British Sikh Council described sacrifice of the 9th Guru "Shield of India"

We were graced with the presence of Mr Baldev Singh and Mr Sangha at our latest Interfaith Harmony meeting on Thursday 15th December.  They came to describe the sacrifice of the 9th Guru who gave his life to protect minorities from forced conversions under Emperor Aurangzeb.  They described the events that led  to the Guru's death:

In historic India, millions of people were denied this human right.  The Mughal emperor of the time, Aurangzeb held a desire for a pure Islamic state. The Emperor’s ambition was to convert non-Muslims by force starting in the region of Kashmir. In desperation, a group of Kashmiri Hindu high priests (brahmins), approached Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji ((9th Guru) and pleaded for help. 

The Guru told them that he had a vision that to stop the tyranny on Non- Muslims a huge sacrifice would have to be made of a holy man's life.  This was said before Guru Gobind Singh (10th Guru), who remarked that no-one could be more holy than Guru Tegh Bahadur.


Mr Singh said;


"Guru Tegh Bahadur sent a message to the Mughal authorities that all Hindus would willingly embrace Islam, if he himself did the same."


Emperor Aurangzeb issued orders for his arrest as soon as he had been told of the challenge. The Guru was arrested, along with some of his followers: Bhai Dyala Ji, Bhai Mati Das Ji and Bhai Sati Das Ji. The arrest was made in July 1675 and the Guru was kept in custody for over three months during which time He was held in a very tight iron cage (in brutal conditions).


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. Like many that have followed since, the Sikhs who were with the Guru Ji were also executed:

• Bhai Mati Das Ji offered himself as the first sacrifice and asked for his head to be turned towards his Guru as he prayed the Japji (universal song of God composed by Gur Nanak Dev ji, the founder of the Sikh faith).  A saw was placed on his had and he was cut form the head to the loins.
• Bhai Dyala Ji was trussed up into a ball and  boiled alive in a cauldron he recited the Japjiand turned to face his Guru through the ordeal.
• Bhai Sati Das Ji condemned the brutality and as a consequence was hacked to pieces limb by limb.

Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji 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. On his refusal, Guru Tegh Bahadur was beheaded in public at Chandni Chowk on 24 November 1675. 

In closing Mr Singh said;  

"Guru Ji is also known as 'Hind Di Chadar' (the shield of India), suggesting that to save Hinduism, Guru Ji gave his life."