BABA DEEP SINGH, BY DWARKA DASS, INDIA, 20TH CENTURY

Oil on board, signed lower right.
63.3 by 56 cm.

FOOTNOTES
Baba Deep Singh (1682-1757) is a famous Sikh hero, who was initially a close companion of Guru Gobind Singh. He combined religious life and devotion to the scriptures with military duties in the Khalsa army. He fought under Banda Singh Bahadur against the Mughals, but his best-known actions were against the Afghans during their incursions into India under Ahmad Shah Durrani. At the battle of Amritsar in 1757 (which the Sikhs fought in part to avenge the desecration of the Golden Temple), Baba Deep Singh (who had come out of scholarly retirement in his old age) was decapitated in combat, but according to legend fought on.