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[edit] A brief biography

Kamaldeep Singh Brar, Dec 18, 2023: The Indian Express

“His unparalleled sacrifice for freedom and human dignity echoes through time, inspiring humanity to live with integrity and compassion. His teachings, emphasising unity and righteousness, light our way in the pursuit of brotherhood and peace,” the PM posted on X.

Last year, during celebrations for the 400th birth anniversary of the Guru, who was beheaded on Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb’s orders, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that Guru Teg Bahadur gave his life to protect Kashmiri Pandits from the brutality of the Mughals. Here’s a short account of the Guru’s life, his execution by Aurangzeb, and how it was linked to Kashmiri Pandits.

Life of Guru Teg Bahadur

After Guru Nanak Dev, the first Sikh Guru, it was Guru Teg Bahadur who travelled the most among the 10 living Sikh Gurus.

He travelled to Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal, Assam, and Bangladesh. Guru Teg Bahadur’s journey is documented in the form of Gurudwaras established in the memory of his visits, including one in Ayodhya.

After Guru Nanak Dev, many Sikh families in various parts of India had not been able to see any of their Gurus up close. Guru Teg Bahadur’s travels, thus, revived Sikh centers far away from Punjab. This proved strategically important when Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru, established the Khalsa in 1699.

The Guru was also a great poet, and his hymns are part of Guru Granth Sahib.

The founder of the City Anandpur Sahib, which was geographically well-suited to defend against a big army, Guru Teg Bahadur’s name earlier was Teyag Mal. His father and the sixth Guru of Sikhs, Guru Hargobind Sahib (1595-1644), changed the name to Teg Bahadur. He got his name from his fighting and sword skills on the battlefield.

The Guru was not only a warrior but also a great diplomat. He had very close relations with many contemporary kings. During the tour to the northeast region of India, Tegh Bahadur Sahib was instrumental in the conciliation between Raja Bishan Singh and Raja Paranpal, thus avoiding a war.

He was first arrested by the Mughals on the orders of Aurangzeb in 1665; however, the diplomatic relations he had established secured his release and he was able to continue his journey east. The execution came 10 years later in 1675.

Guru Teg Bahadur’s execution by Aurangzeb

According to Sikh sources Dasam Granth (1600), Gurbilas (1720), Gurbilas Patshahi Dasvi (1751), and Bansavalinama (1769), Kashmiri Pandits came to Guru Teg Bahadur at Anandpur Sahib to seek protection from forced conversion to Islam by Aurangzeb’s men.

The Guru assured the Pandits of his protection. When he reached New Delhi, he was arrested along with disciples Bhai Matti Dass, Bhai Satti Dass (brothers), and Bhai Deyala ji. The three disciples were executed one by one, to threaten Guru Teg Bahadur to embrace Islam. When he remained steadfast in his refusal to do so, the Guru was executed in Chandni Chowk.

Gurudwara Sis Ganj now stands where at the location of Guru Teh Bahadur’s beheading. It was constructed in 1783. There is another Gurudwara in Rakab Ganj, near Parliament building. This is believed to be the location where the Guru’s body was cremated by Bhai Lakhi Shah, by setting ablaze his own house.

Confusion over date of martyrdom

There is some confusion regarding the date of Guru Tegh Bahadur’s martyrdom.

Dr Hardev Singh, from the Department of Religious Studies, Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University, Fatehgarh Sahib, had told The Indian Express last year that this was due to the change in calendars over the years. “The Islamic Hijri calendar was in force when Guru ji was beheaded. Later, Sikh historians started relying on the lunisolar Bikrami Samvat calendar traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent. And then the British introduced the Gregorian calendar. This led to confusion,” he said.

A few years ago, some Sikh scholars sought to introduce the Nanakshahi calendar to fix the dates of important historical events in Sikh history, but there was no unanimity on it.

[edit] Life and times

[edit] A

Manraj Grewal Sharma, April 21, 2022: The Indian Express

Tegh Bahadur was born in Amritsar on April 21, 1621 to Mata Nanki and Guru Hargobind, the sixth Sikh guru, who raised an army against the Mughals and introduced the concept of warrior saints.

Guru Tegh Bahadur

Tegh Bahadur was born in Amritsar on April 21, 1621 to Mata Nanki and Guru Hargobind, the sixth Sikh guru, who raised an army against the Mughals and introduced the concept of warrior saints.

As a boy, Tegh Bahadur was called Tyag Mal because of his ascetic nature. He spent his early childhood in Amritsar under the tutelage of Bhai Gurdas, who taught him Gurmukhi, Hindi, Sanskrit, and Indian religious philosophy, while Baba Budha trained him in swordsmanship, archery and horse-riding.

He was only 13 when he distinguished himself in a battle against a Mughal chieftain. His bravery and swordsmanship in the battle earned him the name of Tegh Bahadur.

He was married to Mata Gujri at Kartarpur in 1632, and subsequently left for Bakala near Amritsar.

The ninth Sikh Guru

After Guru Ram Das, the fourth Sikh guru, the guruship became hereditary. When Tegh Bahadur’s elder brother Gurditta died young, the guruship went to his 14-year-old son, Guru Har Rai, in 1644. He remained on the seat until his death at the age of 31 in 1661.

Guru Har Rai was succeeded by his five-year-old son Guru Har Krishan, who passed away in Delhi in 1664 before he could reach the age of eight. It is said that when asked about his successor, he took the name of “Baba Bakala”, his grand uncle.

Guru Tegh Bahadur had built a ‘bhora’ (basement) in his house at Bakala where he spent most of his time in meditation. In the ancient Indian tradition, ‘bhoras’ were considered ideal for meditation as they were soundproof and had an even temperature. But since Guru Har Krishan hadn’t directly named Guru Tegh Bahadur, many claimants cropped up.

Dr Hardev Singh from the Department of Religious Studies, Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University, Fatehgarh Sahib, said that according to lore, Makhan Shah, a wealthy trader whose ship was caught in a storm at sea, had prayed that if it was saved he would give 500 gold mohurs (coins) to the reigning guru. But when he reached Delhi, he learnt that Har Krishan had passed away and there was a line of claimants at Bakala. It is said that he decided that whoever was the real guru would ask him for the exact sum he had promised in his prayers.

He had exhausted his options when he was told about Tegh Bahadur meditating in the ‘bhora’. Tegh Bahadur took one look at Makhan Shah, and told him that he had promised 500 coins. He added, “It’s not wise to test your guru.” An ecstatic Makhan Shah is said to have run to the rooftop and shouted “Guru ladho re (I have found the guru).”

Soon afterward, Tegh Bahadur moved to Kiratpur Sahib. In 1665, on the invitation of Raja Bhim Chand of Kahlur who was his devotee, he bought land at Makhowal village and renamed it Chak Nanki (now Anandpur Sahib) after his mother.

The Guru’s times

Aurangzeb was the ruling Mughal emperor at the time. It was a tumultuous time, says Dr Hardev Singh. “There were conversions, either through a government order or through coercion. When people were charged with some crime or misdemeanour, they would be pardoned if they converted.”

Guru Tegh Bahadur who started travelling extensively through Malwa and Majha, first came into conflict with the authorities when he started questioning the tradition of worshipping at the graves of pirs and faqirs. He preached against this practice, and urged his followers to be ‘nirbhau’ (fearless) and ‘nirvair’ (without envy).

His sermons, delivered in a mix of Sadukhri and Braj languages, were widely understood from Sindh to Bengal. The metaphors he used resonated with people across North India. Guru Tegh Bahadur often alluded to Panchali (Draupadi) and Ganika in his preachings and declared that Hindustan could regain its piety if it took refuge in one God, Dr Hardev said.

Run-in with the Mughals

As his message began to spread, a local chieftain at Dhamtan near Jind in present-day Haryana picked him up on fabricated charges of collecting revenue from villagers, and took him to Delhi. But Raja Ram Singh of Amer, whose family was a long-time follower of the gurus, intervened and kept him in his house for around two months until he convinced Aurangzeb that the guru was a holy man with no political ambitions.

Earlier, Raja Jai Singh of Amer had donated land for a dharamshala where the gurus could rest while visiting Delhi. The present-day Bangla Sahib gurdwara is built on this site.

Travels beyond Punjab

Dr Amarjit Singh, director, Guru Granth Sahib Department, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, said that a little more than a year after setting up his headquarters in present-day Anandpur Sahib in 1665, the guru spent four-odd years travelling up to Dhaka in the east, and going up to Puri in Odisha. He also visited Mathura, Agra, Benares, Allahabad, and Patna, where he left his wife and her brother in the care of the local devotees. Guru Gobind Singh was born in Patna in 1666.

While the guru was on the way back from Dhaka, Raja Ram Singh sought his help to broker a truce with the Ahom king. Gurdwara Dhubri Sahib on the banks of the Brahmaputra commemorates this peace accord. The guru was also honoured at Guwahati’s Kamakhya temple.

According to historians, the guru rushed back to Punjab on learning about the increasing atrocities by the Mughals.

The guru’s martyrdom

Back in Anandpur Sahib, the guru was approached by Kirpa Ram, a Kashmiri Brahmin who sought his protection with a group from the Valley. Das told Guru Tegh Bahadur that local chieftains had told him to convert or face retribution. The guru assured Das and his group of his protection and told them to tell the Mughals that they should first try to convert the guru.

Aurangzeb considered this an open challenge to his authority. According to Sri Gur Bilas Patshahi Dasmi, a biography of Guru Gobind Singh by Kavi Sukha Singh written in 1797, the guru himself went to Delhi where he revealed his identity, and was arrested by the Mughals.

In a paper titled ‘Who killed Guru Tegh Bahadur?’, historian Sardar Kapur Singh wrote that Aurangzeb ordered the public execution of the guru on November 11, 1675 after the guru declined to embrace Islam.

[edit] B

IP Singh, April 22, 2022: The Times of India

Who is Guru Tegh Bahadur? 
The son of the sixth Sikh master, Guru Hargobind and Mata Nanki, Guru Tegh Bahadur was born on April 21, 1621. He became the ninth Nanak in 1664 in Bakala town, succeeding Guru Harkrishan in whose memory Gurdwara Bangla Sahib and Gurdwara Bala Sahib were constructed in Delhi. The eighth Guru had passed away in Delhi.

Guru Tegh Bahadur married Mata Gujri in 1632. 
After Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, Guru Tegh Bahadur was the most-travelled Sikh guru. According to historical accounts, in the 11 years of his leadership, apart from different parts of Punjab (including Haryana), he also travelled to eastern parts of India including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Bengal (including present-day Bangladesh) and Odisha. 
He also founded Chak Nanki, in the name of his mother, which was later developed as Anandpur Sahib where Guru Gobind Singh founded Khalsa on the Vaisakhi day of 1699. It was at Chak Nanaki that a delegation of Kashmiri Brahmins came to visit in May 1675. 
“Ifthikar Khan [the Mughal governor of Kashmir during 1671-75] tyrannised the Brahmins to such an extent that they approached Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru, at Anandpur Sahib in Punjab, and solicited his personal intervention with the emperor [Aurangzeb],” PKN Bamzai writes in his book History of Kashmir . Gurudwara Bangla Sahib was built in memory of Guru Harkrishan, the guru prior to Tegh Bahadur

What happened in Delhi? 
 Before leaving for Delhi, Guru Tegh Bahadur appointed his son Gobind Rai as his successor. Three Sikhs — Bhai Mati Das, Bhai Sati Das and Bhai Dayal Das — accompanied him to Delhi to convey the pleas of Brahmins of Kashmir. 
Guru Tegh Bahadur was arrested in Malikpur Rangran village in the second week of July 1675 and was kept imprisoned for over three months at Bassi Pathana (Punjab) under the order of the hakim (administrator) of Sirhind. He was sent to Delhi in the first week of November, where the subedar of Delhi gave him three options — to show miracles, accept Islam or face death. 
Historical accounts reveal that the guru rejected the first two options and his three followers were executed in his presence on November 11 — Mati Das was tied between two logs and cut into two with a saw; Sati Das was burnt alive with cotton wrapped around him; and Dayal Das was boiled to death in a cauldron of hot water. However, this did not break the guru’s resolve and in the afternoon of the same day, he was beheaded. 
 Showing immense courage and commitment, a few Sikhs of Delhi managed to get hold of both parts of the guru’s body. His head was taken away by Bhai Jaita, who along with Bhai Nannu Rai and Udha, escorted it to his son and tenth master,Guru Gobind in Kiratpur on November 16. 
Back in Delhi, the other part of the guru’s body was taken away by Bhai Lakhi Das and his three sons. To cremate the guru’s body at night, Lakhi Das set his house at Raisina on fire to escape detection that they were actually cremating the guru’s body. 
Gurudwaras Sis Ganj Sahib and Rakab Ganj Sahib in Delhi mark the execution and cremation places of the guru. Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib in Chandni Chowk marks the place where Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed

Guru’s legacy

The guru’s martyrdom led to the first acts of militancy at the people’s level, noted Sangat Singh, a chronicler of Sikh history. Historians have reproduced an incident recorded by Saqi Must-id-Khan in Maasir-i-Alamgiri , which reflected the anger among the guru’s followers against the emperor. “When he [Aurangzeb] alighted the boat and was about to get on to the movable throne [Takhte-Rawan], a disciple of Guru Tegh Bahadur threw two bricks at the emperor, one of which hit the throne.”Hari Ram Gupta, author of History of the Sikhs also mentioned this incident. Guru Tegh Bahadur’s martyrdom would go a long way to steel his son, Guru Gobind Singh’s faith in Sikhism and lead to the formation of Khalsa, the military brotherhood of the Sikhs.

[edit] Teachings

[edit] Championing Religious Freedom

Dec 7, 2021: The Times of India

While the world is inundated with publicity and outrage at instances of religious intolerance, the sad truth is that not much has changed. It is essential to sustain and nurture peace and harmony, not just in letter and spirit but also in action.

Hind Ki Chaddar

It is in this context that we must never forget the ninth Sikh guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur, who played a pivotal role to champion secularism. Known as ‘Hind Ki Chaddar’, protector of India’s religious freedom, the Guru, in his fifty-four-year lifespan set a stellar personal example as he ceaselessly strove against tyranny and injustice. And for this he paid the ultimate price -- sacrificing his life to save Kashmiri Pandits, and to champion the right to practice one’s religion and beliefs.

This was but one noble cause he cherished and nurtured in his repertoire. His sacrifice is unparalleled in Indian history, making a monumental contribution to secularism.  By giving up his life, the Guru ensured that even under a cruel, despotic regime, people had the right to religious freedom and to preserve their spiritual beliefs and cultural entity.

Guru Tegh Bahadur was a mystic and not a political theorist, and his mystic perception blended harmoniously with Indic spiritual traditions. His teachings and preaching include sublime poetry on eternal truth and beauty, which is preserved in the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of Sikhism.

Mountain Of Smoke

The Guru perceived the world to be a nebulous ‘mountain of smoke’, whose dimensions could only be understood by sincere efforts to do good. Life’s true essence and meaning lay in being kind, humble, pious and compassionate, attributes that constituted real wealth.

He said that the path to fulfilment could be trodden by ignoring material wealth and applying our minds to spiritual matters. The ultimate goal and achievement of life was complete devotion and homage to God, who could be realised ‘within’ and not ‘without’, and whose name is our only enduring support.  

The fact that it took the Guru’s precious life to propagate the cause of secularism is a sad and significant chapter of India’s past.

Millions have been inspired by his life and actions, which were shaped by his noble philosophy. His sacrifice and martyrdom generated a new spirit of bravery, aligned with the ideals of human dignity and freedom and building of bridges between different communities, set by the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev.

Our world today owes a great debt of gratitude to Guru Tegh Bahadur. It is essential and imperative that historically, religiously, and politically, the Guru’s legacy be regularly showcased as a shining example for the betterment of a troubled and divided world.  

[edit] ‘Fear none, bully none’

Charan Singh, April 22, 2022: The Times of India

Guru Tegh Bahadur was the ninth guru of the Sikhs. His early years were spent in Amritsar under the tutelage of Baba Budha, contemporary of Guru Nanak, and Bhai Gurdas, inscriber of Adi Granth, prepared by Guru Arjan in 1604. Hence, his understanding of religion, society, history, and contemporary issues was very deep, which reflected in his poetic compositions. The main teachings of Guru Tegh Bahadur can be culled from his 116 compositions in 15 ragas, contained in the Guru Granth Sahib (GGS). The universal messages are in simple Braj language. They are easy to understand and have examples from daily life, emphasising universalism in spirituality. In one of his compositions, the Guru explains that as bubbles appear and disappear in water, similar is the creation of this world.

His main messages in the GGS can be summarised thus: Human birth is precious, so don’t waste it; shun bad company; treat pain/pleasures equal and keep your emotional self above joy/sorrow; God dwells inside you like image within a mirror; life is seeping away like water from a pitcher; what is the point of going on a pilgrimage when the mind is not in control, it’s like a stone that is kept immersed in water and still the water does not penetrate it; this world is like smoke, nothing permanent or everlasting; nothing will go beyond this life except meditation; body is like a hailstone, it quickly melts away, so shed all delusions; why worry when nothing is permanent in this world; why this false pride when knowing that this world is like a dream and nothing is yours; and as a pet dog does not leave the house of master, stay steadfast in meditation. In his extensive travels, Guru Tegh Bahadur preached tolerance and inter-faith harmony. In Dhaka, for example, the Guru helped restore peace between Chakradhvaj, ruler of Ahom, and Raja Ram Singh of Amber. He also practised economic independence. The piece of land where Anandpur is built was offered by Rani Champa of Bilaspur, but the Guru preferred to pay for it and purchased it for Rs 500 in 1665. He believed that the spiritually wise are steadfast, neither do they intimidate nor get intimidated by anyone. He observed that those persons are enlightened who treat friends and foes alike. It was while practising these principles that Guru Tegh Bahadur resisted forced conversion under the reign of the Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb, and without hesitation sacrificed his life.

Earlier, Guru Nanak had started holding inter-faith dialogues while interacting with spiritual masters of different faiths and their compositions later became part of the GGS. The supreme sacrifice of Guru Tegh Bahadur upholds the same principle, to accept diversity of belief and respect plurality in society. The sacrifice also reveals that strong social bonds get established with inter-faith dialogues. Kashmiri Pandits, for example, chose to come to Guru Tegh Bahadur, who reciprocated happily and even gave his life for the cause. The lesson to be drawn from the sacrifice is that the freedom to practise faith of one’s choice is a matter of human rights, individual conscience, for which no force or allurements should be used.

The writer is former chairman of Punjab and Sind Bank