he ran to his uncle and jumped to piggyback on him. The duo stood in front of the cannon and were martyred when the gun blew off.