History of Sikh shashtar vidya and Gatka.
Humans have been using armor since ancient times and even today armor is being used all over the world, be it ancient or modern. If we look at the history of armor science, its origin also begins with primitive man. When the mind of primitive man started to develop, first of all he hunted animals to satisfy his hunger and first of all to protect himself from animals. He brought wooden sticks and stones into use. After that, according to the development of his intellect, man made the sticks and stones sharp and made them into weapons. Various metals such as iron, copper, brass, etc. came, he prepared weapons of different sizes and with the coming into existence of these weapons, man got many benefits, but man also created misery in humanity by misusing the weapon
If we look at Shashatra Vidya in Sikh history, the basic education of Shashatra Vidya in Sikhism is Gatka. Nowadays, most of the people are considering Gatka as a group of shastras and the entire Shastra Vidya. It is known as Kutka, Khutka, Slotar, Danda, Sota etc. in different languages. If we understand the definition of the word Gatka, then in the explanation of its three letters G+T+Ka, the word "G" means "speed". What should happen, the word "ta" means "coordination", this letter indicates that when a person uses a weapon, his body, armor and mind should also be coordinated, the word "ka" means "time". This letter indicates the time to strike and stop a weapon. Gatka is the basic training of weaponry because its definition describes the basic lesson of training in weaponry and martial arts. In addition to this, Gatka Let us tell you about the definition of Gatka. There is no proof in any scriptures or scriptures that this definition is the research of Gatka expert and it can be considered correct.
If we talk about the form of gatke, then initially it was a straight stick or stick, it had no fixed length, later it was given the basic form of kirpan, meaning that the handle of kirpan was put into a fist to hold it. It is called parz and a shield was put on it to protect the hand. In the old times, it did not have a fixed length and a fixed weight, but when it started to be used as a game, its fixed length was three and a half feet and The weight was kept at three hundred to five hundred grams.
If we talk about the history of Gatka, its history also begins with the history of Sikhs. When there was an uproar with oppression in India, Guru Nanak Dev first raised his voice against oppression. The second Guru of Sikhism Shri Guru Angad Dev ji started mal akhadas to make Sikhs healthy and strong. The fifth Patshah, Sri Guru Arjan Dev ji gave martyrdom to the Sikhs to fight against oppression. In fact, the history of Gatka begins from the lifetime of Sahab Sri Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji. Sri Guru Hargobind in his childhood. Along with other education, Sahib Ji also received the training of Shashatra Vidya from Baba Budha Sahib Ji and after this, Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji wore two swords of Miri and Piri and also fought against oppression by being armed. If we talk about the form of gatke, then initially it was a straight stick or stick, it had no fixed length, later it was given the basic form of kirpan, meaning that the handle of kirpan was put into a fist to hold it. It is called parz and a shield was put on it to protect the hand. In the old times, it did not have a fixed length and a fixed weight, but when it started to be used as a game, its fixed length was three and a half feet and The weight was kept at three hundred to five hundred grams.
Further, it developed during the time of Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji. After the inauguration of the Khalsa Panth, Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji started the practice of Holi-Mohalla instead of the festival of Holi in Anandpur Sahib to make his Sikhs proficient in armor. In this prampara, two factions of Sikhs were formed and competitions were also started in the form of Gatke game in martial arts and martial arts skills, and in this competition Jetu Sikhs used to get many blessings from Guru Sahib. This ritual is still practiced today. Sal Hole-Mohalle Moke Khalsai is seen in Jaho-Jalal
After the end of the Mughal Empire in India, during the British rule, the basic education of this martial art Gatka was completely given as a game. In addition to this Gatka Mahira prepared the rules of Gatka and also started it in the educational institution in India.
After India's independence, due to politics and bad conditions, this art started disappearing and it was limited only to Nihag Singh Jathebandiya and that too was seen in some places in Nagar Kirtana. Many Sikhs had also divided it from themselves.
But now again to revive this art, from the year 2007, Gatka Federation of India is struggling day and night for the prosperity of this game and for high level recognition. Today, Gatka game is making its identity all over the world and in India it is It has been started in schools, colleges and universities after getting the status of sports
