"FOOD for the poor and Sword for the tyrant, Oh God let both go hand in hand"
"When all remedies have failed,
it is justified to have recourse to the sword"

"Sword that smile in a flash,
that disperses the armies of the
wicked in the vast field of battle.
Hail to the weather, saviour and sustainer, hail to thee sword supreme".
' Guru Gobind Singh

Two swords of Guru Gobind Singh, known as the Toshkhana and Raikot swords, were taken to England as war booty, sometime between 1853-55, soon after the annexation of Punjab. The Toshkhana sword was kept in the London museum, and the Raikot sword was given as a gift to her majesty, Queen Victoria. In all probability, these swords are lying forgotten and uncared for in one of the many museums, Royal Armoury, or with some private collector.

The Indian Government is fully aware of the history of the swords, how and when these were taken to England, based on the documents in the Indian archives, traced out by the renowned historian, late Nahar Singh. When Rajiv Gandhi and V.P. Singh were Prime Ministers, they were approached by Nahar Singh, who sought their help in locating and bringing the swords back to India. Unfortunately, no serious efforts appear to have been made to retrieve these most important relics of Guru Gobind Singhji, which are sacred for the Khalsa Panth.

Lord Dalhousie visited Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Toshkhana on December 17, 1850, and was quick to spot the weapons of Guru Gobind Singh, including his personal sword with his name written on the blade in Gurmukhi. This sword was known as Toshkhana sword. Lord Dalhousie found out that the Maharaja had given strict instructions to worship these weapons every day. Knowing the importance of the Guru's weapons, he approached the British Government to purchase them for his personal collection. He was permitted to retain the weapons of the Guru, except his sword. The British Government was of the view "that the sword as having belonged to the Sikh nation, we are desirous of placing in our museum as an historic relic." The sword was sent to England in February, 1853, and kept in the museum.