The Guru gave his all for freedom of faith

THE 350th anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur’s martyrdom falls on November 24. Union and state governments, besides several organisations, including the RSS, are commemorating the occasion. While doing so, the focus must remain on the historical context and the correct message that the Guru’s supreme sacrifice holds for posterity.

A narrow interpretation may merely recount the bigotry of some Mughal emperors, especially Aurangzeb. The Sikh religion evolved over two centuries, from the foundation of Kartarpur town by Guru Nanak Dev in 1504 to the creation of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. During this period, the Mughals first captured power, then lost it and later regained it under Humayun; their empire peaked under Akbar and eventually declined after Aurangzeb’s death.

Guru Arjan Dev (1606) and Guru Tegh Bahadur (1675) chose self-sacrifice over abandoning their religion or performing miracles.

As the two sagas run parallel, their crucial linkages need to be analysed to understand Sikhism’s defence of freedom of faith. Guru Nanak Dev is said to have first encountered Emperor Babur in Hyderabad as his forces advanced into India. Babur’s successor Humayun lost the throne of Delhi to Sher Shah Suri; heading for exile in Iran, he made a halt to seek the blessings of Guru Angad Dev, the second Sikh Guru, in 1540. Two vital inflection points occurred during the Mughal rule which impacted Sikhism’s evolution.

It is important to recall that Emperor Akbar’s long reign (1556-1605) coincided with that of three Sikh Gurus — Guru Amar Das (1552-74), Guru Ram Das (1574-81) and Guru Arjan Dev (1581-1606). Akbar’s religious tolerance, the espousal of Din-i Ilahi (Religion of God) in 1582 and repeal of jaziya or tax on non-Muslims created an ethos in which Sikhism could flourish. Akbar visited Guru Amar Das in 1567 and also partook of langar.

Akbar favoured his grandson, Prince Khusrau, to succeed him as he considered his eldest son unfit to rule. But that son, Jahangir, succeeded him in 1605. When Khusrau rebelled against his father in 1606, he met Guru Arjan Dev on the way to Lahore. The Mughal army defeated and captured him. Although Jahangir was not totally bigoted, he could be unpredictably vindictive. He targeted Guru Arjan Dev mainly because the latter had received his rebellious son. Had Khusrau succeeded Akbar, perhaps tolerance and religious freedom would have persisted in India.

After Guru Arjan Dev passed away in Mughal captivity, the Sikh religion mutated under his son and successor Guru Hargobind, adopting martial training alongside religious discourse. He began carrying two swords, representing Miri and Piri, symbolising the temporal and the spiritual. Guru Hargobind’s period (1606-44) bridged the reign of Jahangir (1605-27) and Shah Jahan (1627-58). His limited Sikh force successfully fought six battles with the Mughal forces, sent by Shah Jahan, until a grown-up Dara Shikoh, the heir apparent, restrained targeting of Sikhs.

The second inflection point came when Shah Jahan’s sons became rivals over succession. The eldest, Dara Shikoh, favoured Sufi thinking and religious tolerance, besides peaceful coexistence between Hindus and Muslims. He translated the Upanishads from Sanskrit to Persian to enable Muslim scholars to study them. Shah Jahan’s illness in 1657 started a power tussle. Dara fell seriously ill due to suspected poisoning by his main rival, Aurangzeb. Guru Har Rai, specialising in ayurveda, sent medicine that cured him. Dara sent gifts to the Guru in gratitude. However, he was defeated on the battlefield by Aurangzeb in 1658. He sought refuge in Punjab. The Guru extended him material help and obstructed Aurangzeb’s forces to assist his escape. Betrayed by former associates, Dara was captured and eventually killed.

Destiny again betrayed India and the Sikh Gurus. The Sufi lost to a bigoted fundamentalist. When summoned by Aurangzeb in 1660, Guru Har Rai sent his son Ram Rai, who was held hostage. When questioned about Adi Granth hymns ostensibly berating Muslims, Ram Rai amended them in a bid to please Aurangzeb. The Guru excommunicated him, passing the succession to his younger son Har Krishan, who succeeded him a year later. Aurangzeb lured Guru Har Krishan to Delhi, where he contracted smallpox and passed away in 1664. Since he had declared that a Baba from Bakala would be his successor, many claimants came forward. Eventually, Guru Tegh Bahadur emerged as the chosen one.

Thus the eventual confrontation between Aurangzeb and the ninth Guru was not just over Pandit Kirpa Ram leading a delegation of Kashmiri Pandits to seek the Guru’s protection against forced conversion to Islam. It was an old tussle, reignited afresh, between the forces of bigotry and freedom of faith. It led to the birth of the Khalsa and greater resistance to Muslim invaders like Ahmad Shah Abdali and the remnants of the Mughal empire in Delhi.

Today, there is a regression towards majoritarian, religion-influenced rule globally and in India, with secular constitutions or governance being put to the test. The US, once a model of secular governance with a wall between the Church and the State, is witnessing rising White Christian supremacism. The White House ordered flags at half-mast when a bigoted Charlie Kirk was shot. US Vice-President JD Vance publicly pushed his wife to convert from Hinduism to Christianity, wooing MAGA supporters. President Donald Trump’s strong supporter, Vivek Ramaswamy, a candidate for Ohio’s governorship, was trolled by MAGA followers on religious and racial grounds after he posted a photo with his sons on Halloween.

In India, minorities, especially Muslims, feel targeted, especially when their nationalism is questioned. Proponents of Khalistan, such as Lok Sabha MP Amritpal Singh and his aides, are detained, but slogans and processions in support of Hindu Rashtra are tolerated. The rise of far-right parties in Europe has increased the risk of secular walls crumbling there too.

Hence, the commemoration of Guru Tegh Bahadur’s 350th death anniversary demands not just recrimination of past bigotry but renewed commitment to freedom of faith and conscience, which the Indian Constitution safeguards. Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948, affirms this resolve. All must accept that true faith, as the Gurus demonstrated by self-sacrifice, lies in the acceptance of one Supreme God, ethical conduct and public service, besides being tolerant of multiple paths that lead to Him.