Late S. Gurinder Singh Sacha for reading the draft and making invaluable suggestions as an experienced educationist and author. All my colleagues, the dedicated sevadars at The Sikh Missionary Society UK, for their encouragement to undertake this study; and, late S. Jarnail Singh Jandu and S Amarpreet Singh (Society’s Website Manager) for their technical support and advice.

My younger brothers: Baldev Singh Dhaliwal JP, Australian national award winner and community leader; and Dya Singh, the world-renowned Gurbani sangeetkar (singer-musician) and scholar. They have always been there when most needed for advice and encouragement.

My ever-patient wife, Harpal Kaur, for her support and well-timed refreshments as I spent long hours researching and writing.

I owe my early education in mainstream Sikhi (Sikhism) to my revered father, late Giani Harchand Singh Bassian of Malaya (1909 – 1975), a renowned Punjabi educationist and Kirtania-parcharak (singer and preacher of Gurbani).

I would also like to acknowledge the beautiful artwork done by Kirpa Kaur from Kenya for the front cover.

Sikh Youth Australia is to be applauded for their kind sponsorship of the books design (by www.paulandmarigold.com) and publication of the second edition. I thank S. Satwant Singh Calais for his support and for facilitating this publication.

My friend, Amrik Singh Ahdan, for his photographic and technical support, thank you.

My sincere thanks are due to Prof. Hardev Singh Virk for reviewing the first edition and for reading and commenting on the Second Edition.

Finally, no karaj (task or project) can be completed without Guru-focus and His Bakhshish (blessing). Truly:

Gur Tegh Bahadur simariyay, ghar nao-nidh aavay dhai

All treasures are yours when you meditate on [the life and unique martyrdom of] Guru Tegh Bahadur. (Guru Gobind Singh & Sikh Ardaas – daily supplication)

A Word from Sikh Youth Australia

Sikh Youth Australia from its loose inception from about a quarter of a century ago has disseminated the basics of Sikhi to youth in Australia. The focus has been the scriptures and eternal Master, Guru Granth Sahib, basic Gurmatt (Gurus’ teachings), and basic knowledge of the lives of the ten Gurus. Sikhi has not been portrayed as a ‘religion’ as understood in the western sense, though it can be called one, nor a prescription for rituals, but as a life-philosophy. It is a holistic tool for self-improvement including Sikhi spiritual upliftment and relaying the core message of ‘goodwill towards all’, as model citizens of the country we call home. We urge our youth to strive materially, rise to the lofty ideals laid down by our Gurus, and contribute towards the progress of the country we live in alongside living ‘family-orientated’ lives and being of service towards all (sewa).

We have always been on the lookout for authors who reflect our way of thinking which we believe is right for our future generations here and throughout the diaspora including India.

“Guru Tegh Bahadur – The True Story” is that kind of a book. On reading the manuscript, we realised that it not only uncovered some startling new facts debunking some of the ‘traditional’ understanding of not only his life story, but also generally reflected the kind of ‘lived’ Sikhi thought that we wished to portray, and for youth to read. In short it reflects Sikhism as a new emerging global life-philosophy structured around:

1. The twin pillars of Miri-Piri (Political-Theological. Politics with a moral conscience for the betterment of all and active service-orientated spiritual development for the self.)

2. Tri-doctrine of Naam Japna (constant remembrance of Creator-being), Kirt-karni (working for a living) & Wand-shekena (sharing, sewa)

Generally, conventional Sikh lay-preachers (percharaks) have a tendency of preaching ‘religion’ in the western and Indian traditional sense, layered with myths and miracles to increase the ‘faith’ element of the faithful. As the author points out, that ‘sometimes, these preachers cannot escape from the Brahminic thought-trap and invariably end up interpreting Sikhi in Vedic or Snatan Dharma terminology life-style’. There is no room for self-negating or passive ideology, nor isolated ‘other-worldliness’ in Sikh life-philosophy.

Similarly, there is a tendency especially in ‘western-orientation’ to separate ‘religion’ from ‘politics’ or even the social aspects of life. Sikhi is an all-engulfing theo-political life-philosophy. So, besides just focusing on Gurbani (the inspired verses encapsulated within the Guru Granth Sahib), it is important to read well-researched Sikh history of the lives of the Gurus and great Gursikhs (the Khalsa), as an essential aid to the interpretation of Gurbani into ‘lived’ Sikhi. It will help one to better understand Sikhi, and further enhance one’s understanding of the inspired verses within the Guru Granth Sahib and other Sikh writings which uphold the Khalsa tradition.

This book reads like an epic worthy of some of the greatest stories of man ever told! The story of a simple but divinely inspired man who became the 9th Master of the Sikhs – Guru Tegh Bahadur. He proved a worthy swordsman in battle and was renamed from Tyag Mall to Tegh Bahadur (Champion Swordman) in his teens. He spent over 30 years preaching the universal truths and lofty ideals of Sikhism raising grave concerns from the Muslim clergy (as his preaching was detrimental to the subjugation of the masses which was necessary to maintain the Moghul empire of Aurangzeb) and, also the Brahmin, because his views opposed the centuries old caste-based traditions and beliefs of the masses which threatened their comfortable position as the highest privileged class.

The story climaxes with his imprisonment, torture, and beheading, in Delhi and the brave planning and execution of the plan by Delhi Sikhs to retrieve his remains for dignified cremation. The emperor had designs of ‘quartering’ (chop into four pieces) the body and displaying it at various prominent spots in the city with the severed head presumably to be displayed at the centre, as a deterrent to others who dared to oppose or defy the emperor. 

The author has also given some research-based views about all the other nine Gurus in an early chapter making it a more wholesome read.

If we consider the Guru Granth Sahib the living embodiment of the Jyot-Jugt, (the divine message and the methodology,) laid down by the ten ‘Nanaks’, then it stands to reason that understanding the true spirit of lived-Sikhi should include a better understanding of a more accurate history of the ten Sikh Masters themselves.

To Sikh youth especially, besides the non-Sikh casual reader and even research scholar, I like to say that this book will help you better understand the true lives of our prime role models, the Gurus, especially Guru Tegh Bahadur and enhance your understanding of the ‘spirit’ that is truly lived Sikhism and far from being just an Indian-based ‘religion’.

Distortion of Sikh history by Indian NCERT (National Council of Educational Research & Training) historians¹. and the controversy about the Guru’s life as Baba Tegh Bahadur at Bakala before Guruship, were the main reasons for the initial study.

In his message introducing the first edition of this monograph, Guru Tegh Bahadur: The True Story, the Hon General Secretary, Sikh Missionary Society UK, Sardar Teja Singh Mangat, wrote, “The main reason for this publication is that earlier publications about the life and martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur either do scant justice to the Guru’s active life or have been written more like fiction in the traditional saakhi (story-telling) style…..It is almost impossible to separate fact from flight of poetic imagination!” (Annexture 2)

The first edition gave many pointers to the methodology and further research into some aspects of the Guru period covered by Baba/Guru Tegh Bahadur. After a careful study of events following the demise of Guru Hargobind, it is possible to agree with Dr Bhajan Singh Giani², that in his last instructions, Guru Hargobind advised his successor Guru, Har Rai, that he was to respect his Chacha (uncle) Baba Tegh Bahadur, like his own father.

Thus, Baba Tegh Bahadur’s background active role from 1644, until his own turn for Gurgaddi in 1664, becomes clear. A strategic bridge can be seen through the life and martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur, between Nanak VI, Guru Hargobind and Nanak X, Guru Gobind Singh. Meanwhile, the Guruships of Nanak VII, Guru Har Rai and Nanak VIII, Guru Har Krishan, continued building and consolidating Sikh organisation and institutions from a position of strength while keeping a low profile.

The strategy worked! It gave the Sikh movement valuable time – almost 30 years – to strengthen itself after the martyrdom of Nanak V, Guru Arjan and the defensive battles of Nanak VI, Guru Hargobind. The Emperor’s attention (Sauron’s Eye!) was kept away from the intensive parchar tours of Baba Tegh Bahadur between 1656 and 1664 before Guruship.

Requests from diaspora colleagues to publish the original monograph with addition of Guru Tegh Bahadur’s Bani to commemorate the 400th Parkash (birth) Anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur has given me another opportunity to revise the book³. The role of the Brahmin in opposing the egalitarian Sikhi of Guru Nanak has been further exposed by the contemporary evidence of Assamese chronicles, the Buranjis⁴.

It was not a difficult choice to dedicate this edition to Mata Natti ji, also known with affection as Mata Ananti or Mata Bassi, wife of Baba Gurditta ji. She was symbolic of the great sewa and sacrifice of the Guru-ladies who managed the Guru Household. Mata ji was the mother of Guru Har Rai and grandmother of Guru Har Krishan and managed the extended Guru family at Kiratpur Sahib for 20 years during a most uncertain time from 1644 until her demise in 1664.

I have learnt much by researching the True Story of the remarkable life and martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur. It has been a spiritual experience with many Eureka moments of discovery and wonderment while remembering Sikh Ardas (daily prayer):

“Let us mediate on Guru Tegh Bahadur and the [proverbial] Nine Treasures of life will come to our homes [our lives will be filled with contentment.]”

I would like to believe that the Guru has guided this pen.

This has been a team effort and the main contributors have been acknowledged separately.

Waheguru ji ka Khalsa Waheguru ji ki Fateh!

Gurmukh Singh OBE Sewauk2005@yahoo.co.uk   

May 2021 London, UK

Most highlighted main cities and towns can be located on the map by using Google search (English spelling of some places is not fixed). The vaheer (caravan with families, carts and animals) camped for prolonged stays at certain places while the Guru and prominent Sikh parcharak (missionaries) moved around independently in surrounding districts doing Sikhi parchar. Some parcharaks moved long distances from the location of the main vaheer. The name of Guru Nanak and the Guru’s presence in the area attracted large congregations.

First prolonged parchar tour before Guruship from (mid-1656 to April 1664)

It is probable that while Sikhi pachar by prominent Sikh parcharaks in the vaheer continued in and around the stopping places mentioned below, Baba Tegh Bahadur returned to Punjab in-between to manage own affairs and also to consult with Guru Har Rai (Guruship 1644 to 1661). Nevertheless, it is regarded as the first prolonged Sikhi parchar tour of Baba Tegh Bahadur before Guruship. According to one Bhatt Vahi account, Gobind Rai (Guru Gobind Singh) was born during this tour at Patna on 18 December 1661. That date is disputed by some historians.

Places:

Bakala, Kiratpur Sahib (13 June 1656), Ropar, Banur (near Rajpura, Punjab), Kurukshetra (Haryana) (mid-winter 1656), .Hardwar (29 March 1657), Garh Mukteshwar, Mathura, Agra, Prayag (Allahabad from beginning of 1661), Benares (Varanasi) (21 June, 1661), Sasram, Gaya, Patna.

Return from Patna via the same route as above e.g. he was at Prayag on 3 January 1663, Delhi (21 March 1664) and back to Bakala by early April 1664.

Second Parchar Tour (after Guruship) of Majha, Malwa and Bangar Desh areas (November 1664 to May 1665)

Bakala, Amritsar (November 1664 to May 1665), Village Walla near Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Khadur Sahib, Goindwal, Khem Karan (west of Amritsar), Sultanpur, Zira, Moga, Darauli, Faridkot, Bathinda, Talwandi Sabo (Dam Dama Sahib), on to Bangar area: Maur, Dhamtan and surrounding districts (Kharak, Khatkar, Tek and Kaithal) Kurukshetra, and back to Kiratpur Sahib by 6 May 1665.

Third Parchar Tour of Eastern India (from October 1665 to end 1671)

Kiratpur (October 1665), Ropar, Saifabad (Bahadur Garh near Patiala), Sunam, Shajli, Lehragaga, Dhamtan (October-November 1665), Delhi, Mathura, Agra, Etawa, Kanpur, Fatehpur, Prayag (Allahabad) March 1666, Benares, Mirzapur, Sasram, Bodh Gaya, Patna, (End May 1666), Barh, Bada Gaon, Monghyr (Monger), Bahadurgarh, Colgong, Sahibjanj, Kantanagar (now Lachmipur), Malda (Sufi centre), Godagari (Bangladesh), Gopalpur, Pabna, Dhaka, (Mid-1667⁵), parchar from Dacca for one year followed Guru Nanak’s route probably to Jaleshwar, Rupsa, Baleshwar, Cuttack, up to Jagannathpur (Puri in Orissa). Back to Dhaka and return towards Patna. At Monghyr (Munger) (second half of 1668 met Raja Ram Singh), Dhubri (Assam border) (early 1669, Guwahati, Hajo (Teghpur/Tegh Parbat 24 km from Guwahati).

Return from Guwahati, Bangaigaon, Siligiri, Katihar.(by-passed Patna to take short route through) Agra (detained and brought to Delhi under guard). Released by 20 June 1670. Rohtak, Kurukashetra, Pehova, Lakhnaur (near Ambala), Saifabad (now Bhadurgarh near Patiala), Lahal, Lang, Mulowal, Sekha, Thikriwala, Malha (Sodhian), Kartarpur (near Jalandhar) and back to Bakala (end 1671).

Fourth Parchar tour of Malwa and Bangar Desh (From middle 1673 to end 1674)

Anandpur, Saifabad (now Bhadurgarh near Patiala), Patiala, Mullowal, Sekha, Handiaya, Dhilwan, Maisar Khana, Pandherian, Alisher, Joga Bhupali, Khiva, Sumaon, Bhikhi, Khiala, Maur, Tahla Sahib, Talwandi Sabo (Damdama Sahib), Bathinda, Sulisar, Bada Pind, Bacchauna, Gobindpura, Gaga, Gurne, Makrod, on to Banagar Dash: Dhamtan, Kaithal, Sirsa, Hisar, and slow return to Anandpur towards end 1674.

Final Shaheedi (Martyrdom) route from Ananpur to Delhi (1 July 1675 to 11 November 1675)

Anandpur (1 July 1675), Kiratpur (10 July 1675), Malikpur Ranghran (arrest 12 July 1675), Sirhind (kept at Bassi Patthana), to Delhi on 5 November 1675. Martyrdom at Delhi on the orders of Emperor Aurungzeb on 11 November 1675.

Synopsis

Born: 1 April, 1621 (Bikrami Vaisakh vadi 5, 1678) at Amritsar and named Tyag Mall. He was the youngest son of Guru Hargobind, Nanak VI, (1595-1644) and the grandson of Guru Arjan Dev, Nanak V, who was martyred in Lahore by the orders of Emperor Jahangir on 30 May 1606. The place where he was born is called Guru ke Mahal in the Guru Bazaar street in Amritsar. Tyag Mall was later given the title and name Tegh Bahadur (the fearless master of the sword) by his father following the battle of Kartarpur in April 1635.

Siblings: He was the youngest of six siblings after Baba Gurditta (1613-1638), sister Bibi Viro (1615-year of death not known), Baba Ani Rai(1618-year of death not known), Baba Suraj Mal (1617-1645), and Baba Atal Rai (1619-1628).

Battle of Kartarpur: On 26-27 April 1635 at Kartarpur and Palahi. At the age of 14 years, Tegh Bahadur took part in the battle at Kartarpur.

Marriage: Tegh Bahadur was married on 4 February, 1633 to Gujri (1624-1705), daughter of Lal Chand Subhikkhi and Bishan Kaur who were living at Kartarpur, in the Jalandhar district.

Kiratpur: After the battles with Mughal commanders, Guru Hargobind decided to settle down at Kiratpur in the Himalayan Shivalik hills with his household from May 1635. This location had been gifted by Raja Kalyan Chand of Kehloor in May 1 and was away from the main Mughal traffic. Tegh Bahadur was 14 years old by now and stayed there with his Guru-father till the latter’s demise on 3 March 1644.

His mission: Guru Hargobind passed the Guruship to Har Rai, his grandson, the younger son of Baba Gurditta, before his demise on 3 March 1644. He also apprised Tegh Bahadur, now 23 years old, of his mission. Tegh Bahadur was to propagate Guru Nanak’s mission, strengthen network of Guru Nanak’s Sangats and remain available to serve the Guru on Gurgaddi - Guru Har Rai, (Guruship 1644-1661), and Guru Har Krishan, (Guruship 1661-1664) - till his own turn to make the ultimate sacrifice for dharam, the righteous cause. Tegh Bahadur was instructed to take his mother, Mata Nanaki, and his wife, Gujri, to go and live at Bakala.

First preaching tour: 13 June 1656. The vaheer (preaching group with families on the move) stayed at Kurukashetra and then set forth for Hardwar and reached that sacred city on 29 March 1657. With stops at Mathura, Prayagraj, Benaras, Sasram and Gaya the vaheer reached Patna.

Birth of Guru Gobind Singh: Patna became the Guru family base for the next few years from 1657 and Gobind Das (later Guru Gobind Singh) was born at Patna in 1661. Here on Samat 1718 Pokh Massay Sudi Saptmi on Wednesday Gobind Das was born. (Evidence of Guru Kian Sakhian, Sakhi number 14.) i.e. 18 December 1661.

Assamese Buranji evidence and role of the Brahmin and Ulema (Islamic clergy): That the Brahmins and Ulema (Islamic clergy) complained to Aurungzeb that the Guru was vitiating the whole socio-religious environment by preaching Guru Nanak’s egalitarian message of true religion which rejected discrimination under any excuse.

Return to Delhi: On 21 March, 1664, Tegh Bahadur was at Delhi at the Dharamsala of Bhai Kalyana. He met Baba Ram Rai and Guru Harkrishan and headed for Punjab.

Demise of Guru Har Krishan: Before his demise on 30 March, 1664 at Delhi, Guru Har Krishan announced Baba Tegh Bahadur of Bakala as the next Guru.

Guruship: 11 August 1664 at Bakala. Ceremony conducted by the Sikh delegation from Delhi led by Mata Sulakhni (wife of Guru Har Rai and mother of Guru Har Krishan)

Makhan Shah Lubhana: Visited the village of Bakala on the Divali festival which was on 9 October 1664. On 22 November, 1664, Makhan Shah accompanied the Guru to Harmandar Sahib (Golden Temple) at Amritsar and remained with the Guru on his tour of Punjab till his return to Kiratpur in May 1665, a period of about 7 months. From there he took leave of the Guru on 6 May, and left for his home. That Makhan Shah came with an armed guard and was prepared to stay with the Guru for such a prolonged period is significant in view of the dispute about Guruship.

Preaching tour of Malwa and north-eastern Indian sub-continent: Invited by prominent Sikhs from Patna and Dhaka. The tour started in October 1665.

First Arrest: Following complaints from the Brahmins and ulema (Assamese Buranji evidence as above). Near Dhamtan on 8 November 1665. Following mediation, placed under the care of Raja Ram Singh on 13 December 1665. Tour of north and eastern Indian sub-continent resumed 16 December 1665. However, officially, he remained under detention and in the care of Raja Ram Singh.

Raja Ram Singh’s military expedition to subdue Ahom people of Assam: 6 January 1668. He met the Guru towards the second half of 1668 and sought his help. The Guru and the Raja crossed river Brahmaputra towards the end of 1668 to reach Dhubri visited by Guru Nanak. Peace was mediated between Ahom people and Raja Ram Singh and both sides built a mound called Teghpur or Tegh Parbat to commemorate the peace treaty.

Aurungzeb’s religious persecution and the Guru’s return to Punjab: The Guru started for Punjab towards end of 1669 with preaching stops at important places to strengthen the network of Sikh sangats.

Second detention from Agra: On the way to Delhi, he was brought under guard from Agra to Delhi to be released later through the intercession of the Guru’s Muslim disciple Saif Khan, who was related to Aurungzeb. The Guru was at the dharamsal of Bhai Kalyana at Delhi on 20 June 1670. Meanwhile, the family group which started from Patna sometime after the Guru left, reached Lakhnaur by 13 September, 1670.

Large Sikh gathering at Anandpur: Vaisakhi 1673.

Preaching tour of Malwa and Bangar countryside: Middle of 1673.

Final preaching tour of Malwa to strengthen Sikh organisation: 1674 when Gobind Rai accompanied him. The Guru returned to Chakk Nanaki towards the end of 1674 via Kaithal and many villages in Sirsa and Hisar.

Delegation of Brahmins led by Kashmiri Pandit Kirpa Ram Datt: Brahmins from many Hindu centres including those from Kashmir, sought the Guru’s help against Aurungzeb’s religious persecution. They were led by Pandit Kirpa Ram Datt who had been in the service of Guru-Ghar (Guru’s House) for many years, they met Guru Tegh Bahadur and Gobind Rai at Anandpur on May 25, 1675.

Gobind Rai anointed as the next Guru on 8 July, 1675⁶.

Final arrest: Arrested on 11 July, 1675 from village Malikpur Ranghran with two other Sikhs, kept at Sirhind for about four months under torturous conditions in an attempt to convert them to Islam, and then taken to Delhi by 5 November, 1675.

Martyrdom: 11 November 1675. Body cremated that night by Delhi Sikhs and his holy sis (head) cremated at Anandpur Sahib on 17 November 1675 by Guru Gobind Rai.

Thus was laid the ideological and organisational foundation for Guru Gobind Rai to complete the final chapter of Guru Nanak’s Mission and for the emergence of the Khalsa, Akal Purakh ki Fauj (the army of the Timesless Being)

Mughal emperors

During the period covered by the Sikh Gurus mentioned in this account, the emperors on the throne of Delhi were: Akbar (1556-1605), Jahangir (1605-1627), Shah Jahan (1628-1658) and Aurungzeb (1658-1707). Jahangir was on the throne of Delhi when Guru Teg Bahadur was born and Aurungzeb was the emperor on whose orders he was executed in Delhi on 11 November 1675.

Unlike Akbar, himself a moderate and just emperor, his successors started depending on a fanatic interpretation of Islamic sharia code to justify their cruelty and oppression to hold on to power.

Emperor Jahangir died in 1627 when Tegh Bahadur was 6 years old, and Prince Khurum sat on the throne of Delhi as Shah Jahan (meaning ruler of the world). He adopted a stricter policy than Jahangir against non-Muslims. His first royal command on ascending the thrown was to ban tableeg or conversions to non-Islamic religions. However, the Sikhs remained defiant and ignored this order. 

Badshahnama recorded: “It has been brought to the notice of the emperor (Badshah Hazoor) that the re-building of some Hindu temples was started in the previous rule [of Jahangir] but they are not complete yet. Now the kaffirs (non-believers) wish to complete them. The emperor [Shah Jahan] who is the guardian of the faith, has ordained that the temples being built in Banaras should be demolished. News has been received that about 76 temples (mandars) have been demolished.”⁷

Relying on a fanatic interpretation of the Islamic code of Sharia⁸ to remain in power, rather than on a humanitarian regime administered through just laws and fair treatment of the subjects, the Mughal rulers of the day were bound to be concerned by what they regarded as the growing Sikh threat to their oppressive rule. 

Guru Nanak’s sangats (Sikh centres) had been established all over the Indian sub-continent by 1539 when Guru Nanak passed on the Sikhi mission to his successor Nanak II, Guru Angad (Bhai Lehna before Guruship)

The growing Sikh movement leading to first Guru martyrdom of Nanak V, Guru Arjan Dev

To understand the mission and martyrdom of Nanak IX, Guru Tegh Bahadur, the second Guru martyr in Sikhi tradition, it is necessary to follow the development of the Sikh movement from Guru Nanak to Guru Arjan, the first Guru martyr.

Some historiographers regard the two Guru martyrdoms as “turning points”⁹ in the Sikh movement. That is due to lack of understanding of Guru Jote-Jugat continuity (see below). However, there is no doubt that they were major milestones in the progress of Sikhi. Otherwise, the progress of the Sikh movement from Guru Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh culminating in the twin institutions of Guru Granth and Guru Khalsa Panth, was continuous, consistent process and as ordained by the Guru Jote-Jugat. 

Sometimes we forget that Nanak X, Guru Gobind Singh was the third Guru martyr, and his martyrdom started the third phase of Guru Granth and Guru Khalsa Panth. That phase continues today. 

Understanding Guru Jote-Jugat concept and process

The Sikh belief in One Guru Jote and Jugat continuity needs understanding. Jote is the Guru Light and Jugat is the “method” (modus operandi). The operation of Jote-Jugat through Guru-persons is described with deep reverence by the Bhatt poets in Bhatt Bani in Guru Granth Sahib¹⁰.

So, the Sikh belief is that the same Guru Light of Nanak guided the progress of Sikhi thought and strategy through Ten Guru-persons. That is, as if it were the same person with the one vision and mission, the same policy, planning and execution. It is possible to construct Sikh Guru history (Gur Ithas), including the two major landmarks of the martyrdoms of Guru Arjan and Guru Tegh Bahadur as part of the same process. Each Guru person refers back to the founding spiritual and temporal principles and goals of Guru Nanak and the progress made by earlier Guru-persons.

This process explains some important events in this account covering the life and mission of Guru Tegh Bahadur.

After Guru Nanak, the Sikh movement grew quite rapidly in the next 67 years to 1606, systematically achieving the following milestones through each Guru-person:

(Guruship period in brackets. Also see Guruship succession diagram at page 14)

Nanak II, Guru Angad (1539-1552)

Contributed Gurbani, 62 hymns in addition Guru Nanak’s 974,  as Nanak II; formalised the Gurmukhi script; promoted sewa (selfless service) and the institution of langar started by Guru Nanak; promoted physical fitness and martial arts¹¹.

Nanak III, Guru Amardas: (1552-1574)

Contributed Gurbani, 907 hymns, as Nanak III.

The time had come to take Sikhi to the next level as a theo-social movement. The Guru strengthened Sikh organisation and started the manji system by appointing well trained area parcharaks (preachers).

He knew that the majority of the converts to Sikhism hailed from Hinduism and that their conversion would not last unless a complete break with the old tradition was established.¹²

Some of the measures he took to wean people away from discriminatory Brahmanic practices were:

He constructed a sacred holy well at Goindwal which replaced pilgrimages at Hardwar, Prayag and Banaras; sharing the well water and the eating together at the langar (community kitchen) as a pre-condition to seeing the Guru aimed to overcome caste prejudice; equality of women was promoted; they were told not to cover their faces and the evil practice of sati was condemned; and widow marriage was encouraged. One of the manji holders (senior area preacher) was a woman, Bibi Sachan Sacha, a remarkable first in world religions.

All these practical implementations of social reforms by successive Gurus, first introduced by Guru Nanak, were causing much concern amongst the Brahmins because the manji system was taking the liberating message far and wide to their religious centres in northern and eastern India. Highly respected Sikh missionaries like Bhai Gurdas visited places like Benares.

In due course, Guru Tegh Bahadur accelerated the dissemination of Sikhi in those areas and incurred the wrath of the Brahmins.

Nanak IV, Guru Ramdas: (1574-1581)

Contributed Gurban, 679 hymns, as Nanak IV. 

He continued by further institutionalising the Sikh movement. He developed the town of Ramdaspur as a proserpous Sikh centre, later called Amritsar. In addition to the manji system for spreading Sikhi, Guru Ramdas introduced the Masand system. Sikh network of Sangats (congregation) was growing. Regular collection of Daswandh, voluntary contribution of a tenth of one’s income for funding community and charity causes, allowed permanent Sikh organisation, centres and institutions to grow. He started work on Amritsar sarowar (tank) which was completed by Nanak V, Guru Arjan.   

Nanak V, Guru Arjan Dev: (1581-1606)

Contributed Gurbani, 2,218 hymns as Nanak V and compiled the First Sikh Scripture, Adi Granth, which included hymns of Nanaks I to V and many Bhagats, Bhatts and some Sikhs. Adi Granth was completed with 116 hymns of Guru Tegh Bahadur by Guru Gobind Singh and installed as the Living Guru of the Sikhs after him.

In Guru history, this was the mid-point and the most significant consolidation of Sikhi as a theo-political movement. Harmandir Sahib (later called the Golden Temple) was constructed in the middle of the Sarowar (sacred tank) constructed by Guru Ramdas and other Sikh centres were built. However, with the compilation of the Adi Granth the Sikhs now had their own holy Scripture. The Granth became the firm foundation of Sikhi which started the alarm bells ringing in the camps of zealot guardians of Brahmanic and Islamic traditions.

As Dr Fauja Singh writes:

Emperor Jehangir took serious note. The Guru was arrested under the false charge of collusion with Khusrau, put through extreme forms of torture and martyred in 1606.   

This was the time when the Sikhi path of Guru Nanak was under continual challenge from the emperors of Delhi. They were becoming increasingly concerned about the egalitarian message of Guru Nanak attracting followers in increasing numbers from all over the Indian subcontinent.

Sikhi rejected discrimination under any pretext. That equality principle of Sikhi was seen as a threat to their religions as practised, first by the Brahmins and later, by the Islamic clergy. Both had a role in the martyrdoms of Fifth Nanak, Guru Arjan, and Ninth Nanak, Guru Tegh Bahadur.

During the later Guru period, thousands of Hindus were converting to Guru Nanak’s Sikhi in Punjab due to prominent Sikhs – men and women - appointed as regional preachers from the time of Nanak III, Guru Amardas (1479-1574).

The missionary tours by Nanak VI, Guru Hargobind in Punjab and the arid regions north-west of Delhi (now in Haryana state) gave further impetus to Guru Nanak’s mission. The Guru’s movement in Punjab was also made necessary by the defensive battles forced on him by local Mughal commanders.

Following the martyrdom of his father-Guru, Arjun (1563-1606), hundreds of young people of rural Punjab flocked to the Guru. They were also attracted by his charismatic saint-warrior personality. Like earlier Gurus, Guru Hargobind’s followers were from diverse religio-cultural backgrounds. Many Muslims have been mentioned as his constant companions. Amongst these were poets and bards and a famous warrior of the time, Painday Khan. 

Defence of the Sikh faith continued through armed resistance by the Gurus as a last resort. That Guru Hargobind had been able to repulse superior forces four times with the support of ordinary people, was a matter of grave concern to the Mughal regime.   

Contenders for Guruship in Guru families

From time to time, misguided and disgruntled relatives of the Guru persons, who felt aggrieved for being passed over in Guruship succession, took their grievances to the emperors on the throne at different times. They failed to realise that the Light of Nanak passed on to the most deserving successor of the time. Tegh Bahadur himself was passed over twice for Guruship following the demise of his father, Guru Hargobind and of his nephew¹⁴ Nanak VII, Guru Har Rai. It was only the latter’s son, Nanak VIII, Guru Harkishan, who passed on Guruship to Tegh Bahadur, otherwise his grand uncle (the Baba based at Bakala at the time), that Guru Tegh Bahadur was revealed as the Light of Guru Nanak as Nanak IX.

The role of the Brahmin

From the day Guru Nanak, aged 11, refused to wear the Janeu symbolic of Hindu caste hierarchy and divisions, the Brahmin felt that his position at the top was under threat from Sikhi. From then on, he became the enemy within “driven by a mission to undermine, adulterate, contaminate and corrupt Sikhi. Guru Nanak and everything that he would represent from then on would be seen as a threat to the Brahmin clergy, and thus worthy of destruction by any and every means.” ¹⁵

The Throne of the Sacha Patshah, the True King

Even during the times of the earlier Gurus, and certainly by the time of Nanak V, Guru Arjan 1563-1606, the Guru was referred to as Sacha Patshah (the True King) and his seat was referred to as Sacha Takht (the True Throne) from which the Guru dispensed Sacha Niao (True Justice). ¹⁶Contemporary sources and the Bani in Adi Granth, confirm that the Guru sat on the True Throne from which he dispensed True Justice. The first structure of Akal Takht, the seat of the Guru as the temporal and spiritual (miri-piri) sovereign, was erected and completed by Bhai Gurdas and Baba Budha ji on 15 June 1606¹⁷. Soon after that date Guru Hargobind conducted the secular affairs of the Sikhs from Akal Takht until he left for Kiratpur in 1635.

Following the martyrdom of Guru Arjan, his son, Guru Hargobind, was anointed Guru on 25 May 1606. Guru Hargobind prepared the Sikhs for armed defence of Guru Nanak’s egalitarian mission to establish a just socio-political order (referred to as halemi raj by Guru Arjan).

Sikh historians believe that by resorting to armed defence, Guru Hargobind was carrying out the final instructions of his father, Guru Arjan, before his martyrdom. Like his predecessors, he had been trained in the use of arms by revered Baba Budha (1506-1631)¹⁸. 

Guruships of Guru Har Rai and Guru Har Krishan

The two Guruships of Guru Har Rai, Nanak VII, (Guruship 1644-1661) and Guru Har Krishan, Nanak VIII, (Guruship 1661-1664) stabilised and consolidated the theo-political gains of Guru Hargobind.

A strong defensive force was retained by Guru Har Rai, and, presumably not disbanded by Gur Har Krishan. Community care facilities were developed and included medical care. Such non-military strengthening of Sikh facilities and organisation was low profile and did not attract too much attention from the Mughal Emperors at Delhi. They would have assumed that Sikhs were returning to a more peaceful and conciliatory lifestyle after the battles of Guru Hargobind, who, in any case, had no option but to defend himself.   

However, the machination of the relatives within the Guru families, disaffected by Guru succession, continued. They took their complaints to the Mughal rulers at Delhi from time to time. From Guru Arjan onwards, the Mughal emporers, directed by the ulema (Islamic scholars) were looking for ways to destroy the Sikhi movement started by Guru Nanak. This suited the designs of the Brahmin also. However, Hindu, and Muslim friends of Guru Nanak’s House (Guru-ghar) also held influential positions in the royal court. Their intercessions delayed the inevitable final confrontation between the Emperors at Delhi and the Gurus.

The daring feat of Bhai Jaita (Bhai Jiwan Singh after taking Amrit)

Bhai Jaita presenting the sis (holy head) of Guru Tegh Bahadur to young Guru Gobind Rai (Guru Gobind Singh)

Some remain fearful [of their sins] even they be kings. - SGGS p 913

Religious persecution by Aurungzeb

Emperor Aurungzeb, full name Muhi Ud-din Muhammad Aurungzeb (1618-1707) became Emperor on 21 July 1658. He had “waded through a river of blood”⁷¹ to come to power. He assumed the title of Alamgir (conqueror of the world) and ruled for 50 years from 1658 to 1707.

He imprisoned his sick father Shah Jahan⁷² in Agra Fort on 18 June 1658 where the latter passed away in February 1666. In the war of succession, he persuaded his brother Murad to join him against his oldest brother Dara Shukoh who was defeated at Fatehabad near Agra. Dara was captured later, imprisoned, and executed on 30 August 1659. During the celebration following the victory at Fatehabad, Murad was captured and imprisoned in the Gwalior fort on 5 July 1658. He was executed on 4 December 1661 for killing a religious person.

The fourth unfortunate sibling, Shah Sujah ran away to Assam in fear of Aurungzeb and died some time later in Arakan, Burma (Myanmar). Aurungzeb got his sister Roshnara poisoned. Dara’s son, Sulaiman Shukoh was also not spared, nor his own oldest son Sultan Mohamad. That is not all but suffice to say that the ruthlessness of Aurungzeb to grab the throne of Delhi had no limit.

He was fond of having religious discourses with men of religion. He was using Islam to justify his cruel regime in the eyes of the zealot Muslims. He had eliminated own father and siblings to grab the throne of Delhi. It is possible that his tortured soul found some solace in religious discourses and the propagation of Islam by any means. It is not unusual for sinners to deceive themselves and the world by hiding behind the garb of piety and religion⁷³.

The consciousness of this guilt only sharpened his [Aurungzeb’s] religious prejudice, and it drove him to the harshest measures he could devise against the non-Muslim population. By this policy he wished to please the Muslim orthodoxy and win reprieve for the crimes he had committed to gain the crown.⁷⁴-Harbans Singh

To remain in power, he adopted religious fanaticism of the extreme type sanctioned by those like Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi (1564-1624) of the Naqshbandi order. He was given the honorific title of Mujaddid-i-Alf-i-Sani, meaning the savior of the second millennium of the Islamic era. The Mujaddid was “Extremely saddened and angry” by Akbar’s tolerance of non-Islamic religions. He got the divine order that he was appointed mujaddid (savior) of Islam in the second millennium.

“By the end of Akbar’s rule, Mujaddid started the revival of Islam in a series of letters and lectures. Most of the letters, addressed to the Mughal officialdom, are written to Sheikh Farid Bukhari, who was given the highest post of Muratzakhan and the title of Chheh Hazari⁷⁵ by Emperor Jahangir as soon as he ascended the throne. This Muratzakhan was a devout follower of Mujaddid…. Jehangir had handed over Guru Arjan to Muratzakhan to torture him and kill him.” ⁷⁶

In 1669 Aurungzeb ordered all provincial governors “to destroy with a willing hand the schools and the temples of the infidels and put an entire stop to their religious practices and teaching.” ⁷⁷

“He destroyed some Hindu temples even in times of peace. In early 1670 he ordered that all grants of revenue-free land given to non-Muslims should be resumed. In 1679 the emperor re-imposed the jizya⁷⁸ after more than a century of its abolition by Akbar. That this order too was implemented in the Punjab is evident from a document laying down the amount of jizya to be collected from all three classes of assesses in a village.” ⁷⁹

Aurungzeb faced revolts right from the start of his reign. The Jat jamidars (land owners) of Talpat near Mathura led a revolt by 20,000 peasants in 1669 and in 1672 the Satnamis revolted in the pargana of Narnaul about 120 kilometers from Delhi. The Maratha chief, Shivaji, established his own kingdom in 1674.⁸⁰

Aurungzeb’s brutality and fanaticism had no bounds and increased as he faced more revolts in the country. In desperation, he looked for the ultimate solution in an extreme form of Islam. His tormented soul sought refuge in religious fervour and in a vision of one-religion Islamic state.

He especially targeted the Kashmiri Brahmins for conversion to Islam with the willing support of Iftikhar Khan, his bigoted governor of Kashmir from 1671 to 1675. The logic was to convert the upper-class Brahmins who were at the apex of the Hindu caste system, so that others would follow.

Iftikhar terrorised the Brahmins and thousands were forcefully converted to Islam and made to discard their sacred threads, the jeneus. These were collected and dispatched to Aurungzeb as proof of mass conversions and, therefore, the rumour amongst the non-Muslims that Aurungzeb received a maund and a quarter in weight of discarded jeneus daily⁸¹ from around the country. Iftikhar excelled in this service for the Emperor’s forced proselytization programme sanctioned by those, for example, who belonged to Sheikh Ahmad of Sirhind’s school of Islamic thought.

The Brahmins seek the Guru’s help

The Brahmins, led by those from Kashmir, were desperate. They had seen over the centuries that while they could mislead the ordinary people with Vedic mythology, superstition, idol worship and the mantras (magic formulas), the Mughals and other Islamic invaders from the North-West were not impressed by such practices nor stopped by the mantras.

However, the Brahmins were well aware of the great influence of Guru Nanak and the later Gurus had in the sub-continent amongst the Hindus and the Muslims. They were aware that all, including the kings and princes, bowed to Baba Nanak, revered as the Guru of the Hindus and the Pir of the Muslims. Guru Nanak and the saint-warrior Gurus, Har Gobind and Har Rai, had visited the valley of Kashmir and there were Sikh sangats in the area. Influential devotees of the Gurus, Sikhs like the trader, Makhan Shah Lubhana, were from Kashmir.

In desperation and unable to invoke their numerous gods and goddesses, one leading Pandit made it known that in a dream he had been told by Lord Siva to go to Nanak IX, Guru Tegh Bahadur for protection. Harbans Singh⁸², quotes from P. N. K. Bamzai’s A History of Kashmir:

Iftikhar Khan....was using force to convert the Pandits of Kashmir to Islam. Some pious men amongst the Pandits then met and decided to go to Amarnath and invoke the mercy of Siva there for deliverance from the tyrannies of the bigot. At the Amarnath cave, one of the Pandits saw Lord Siva in a dream who told him to go to Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru, in the Punjab and ask for his help to save the Hindu religion. He spoke to his companions about the revelation. About 500 proceeded to Anandpur where Guru Tegh Bahadur was living.

The rumours of a delegation led by Kashmiri Brahmins going to Guru Tegh Bahadur would have attracted many people under threat of forced conversions to Islam. It is probable that many followed the main delegation. The impression gained could have been of a large number – 500 according to Bamzai – going to Anandpur (Chakk Nanaki).

As Harbans Singh writes, whether a group of 500 or 16 according to Bhatt Vahi Talaunda, reached Anandpur on May 25, 1675, led by Pandit Kirpa Ram Datt⁸³, who had been the tutor of Guru Tegh Bahadur’s son, Gobind Rai. It is also probable that Kirpa Ram persuaded the Pandits to seek help from Guru Tegh Bahadur instead of relying on mythical gods and miracles. “He was well aware of the potentialities of the Sikh movement to stand up to the Mughal tyranny.”⁸⁴

The Pundit’s dream of seeing the vision of Lord Siva (or a visiting sadhu⁸⁵ mistaken as Lord Siva) would have been a convenient form of persuasion which also gave credit to Siva for showing the way!

It is significant, that in addition to Brahman representatives from Kashmir, there were also representatives from many Hindu centres in India like Hardwar, Mathura, and Kurukashetra. These were probably the same Brahmins mentioned in the Assames Buranji who had complained to Aurungzeb that the Guru’s message of equality of all before One Creator Being, was vitiating their convenient socio-religious system which secured their top position. Bhagat Kabir referred to them as “Benares ke thhagg”!⁸⁶ (the thugs of Benares).

The Cause

Guru Tegh Bahadur listened attentively to the pleas of these hapless Brahmins made helpless by their reliance on myths and miracles, and the societal caste divisions. Their belief systems rooted in the age of darkness (dhundh or ignorance) had drained a whole nation of any moral courage to stand up to injustice and oppression.

The Guru had been well aware of the policy of increasing religious intolerance of the Mughal emperors after Akbar. His own extensive missionary tours taking the message of universal brotherhood, equality and justice to remote parts of India were a bold response to that policy of forced unity through conversions to one religion.

In fact, it was on hearing about Aurungzeb’s extreme form of religious persecution that the Guru had returned to Punjab from north-eastern India. Having witnessed the battles forced on his father, Guru Hargobind, by the Mughal rulers and having himself been arrested by Aurungzeb due to his preaching tours, he also realised that Guru Nanak’s mission was on a head-on collision with the evil empire.

As he listened to the pleas of the Kashmiri Brahmins for deliverance from the cruelty of Aurungzeb, Guru Tegh Bahadur would have reflected on the mission his father, Nanak VI, Guru Hargobind, had entrusted him with before his demise in 1644.

Following years of meditation and extensive countryside tours to awaken and liberate the spirit of the downtrodden people, the time for the final delivery of his mission had come. The Guru was going to fight a battle on behalf of those of a belief system which he himself did not subscribe to; a belief system the basics of which Guru Nanak had rejected.

Guru Tegh Bahadur reflected on how best to take up the case of the Hindus of India with Aurungzeb while the Brahmin delegation camped at Chakk Nanaki (Anandpur). Due to their religious qualms about food, there is mention of a Brahmin cook, Ganga Dhar Kaul⁸⁷ (also known as Gangu Brahman) being employed to prepare and serve them food.

This cook was the Kashmiri Gangu Brahmin who came with the deputation, and later, betrayed the Guru’s family by turning informer and getting Mata Gujri and the younger sons of Guru Gobind Singh, the Sahibzaday (princes) Fateh Singh and Zorawar Singh, arrested at his village Kherhi near the town of Ropar. He had settled there following migration from Kashmir some years after Guru Tegh Bahadur’s martyrdom.

While the Kashmiri Brahmins were received with full hospitality and awaited the Guru’s decision, he remained in deep thought. His son, Gobind Rai, asked him the reason for his pensive mood. The Guru’s response to his son (and probably those around him) deserves deep reflection about the Sikhi concept of martyrdom.

In 1999, the Pingalwara at Amritsar published an essay by S. Narain Singh with the title, “It is the man and his cause that make him martyr.”

Dying, in itself, is not a worthy aim to be extolled. Human life is a precious gift of God, not to be thrown off purposelessly.

Firstly, the cause espoused must be just. Secondly, the community standing and purity of soul (pavittar atma) of the person who champions that cause is relevant for maximum impact.⁸⁸ Finally, martyrdom is the outcome of the confrontation between good and evil so that the objective of evil is defeated by the invincible martyr, who stands firm for the just cause to the last breath.

In the Sikhi tradition, martyrdom is not self-inflicted death through self-immolation.

Martyrdom is a consequence of the struggle between the forces of evil and the fearless warrior for good, who remains unconquered to the end i.e., does not bow to the will of evil, but abides by the Will of the Creator Being (Bhana) while remaining true to self. The ultimate victory is that of truthful conduct, justice and the righteous principle being upheld, and not the fear of death. Life is given but the just cause is not compromised or surrendered.⁸⁹

Who should take up the cause?

For Guru Tegh Bahadur, the cause to oppose oppression and bigotry was just. The quest was for a saintly person, the pavittar atma, universally revered by all in the Indian subcontinent, who would confront the bigoted Emperor Aurungzeb and, if required, sacrifice own life to uphold the principle of religious freedom.⁹⁰ For only the martyrdom of such a person would awaken the spirit of freedom in the ordinary people. Only such martyrdom would disperse the clouds of forced “unity” (ekta) aimed at creating one religio-centric totalitarian state at the expense of freedom of religion and the rich human diversity⁹¹.

Gobind Rai too sat with his father and thought about this question posed by his father.Bold and forthright as ever, he spoke out aloud and told his father that the Jote of Guru Nanak was in him, and that he was the worthiest person in India to confront Emperor Aurungzeb in the final duel between good and evil. That was precisely the hope with which the Brahmins had approached the Guru (as indeed, their own Lord Siva had allegedly told one of them in his dream).

Gobind Rai had reconfirmed their faith in the Guru, that he was the one and only saint-warrior of India who could save the Hindu religion by standing up for the universal principle of freedom of religion. Such an assurance from young Gobind at this critical and historic juncture also proved his own worthiness to receive the Guru Light (Jote) of Nanak. Guru Tegh Bahadur was pleased.

The struggle between the bigotry of Aurungzeb and the righteous cause taken up by Guru Tegh Bahadur, was not unequal. For, “Whereas the emperor could use the power of the state in support of his policy, the Guru could rely on moral courage inherited from a long line of illustrious predecessors to defend the claims of conscience.”⁹²

So the issue was resolved when the Guru’s own son, Gobind Rai, agreed with the Brahmins of Kashmir that the Guru on Guru Nanak’s Gurgaddi (Guru’s throne) Guru Tegh Bahadur, was the only person who was qualified to successfully confront the bigoted Emperor Aurungzeb. The Guru assured the Brahmins that he would take up their cause with Aurungzeb.

It was not a challenge to Aurungzeb through the Kashmiri Brahmins as some writers suggest, but an expression of intent to discuss his policy of forced conversions. The line taken was that if Aurungzeb could persuade the Guru that his policy of converting India to Islam was the right one, and thereby convert him to Islam, then others were likely to follow him as the champion of their cause. On the other hand, if Aurungzeb failed in doing that he should return to a moderate rule and allow people to follow their own diverse religious paths.

In the background was also the popular belief that it was Baba Nanak, regarded as the “Guru of the Hindus and the Pir of the Muslims” whose blessing the Mughal Babar had sought to become the ruler of India. So, the challenge before the successor of Babar i.e. Aurungzeb, was obvious if he wished to convert all India to Islam. All he had to do was to convert, the successor of Guru Nanak who was also regarded as the “Guru of the Hindus”, to Islam.

That was the message which, according to Sikh tradition, the Brahmin deputation led by the Pandits of Kashmir conveyed to the Emperor. They left Chak Nanaki (Anandpur Sahib) content that the Guru would keep his word and save them from the bigotry of Aurungzeb. Traditional accounts tell us that Aurungzeb was satisfied on receiving this message. He felt that his objective would be achieved soon and looked forward to meeting the Guru.

The die was cast for a confrontation between Babar ke (those of Babar) and Babay ke (those of Baba Nanak)⁹³. This final struggle between religious bigotry and religious freedom, lasted about a hundred years before the evil empire was toppled and a people’s Khalsa Raj was established in Punjab, the land of five rivers i.e., most of the area north and west of Delhi up to the border of Afganistan.

It needs to be remembered that the primary objective of the Guru was to confront Aurungzeb with his evil deeds including mass murder of thousands in the name of one religion. The primary aim of the Guru was not to intentionally “seek martyrdom”. However, it was almost certain that Aurungzeb would not change his policy of religious persecution and the Guru, following in the footsteps of his martyr grandfather, Guru Arjan, would give his life but not his belief in the principle that all had the right to practise own religion. Freedom to be able to practise own religion without fear of persecution was also an essential component of human dignity. Those who practised own religion in secret also became cowards at heart and betrayed own preceptor (guru), people (qaum) and way of life.

Aurungzeb was receiving regular reports about what went on at Chak Nanaki (Anandpur). He had been kept continually aware of the Guru’s preaching tours. Guru Tegh Bahadur’s “efforts to mobilise the people to a new socio-religious consciousness was taken as a threat by the authoritarian regime of Aurungzeb which was midway through its proselytization program” ⁹⁴. Aurungzeb was told of the swelling numbers of the Guru’s followers and the vast increase in the resources from sangats’ donations, which could pose a serious threat to the empire.⁹⁵

“The intelligence reports linking Guru Tegh Bahadur’s generating a new enthusiasm amongst the people to the Pathan leader Hafiz Adam of Banoor’s movement (which was considered subversive of law and order) for which he was banished in 1642, was sinister in character.” ⁹⁶

Guru Tegh Bahadur’s intent to take up the cause of basic human right to practise own religion, albeit, at that time in the context of the Hindus of India led by the Brahmins of Kashmir under immediate threat of forced conversions, was conveyed to Aurungzeb. 

Aurungzeb at Hasan Abdal

Emperor Aurungzeb was in the process of suppressing a rebellion by Afghan tribes near the north-west frontier provinces of the Indian subcontinent and was still at Hasan Abdal near the border on his way back to Delhi. Earlier, on his way to the north-west, he had passed through Punjab when Guru Tegh Bahadur was on a preaching tour of the Malwa districts nearby. Most probably, he had already made up his mind to sort out this growing threat to his totalitarian regime when he returned to Delhi. He ordered the arrest of Guru Tegh Bahadur while still at Hasan Abdal.

Based on more recent research, there is little doubt that Aurungzeb issued an order to the Nawab of Sirhind for the arrest of the Guru from Hasan Abdal. However, this royal order was not announced publicly but passed by the Nawab to the Kotwal (the local commander of a police-station) Mirza Nur Muhammad Khan of Ropar. Chak Nanaki was in Ropar district. 

Final preparations to go to Delhi

The Guru prepared for his departure from Chak Nanaki. Despite certain death which awaited him, he was going to keep his promise to the Kashmiri Brahmins. To keep one’s promise and not to betray trust is a sacred principle associated with Guru Tegh Bahadur’s name by the bard, Bhat Kesho.⁹⁷ There was much to be done before he finally left to meet the Emperor at Agra or Delhi, the old and the new capitals of the Mughal Emperor where Aurungzeb lived when he was not on campaigns.   

The Guru completed his briefings for continuing the mission of Guru Nanak. Prominent Sikhs were consulted on the final arrangements. The Guru’s wife, Mata Gujri, accepted the Guru’s decision as the Will of God (Bhana). Most probably, the Guru apprised her of what lay ahead for her. She was destined to endure great hardship and make further sacrifices to the end of her life⁹⁸.

The Guru blessed his Sikhs and three of them asked to accompany him to Delhi. These were his ministers: Dewan Mati Das, Sati Das and Dyal Das. After one month and thirteen days following the departure of the Kashmiri delegation, having made due arrangements, he anointed Gobind Rai as the next Guru after him on 8 July, 1675⁹⁹. Three days later, on 10 July 1675, accompanied by the three Sikhs as above, he set out to meet Emperor Aurungzeb.

The arrest

After a short stop at Kiratpur to meet the rest of the Guru family, on 11 July 1675 the Guru and the three Sikhs crossed river Sirsa. From the latest evidence based on Guru Kian Sakhian and other sources as interpreted by eminent scholars, there is now little doubt that the Guru and his three Sikh companions were arrested at village Malikpur Ranghran on 12 July 1675, kept at Sirhind for about four months under torturous conditions in an attempt to convert them to Islam, and then taken to Delhi by 5 November 1675.

According to Sakhi number 29 (Guru Kian Sakhian p 80) and Bhat Vahi Multani Sindhi, Khata Jalhanay Balaonto(n) ka:

“Guru Tegh Bahadur, the Ninth Guru....was arrested by Nur Muhammad Khan Mirza, of the Ropar police post, on the 12th of Savan, 1732/July 12, 1675, at village Malikpur Ranghran, parganah Ghanaula, and sent to Sirhind. With him were arrested Diwan Mati Das and Sati Das, sons of Hira Mall Chhibbar, and Dayal Das, son of Mai Das. For four months they were kept in custody at Bassi Pathanan. The tyrants tortured the Guru a great deal. The Guru accepted God’s Will.¹⁰⁰”

The Guru was taken to Sirhind and placed in captivity to be converted to Islam by Shaikh Saifuddin Ahmad Sirhindi (successor of Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi, the Mujaddid Alif Sani) through persuasion. That included reasoning and offer of rewards and, failing that, physical torture. Some Sikh writers (e.g. Dr Trilochan Singh¹⁰¹) have confused this Shaikh of Sirhind with Nawab Saifuddin of Saifabad, the Guru’s devotee and friend, believing that the Guru spent four months in his company on his way to Delhi.

The Guru and the Sikhs were kept at the prison at Bassi Patthana(n) near Sirhind for about 4 months¹⁰². No form of persuasion worked on the Guru or his Sikhs. The Shaikh gave up after four months, and, as commanded by Aurungzeb, the Guru was put in an iron cage and taken to Delhi on or before 5 November, 1675¹⁰³. Some accounts mention Agra as the city from which the Guru was arrested¹⁰⁴. There is little doubt now that these accounts are mistaken and probably based on an earlier encounter of the Guru with Mughal officials at Agra when the Guru was returning to Delhi from Patna.

Based on Guru Gobind Singh’s own evidence and also correction of the confusion of Hijri dates during Aurungzeb’s time, most writers are now agreed that Aurungzeb himself was at Delhi when the Guru was taken there.

Sirdar Kapur Singh has collated the evidence in an essay, Who killed Guru Tegh Bahadur¹⁰⁵, to show how Aurungzeb, following his extreme religious policy, replaced the secular sun-based calendar (Shamsi-san) introduced by Akbar, by Hijri calendar. ¹⁰⁶The confusion of dates places Aurungzeb at Hasan Abdal when, in fact, he was already at Delhi when Guru Tegh Bahadur was taken there by 5 November 1675.

Emperor’s officials at Delhi

At this point it will be useful to name the main officials at Delhi involved with the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur.

Aurungzeb’s governor or Subedar of Delhi was Saffi Khan appointed in April 1674. The commander at Delhi Red Fort was Mutlafit Khan. The Royal or Shahi Kaji was Abdul Wahab Vohra. In effect he was the head of Islamic law ministry, the most powerful official after the Emperor himself, and reputed to be a most cruel and corrupt official¹⁰⁷.

The Guru and his Sikhs were imprisoned in the Kotwali (police station) at Chandni Chaok near Red Fort. The Official or Daroga in charge was Khwaja Abdulla.

The executioner was Jalad Jalaludin of Samana who was later killed by the Khalsa troopers of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur when Samana was taken by the Khalsa army.

The final confrontation

The most compelling evidence before us is that of Guru Gobind Singh, Bhai Mani Singh and the riddle of the solar-Hijri calendars solved by Kapur Singh, to show that Guru Tegh Bahadur was brought before Emperor Aurungzeb who was at Delhi at the time.

Aurungzeb was still hopeful that he would be able to achieve his goal of converting India to Dar-ul-Islam by persuading the Guru to accept Islam. The Guru and the Sikhs were brought before the Emperor. Aurungzeb used all sorts of tactics to persuade the Guru to convert to Islam. To start with, he was courteous and tried reasoning with the Guru.

The personality of the Emperor is well described by chroniclers. He had proven himself to be a ruthless warrior and a successful general. He had a keen interest in religious discourses. With age, due to his religious fervour and penances, he took on the appearance of a pious man. There was belief that through austerities he had himself gained supernatural powers.¹⁰⁸

Such men in history do have a mesmerising effect on those around them and are not without considerable following. Admirers of such men and their grand plans are bound to overlook the evil that they wreak on humanity at large. The most recent example in history is Adolf Hitler and he is unlikely to be the last of such men or women. They have personal charm; they are articulate and persuasive and control the minds of millions.

However, when it came to a clash of wills, the Guru and his Sikhs proved to be more than a match for Aurungzeb. Neither his charms nor the incentives he offered directly or through his officials worked. His threats failed.

Aurungzeb had made up his mind about Guru Tegh Bahadur in view of the two previous detentions of the Guru from which the well wishers of Guru Nanak’s Gurgaddi had been able to get him released. Instead of confining himself to a strictly opt-out ‘spiritual’ role as a local sect-leader, the Guru had in fact increased his influence all over India wherever Guru Nanak set his holy feet and was now championing the cause of another oppressed religious people, the Hindus of India. The Sikhs of Baba Nanak could have been tolerated, but not when the one who sat on the Gurgaddi of Guru Nanak extended the religious freedom to other religions as well.

Emperor Aurungzeb failed to persuade the Guru to convert to Islam and handed the Guru and his Sikh devotees to the Royal Qazi, the head of the Islamic law ministry, Abdul Wahab Vohra and the Daroga in-charge of the Kotwali (police station and prison) at Chandni Chowk, Khwaja Abdulla. Some accounts suggest that the latter was devoted to the Guru and would have allowed some flexibilities, although, not regarding the torture of the Guru which was personally supervised by the Qazi (as also mentioned in Bhatt Vahis).

In captivity at Delhi

Guru Tegh Bahadur was brought to Delhi by about 5 November 1675 and executed on 11 November 1675. So, he and the Sikhs with him were in captivity at Delhi for about a week.

There are many accounts of the Guru in prison at Delhi. For example, Bhai Santokh Singh, the writer of Suraj Parkash writes that despite being kept in an iron cage, the Guru was able to move about Delhi at will through his spiritual powers. This narrative is not concerned with the miracles attributed to the Guru during this period. It needs to be kept in mind that when asked to perform miracles by Aurungzeb, the Guru condemned miracle-makers. Those men of God diminished themselves by competing with the Will of God and showing off their spiritual powers like cheap magicians. Nevertheless, traditional Sikh accounts mention them.

One version is that at Delhi, the Guru was kept under house arrest. Other accounts that the Guru was seen around Delhi and the “miracles” would have a simpler explanation. It is possible that once the Guru was taken to Delhi in an iron cage as public display of state authority, Aurungzeb, as part of his ‘softening’ strategy to persuade the Guru to consult others, kept him at a reasonably comfortable place for a few days, albeit, under strict guard. It is even possible that under similar vigilance the Guru was allowed some movement in Delhi to meet the Sikhs.

According to Guru Kian Sakhian, Sakhi no. 29, three choices were put to the Guru by the Emperor, much to the satisfaction of the Royal Qazi, Abdul Wahab Bohra¹⁰⁹. These choices were:

1. Perform a miracle to show his divinity.
2. Accept Islam.
3. Be prepared to die.

Unhesitatingly, the Guru replied that if those were the only choices before him, then he willingly accepted the third choice. True devotees of God accepted God’s Will and did not stoop to perform cheap miracles. They were ashamed to display occult powers to impress people¹¹⁰.

The religious path one followed was a matter of personal choice. Freedom to practise own religion was a human right and he would willingly give his life to defend that right. His cause to uphold the right of all to live according to own chosen religious path was more precious to him than his life.

Some writers have given details of the discussion between the Guru and Aurungzeb. It can be assumed that the Emperor was fully aware of the founding ideology of Guru Nanak, or, to him Baba Nanak, revered by Muslims and Hindus alike. In earlier years, he had long discourses with those like Baba Ram Rai, who despite his misrepresentation of one passage of Guru Nanak’s Bani (sacred verse), was, nevertheless, an accomplished scholar of Sikh Scriptures.

Aurungzeb tried to persuade the Guru accordingly. From his perspective, there was great merit in the Indian subcontinent becoming a one religion Islamic state and the Guru was able to help him achieve that objective in return for high office in that monolithic totalitarian Islamic state. The Guru’s response was along the lines referred to above in Guru Kian Sakhian (much elaborated by authors according to own interpretation.) 

Influential Sikhs like Lakhi Shah, a royal trader (mentioned later in this account) would have been allowed to meet the Guru. When all other means of persuasion failed, Aurungzeb ordered that the Guru was to be kept in stricter and most uncomfortable detention in an iron cage at Chandni Chowk Kotwali¹¹¹. He was handed over to the Royal Qazi to be finally persuaded to accept Islam or to be executed with his Sikhs. Emperor Aurungzeb had given up in frustration. 

According to Bhat Vahis, the Guru was tortured in ways beyond description (Guru ji ko ghana kasht deea jo kathan se bahar hai ¹¹²) before the public execution. 

Yet, chroniclers also mention that the daroga (jail superintendent) Khwaja Abdulla, when possible, did allow some flexibility regarding visitors to meet the Guru. That could have been part of the “carrot and the stick” tactic to weaken the Guru’s resolve while also hoping that he would be getting some advice from the visitors to save his life. No doubt the Kotwali officials and the daroga were also impressed by the Guru’s composure. However, neither threats of death nor torture worked.

Martyrdoms of Guru’s three Sikhs

The next step was to make the Guru witness the death by torture of his dear Sikhs. Perhaps when actually faced by death, the Sikhs and the Guru would relent. The three Sikhs were finally given the alternative to convert to Islam. On refusal, Qazi Abdul Wahab Borah sentenced them to death by torture while the Guru was made to witness the executions.

On 11 November 1675, the Guru was brought outside the Kotwali and made to sit under a tree to witness the martyrdom of his Sikhs. The event had been well publicised in Delhi and surrounding districts. Thousands had gathered there to witness the executions. All chroniclers are agreed that the Guru having been put through many forms of torture in the preceding days, was made to watch the merciless killing of his beloved Sikhs who had served Guru Nanak’s mission for many years.

The Sikhs sought the Guru’s blessing. In the true Sikhi tradition each Sikh martyr focussed on the just cause and the true dharam symbolised by his beloved Nanak Jyot Guru Tegh Bahadur before him¹¹³, and willingly gave his life. 

The order in which the Sikhs were executed is not clear. However, according to Sakhi number 30 (Guru Kian Sakhian), the first to be martyred was Dayal Das. He was lowered into a cauldron of boiling liquid¹¹⁴. Next, bound between two posts, Mati Das was sawn in two as he recited Gurbani (the Guru’s Word). Finally, his younger brother, Sati Das, was wrapped in cotton wool and burnt to death as he kept his meditative gaze fixed on the Guru before him.

The Guru watched and uttered, “Blessed are the Sikhs and their Sikhi! Their martyrdoms have weakened the roots of the Mughal raj. This regime will not last for long.”¹¹⁵

The Guru martyred (11 November 1675)

Finally, the Qazi was convinced that Aurungzeb’s objective to convert the Guru, and through him the Indian sub-continent, to Islam, was not achievable. True dharam was going to be victorious at the end. Aurungzeb had already decided on the three options for the Guru: to accept Islam, or to show a miracle or to accept death. In desperation, disappointment and shivering with the rage of a defeated zealot, the Qazi ordered the execution of the Guru by the executioner Jalal-u-din of Samana.¹¹⁶

Before the final order for the execution, the Guru was allowed to recite 5 Pauries (holy stanzas) of Japuji Sahib and the final Salok starting “Pavan Guru....”, so that when the Guru bowed his head at the end of that Salok, the executioner, Jalal-u-din, would swing his sword.

The Guru recited the Pauries and the final Salok and bowed his head. The jalad (executioner) swung the sword and severed the head of the Guru from his body. By doing so, the executioner wrote a new chapter in the history of martyrdoms for just causes. This was a unique martyrdom to save the religion of another and for the religious freedom of all.

Some accounts suggest that, although, the Guru declined to perform a miracle saying that performing miracles was interference in God’s divine Will; however, accepting the request of a devoted spectator, the Guru asked for a piece of paper, wrote a few words on it and asked that it should be tied around his neck. He said that the sword of the executioner will not be able to cut the thread and the paper. The executioner swung the sword and as the head was severed from the body the thread and the piece of paper fell on the ground, intact¹¹⁷. On the paper were written the words, “I gave my head but not my resolve (faith).”

So did the Guru break the earthly vase (human body) on the head of the Emperor of Delhi, Muhi Ud-din Muhammad Aurungzeb on 11 November 1675.

Thus, wrote Guru Gobind Singh in Bachittar Natak (Apni Katha 5/2/5)

“He [Guru Tegh Bahadur] broke this earthly vase on the head of the emperor of Delhi [Aurungzeb] and went to the abode of God.

No one has ever done such a unique deed like that [the sacrifice] of Tegh Bahadur.

[for other people’s faith]

The world mourned the demise of Tegh Bahadur, but there was rejoicing in paradise.”

Unable to bear the burden of this sin, the Qazi Abdul Wahab Borah passed away in great agony within a few days on 26 November 1675.

The impact of this unique martyrdom was profound. It changed the course of the history of the Indian sub-continent, while it became the most prominent landmark in the landscape of martyrdoms for human rights and just causes in human history.

‘Since then, the Delhi Kingdom became progressively weaker, it is since then that the Muslim [Mughal] power began to decline’.¹¹⁸

Quite uniquely amongst world religions, Sikhi (Sikhism) has evolved as a way of life from a founding precept revealed to Guru Nanak. It is called the Mool Mantar (literally the root formula). The Mool Mantar defines the qualities of the Creator Being and the Oneness of the Creator and the creation as Ik Oankar.

So, instead of starting with a set of rules or dogma, Sikhi started by defining God-qualities and derived Sikhi-living by emulating those qualities, for example, being Nirbhao (without fear) and Nirvair (without animosity). The ultimate destination for a Sikh (one who learns from the Guru), is to lose self and be like God, for:

The humble servant of the Lord should be just like the Lord. ||  (SGGS 1372)

Sikhi-living was taught by a succession of Ten Gurus from Guru Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh by own example. So, together with the study (khoj) of Gurbani enshrined in Guru Granth Sahib, the study of Sikhi way of life cannot be completed without a close study of the lives of the Ten Gurus i.e., study of Guru history or Gur-Ithaas.

In this monograph, Guru Tegh Bahadur: The True Story, we have seen how the life, mission, and martyrdom of Nanak IX Guru Tegh Bahadur, harmonised with the Guru Jote-Jugat continuity through the Ten Gurus.

This has been a most remarkable voyage of discovery because much contemporary evidence had been overlooked by early Sikh historians guided more by faith-based fiction than historiographical facts. As we have seen, the True Story of Guru Tegh Bahadur is stranger than fiction and leaves the reader in a state of wonderment. In the life and martyrdom of the Guru we see the Guru Jote and Jugat (Divine Light and Methodology) of Guru Nanak working towards its final goal, the emergence of Khalsa as Akal Purakh ki Fauj on the Vaisakhi Day 1699. The Guru provided the link between 5 Guruships from Nanak VI, Guru Hargobind to Nanak X, Guru Gobind Singh.

In 1708, Guru Gobind Singh terminated person-Guru succession and formally passed on the Gurgaddi to Guru Granth and Guru Khalsa Panth.       

As we meditate on the unique sacrifice of Guru Tegh Bahadur.

Gur Tegh Bahadur simariyaa ghar nau-nidh aavay dha-ay Let us remember Guru Tegh Bahadur and be blessed with the nine treasures of life.

(Guru Gobind Singh, Var Sri Bhagauti Ji Ki) 

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

[Main publiciations used for reference in this study of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji’s life and martyrdom.]

Author index: Author’s name, book title, publisher & year

(Alphabetical, by first name for Sikh and Indian writers and by surname for Western writers.)

Bhajan Singh Giani Dr, Guru Tegh Bahadur (Punjabi), National Book Trust, India. 1995

Gokal Chand Narang Sir, Transformation of Sikhism, Kalyani Publishers, Delhi, 5th edition 1989

Cunningham, Joseph Davey, History of the Sikhs, S Chand and Co l\Ltd, New Delhi, 1985.

Fauja Singh Dr and Gurbachan Singh Talib, Guru Tegh Bahadur: Martyr and Teacher, Punjabi University, Patiala, 1975

Gian Singh Giani, Twarikh Guru Khalsa, Language Department, Patiala, 3rd edition 1993.

Gurbachan Singh Sidhu and Gurmukh Singh, Sikh Religion and Islam, published by various diaspora organisations, 2001.

Hakam Singh Dr & Jaswinder Singh Chadha, Portrait of a Sikh Guru- India’s Guru Martyr Guru Tegh Bahadur, Creative Graphics, New Delhi, July 2003.

Harbans Singh, The Heritage of the Sikhs, Manohar Publishers & Distributers, New Delhi, 2nd edition, 1994. 

Hari Ram Gupta, History of the Sikhs, Vol-I

Indubhushan Banerjee, Evolution of the Khalsa (Vol I), A Mukherjee (Private) Ltd, Calcutta 4th edition 1979.

Jagtar Singh Grewal Dr, The Sikhs of Punjab, (The New Cambridge History of India II.3) Cambridge University Press, 1994.

Jagtar Singh Grewal Dr, The Sikhs: Ideology Institutions and Identity, Oxford University Press, 2009

Kapur Singh Sirdar, Saachi Sakhi, English translation by Satjit Wadhva, Lahore Books, Ludhiana.

Kapur Singh Sirdar, Sikhism and the Sikhs, published by Baldev Singh, Kaputhala, 2011

Kahn Singh Nabha Bhai, Mahankosh, National Book Shop, Delhi 1996

Khushwant Singh, The History of The Sikhs Volume I, 1469-1439, Oxford University Press, Delhi 1977.

Kirpal Singh Chanda, Jeevan Gatha Sri Guru Hargobind Sahib, Sikh Missionary College (Ludhiana), year not given.

Kirpal Singh Chandan and Gurmit Singh Kurali, Jeevan Gattha Te Updesh Guru Tegh Bahadhur ji (Punjabi), Sikh Missionary College (Ludhiana), year not given.

Koer Singh, Gurbilas Patshahi 10, edited by Shamsher Singh Ashok, Punjabi University, Patiala 1968

Macauliffe, Max Arthur, The Sikh Religion, Vols III & IV, Low Price Publications, Delhi 1998, from pages 331 to 421 

Nairain Singh, It is the man and his cause that make him martyr, Pingalwara, Amritsar, 1999

Patwant Singh, The Sikhs, Rupa & Co, 2002

Piara Singh Padam Tegh Bahadur Simryiay, Bakhshi Printers, Patiala, 1986

Rattan Singh Bhangu Bhai, Sri Guru Panth Prakash, (Punjabi), edited by Dr Jit Singh Sital, Sikh Ithas Research Board, SGPC, Amritsar 2nd edition 1998. English translation by Prof Gurtej Singh, Singh Bros Amritsar, 2015).

Sahib Singh Prof, Jeevan Birtaant Guru Tegh Bahadur ji, Singh Bros Amritsar, 1996

Sainapat Kavi, Sri Guru Sobha (Punjabi), edited by Dr Ganda Singh. Punjabi University, Patiala, 4th edition, 1996.

Sangat Singh Dr, The Sikhs in History, Uncommon Books, 1996

Satbir Singh Prof, Saada Ithaas (Punjab da Ithaas) (Punjabi) Part 1, New Book Company, Jalandhar 1957.

Teja Singh Sodhi, Hind di Chadar, Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur, Bhai Chatar Singh Jivan Singh, Amritsar, 2nd edition 1976.

Trilochan Singh Dr, Guru Tegh Bahadur, Prophet and Martyre (a Biography), Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Delhi, 1967

Scriptures and other reference books:

Sri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS)

Bachittar Natak, Guru Gobind Singh.

Bhai Gurdas and Bhai Gurdas Singh respectively, Vaaran Bhai Gurdas, edited by Bhai Vir Singh.

The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism, Editor-in-Chief Harbans Singh, Punjabi University, Patiala, 1998. Volumes I to IV.

Guru Kian Sakhian, (Punjabi), by Saroop Singh Koshish, edited and published by Piara Singh Padam, Singh Brothers, Amritsar  3rd edition 1995.

Hukamnaamay (Punjabi), edited by Dr Ganda Singh, Punjabi University Patiala, 1985.

Sikh History from Persian Sources, edited by Dr J S Grewal and Irfan Habib, Tulika, Delhi 2nd reprint 2007.

Also, quotations from:

1

Gurbilas Chhevin Patshahi

Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Granth by Bhai Santokh Singh

AFFIDAVIT

Formal affidavit by the author dated 5 September 1998. The history textbook referred to in the affidavit is a publication approved by the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) of India. Introductory personal details and some formal wording have been edited out.

PASSAGE FROM MEDIEVAL INDIA - A History Textbook for Class XI

“THE SIKHS: -

The Sikhs were the last to come into military conflict with Aurangzeb. As we have seen, there was conflict with the Sikh Gurus during the reigns of Jahangir and Shah Jahan. But the reasons for the conflict were political and personal rather than religious. The Guru had started living in style, with an armed following, and assumed the title of sachchah padshah (“the true sovereign”). However, there was no conflict between the Guru and Aurungzeb till 1675 when Guru Tegh Bahadur was arrested with five of his followers, brought to Delhi and executed. The causes of this are not clear. According to some Persian accounts, the Guru had joined hands with a Pathan, Hafiz Adam, and created disturbances in Punjab. According to Sikh tradition, the execution was due to intrigues against the Guru by some members of his family who disputed his succession and who had been joined by others. But we are also told that Aurungzeb was annoyed because the Guru had converted a few Muslims to Sikhism and raised a protest against religious persecution in Kashmir by the local governor {5}. It is difficult to sift the truth of these allegations. Sikhism had gradually spread to many Jat peasants and low caste artisans who were attracted by its simple, egalitarian approach. The economic discontent of these sections may have been reflected by the Guru. In Kashmir, the previous governor, Saif Khan, is famous as a builder of bridges. He was a humane and broad-minded person who had appointed a Hindu to advice him in administrative matters. Stories of mass persecution by the new governor appear to be exaggerated because, Kashmir had been predominantly Muslim since the fifteenth century. Although Guru Govind Singh was not able to withstand Mughal might for long, or to establish a separate Sikh state, he created a tradition and forged a weapon for its realisation later on. It also showed how an egalitarian religious movement could, under certain circumstances, turn into a political and militaristic movement, and subtly move towards regional independence.”

Having studied the above passage, my opinion, which follows, is in two parts: as foundation for my own belief and viewpoint, the first part deals with evidence from authentic Sikh religious writings, namely, Guru Granth Sahib and Guru Gobind Singh’s works and evidence from works of eminent scholars; and, based on this evidence, the second part, in conclusion, deals with the impact of this passage on my own religious sentiments and heritage as a Sikh. As a consequence, the second part also deals with wider public implications of the import of this passage, that is, whether or not it offends and injures Sikh feelings.

OPINION

A scholar observed once that “History is a science of fine principles, manifold uses, and noble purposes”. The damage which a biased historian can do, whose purpose is other than noble, can be far reaching and incalculably damaging. The above passage, in my view, falls into this category.

The author of Medieval India states that “ ... the reasons for the conflict were political and personal rather than religious.”This is the premise for the other misleading statements and the intentional ambiguity introduced by the author to deny the great

sacrifice of Guru Tegh Bahadur for defending the religion of another, namely the Hindu religion at the time. The question raised is whether the Muslim emperors after Akbar, and especially Aurangzeb, were pursuing a policy of religious persecution; and, if so, whether there was a conflict between that policy and the Sikh religious ideology founded by Guru Nanak.

Let me first deal with the religious position from the Sikh point of view i.e. references to Guru Tegh Bahadur’s martyrdom in Sikh Scriptures and the progress of Guru Nanak’s religious ideology culminating in Guru Tegh Bahadur’s firm stand against Aurangzeb’s religious bigotry. Thus, wrote Guru Gobind Singh in his Bachitar Natak:

After him (Har Krishan) came Tegh Bahadur (12) Who protected the frontal marks and sacrificial threads of the Hindus And displayed great bravery in the Kal Age All this he did for the sake of holy men He gave his head but uttered not a groan (13) He suffered martyrdom for the sake of religion.... (14) (Bachitra Natak)

There are other references in Guru Gobind Singh’s writings to the selfless sacrifice of the Guru, that no one else had done a deed of such magnitude and that the world grieved his demise while the heavenly saints applauded it. However, the above passage from his Bachitar Natak: gives the reason for this unique sacrifice in the history of world religions. Therefore, Guru Tegh Bahadur, according to the historical record of his own son, Guru Gobind Singh, gave his life to protect another’s religion which was under threat at the time. This voluntary sacrifice arose from the teachings of the Sikh religion founded by Guru Nanak of which Guru Tegh Bahadur was the apostle at the time.

Guru Granth Sahib (GGS) is the religious_book of the Sikhs. I quote a few statements translated into English from Guru Granth Sahib to show how religious teachings can impinge on socio-political injustice. There are numerous comments by Guru Nanak on the religious, social and political situation of the day in his Asa ki Waar. (GGS p. 462-475)

Examples are:

Both avarice and sin are the king and minister, and falsehood is the master of the mint. (GGS pg 468)

The subjects are blind and ignorant, and they bribe corrupt officials. (GGS p.69)

Guru Nanak does not spare the cowardly Hindu ministers of Muslim rulers:

[On behalf of the Muslim rulers], you charge the Islamic tax for the cow and the Brahman yet expect cow-dung (pocha) will save your soul i. e. cow-dung will not save you. You wear a dhoti, put on a frontal mark (tikka), carry a rosary and yet eat the Muslim’s provisions. Secretly you perform Hindu worship (puja) but outwardly (due to your slave mentality) read Muslim books and adopt Muhammadan lifestyle. Lay aside this hypocrisy? (GGS p.7l)

Wearing blue clothes, he (the Hindu) becomes acceptable to the Muslims. (GGS p. 72)

Other quotations from GGS which impinge on the degrading and oppressive socio- political situation of the day and preach freedom from fear and oppression as a Sikh religious objective:

The kings are tigers and the courtiers’ dogs, they go and awaken (i. e. harass) those who are sitting or sleeping (i.e. resting peacefully). Guru Nanak, GGS p.1288.

If one is compelled to live a life in disgrace, all that he eats is forbidden (i.e. It is better to die than to live in humiliation.) Guru Nanak, GGS p.142.

[As a sign of slave mentality] in every household foreign language is spoken. (Guru Nanak, GGS p. 1191.)

Guru Nanak’s challenge to the tyrannical rulers was direct and in forthright language. About Babar’s invasion of India, he said:

Having conquered Khurasan, Babar has terrified Hindostan. Guru Nanak, GGS p.360.

Bringing the marriage party of sin, Babar has hastened from Kabul and demands perforce gift [of our land, etc.] O Lalo. GGS 722.

In Babarbani Guru Nanak, in great anguish, described vividly the plight of the unfortunate Indians following the cruelty of Babar. It is not surprising that Guru Nanak was imprisoned by the Moghul invader for his strong protest. Guru Nanak was forthright in his condemnation of oppression of any kind, and, foreseeing the conflict between Sikh religious thought and the religious and social oppression around him, forewarned those who were aspiring to become his Sikhs:

If you long to play the game of love, then place your head on the palm of your hand and step on my path (i.e. join my panih. or faith which demands a fearless disposition). (Guru Nanak, GGS p. 1412).

The liberating whole-life philosophy of Guru Nanak was bound to come into conflict with the religious persecution by the more zealous Islamic rulers of India and the Manuwadic social oppression practised through the degrading varanashram system which favoured the elitist Brahmanical social order. Therefore, “It was reserved for Nanak to perceive the true principles of reform, and to lay those broad foundations which enabled his successor Gobind to fire the minds of his countrymen with a new nationality, and to give practical effect to the doctrine that the lowest is equal with the highest, in race as in creed, in political rights as in religious hopes.” (History of the Sikhs by J D Cunningham, reprinted by S Chand & Co. Ltd.,1985, p.34.)

Through Guru Granth Sahib, the teachings of Kabir had been accepted as part of Sikh tradition by the fifth Guru, Guru Arjan. Thus said Kabir: He alone is recognised as a warrior who fights for the sake of his principles (dharma). Kabir, GGS 1105.

The hymns of Guru Teg Bahadur and the works of Guru Gobind Singh clearly show that these Gurus continued to build on Guru Nanak’s tradition. Thus, wrote Guru Tegh Bahadur:

Whosoever frightens none, nor is afraid of anyone, says Nanak, hear O my soul, call him a man of divine knowledge (giani). (Guru Tegh Bahadur, GGS p. 1427.) This was a direct challenge to oppression in any sphere of life.

The hymns of the Gurus and selected hymns of Hindu and Muslim saints included by Guru Arjan in Adi Granth (later referred to as Guru Granth Sahib) did not spare perversions of both Islam and Hinduism. The position of Sikh religious thought is clear from the above quotations from Guru Granth Sahib. Did Islamic rulers respond to such forthright language on political as well as religious grounds or on political and personal grounds alone? Well recorded historical evidence suggests that their actions were in fact also motivated by religious bigotry. The reasons for the conflict between the Sikh Gurus and the more zealous Muslim rulers, egged on by religious fanatics like Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi Mujaddid-alif-thani (1561-1624) are recorded by reputable historians.

“Aurungzeb only wanted pretext to get rid of a formidable man like Tegh Bahadur who stood in the way of his Islamic zeal.. ... He was again summoned to Delhi and refusing to embrace Islam, was put to death by the Emperor’s order .... “ (Transformation of Sikhism by Gokal Chand Narang, Kalyani Publishers, reprinted 1989, p.69.)

Sirdar Kapur Singh in his paper “Communal Award” has quoted many non-Sikh historians who confirm that religious bigotry was behind the actions of the Moghul emperors after Akbar. Such intolerance was bound to clash with moderate and tolerant but fearless religious stance of the Sikh Gurus. In the final days of Akbar’s moderate regime, Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi, Mujaddid-alif-thani, who perceived himself as the defender of Islam appointed by Allah, and who clearly was much agitated by the tolerance of Akbar towards non-Muslims (kaffirs), wrote numerous letters (maktubat) to religious personnel as well as to Mughal officials (Friedmann Yohanan, Shyakh Ahmad Sirhindi, Mcgill Queen’s University Press, Montreal & London, 1971, pp, 1-2). He wrote many letters to Sheikh Farid Bukhari, later given the title of “Murtzakhan” by Emperor Jehangir. This same Murtzakhan was responsible for the martyrdom of Guru Arjan. For the latter followed the footsteps of Guru Nanak and made a fearless spirit a precondition for following Guru Nanak’s path. He said:

Accept death first, abandon hope of life and come to me in all humility. Guru Arjan, GGS p1102.

The Merciful Master has now given the command, that no one shall annoy (oppress) another. All (shall) abide in peace in a benign regime. Guru Arjan, GGS p. 74.

Jehangir as prince Salim had already been prevailed upon by Sheikh Farid Bukhari and the former was sworn to uphold Islam. “Accordingly, the leading noble (Sheikh Farid) having been sent by the others as their representative, came to the prince (Salim) and promised in their names to place the Kingdom in his hands, provided that he would swear to defend the Law of Mohamet.” - Du .Iarric, Father Pierre Akbar and the Jesuits, London, 1626. p.204.

“Occasional outbursts of bigotry on the part of Jahangir and his anti-Hindu sentiments may ultimately be traced to the influence of Mujaddid on the fickle-minded emperor.” Dr Mohd. Yasin, A Social History of India. Lukhnow, 1958; p. 171.

In his own diary, Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, Jehangir writes “ .... For three or four generations (of spiritual successors) they had kept this shop warm. Many times, it occurred to me to put a stop to this vain affair or to bring him (Guru Arjan) into the assembly of the people of Islam” (Rogers and Beveridge, Tuzuk-i-Jahanqiri, Vol. I p.72). He handed Guru Arjan to Murtzakhan for execution under Islamic law which determined the manner of his execution. (According to Bhat Wahi Karsindhu, Pargana Safaidon quoted by Piara Singh Padam in Guru Kian Sakhian, Singh Broth. 1995, p.19, Murtzakhan in turn was killed in battle by Balu Rai, the grandfather of the famous Sikh scholar and priest of Darbar Sahib, Bhai Mani Singh Shaheed.)

Now I come to Aurungzeb and the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur. The quotations from GGS and Bachitar Natak given above leave little doubt that the religious position of the Sikh Gurus from Guru Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh remained consistent: the Gurus opposed any form of oppression robustly and made a fearless spirit a precondition for following the religious path of Sikhisrn. The next question is whether Aurungzeb himself was motivated by religious objectives.

Indubhusan BaneIji writes:

“Aurangzeb’s religious policy which aimed at the establishment of an orthodox Sunni state had by now raised a whirlwind. The following measures that were adopted by Aurangzeb during the first ten years of his reign clearly show the extent to which the religion of the Hindus suffered at the hands of the new Emperor. Even in 1644, when Aurangzeb was Viceroy of Gujrat, he had shown his zeal for Islam by desecrating the temple of Chintaman at Ahmedabad and also by the deliberate suppression of various other temples. With his accession to the throne the policy of repression and discrimination became more general. Early in his reign the local officials of Orissa were called upon “to pull down all temples, including even clay huts, built during the last ten or twelve years and to allow no old temples to be repaired” In 1669 an order was passed “to demolish all schools and temples of the infidels and to put down their religious practices and teaching” (both quotations by Banerji from Sarkar’s History of Aurungzib, Vol.III p. 265). The magnificent and time-honoured temples of Somnath, Mathura and Benares were demolished and Jeziyah reimposed rewards were given to converts. A systematic plan was followed for carrying out the policy of iconoclasm .....” etc. (Indubhushan Banerji, Evolution of the Khalsa, A Mukherjee & Co., 1980, Vol: Two pp. 57- 58.)

Guru Gobind Singh confirms, (see passage quoted from Bachitar Natak at the beginning of this evidence) that Guru Tegh Bahadur courted martyrdom to help the Hindus against religious persecution of Aurungzeb and that he rejected offers to save his life by embracing Islam. The Guru sacrificed his life for religion.

The author of Medieval India has been almost completely swayed by certain passages in Cunningham’s History of the Sikhs. The latter writes “His repeated injunction that his disciples should obey the bearer of his arrows, show more of the kingly than the priestly spirit.” (1985 edition by S Chand & Co. p.59). As Banerji writes   (lbid p. 61), “The implication appears to be that Guru Tegh Bahadur had been some sort of a political revolutionary. This view of the matter we think arises primarily from what Golam Hussein writes in Siyar-ul-Muktakhkharin.” 

Indubhusan Banerji, after examining much evidence, including the political aspects (Evolution of Khalsa, pp 57- 63, concludes as follows: “We may take it that the Guru fell victim to religious bigotry, and it is understandable why later Muhammdan writers sought to cloud the issue by giving it a political colour. The Guru’s execution undoubtedly strengthened the resistance against the religious policy of Aurangzeb .....”.

In view of this evidence, no impartial student of Sikh history can conclude that the basis for the conflict between the policy of religious persecution by the Muslim rulers after Akbar and the liberating thought of the Gurus was “political and personal rather than religious.” It was in fact both religious and political: religious to the extent that Islamic rulers could not accept rise and expansion of a new religion; political because the liberating Sikh religious philosophy opposed the oppressive and corrupt regime of both the Muslim rulers and their cowardly Hindu henchmen (Ministers like Sucha Nand of Sirhand) and the Hindu rajahs, “the Kshatryas who had forgotten their religion” (Guru Nanak, GGS p. 663).

Having established the fact that Aurangzeb was a religious bigot and the main reason for the Guru’s execution was to ensure unhindered spread of Islam, the whole tenor of the passage quoted from Medieval India becomes misleading and offensive to Sikhs.

Specific comments against the other offending or untrue parts of this passage are as follows:

“The Guru had started living in style with an armed following and assumed the title of sachchah padshah [“the true sovereign”].”

The sentence is offensive as it is not placed in the context of Sikh thinking. The Guru’s lifestyle was based on the miri-piri or raj-yog (combination of worldly and spiritual) concept of Sikhism which needs to be understood in its proper context. The Guru’s followers called him the “True King” i.e. the Lord of this world and the next; as one who was above the worldly kings, for his reign extended over the conduct of his followers in this life and to matters spiritual. Other spiritual leaders have been placed above those who hold temporal power. e.g. Jesus Christ has been called “King of kings”.

“The causes of this are not clear. According to some Persian accounts, the Guru had joined hands with a Pathan, Hafiz Adam, and created disturbances in Punjab. According to Sikh tradition, the execution was due to intrigues against the Guru by some members of his family who disputed his succession and who had been joined by others. But we are also told that Aurunqzeb was annoyed because the Guru had converted a few Muslims to Sikhism and raised a protest against religious persecution in Kashmir by the local governor. It is difficult to sift the truth of these allegations.”

This is a mischievous arrangement of the possible causes by placing last the most important and well authenticated cause (by contemporary accounts including Guru Gobind Singh’s own testimony) that the Guru was executed for staunchly defending the then persecuted Hindu religion.

Indubhushan Banerji, quoted above, has shown that the later Muhammedan writers’ accounts sought to cloud the real cause by giving the issue a political colour. Golam Hossein is the main culprit. Other western writers, including Cunningham, Pincott and Trumpp relied on these accounts without cross checking with other more authentic and unbiased sources. Some writers like Trumpp even mixed up the stories (sakhis) relating to Guru Gobind Singh with Guru Tegh Bahadur. The author of Medieval India has chosen to ignore the abundance of historical evidence which is now available to scholars of history. As a Sikh, I regard this not only a misconstruction of history but also a dishonest attempt to write off the historical debt which the Hindu religion owes to the Sikh Gurus.

“In Kashmir, the previous governor, Saif Khan, is famous as a builder of bridges. He was a humane and broad-minded person who had appointed a Hindu to advice him in administrative matters. Stories of mass persecution by the new governor appear to be exaggerated because, Kashmir had been predominantly Muslim since the fifteenth centry.”

The author knows fully well that appointing a Hindu as a minister is no proof of a Muslim ruler’s tolerant attitude as the ministers of some of the most tyrannical Nawabs in northern India were often Hindu. Such men have been described by Guru Nanak in his Asa-di- Waar. The minister of the Nawab of Sirhand, who put the younger sons of Guru Gobind Singh in a wall, was also a Hindu called Sucha Nand. Like other governors, Sher Afghan Khan, Aurungzeb’s governor in Kashmir was carrying out the Emperor’s orders for converting Hindus to Muslims through incentives or by force. Kashmiri Brahmans lived in awe of the Emperor and approached the Guru as a deputation of 17 led by Pandit Kirpa Ram (Dutt) of Mattan (P.N.K. Bamzai’s History of Kashmir p.371 quoted by Sangat Singh in Evolution of Sikh Panth, p.61). Indeed following in the footsteps of this historical deputation, there were news reports of a large delegation of Kashmiri Hindus led by Dr Agin Shekar, which performed “Kartigya Yatra”, a thanksgiving trip to Sri Anandpur Sahib on Vaisakhi day, 13 April 1995, in memory of the supreme sacrifice of Guru Tegh Bahadur 319 years ago in Delhi. (Des Pardes, Punjabi Weekly of UK, 28 April 1995, pages 9 and 37.)

The author’s reasoning for contradicting traditional accounts is tenuous and he has failed to mention this historical deputation of Brahmans from Kashmir. Again, the author is guilty of partial and prejudicial reporting to cast doubt on the Guru’s great sacrifice.

“ ..... Although Guru Govind Singh was not able to withstand Mughal might for long, or to establish a separate Sikh state, he created a tradition and also forged a weapon for its realisation later on. It also showed how an egalitarian religious movement could, under certain circumstances, turn into a political and militaristic movement, and subtly move towards regional independence”.

Although one would not argue with the content of this passage, however, the manner of presentation and inference in the modern context has unwelcome connotations. It has never been suggested before that Guru Gobind Singh had directed his own energies towards the establishment of a Sikh state! Until his martyrdom in 1708 at Nanded at the hands of assassins sent by the Nawab of Sirhand, he was seeking justice from the establishment.

However, in his letter to Aurangzeb called Jaffarnama, he did say that when all other means have failed, it is just to take up the sword. Also, he had so disciplined and organised the order of the Khalsa Panth that it was capable of ensuring that justice was done, and of filling a void created through religious, social and political bankruptcy in the Indian system.

CONCLUSION

I find the tenor of the passage from Medieval India highly objectionable on grounds of partial presentation of historical facts, the manner of presentation, and the underlying mischievous intent. In his bani, Guru Tegh Bahadhur stressed the importance of freedom from fear based on the maxim “fear not, frighten not”. (Slokas of Guru Tegh Bahadur, GGS p. 1427). The general tenor of Sikh teachings is aimed at fundamental human rights including freedom from fear in every sphere of life. As is evidenced by Guru Nanak’s hymns in Guru Granth Sahib, he was openly preaching and laying the foundation for a free and plural human society in India (he used the word “Hindostan” when admonishing Babur, the Moghul invader, for his cruelty). Such religious ideals were bound to clash with the centralist Islamic vision of bigoted Emperors like Aurangzeb. However, the author has chosen to ignore these facts of history.

For the reasons given above, as a practising Sikh, as a life long student of Sikh history and as one who is proud of his great Sikh heritage, I am aggrieved by this offending passage from Medieval India. This passage belittles the great sacrifices of the Sikh Gurus and other Sikh martyrs; sacrifices, which turned the tide of Indian history and set India on the road to freedom. It is calculated to do maximum damage to Sikh history and heritage; it strikes at the root of Sikh faith; it is calculated to affect the psyche of the young reader in a way which can only be deleterious for the Sikhs. I am of the firm opinion that it offends the Sikh community world-wide.

I hereby submit this opinion for consideration by the Honourable High Court of India.

[Formal declaration witnessed by Justice of Peace on 5 September 1998, at Hounslow, Middlesex, United Kingdom.]

First Edition Message from The Hon General Secretary of The Sikh Missionary Society UK (First Edition 2017)

Sikh Missionary Society UK Publications:

1. Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621-1675: The True Story

2. Defender of Religious Freedom: Guru Tegh Bahadur (for students)

For some years, the Sikh Missionary Society UK had felt the need for a well-researched publication about the life and unique martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur ji.

Earlier publications have been influenced either by Brahmanical thought or are biased against Guru ji’s life mission and the noble cause which he pursued to the end. At least one textbook published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) of India, relies on highly biased and even hostile non-Sikh evidence like the Mughal reports and Persian sources.

More objective historiographers had insufficient contemporary evidence to go on. As a result, they could not agree on some important dates and events. However, in recent years, much more reliable evidence has come to light through the records kept by the Bhatt poets and Panda geneologists. One outstanding example of such a source is Guru Kian Sakhian by Bhai Sarup Singh Koshish and published by late Prof. Piara Singh Padam. Thus, it has become possible to cross-check dates and events against these sources and their interpretation against mainstream Sikh tradition of One-Guru-Jote continuity i.e. Sikh belief in the Light Guru Nanak in Ten Guru persons.

The Society is grateful to Sardar Gurmukh Singh OBE for undertaking this project. His background as a retired Principal Civil Servant (UK) and a renowned journalist and interpreter of Sikh ideology made him eminently suitable for this task. He has undertaken a comprehensive study of various sources and produced two publications: one for research students and mature readers and an abbreviated version for school students and average readers.

I commend the publication in hand to readers while thanking the Sangats for their continued generous support of the Society’s missionary work.

Teja Singh Mangat Hon. General Secretary The Sikh Missionary Society UK 14 April 2017