Sikh Guru Teg Bahadur's 400th Birth Anniversary

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will chair a meeting of the High-Level Committee to approve policies, plans and programs related to the commemoration of the 400th birth anniversary of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji.

Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621–1675)

• Guru Tegh Bahadur was the ninth of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion. He was born at Amritsar in 1621 and was the youngest son of Guru Hargobind.
• His term as Guru ran from 1665 to 1675. One hundred and fifteen of his hymns are in Guru Granth Sahib.
• There are several accounts explaining the motive behind the assassination of Guru Tegh Bahadur on Aurangzeb’s orders.
• He stood up for the rights of Kashmiri Pandits who approached him against religious persecution by Aurangzeb.
• He was publicly killed in 1675 on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Delhi for himself refusing Mughal rulers and defying them.
• Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib and Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib in Delhi mark the places of execution and cremation of his body.

Impact of his martyrdom

• The execution hardened the resolve of Sikhs against religious oppression and persecution.
• His martyrdom helped all Sikh Panths consolidate to make the protection of human rights central to its Sikh identity.
• Inspired by him, his nine-year-old son, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, eventually organized the Sikh group into a distinct, formal, symbol-patterned community came to be known as Khalsa (Martial) identity.

Sikh Gurus

• The era of the ten gurus of Sikhism spans from the birth of Nanak Dev in 1469, through the life of Guru Gobind Singh.
• At the time of Guru Gobind Singh’s death in 1708, he passed the title of Guru to the Sikh scripture, Guru Granth.

1. Guru Nanak Dev - Guru from 1469 to 1539

• Guru Nanak Dev, first of the 10 gurus, founded the Sikh faith, introducing the concept of one God.
• He started the institution of Guru Ka Langar. Langar is the term in the Sikh religion refers to the common kitchen where food is served to everyone without any discrimination.
• He emphasized the equality of women and rejected the path of renunciation and he rejected the authority of the Vedas.
• He was the contemporary of the Mughal emperor - Babur.

2. Guru Angad Dev - Guru from 1539 to 1552

• Guru Angad Dev, the second of the 10 gurus, invented and introduced the Gurmukhi (written form of Punjabi) script.
• He compiled the writings of Nanak Dev in Guru Granth Sahib in Gurmukhi Script.
• Popularized and expanded the institution of Guru ka Langar which was started by Guru Nanak Dev.

3. Guru Amardas Sahib - Guru from 1552 to 1574

• Guru Amardas introduced the Anand Karaj marriage ceremony for the Sikhs, replacing the Hindu form.
• He established the Manji & Piri system of religious missions for men and women respectively.
• He strengthened the tradition of Guru Ka Langar.
• He also completely abolished amongst the Sikhs, the custom of Sati and purdah system.
• He was the contemporary of the Mughal emperor - Akbar.

4. Guru Ram Das - Guru from 1574 to 1581

• Guru Ram Das, the fourth of the 10 gurus, founded the city of Amritsar.
• He started the construction of the famous Golden Temple at Amritsar, the holy city of the Sikhs.
• He requested the Muslim Sufi, Mian Mir to lay the cornerstone of the Harmandir Sahib.

5. Guru Arjan Dev - Guru from 1581 to 1606

• He compiled the Adi Granth, the scriptures of the Sikhs.
• He completed the construction of Sri Darbar Sahib also known as the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
• He founded the town of Tarn Taran Sahib near Goindwal Sahib.
• He became the first great martyr in Sikh history when Emperor Jahangir ordered his execution. Thus, he was hailed as Shaheedan-de-Sartaj (The crown of martyrs).

6. Guru Har Gobind Sahib - Guru from 1606 to 1644

• He was the son of Guru Arjan Dev and was known as a "soldier saint”.
• He organised a small army and became the first Guru to take up arms to defend the faith.
• He waged wars against Mughal rulers Jahangir and Shah Jahan.

7. Guru Har Rai Sahib - Guru from 1644 to 1661

• Though he was a man of peace, he never disbanded the armed Sikh warriors who were earlier maintained by Guru Har Gobind.
• He gave shelter to Dara Shikoh, the eldest son of Mughal Ruler Shah Jahan, who was later persecuted by Aurangazeb.
• He cautiously avoided conflict with Emperor Aurangzeb and devoted his efforts to missionary work.

8. Guru Har Krishan Sahib - Guru from 1661 to 1664

• Guru Har Krishan was the youngest of the Gurus. He was installed as Guru at the age of five.
• He was a contemporary of Aurangazeb and summoned to Delhi by him under framed charges of anti-Islamic blasphemy.

9. Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib - Guru from 1665 to 1675

• He established the town of Anandpur.
• He opposed the forced conversion of the Hindu Kashmiri Pandits by Mughal ruler Aurangazeb and he was consequently persecuted for this.

10. Guru Gobind Singh Sahib - Guru from 1675 to 1708

• He became Guru after the martyrdom of his father Guru Tegh Bahadur.
• He created the Khalsa in 1699, changing the Sikhs into a saint-soldier order for protecting themselves.
• Last Sikh Guru in human form and he passed the Guruship of the Sikhs to the Guru Granth Sahib.

Guru Granth Sahib

• Guru Granth Sahib (also known as the Adi Granth) is the scripture of the Sikhs.
• The Granth was written in Gurmukhi script and it contains the actual words and verses as uttered by the Sikh Gurus.
• It is considered the Supreme Spiritual Authority and Head of the Sikh religion, rather than any living person.