Guru Tegh Bahadur

Guru Tegh Bahadur (1 April 1621 – 11 November 1675) became the 9th Guru of Sikhism on 20 March 1665, following in the footsteps of his grand-nephew, Guru Har Krishan . Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed on the orders of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in Delhi

Guru Tegh Bahadur was the youngest of the five sons of Guru Har Gobind . He was born in Amritsar in the early hours of 1 April 1621. The name Tegh Bahadur (mighty of the sword), was given to him by Guru Hargobind after he had shown his valour in a battle with the Mughals. Tegh Bahadur was married on 4 February 1631, with Gujri.

Nearing his end, Guru Hargobind asked Nanaki, mother of Tegh Bahadur, to go and live in the village of Bakala. She departed with Tegh Bahadur and Gujri to make home in Bakala, which was the native pace of the mother of the Sixth Guru.

The Delhi Emperor, Aurangzeb cherished the ambition of converting India into a land of Islam. This philosophy was also pleaded by Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi (1569–1624), leader of the Naqashbandi School, to counter the liberal policies of Akbar's reign.

The Emperor's experiment was first carried out in Kashmir . The viceroy of Kashmir, Iftikar Khan (1671–1675) carried out the policy vigorously and set about converting non-Muslims by force.

A group of Kashmiri Pandits (Kashmiri Hindu Brahmins) approached Guru Tegh Bahadur and asked for help. They, on the advice of the Guru, told the Mughal authorities that they would willingly embrace Islam if Guru Tegh Bahadur, did the same .

Orders of the arrest of the Guru were issued by Aurangzeb, who was in present day North West Frontier Province of Pakistan subduing Pushtun rebellion. The Guru was arrested at a place called Malikhpur near Anandpur after he had departed from Anandpur for Delhi. Before departing he nominated his son, Gobind Rai ( Guru Gobind Singh ) as the next Sikh Guru.

He was arrested, along with some of his followers, Bhai Dayala , Bhai Mati Das and Bhai Sati Das by Nur Muhammad Khan of the Rupnagar police post at the village Malikhpur Rangharan, in Ghanaula Parganah, and sent to Sirhind the following day. The Faujdar (Governor) of Sirhind, Dilawar Khan, ordered him to be detained in Bassi Pathana and reported the news to Delhi. His arrest was made in July 1675 and he was kept in custody for over three months. He was then cast in an iron cage and taken to Delhi in November 1675.

The Guru was put in chains and ordered to be tortured until he would accept Islam. When he could not be persuaded to abandon his faith to save himself from persecution, he was asked to perform some miracles to prove his divinity. On his refusal, Guru Tegh Bahadur was beheaded in public at Chandni Chowk on 11 November 1675. Guru Ji is also known as "Hind Di Chadar" i.e. to save Hinduism, Guru Ji gave his life .

Guru Har Gobind Ji was Guru Tegh Bahadur's father. He was originally named Tyag Mal but was later renamed Tegh Bahadur after his gallant displays of sword fighting in the wars against the Mughal forces. He built the city of Anandpur Sahib , and was responsible for saving the Kashmiri Pandits , who were being persecuted by the Mughals. Guru Tegh Bahadur toured various parts of India, and was requested by Gobind Sahali to construct several domes in Mahali.

He contributed many hymns to the Guru Granth Sahib including the Saloks (Mahal 9) near the end of the Guru Granth Sahib, which are extremely popular.

Guru Tegh Bahadur was martyred in Delhi by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. The Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib in Chandni Chowk , Delhi, was built over where the Guru was beheaded, and , also in Delhi, is built on the site of the residence of Lakhi Shah Vanjara, a disciple of the Guru, who burnt his house in order to cremate the Guru's body.