Saturday ( May 1) marks the 400th Prakash Purab (birth anniversary) of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru of Sikhism. He is known for his supreme sacrifice and refusal to bow to tyranny and injustice.
Who was Guru Tegh Bahadur?
Guru Tegh Bahadur sacrificed his life for the sake of people who did not even belong to his community. Every year on November 24, Sikhs celebrate Shaheedi Divas to remember Guru Tegh Bahadur and the day is observed as his Martyrdom Day.
The youngest son of Guru Hargobind, he was publicly killed in 1675 on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Delhi for refusing to convert to Islam.
In Sikhism, his sacrifice is remembered with great reverence. In the words of Noel King of the University of California, “Guru Teg Bahadur’s martyrdom was the first-ever martyrdom for human rights in the world.”
Aurangzeb wanted to convert India into an Islamic nation, hence forcing the Hindus to convert to Islam else be ready to be executed. A…