Chapter 13

GURU TEGH BAHADUR
(1621–1675)

‘Baba Bakala’. These were the two words by which Guru Har Krishan indicated who would be the next Guru. But these two words were enough to indicate to his trusted followers: Diwan Dargah Mal, Mati Das, Sati Das, Guruditta, and Dyal Das, who the Guru had chosen as his successor. When Guru Har Krishan used the term Baba, he meant somebody who had the relationship of a grandfather to him. The only living person who bore such a relationship to the Guru was his granduncle, Tegh Bahadur, who lived in Bakala.

Tegh Bahadur, the youngest and the sixth child of Guru Hargobind, was born at Guru Mahal in Amritsar in 1621. His mother was Nanki, daughter of Hari Chand Khatri, a prosperous trader from the village of Bakala. It is said that at his birth he was given the name of Tyagmal.

In addition to reading, writing, arithmetic, religion, and music, Tegh Bahadur also learnt to ride, hunt, shoot, and use the sword. Guru Hargobind took an active interest in his children’s education and he would often be present during their lessons. He always had an encouraging word for them and would praise them if they did well. In order to win this praise, Tegh Bahadur would work even harder. As a result of this intense physical training, Tegh Bahadur grew into a strong boy.

When Tyagmal was eleven years old, Lai Chand Khatri, one of the prominent citizens of Kartarpur, offered his daughter Gujri’s hand in marriage to him. Guru Hargobind was very fond of Lai Chand and Mata Nanki had taken a strong liking to the little girl, Gujri. So, they readily accepted the proposal.

Shortly after the wedding, Guru Hargobind’s troubles with the Mughal forces began. From 1633 onwards a series of battles were fought between the Mughal forces and the Guru’s army. When the first of these battles was fought, Tyagmal was just twelve years old.

The Guru kept Tyagmal at his side during the battle and from the reports that came from the battlefield, and the discussions that followed, the boy learnt a great deal about the strategies and manoeuvres of battle.

In 1638, during the battle of Kartarpur, the Guru knew that Tyagmal was, at last, ready to go into battle himself and sent for his son.

It was a fierce battle. At the end of the battle, Tyagmal came to report to the Guru. He was tired and his face and clothes were covered with dust and stained with blood and smoke from musket fire. The Guru listened to him carefully.

‘You talk of the courage and bravery of others, my son. You do not say anything of your own deeds,’ said the Guru.

‘I only did what I had to do,’ Tyagmal said. ‘If there was anything worthy of note that I did, it was because your light shone in me during the battle. I cannot take credit for it,’ he added. The Guru was pleased by this humility.

‘You have fought so bravely, shown so much courage with the sword and the gun that from now on you will be known as Tegh Bahadur, lord of the sword,’ said the Guru.

Tegh Bahadur, as he was now called, was greatly respected by the Sikh community. Stories of his great courage were told and retold and he became a hero. But like his brother, Gurditta, Tegh Bahadur could not put the bloodshed and the horrors of the battlefield out of his mind. He had seen hundreds of soldiers lying dead and wounded on the battlefield and, as he went around the dera, he saw hundreds of devastated faces of women who had been widowed, and children who had been orphaned.

As the years went by, he became more and more withdrawn and he turned to religion and to prayers for comfort.

The Guru saw the change in his son and was saddened by the signs that his youngest son showed of becoming an ascetic. But the Guru also understood what was troubling the young man’s mind and left him alone to work it out for himself.

Then occurred in quick succession the deaths of Tegh Bahadur’s three brothers: Gurditta, Atal Rai, and Ani Rai. These deaths filled him with grief and he was sure that life was meaningless. He turned away completely from the world of men and spent all his time in reading the holy book. He withdrew to Bakala and, in deference to his wishes, the Guru and his followers left him alone.

Shortly before his death, Guru Hargobind decided that his grandson Har Rai would be the next Guru. He decided against Tegh Bahadur because Tegh Bahadur had cut himself off entirely from the world of men, and was for all practical purposes, an ascetic. Tegh Bahadur understood and respected his father’s decision and felt no bitterness and came to the ceremony at Kiratpur when his nephew Har Rai was made the seventh Guru. He sat by his father’s deathbed; serving him in every way he could.

‘You have been a good son. And you are a good man. Take your mother and go back to Bakala and stay there. There is some land in Hargobindpur registered in your name and the revenue from this will be enough to support your mother and you,’ said the Guru.

Tegh Bahadur did not want anything. His needs were few and his grandparents were only too happy to take care of these. He stayed long enough in Kiratpur to attend to all the funeral ceremonies and then, taking his leave from the new Guru, and accompanied by his mother, went back to Bakala.

At Bakala, Tegh Bahadur followed a set routine. He had a basement built in his house. Here he would meditate for hours on end. His fame as a sage and a man of wisdom, spread far and wide, and even though he did not like to meet people, yet people came to him in droves for help and for advice. For twenty-six years he lived the life of a saint. The Sikhs remembered him as a brave young soldier but they also knew him as the sadhu who gave help and comfort to people in need. This was the man whom Guru Har Krishan had nominated as the ninth Guru.

The five Sikh elders escorted Guru Har Krishan’s mother to Kiratpur in 1664. They stayed there for a few months to help her to come to terms with her grief and to settle her affairs. Then, carrying the thali with the five copper coins and the coconut which Guru Har Krishan had blessed, they went to Bakala.

News of Guru Har Krishan’s last words had spread far and wide. It is said that by this time twenty members of the Sodhi families of Kiratpur, Kartarpur, and other places had come to Bakala and had all set up their deras. They were all related in some way to the Guru and they all claimed that they were the one Guru Har Krishan had referred to in his last words.

The most serious claimant was Dhirmal, Guru Har Rai’s elder brother. He claimed that the father’s elder brother is also often referred to as Baba. He also said that since he had the original copy of the Guru Granth Sahib, he had the strongest claim to the Guruship.

The five Sikh elders came at last to Bakala in August 1644, went straight to Mata Nanki’s house, and told her everything that had happened. Then they called a meeting of all the prominent citizens of Bakala, both Sikhs and non-Sikhs, and repeated what they had told Mata Nanki. Bhai Gurditta turned to Tegh Bahadur. He placed the thali with the sacred articles at Tegh Bahadur’s feet and bowed to him. Tegh Bahadur accepted the charge that had been given to him and became the ninth Guru of the Sikhs.

Guru Tegh Bahadur’s succession to the Guruship was not accepted by Dhirmal. He made one last effort to gain the Guruship. He incited his faithful masand, Sihan, to make a physical attack on the Guru. But Sihan only succeeded in wounding the Guru. The Guru recovered from his injuries, Sihan confessed to his misdeeds, and Dhirmal stood discredited. He returned to Delhi.

The Guru now decided to move to Amritsar. He bathed in the holy waters of the tank. Then he took a round of the holy tank as all pilgrims do. When he reached the door leading to the bridge it was banged shut on his face and locked from inside, he found that he could not have darshan of the temple. His followers, who had come with him, were very angry and wanted to break the door down but he held them back and set up his camp a little way from the temple.

When Guru Hargobind had moved out of Amritsar, the control of the Golden Temple had passed completely into the hands of Prithi Chand’s grandson, Harji, who was afraid that if Guru Tegh Bahadur came and lived in Amritsar, he would lose control of the Golden Temple. This is why he had shut the door in Guru Tegh Bahadur’s face.

One of the Guru’s disciples, a lady by the name of Hariyan, was most upset by the Guru’s exclusion from the Harmandir Sahib. She organized the other ladies of Amritsar and they decided to take action. They led the Guru back to the Golden Temple in a big procession and Harji was shamed into opening the doors and letting the Guru in.

The Guru did not want to create a conflict. So he stayed in Amritsar only long enough to have darshan of the Harmandir Sahib. Then he moved on to Khadur. He stayed for a few days in Khadur and then went on to Kiratpur. Here, too, he only stayed long enough to have darshan of the shrine and to meet all his disciples.

Guru Tegh Bahadur knew when he became the Guru that he must do what all the other Gurus had done before him. He must build his own centre. But he could not decide where to build it.

Once he stopped to rest at a place about eight kilometres from Kiratpur. This place was at the foot of the Shivalik Hills. Further away, he saw the Dhauladhar range covered with snow. At his feet was the river Sutlej. He felt a complete stillness in his heart and knew that he had found the place he was looking for.

The Guru bought the land from the Raja of Kahlur (in Bilaspur). The place was named Nanki Chak to honour the Guru’s mother and the Guru asked Dewan Dargah Mal to take charge of the planning and the building of their centre. The Dewan consulted many master-builders and drew up a plan for a small township. The three most important buildings would be the temple, the rest-house and the Guru Mahal; and these three buildings would be built first. The foundation for the new centre was laid in June 1665 by Bhai Gurditta. Most of the important Sikhs built houses here so that they could be close to their Guru. As more and more people began to live here, traders and shopkeepers also came and settled here.

While construction was still in an early stage, the Guru decided to visit his followers outside Punjab. The Guru left Dewan Dargah Mal and Bhai Gurditta in charge of the construction, and towards the end of the year, set out on his travels to the East. He was accompanied by his mother, his wife, Dyal Das, Mati Das, Sati Das, and some other devoted followers.

The Guru travelled through the South-East of Punjab and came to an area called Bagar, now in Haryana. Here he was horrified to see the sad economic condition of the people. They were very poor and many of them had taken to a life of crime and sin. He spent a lot of time in this region and helped to improve the condition of the people and taught them how to lead useful lives. By the time he left this place and moved on towards Delhi, he had brought great changes to this area and signs of development could be seen all around.

The Guru came to the outskirts of Delhi and set up his camp and thousands of Sikhs came to have darshan. Ram Rai, who was in Delhi, heard reports of the Guru’s large following and this aroused his jealousy. The emperor was not in Delhi at the time, so he went to the Kotwali and complained to the darogah that the Guru and his followers were creating a disturbance by forcing people to give them money and other presents and by speaking ill of Islam. The darogah, fearing that there might be a riot, arrested the Guru.

All this happened so suddenly that the Guru’s followers did not know what to do and they decided to turn to Raja Jai Singh, who had always been a great admirer of the Gurus, for help. Raja Jai Singh was at this time away in the Deccan, actively involved in the war against Shivaji. Raja Ram Singh, Raja Jai Singh’s son, took up the Guru’s cause. He stood surety for the Guru and the Guru was released from prison. He also argued the Guru’s case most eloquently and convinced the authorities that the charges against him were wrong. Before moving on, the Guru gave Raja Ram Singh his blessings and told him that if ever there was anything that the Sikhs or their Guru could do for him, it would be done.

The party moved through Agra, Allahabad, Banaras, and Gaya. From Gaya, the Guru’s party was taken to Patna by Bhai Jaita, one of Guru Hargobind’s favourite Sikhs. Mata Gujri was now expecting a child, and it was not safe for her to travel in this condition. So the Guru made all arrangements for her in Patna and left her in the care of his mother and brother-in-law, Kirpal Chand, and travelled on towards Assam.

Many Sikh sangats had been set up by Guru Nanak when he had made his journey to the east and these sangats had increased during the tenure of the other Gurus, especially during the time of the sixth Guru. Masands had been appointed to look after the day-to-day needs of the Sikhs and this had made the sangats better organized and stronger. But none of these sangats had been visited by any Guru since Guru Nanak had come this way 150 years ago. In the face of this fact Guru Tegh Bahadur’s visit assumed great significance.

The other reason he travelled eastwards was to fulfill his promise to Raja Ram Singh. When Aurangzeb had imprisoned Shivaji and his son, Sambhaji, he had placed them under Raja Ram Singh’s charge. The prisoners had escaped and Aurangzeb felt that Raja Ram Singh had failed in his charge. The raja was divested of his official position as punishment, and was also ordered to lead an army against the King of Ahom in Assam. The last Mughal general who had been sent into Assam, Mir Jumla, had died in the attempt. Raja Ram Singh felt that he was being sent to certain death and was reluctant to go. At the same time he was afraid of the emperor’s anger if he refused to obey his orders. He visited Guru Tegh Bahadur while the Guru was at Gaya and sought his help and advice. The Guru remembered what the raja had done for him in Delhi and felt a deep obligation to help the raja.

‘Do not worry. When you are on the right side God is with you, you must not be afraid of what the Mughal can do to you. I will come with you to Assam,’ Said Guru Tegh Bahadur to Raja Ram Singh.

The Guru and the raja crossed river Brahmaputra. The Guru visited the Sikh centres at Sylhet, Chittagong, Sondip and Dhaka, all now in Bangladesh. And it gave him great satisfaction to see flourishing sangats in each of these towns. On 26 December 1666, a son, Gobind Rai, was born to Guru Tegh Bahadur. This happy news reached the Guru while he was in Dhaka.

Some new biographies of the Gurus put the year of Gobind Rai’s birth as 1661, instead of 1666. Kartar Singh Duggal, in his Sikh Gurus: Their Views and Teachings (1993) supports the new date, which is 1661, as the tenth Guru’s year of birth.

At Dhaka, Raja Ram Singh’s personal bodyguard of 4,000 horsemen was joined by the army of 18,000 horsemen and 30,000 foot-soldiers left behind by Mir Jumla. He also recruited 15,000 local archers. With this army the Guru and the raja moved into Assam. They camped at Dhuhari, where Guru Nanak had stayed. The Guru having taken stock of the situation, advised Raja Ram Singh not to attack, but to come to a settlement with the king of Assam. While the negotiations were going on, he himself toured Assam, and through his teachings and his good work for the people, won a great deal of respect. The king too was favourably inclined towards the Guru and one of the princes came to the Guru for his blessings and became his follower.

The talks between Raja Ram Singh and the Ahom king went on and on but there did not seem to be any chance of a treaty being signed. In the meantime, a few of the tribes started showing signs of revolting against the king. The king was in an unhappy position: On the one hand, he had a large foreign army at his doorstep, and on the other, some of his own people were turning against him. He came to the Guru for help and advice.

‘Make peace with Raja Ram Singh. Sign a treaty with him. He will then take his army back to Delhi and you will be free to settle your own affairs,’ the Guru advised the king.

‘You know the raja well,’ the king said. ‘Help me, O holy one, to make a treaty that will not bring me shame or dishonour.’

The Guru protected the interests of both sides and was able to work out a treaty which was accepted by both the king and Raja Ram Singh. In this way, war and bloodshed were avoided. Raja Ram Singh made an offering of a large sum of money to the Guru and the raja of Assam also gave him many presents. The Guru had come to Assam for two reasons: to help his friend Ram Singh and to visit the Sikh sangats in the North-East. Both these tasks had now been accomplished and he decided to return to Patna to rejoin his family.

For the next three years, the Guru’s greatest pleasure was to be with his little son Gobind Rai. Gobind was a very handsome boy who showed signs of great intelligence. But the Guru did not stay for very long in Patna. He received the disturbing news from Punjab of the forcible conversion of Hindus and Sikhs to Islam. The Guru decided to go back to Punjab to be with his people in their hour of need.

The Guru reached Nanki Chak, later known as Anandpur in 1672. What had been a cluster of a few buildings, when he had left, had now become a town. He was pleased at the way the town had grown. The Guru’s family joined him in Anandpur a few months later.

The Guru made sure that Gobind got the best instructors for each subject that he was studying. He kept a close eye on his son’s progress and found pleasure in seeing how well he was doing. He would talk to his son preparing him for the difficult times ahead. He would talk to him about the Gurus’ teachings and tell him stories from their lives. It was here that Guru Tegh Bahadur composed many of his beautiful hymns which mark him out as a poet of great sensitivity. 115 of these poems were later included in the Guru Granth Sahib by Guru Gobind Singh.

Special orders were given against the Sikhs. Kafi Khan, the Mughal historian writes, ‘Aurangzeb ordered the temples of the Sikhs also to be destroyed and the Guru’s masands to be expelled from the cities for collecting the tributes and donations of the faithful.’

The local officials, in order to win favour with the emperor, began to use very harsh measures to convert non-Muslims. People were tortured and killed without mercy and hundreds were thrown into prison. This filled the people with fear and hopelessness.

Guru Tegh Bahadur knew that something must be done to help the people and to give the non-Muslims encouragement and strength so that they could face Aurangzeb’s cruelty with firm and unfaltering courage. He decided to go from village to village to instill confidence in them.

There had been some earlier attempts to make a stand against the Mughals. In 1669, the Jats of Agra and Mathura had rebelled against the emperor, but the Mughal Army had crushed them. Thousands of Jats were killed in battle and thousands more were captured and tortured. The Jat houses were plundered and the Jat women were raped. Seeing this, around I,000 Jats embraced Islam. In 1672 the Satnamis, a Hindu sect of farmers and traders who carried arms, rebelled against the emperor. They fought very bravely and won a few battles. But finally they were defeated and most of them were killed. The few who survived were forced to become Muslims.

Now it seemed that people had accepted the inevitability of the Mughal rule with all its attendant cruelty and tyranny. This is why Guru Tegh Bahadur wanted to go from village to village to give them hope and courage. He chose, first of all, the land between the rivers Ghaggar and Sutlej, the area that is called Malwa. There had been no rain in this region and there were no irrigation facilities and the land had become a desert. The people were cowed down not only by the Muslim officials but also by their poverty. The Guru used the money he had brought from Assam to help the people to improve their lives. He dug wells so that they could get water both for drinking and for their fields, and he built tanks so that rainwater could be collected and stored. He bought cows and buffaloes and gave them to the poor. He also had many kinds of trees planted so that the whole area would become rich and green.

Reports of the work that the Guru was doing travelled far and wide. The Hindus and Sikhs came to the area to see the development that had been carried out. It was a time when everything seemed dark and bleak because of Aurangzeb’s cruelty, but now, through the Guru’s work, they felt there was hope: Here was a Guru who could give them new life.

Aurangzeb’s orders to convert all non-Muslims to Islam were being carried out with the greatest zeal against the Kashmiri Pundits. The Brahmins are the highest caste among the Hindus and the Kashmiri Brahmins were considered to be the most learned and intelligent of all Brahmins. So if the Kashmiri Brahmins were converted to Islam, it would be easier to convert all the other non-Muslims.

The emperor Aurangzeb had said that he did not want to see a single tilak or janeu, the sacred thread, in Kashmir. Iftikar Khan, the Governor of Kashmir, was determined to carry out the emperor’s wishes in totality. In the first few months, he forced a large number of Kashmiri Pundits to become Muslims. Those who refused to convert to Islam were killed. Soon the Pundits who could afford to start a new life began to flee from Kashmir because they saw in this the only way they could both escape death and keep their faith. All the crucial administrative posts in Kashmir were held by Kashmiri Pundits, many of whom fled from Kashmir. Iftikhar Khan realized that if this trend continued, he would soon have no one to run the administration for him. He called a halt to the forcible conversions and sent for all the prominent Pundits in the state. He explained to them that there was no escape from the emperor’s orders. He tried to convince them that it was in their interest to embrace Islam of their own accord. He offered them all kinds of inducements and temptations to persuade them to convert. If they did not accept, he would be forced to adopt his old policy of forcible conversion and they would not get anything out of it. Pundit Kirpa Ram of Mattan, who was the spokesman of the delegation, asked Iftikhar Khan for six months’ grace period so that they could convince their congregation that it was best to accept Islam. The Governor acceded to this request.

It was the season of the annual pilgrimage to the holy cave at Amarnath and Kirpa Ram and his friends set out on this pilgrimage. Perhaps God would provide a solution to their problem. In spite of the large scale conversions and the restrictions placed on the Hindus, there was still a very large number of Hindus who Kirpa Ram and his colleagues met while they were on the way to the holy shrine. While interacting with them, Kirpa Ram felt a deep sadness in his heart. Would this be the last time that the pilgrims would be going for darshan of the shrine? Next year, at this time, would there be no one making the pilgrimage? No, it couldn’t be. For hundreds of years, their hearts bursting with faith, thousands and thousands of pilgrims had come from the four corners of the country to this holy shrine. Surely their faith, their prayers would keep this pilgrimage alive. The sadness left Kirpa Ram’s heart. He knew that God would give them an answer.

But even after he had completed his pilgrimage to the sacred cave and returned to Pahalgam, there was still no answer. He was stronger, stronger to face the end, but the end was inevitable: It would come when the six months period of grace was over.

Then, on that last night at Pahalgam, a fresh group of pilgrims came in to share their room. Immediately there was an exchange of greetings, a rush of introductions. Kirpa Ram’s group moved closer to make place for the new group. The new group cooked a simple meal and invited Kirpa Ram and his companions to join them, an invitation that was declined because they had already eaten. Kirpa Ram watched them in the flickering light of the cooking fire, in the dim light of the oil lamps. They were simple people, simple rustic people. But there was something special about them. It took him some time to realize what it was – it was the absence of fear in their eyes. Later, after the group members had eaten and they sat exchanging news, Kirpa Ram understood why there was an absence of fear, this was because of their Guru, with the strange name of Tegh Bahadur.

The pilgrims talked of his coming to their village and of all that he had done for them. They talked of how he had given a new lease of life to them. Just as Kirpa Ram drifted off to sleep, his thoughts turned again to the Guru with the strange name. Strange how one man could affect the lives of so many people! The sleep left him, he was wide awake and his heart beat with wild excitement. He thought that if the Guru could bring hope to others, he could certainly bring hope to the Kashmiri Pundits too. God had after all given them an answer. They would go and meet this Guru and seek his advice.

Kirpa Ram discussed his proposal with the other Kashmiri Brahmins the next morning and they all agreed that they should go to the Guru for help.

So from Pahalgam, the sixteen Pundits went down to Anandpur as quickly as they could. Still it was almost a month before they reached Anandpur. The Guru was away with his son Gobind, walking the high grounds and an attendant was sent to inform the Guru of the arrival of the Kashmiris. The attendant found the Guru and his son sitting side by side under a tree, lost in conversation. The Guru looked up and saw the attendant coming towards them. He stopped in mid-sentence. His heart told him that this was the end of the perfect period of his life. He waited for the attendant to catch his breath and to speak:

‘Guruji, there is a group of Pundits from Kashmir who have come to see you. They said it was urgent,’ the attendant said.

‘Attend to their needs. I will come soon,’ the Guru said. But even after the attendant had gone, the Guru made no move to return to Anandpur. He sensed that this was the last time he would be alone with his son, the last time he would know such peace and he was reluctant to let it go. Gobind sensed this reluctance.

‘The pundits are waiting,’ he reminded his father. Together father and son walked back to Anandpur.

The pundits met the Guru after the evening meal. Kirpa Ram told the Guru of their problem and of the six months’ period of grace that they had been given.

‘We have come to you for advice, Guruji,’ he said.

The situation seemed hopeless and there was no help or advice that the Guru could give them at the moment. ‘You must be tired after your long journey. ‘Leave your problem with me and go and rest. I will think upon it. Perhaps God will help me to find an answer for you,’ the Guru said. The pundits went to rest while the Guru sat on in the gathering darkness.

The Guru told his son of the pundits’ problem. ‘I am sure that there is only one solution to their problem: If a holy man can give his life, the pundits can still be saved.’

‘Who can be holier than you, father?’ the boy said without a moment’s hesitation. The Guru smiled at his son. He too had been considering that it was he who should make the sacrifice. His son’s words confirmed him in this thinking. He drew Gobind into an embrace.

‘You are right, my son. It is your father who must make the sacrifice,’ said the Guru to his son. The next morning, the Guru sent for the Kashmiri Pundits.

‘You must go back to your Governor and tell him that you are all ready to become Muslims, each and everyone of you, but on one condition. The condition is that Tegh Bahadur must become a Muslim. If this condition is fulfilled, all the Kashmiri Brahmins will become Muslims too,’ he said.

The Kashmiri Pundits found reassurance in the Guru’s proposal. The Guru would refuse to be converted and the pundits would be spared both their lives and their right to remain Hindus. Kirpa Ram alone understood that what the Guru was suggesting was prompted by a willingness to make the extreme sacrifice in order to protect the right of the Hindus to practice their faith. All through the rest of the meeting, he could not take his eyes of the Guru’s face; so overcome was he both by wonder and amazement.

The next morning, long before the rest of the group as awake, Kirpa Ram stole out of bed, and made his way to where he was told he could find the Guru. He threw himself at the Guru’s feet and wept as if his weeping would never end. The Guru let him be for a while and then drew him up into an embrace and sat him down besides him.

‘What is it Punditji? What is it that troubles you?’ asked Guru Tegh Bahadur.

‘I am not troubled, Guruji. In fact I have not been more at ease with myself for as long as I can remember. My tears are tears of awe and reverence. I am, blessed, truly blessed to have been in the presence of a man of your stature. All my life I have practised piety, and lived by all that is sacred and true and I have prided himself on having evolved to a high state of spiritual attainment. I find now that in your presence, I am but a shadow,’ Kirpa Ram said.

‘Your humility becomes you, my friend. But do not underestimate your spiritual achievements. We all do the work that has been allotted to us by God, to the best of our abilities: Nothing more and nothing less,’ said the Guru.

Kirpa Ram and the other pundits reached Srinagar long before the period of grace was over and asked to meet the Governor.

When they were brought into the presence of the Governor, Kirpa Ram said, ‘The Kashmiri Pundits have all decided to become Muslims. But we have great respect for Guru Tegh Bahadur, the Guru of the Sikhs, and he must give us the lead. If he becomes a Musalman we will all become Musalmans.’

Iftikhar Khan was more than satisfied by this outcome. It would be easy to convert the so-called Guru of the Sikhs and with this one conversion, the knotty problem of the Kashmiri Pundits would be solved once and for all.

Aurangzeb was still camped at Hassan Abdal, close to the borders of Kashmir, and Iftikhar Khan brought the message of the Kashmir Pundits to him. The emperor too, felt that an easy solution to the problem of the Kashmiri Pundits had been provided to them.

The emperor sent a strong force to Anandpur to arrest the Guru and bring him to Delhi so that his conversion could be effected. The Guru along with Bhai Jaita, Bhai Dyal Das, Bhai Sati Das, and Bhai Mati Das and a few other faithful followers had already left for Delhi to give himself up to the emperor. The Mughal force set out from Anandpur and caught up with the Guru’s party at a place near Ropar. The Guru advised his followers not to offer any resistance. The Guru and his four senior disciples were arrested. The Guru was locked up in an iron cage and the cage was put on a high cart so that the Sikhs could see how their once great Guru had been humbled. The four disciples were bound in shackles and chained to the sides of the cart. All his followers who stood along the way to see him pass, were shocked to see him locked up in a cage like an animal. They knew they were seeing the Guru for the last time. Some of them just looked on, too dazed to do or say anything; others began to weep. There were still others who raised angry slogans against the Mughal soldiers. At a few places it seemed that the Sikhs were going to take the law into their own hands and attack the party and free their Guru.

But always the Guru smiled and counselled his Sikhs. ‘You must have patience, and courage. Do not do anything rash. Though I am locked up in a cage, I go to Delhi of my own free will,’ he told the followers.

His words stilled the anger of the Sikhs but they could not take away the sadness from their hearts.

‘What will become of us?’ they asked.

‘God will take care of you, as He has always done. Bow to His will – accept whatever He does to me; secure in the knowledge that He will only do what is best for me and for you,’ the Guru said.

The party moved on and came at last to Delhi. The Guru and his disciples were brought to the kotwali in Chandni Chowk.

The next day, Khwaja Abdullah, the darogah of the kotwali, came to see the Guru in his cell. He offered all kinds of inducements to the Guru to tempt him to become a Muslim. When this failed, he tried to emotionally blackmail the Guru by saying that his young son would be left without a father, his wife and his old mother would be left without support.

The Guru smiled. ‘You do not know what you say darogah. God will be a father to my son and will also look after my mother and my wife. He will give strength to my followers and lead them along the right path as He has always done. Do not waste your time and your breath, do what you have to do,’ the Guru said. The darogah turned and left the cell. The Guru was once again lost in prayer.

The darogah had failed to convert the Guru to Islam. He now decided that he would make the punishment to the Guru and his followers so severe that it would be a lesson to everyone else, and would deter people from becoming followers of the new religion.

The morning of II November 1675 saw bright and clear skies. There was a cold, sharp wind to remind everyone that winter had come. But there was not a trace of cloud in the sky and the sun, when it came up, was bright and warm. It brought relief to the thousands of people who had formed up in row upon row around the square, in the early hours of the morning. They had been shivering in the cold. Now the warmth of the sun brought them some comfort. In the brightening light, they saw three objects arranged close to each other. There were two poles driven into the ground about three feet apart. Next to them, on a stool, they saw ropes and a saw. A few yards away, in an open fire-place, a large quantity of wood and coal were burning and over the fire was a huge cauldron, three quarters full of boiling water. Close by, there was a third pole that had been driven into the ground. Next to it were bundles of cotton and ropes and a container with tar in it. They also saw a raised platform at one end of the square.

Everywhere, there were armed soldiers and policemen. The Guru and his four followers, escorted by armed soldiers, were brought to the square and the Guru was led onto the platform. The Guru sat down cross-legged and almost at once, began to pray. A soldier removed Bhai Jaita’s chains and a broom was handed to him.

‘Go, Tegh Bahadur’s Sikh. Go and sweep the courtyard. Let the people see that this is all that a Sikh is fit to do,’ the darogah said. Bhai Jaita bowed to his Guru. Then he took the broom in his hand and began to sweep the courtyard. A few of the spectators laughed and jeered, but most of them just watched in silence.

The qazi, in flowing black robes, walked into the square and the crowd fell silent.

‘You, who call yourself Mati Das, step forward,’ the darogah ordered. Bhai Mati Das stepped forward.

‘Mati Das, you have been ordered by the emperor to become a Muslim,’ the darogah spoke loud and clear.

‘I am a Sikh,’ Bhai Mati Das said in an equally loud, clear voice. ‘And I will always remain a Sikh,’ he added.

The qazi stepped forward and said, ‘You are guilty of treason. For this I sentence you to death.’

A soldier removed the chains on Bhai Mati Das’ hands and legs. Bhai Mati Das bowed to his Guru, and the Guru held up his hand in blessing. Bhai Mati Das hands and feet were tied to the poles so that his body was stretched between them. Jalaluddin, the executioner, picked up the saw and stood on the stool. A gasp went up from the crowd as they realized what was about to happen. They looked closely at Mati Das’ face. He too had realized what was going to be done to him, but he only smiled. Jalaluddin placed the saw in the centre of Mati Das’ head. With slow deliberate movements he began to saw. Mati Das did not cry or protest. Jalaluddin sawed through the body till the body was in two parts. The ground was covered with blood. All eyes turned to look at the Guru. He had watched the execution of his beloved disciple without blinking his eyes and without any expression on his face. His lips moved always in silent prayer.

‘You have seen what has happened to one of your faithful Sikhs,’ the darogah said when the executioner had finished. ‘Do you want your other followers to suffer the same fate? You can save them. All you have to do is to become a Muslim,’ he added. The Guru said nothing in response.

Bhai Dyala and Bhai Sati Das were called forward, turn by turn. They refused to become Muslims and the qazi condemned them to death as well. Bhai Dyala was thrown into the boiling water, whereas Bhai Sati Das was wrapped in cotton, smeared with coal tar, and set alight. The Guru did not turn away from the suffering of his followers. He watched it all from where he sat, with a calm and serene expression on his face; his lips always moving in silent prayer.

By now the crowd was still; shocked into silence by this set of cruel deeds. There was not a sound, save the rustling of the leaves on the trees. At last the darogah turned to the Guru. Two soldiers stepped forward to help the Guru to his feet. He ignored their help and rose on his own. The darogah and the qazi stepped onto the platform.

The crowd watched, unable to believe what had happened, or what was going to happen. The darogah addressed the Guru and repeated the question he had asked three times already.

‘Do you refuse to become a Muslim?’ the darogah asked.

‘I do,’ said the Guru in a calm clear voice.

The darogah then turned towards the qazi and the qazi read out his fatwa, ‘You, Tegh Bahadur, the Guru of the Sikhs, have refused to obey the orders of the emperor. You are guilty of treason. For this you are condemned to death.’

The the Guru’s chains were removed. Jalaluddin, the executioner, sharpened his sword. The moment seemed to stretch on endlessly. At last he tested his blade against his thumb – it was sharp enough.

‘Do you have a last wish?’

‘Yes. Give me five minutes to make my peace with God,’ the Guru said. The Guru sat down again, his head bowed, his eyes closed, his lips moving in prayer. But this time it was not a silent prayer. The prayers flowed loud and clear and beautiful and filled the square with their music. They sounded on the ears of the crowd and stilled all pain and anger and sorrow. The hush remained. But it was a hush of acceptance, of peace, and of strength. The Guru was lost in his prayers. He was already one with his God. Exactly five minutes later Jalaluddin lifted his sword high in the air. The sound of the sword, as it swished through the air, was drowned in the sound of prayer. The prayer stopped, cut off in mid-sentence. The severed head lay on the ground. The Guru still sat cross-legged, blood gushing from the neck.

At last Abdullah was sure that all those who were present had learnt a lesson. He made a sign and the soldiers hurried the crowd away.

The square was left to the bodies, the guards, and the wind. All through the morning and into late afternoon, the bodies lay in the sun and swarms of flies buzzed around attracted by the blood. Vultures began to collect on the trees. Groups of people formed on the rooftops and at street corners and looked at the bodies. They would have liked to go and claim them but everywhere there were soldiers.

Then, in the late afternoon the sky began to darken. There were no clouds, but the sky was covered with a blanket of red. The red turned to brown, and the brown became darker still, till it was black. It was the coming of a sandstorm, a phenomenon unheard of during winters. The wind became stronger and lashed at the faces of all who were still in the square. It clawed at their clothes and blew sand into their eyes and their mouths.

Everyone hurried inside. The soldiers drew the end of their turbans across their faces but this was no real protection. It became so dark that they could not see their hands when they held them in front of their eyes. So they hurried to the shelter of the kotwali, secure in the knowledge that no one would come to steal the bodies in this blinding sandstorm.

The square was deserted. The streets leading to the square were deserted. The wind blew strong and sand piled up against the walls. There was not a soul around. Not a soul except Bhai Jaita. All through the afternoon, he had stood there, still as a statue. The crowd and the guards, in the face of the terrible things that had happened, had forgotten him. Now he was sure, no one would see him, that there was no one to stop him for what he had to do.

He moved as quickly as the blinding storm would allow and collected the bodies of the three disciples. The Yamuna flowed close by and, as quickly as he could, he cast the bodies into the water. Then he claimed the Guru’s head. He hid it under his robe and, under the cover of the darkness and the storm he stole away with his precious possession.

Another person waited in the shadows near the square. He was Bhai Lakhi Shah, a low caste potter and was a big devotee of the Sikh Gurus and their teachings. He too, took advantage of the storm and the dark. He hid the Guru’s body in his cart and drove quickly to his straw-thatched hut.

He drove the cart into his hut, untied the bullocks and led them to safety. Then he set fire to his hut so that the Guru’s body could be cremated and spared any further indignity at the hands of the Mughals.

After two hours, when the storm at last abated, the guards stumbled back into the square. They saw that the bodies had disappeared and reported the matter to the darogah. The darogah was furious. He would have liked the bodies to rot in the sun and for the vultures and the dogs to feed on them. This would be a lesson to all those who refused to obey the emperor’s orders to embrace Islam. Now the bodies had disappeared. The darogah made inquiries everywhere and sent out search parties but to no avail.

To mark the spot where Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed, now stands a beautiful Gurdwara called Gurudwara Sisganj. Another beautiful Gurdwara, called Gurudwara Rakabganj, marks the place where his body was cremated. A Gurdwara, also called Gurudwara Sisganj, in Anandpur, marks the place where his head was cremated.

It is said that while Guru Tegh Bahadur was a prisoner in Delhi, he was questioned by the officers of Aurangzeb’s court. In answer to one of these questions he had replied, ‘Hinduism is not my religion. I do not believe in many things that the Hindus believe. I do not believe in caste system, in idol-worship, in pilgrimages. Yet I would fight for the right of all Hindus to live according to their religion. I would fight for this right even if I had to give up my life in this fight.’

We must remember how Guru Nanak had refused to wear the sacred thread, the janeu. In the light of this fact it seems ironic that Guru Tegh Bahadur should have given up his life to protect the Hindus’ right to wear the sacred thread.

Through this sacrifice, Guru Tegh Bahadur saved the Brahmins of Kashmir and saved the country from a flood of forced conversions to Islam. By so doing, he earned, in full measure, the name Hind-di-Chadder – The Protector of Hindustan.