Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru’s martyrdom remains one of most the unique events in India’s history. On this day, the Guru was martyred in Chandni Chowk in Delhi 350 years ago on the orders of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb who wanted Kashmiri Pandits to convert to Islam. A group of Kashmiri Pandits decided to approach Guru Tegh Bahadur for protection.
The very fact that the Kashmiri Pandits decided to approach the ninth Guru for protection proves beyond any doubt that the Guru’s followers were not divided along sectarian lines in stark contrast to what is being done today. Both Sikhs and Hindus considered him as their Guru and they still do. When the Kashmiri Pandits approached the ninth Guru, he told them to tell Aurangzeb to convert their religious leader first and if he gets converted, they will follow him. Obviously, the ninth Guru’s message was clear to the Mughal Emperor that “you convert me first before you force my followers to convert.”
In 1995 thousands of Kashmiri Pandits marched to Anandpur Sahib in gratitude. Kashmiri Pandit organisation Panun Kashmir organised the ‘Kritigta Yatra’ to remember the ninth Guru’s sacrifice for the community.
The ninth Guru is rightly called ‘Hind Di Chaadar’ (the shield of India). It is not difficult to imagine the situation and the plight of Hindus 350 years ago under a despotic and bigoted Mughal emperor who had made conversion as the leitmotif of the policy of his rule. The Hindus that time under the Mughal Empire had no voice at all. Particularly under Aurangzeb’s rule they were like frightened pigeons. Guru Tegh Bahadur readily accepted to be their guardian and protector against a mighty and bigoted emperor.
As it is rightly said that had Guru Tegh Bahadur not made that great sacrifice, the history of north India might well have been completely different. The glorious culture of the Kashmiri Pandits would have been wiped out as has happened in various other places around the world where native cultures have been completely annihilated.
Iftikhar Khan, the then Mughal Governor of Kashmir, was brutally ruthless in implementing the mission of his master Aurangzeb and had let loose a reign of relentless terror on the Kashmiri Pandits living in Kashmir.
Had the ninth Guru not resisted, for which he had to pay with his own life, the ruthless bigot that Emperor Aurangzeb was, with his equally, rather more ruthless Governors of Sirhind and Kashmir, who were more paranoid to convert people, the demographic picture of north India would have been completely different. So would be the history in that case.
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While the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur did stop the conversion of Kashmiri Pandits, but the cruel and ruthless Mughal Emperor continued with his bigotry with the Guru’s successors. Two of his grandsons Sahibzada Ajit Singh and Sahibzada Jujjar Singh were martyred by the forces of Aurangzeb in the battle of Chamakaur. Two other grandsons, Sahibzada Zorawar Singh and Sahibzada Fateh Singh were bricked alive in a wall in Sirhind.
Despite such ruthless cruelty borne out of religious fanaticism, there are attempts to portray Aurangzeb in a different and positive image. It is often claimed that Aurangzeb donated money to temples along with mosques. And that he used to stitch caps to earn his livelihood despite being the Emperor himself. This is to suggest that he lived with modest means. These are of course later-day attempts to present and portray an entirely different image of the Mughal despot.
The fact is that Aurangzeb was a ruthless and brutal bigot who had made conversion of all Indians to Islam his mission. If he was so ruthless and bigoted, how could the Hindu religion survive his reign and how could India still remain a Hindu majority nation. Those putting up such arguments tend to ignore the strong resistance put up by the Hindus and Sikhs. Aurangzeb made no distinction between the two.
Guru Tegh Bahadur’s martyrdom indeed remains a distinct event in history where a religious leader instead of letting his followers suffer, sacrificed his own life and consequently that of his progeny. His son and the tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh carried forward the tradition of sacrifice and martyrdom. Imagine someone having to witness the martyrdom of his father and his children!
Guru Tegh Bahadur’s sacrifice cannot be restricted to one particular sect, religion or region. Imagine, someone sacrificing his life for the faith of people 350 years ago, what we call “freedom of religion today”. That sacrifice and martyrdom holds as much significance and importance today as it held then and not just for a particular group of people, but for the entire humanity.
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