Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji

preet_singh

a¯n¯i¯m¯a¯l¯_¯l¯o¯v¯e¯r¯
7645-1.gif




SSG5-1.jpg


114209-1.jpg


541011-1.jpg


43282-1.jpg



Guru Tegh Bahadar with the Kashmiri Pandits


(On 24 November 1675 at Chandni Chowk, Delhi, India)
An extremely important event in Sikh history that had a profound impact on the future direction of Sikhism, the religion of the Sikhs. Guru Tegh Bahadar undertook the supreme sacrifice for the protection of the most fundamental of human rights - the right of a person to freely practice his or her religion without interference or hindrance. In the modern day we tend to take this freedom for granted – but in 1675, millions of people were denied this basic right.
However, what is even more astonishing is the fact that the Guru was not protecting the right of the Sikhs to practise their religion but instead the rights of non-Sikh peace-loving people from Kashmir. These people from Kashmir were very respected Hindus who were being converted to Islam under the threat of death by the "Muslim" Emperor, Aurangzeb. In 1669, the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb departed from the policy of tolerance practised by his predecessors and unleashed instead a policy of religious persecution against non-Muslims. This caused large-scale demoralisation, fear and panic among the people.
The commitment by the Sikh Guru to protect and support the liberty of all the people of a country was unprecedented. This type of supreme sacrifice had never previously been recorded in human history. On May 25, 1675 in answer to an appeal of a large group of revered Kashmiri Pandits, Guru Tegh Bahadur made the momentous decision that has forever changed the level of moral commitment, dedication and sacrifice required by followers of God. The Guru made this critical decision to risk laying down his life if necessary to protect the right of the Hindus to follow their religion freely without interference or duress.


302 Found
 
Last edited:
Top