Death
| “ | ਤਿਲਕ ਜੰਵੂ ਰਾਖਾ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਤਾ ਕਾ ॥ ਕੀਨੋ ਬਡੋ ਕਲੂ ਮਹਿ ਸਾਕਾ ॥ ਸਾਧਨ ਹੇਤਿ ਇਤੀ ਜਿਨਿ ਕਰੀ ॥ ਸੀਸ ਦੀਆ ਪਰ ਸੀ ਨ ਉਚਰੀ ॥੧੩॥ He protected the janeu and tilak of the Hindus, It was a great event in the modern ages. For the sake of humankind, he sacrificed himself. He laid down his head but not his creed -Bachittar Natak |
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The Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb cherished the ambition of converting India into an Islamic country. This philosophy was also pleaded by Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi (1569–1624), leader of the Naqashbandi School of thought, to counter the liberal policies of Akbar's reign.
The Emperor's experiment was carried out in Kashmir. The viceroy of Kashmir, Iftikhar 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 Tegh Bahadur for help. They, on the advice of the Guru, told the Mughal authorities that they would willingly embrace Islam if Tegh Bahadur did the same.
Orders of the arrest of the Guru were issued by Aurangzeb, who was in the present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 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 kept 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. Refusing to do so, Tegh Bahadur was beheaded in public at Chandni Chowk on 24 November 1675. The Guru is also known as "Hind Di Chadar" i.e. "The Shield of India", suggesting that he gave up his life to protect the religious freedom of non Muslims in Mughal India. .
Read more about this topic: Guru Tegh Bahadur
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