Guru Tegh Bahadur

2021-07-04T05:55:48Z

2405:204:1387:806D:7F1C:7B2A:65EB:5036: /* Guruship */

{{Short description|The ninth Sikh Guru}}
{{Tone|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox religious biography
| religion = [[Sikhism]]
| name = Guru Tegh Bahadur
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| image = Guru teg bahadur.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Portrait of Guru Teg Bahadur
| birth_name = (Baba) Tyag Mal
| birth_date = {{Birth-date|21 April 1621}}
| birth_place = [[Amritsar]], [[Punjab (region)|Punjab]], [[Mughal Empire]] (present-day [[India]])
| death_date = {{Death-date and age|24 November 1675| 1 May 1621}}
| death_place = [[Delhi]], [[Mughal Empire]] (present-day [[India]])
| death_cause = [[Decapitation |Execution by decapitation]]
| period = 1665–1675
| known_for = * Hymns to Guru Granth Sahib
* [[Martyrdom]] for protecting the religious freedom of Hindus of Kashmir under the reign of Mughal Emperor [[Aurangzeb]].<ref name="pslf" /><ref>Gill, Sarjit S., and Charanjit Kaur (2008), "Gurdwara and its politics: Current debate on Sikh identity in Malaysia", SARI: Journal Alam dan Tamadun Melayu, Vol. 26 (2008), pages 243-255, Quote: "Guru Tegh Bahadur died in order to protect the freedom of India from invading Mughals ."</ref><ref name=cs2013/><ref name=sg2007/>
* Founder of [[Anandpur Sahib]]
* Founder of [[Patiala]]
| spouse = [[Mata Gujri]]
| children = [[Guru Gobind Singh]]
| parents = [[Guru Hargobind]] and [[Mata Nanaki]]
| predecessor = [[Guru Har Krishan]]
| successor = [[Guru Gobind Singh]]
| image_upright =
| battles = [[Battle of Kartarpur]]
}}
{{Sikhism sidebar}}
[[File: Guru Teg bahadur ji.jpg|thumb|Interior view of [[Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib]]|456x456px]]

'''Guru Tegh Bahadur''' ([[Gurmukhi]]: ਗੁਰੂ ਤੇਗ ਬਹਾਦਰ, pronunciation: ({{IPA-pa|gʊɾuː t̯eːgᵊ bəɦaːd̯ʊɾᵊ|lang}}; 21 April 1621 – 24 November 1675)<ref>{{cite book|title=Textual Sources for the Study of Sikhism|year=1984|publisher=Manchester University Press|pages=31–33|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mj28AAAAIAAJ |author=W. H. McLeod|access-date=14 November 2013|isbn=9780719010637}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Ninth Master Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621 - 1675)|url=http://www.sikhs.org/guru9.htm|website=sikhs.org|access-date=23 November 2014}}</ref> was the ninth of ten [[Sikh gurus|Gurus]] who founded the [[Sikhism|Sikh religion]] and the leader of Sikhs from 1665 until his beheading in 1675. He was born in [[Amritsar]], Punjab, India in 1621 and was the youngest son of [[Guru Hargobind Sahib|Guru Hargobind]] Sahib, the sixth Sikh guru. Considered a principled and fearless warrior, he was a learned spiritual scholar and poet whose 115 hymns are included in ''[[Sri Guru Granth Sahib]],'' the main text of Sikhism.

Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed (by beheading) on the orders of [[Aurangzeb]], the sixth Mughal emperor, in Delhi, India.<ref name="cs2013" /><ref name="bbcgtb">{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/sikhism/people/teghbahadur.shtml|title=Religions - Sikhism: Guru Tegh Bahadur|publisher=[[BBC]]|access-date=20 October 2016}}</ref><ref name="fenech4">{{cite book|author1=Pashaura Singh|author2=Louis E. Fenech|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8I0NAwAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-969930-8|pages=236–238}};<br>{{cite journal | last=Fenech | first=Louis E. | title=Martyrdom and the Execution of Guru Arjan in Early Sikh Sources | journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society | publisher= American Oriental Society
| volume=121 | issue=1 | year=2001 |doi=10.2307/606726 | pages=20–31| jstor=606726 }};<br>{{cite journal | last=Fenech | first=Louis E. | title=Martyrdom and the Sikh Tradition | journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society | publisher=American Oriental Society | volume=117 | issue=4 | year=1997 | doi=10.2307/606445 | pages=623–642| jstor=606445 }};<br>{{cite journal | last=McLeod | first=Hew | title=Sikhs and Muslims in the Punjab | journal=South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies | publisher=Taylor & Francis | volume=22 | issue=sup001 | year=1999 | issn=0085-6401 | doi=10.1080/00856408708723379 | pages=155–165}}</ref> Sikh holy premises [[Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib]] and [[Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib]] in Delhi mark the places of execution and cremation of Guru Tegh Bahadur.<ref name="singharakab">{{cite book|author=H. S. Singha|title=The Encyclopedia of Sikhism (over 1000 Entries)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gqIbJz7vMn0C |year=2000|publisher=Hemkunt Press|isbn=978-81-7010-301-1|page=169}}</ref> His martyrdom is remembered as the '''''Shaheedi Divas of Guru Tegh Bahadur''''' every year on 24 November, according to the [[Nanakshahi calendar]] released by the [[Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee]] in 2003.<ref name="nesbitt122">{{cite book|author=Eleanor Nesbitt|title=Sikhism: a Very Short Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XebnCwAAQBAJ |year=2016|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-874557-0|pages=6, 122–123}}</ref>

==Biography==
Guru Tegh Bahadur was the youngest son of [[Guru Hargobind]], the sixth guru: Guru Hargobind had one daughter, Bibi Viro, and five sons: [[Baba Gurditta]], Suraj Mal, Ani Rai, Atal Rai, and Tyaga Mal. Tyaga Mal was born in [[Amritsar]] in the early hours of 1 April 1621. He came to be known by the name ''Tegh Bahadur'' (Mighty of the Sword), given to him by Guru Hargobind after he had shown his valor in a battle against the Mughals.<ref>{{cite book|author1=William Owen Cole|author2=Piara Singh Sambhi|title=The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zIC_MgJ5RMUC&pg=PA34|year=1995|publisher=Sussex Academic Press|isbn=978-1-898723-13-4|pages=34–35}}</ref>

Amritsar at that time was the center of the Sikh faith. As the seat of the [[Sikh Gurus]], and with its connection to Sikhs in far-flung areas of the country through the chains of ''Masands'' or missionaries, it had developed the characteristics of state capital.

Guru Tegh Bahadur was brought up in a Sikh culture and trained in [[archery]] and [[horsemanship]]. He was also taught the old classics such as the Vedas, the Upanishads, and the Puranas. He preferred prolonged spells of seclusion and contemplation. Tegh Bahadur was married on 3 February 1633 to Mata Gujri.<ref>{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Bonnie|title=The Oxford encyclopedia of women in world history, Volume 2|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford, New York|year=2008|isbn=978-0-19-514890-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordencycloped0000unse_k2h2/page/410 410]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordencycloped0000unse_k2h2/page/410}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=H.S. Singha|title=Sikh Studies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nRodBu9seiIC&pg=PA21|year=2005|publisher=Hemkunt Press|isbn=978-81-7010-245-8|pages=21–22}}</ref>

===Stay at Bakala ===
In the 1640s, nearing his death, Guru Hargobind and his wife Nanki moved to his ancestral village of [[Baba Bakala|Bakala]] in [[Amritsar district]], together with Tegh Bahadur and [[Mata Gujri]]. Bakala, as described in '''''Gurbilas Dasvin Patshahi''''', was then a prosperous town with many beautiful pools, wells, and ''baolis''. After Guru Hargobind death, Tegh Bahadur continued to live in Bakala with his wife and mother. <ref name=gandhi621>{{cite book|last=Gandhi|first=Surjit|title=History of Sikh gurus retold|publisher=Atlantic Publishers|year=2007|isbn=978-81-269-0858-5|pages=621–22}}</ref>

===Guruship===
In March 1664 [[Guru Har Krishan]] contracted smallpox. When asked by his followers who would lead them after him, he replied ''Baba Bakala'', meaning his successor was to be found in Bakala. Taking advantage of the ambiguity in the words of the dying Guru, many installed themselves in Bakala, claiming themselves as the new Guru. Sikhs were puzzled to see so many claimants.<ref name=mk1992/><ref name=hss2000/>

Sikh tradition has a myth concerning the manner in which Tegh Bahadur was selected as the ninth guru. A wealthy trader, [[Baba Makhan Shah Labana]], had once prayed for his life and had promised to gift 500 gold coins to the Sikh Guru if he survived.<ref name=mk1992/> He arrived in search of the ninth Guru. He went from one claimant to the next making his obeisance and offering two gold coins to each Guru, believing that the right guru would know that his silent promise was to gift 500 coins for his safety. Every "guru" he met accepted the 2 gold coins and bid him farewell.<ref name=mk1992/> Then he discovered that Teg Bahadur also lived at Bakala. Labana gifted Tegh Bahadur the usual offering of two gold coins. Tegh Bahadur gave him his blessings and remarked that his offering was considerably short of the promised five hundred. Makhan Shah Labana forthwith made good the difference and ran upstairs. He began shouting from the rooftop, '''"Guru ladho re, Guru ladho re"''' meaning "I have found the Guru, I have found the Guru".<ref name=mk1992>{{cite book|last=Kohli|first=Mohindar|title=Guru Tegh Bahadur: testimony of conscience|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|year=1992|isbn=978-81-7201-234-2|pages=13–15}}</ref>

In August 1664 a Sikh ''Sangat'' arrived in Bakala and anointed Tegh Bahadur as the ninth guru of Sikhs. The ''Sangat'' was led by Diwan Durga Mal, and a formal '''"Tikka ceremony"''' was performed by [[Baba Gurditta]], elder brother of Guru Teg Bahadur, conferring Guruship on Him.<ref name=hss2000>{{cite book|last=Singha|first=H.S.|title=The encyclopedia of Sikhism|publisher=Hemkunt Publishers|year=2000|isbn=978-81-7010-301-1|page=85}}</ref>

As had been the custom among Sikhs after the execution of [[Guru Arjan]] by Mughal Emperor Jahangir, Guru Tegh Bahadur was surrounded by armed bodyguards.<ref>{{cite book|author=H.R. Gupta|isbn=9788121502764|title=History of the Sikhs: The Sikh Gurus, 1469-1708|year=1994|volume=1|page=188}}</ref> He himself lived an austere life.<ref name=mk37>{{cite book|last=Kohli|first=Mohindar|title=Guru Tegh Bahadur : testimony of conscience|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|year=1992|isbn=978-81-7201-234-2|pages=37–41}}</ref>

==Works==
Guru Tegh Bahadur contributed many hymns to Granth Sahib including the ''Saloks'', or couplets near the end of the Guru Granth Sahib.<ref name=mk37/> Guru Tegh Bahadur toured various parts of the Mughal Empire and was asked by Gobind Sahali to construct several Sikh temples in Mahali. His works include 116 shabads, 15 ragas, and his bhagats are credited with 782 compositions that are part of ''bani'' in Sikhism.<ref>{{cite book|last=Singh|first=Prithi|title=The history of Sikh gurus|publisher=Lotus Press|year=2006|isbn=978-81-8382-075-2|page=170}}</ref>

His works are included in the ''[[Guru Granth Sahib]]'' (pages 219–1427).<ref name=mahalla>{{cite book|author=Tegh Bahadur (Translated by Gopal Singh)|title=Mahalla nawan: compositions of Guru Tegh Bahādur-the ninth guru (from Sri Guru Granth Sahib): Bāṇī Gurū Tega Bahādara|publisher=Allied Publishers|year=2005|isbn=978-81-7764-897-3|pages=xxviii–xxxiii, 15–27}}</ref> They cover a wide range of topics, such as the nature of God, human attachments, body, mind, sorrow, dignity, service, death, and deliverance. For example, in ''Sorath rag'', Guru Tegh Bahadur describes what an ideal human being is like,<ref name=mahalla/>

{{Quotation|<poem>
''jo nar dukh mein dukh nahin manney, sukh snehh ar phey nahi ja kai, kanchan maati manney''
''na nindya nehn usttat ja kai lobh moh abhimana''
''harakh sog tey rahey niaro nahen maan apmana, aasa mansa sagal tyagey''
''jagg tey rahey nirasa, kaam krodh jeh parsai nahin the ghatt brahma niwasa''

One who is not perturbed by misfortune, who is beyond comfort, attachment, and fear, who considers gold as dust. He neither speaks ill of others nor feels elated by praise and shuns greed, attachments, and arrogance. He is indifferent to ecstasy and tragedy, is not affected by honors or humiliations. He renounces expectations, greed. He is neither attached to the worldliness nor lets senses and anger affect him. In such a person resides [[Brahman|God]].</poem>|Guru Tegh Bahadur|Sorath 633 (Translated by Gopal Singh)|<ref name=mahalla/>}}

==Journeys==
Guru Tegh Bahadur traveled extensively in different parts of the country, including [[Dhaka]] and [[Assam]], to preach the teachings of Nanak, the first Sikh guru. The places he visited and stayed in became sites of Sikh temples.<ref>{{cite book|last=Singha|first=H.S.|title=The encyclopedia of Sikhism|publisher=Hemkunt Publishers|year=2000|isbn=978-81-7010-301-1|pages=139–40}}</ref>

During his travels, Guru Tegh Bahadur spread the Sikh ideas and message, as well as started community water wells and langars (community kitchen charity for the poor).<ref name=ps189>{{cite book|last=Singh|first=Prithi|title=The history of Sikh gurus|publisher=Lotus Press|year=2006|isbn=978-81-8382-075-2|pages=187–89}}</ref><ref name=rp88>{{cite book|last=Pruthi|first=Raj|title=Sikhism and Indian civilization|year=2004|isbn=978-81-7141-879-4|page=88}}</ref>

The Guru made three successive visits to [[Kiratpur Sahib|Kiratpur]]. On 21 August 1664, Guru went there to console with Bibi Roop upon the death of her father, [[Guru Har Rai]], the seventh Sikh guru, and of his brother, Guru Har Krishan. {{citation needed|date=May 2015}} The second visit was on 15 October 1664, at the death on 29 September 1664, of Bassi, the mother of Guru Har Rai. A third visit concluded a fairly extensive journey through the northwest Indian subcontinent. His son [[Guru Gobind Singh]], who would be the tenth Sikh guru, was born in [[Patna]], while he was away in [[Dhubri]], Assam in 1666, where stands the [[Gurdwara Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib]]. He there helped end the war between Raja Ram Singh of Bengal and Raja Chakardwaj of Ahom state (later Assam).<ref name=ps189/><ref>{{cite book|last=Kohli|first=Mohindar|title=Guru Tegh Bahadur: testimony of conscience|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|year=1992|isbn=978-81-7201-234-2|pages=25–27}}</ref> He visited the towns of Mathura, Agra, Allahabad and Varanasi.<ref name=nsxviii>{{cite book|author=Gobind Singh (Translated by Navtej Sarna)|title=Zafarnama|publisher=Penguin Books|year=2011|isbn=978-0-670-08556-9|pages=xviii–xix}}</ref>

After his visit to Assam, Bengal and Bihar, the Guru visited Rani Champa of [[Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh|Bilaspur]] who offered to give the Guru a piece of land in her state. The Guru bought the site for 500 [[rupees]]. There, Guru Tegh Bahadur founded the city of [[Anandpur Sahib]] in the foothills of Himalayas.<ref name=bbcgtb/><ref>{{cite book|last=Singha|first=H.S.|title=The encyclopedia of Sikhism|publisher=Hemkunt Publishers|year=2000|isbn=978-81-7010-301-1|page=21}}</ref> In 1672, Tegh Bahadur traveled through Kashmir and the North-West Frontier, to meet the masses, as the persecution of [[Kafir|non-Muslim]]s reached new heights.<ref>{{cite book|last=Singh|first=Prithi|title=The history of Sikh gurus|publisher=Lotus Press|year=2006|isbn=978-81-8382-075-2|pages=121–24}}</ref>

==Execution by Aurangzeb==
[[File:Interior-view-Gurudwara-Sis-Ganj-Sahib.jpg|thumb|Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib in Delhi. The long window under the marble platform is the location where Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed.|300x300px]]
In 1675 Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed in [[Delhi]] on 11 November under the orders of the Mughal Emperor [[Aurangzeb]].<ref name=cs2013/><ref name=pslf/> and his body was burnt. The Sikhs managed to get the body before it was fully burnt to perform final rites. According to J.S. Grewal, a scholar of Sikh history, Guru Tegh Bahadur decided to confront the religious persecution of [[Kashmiri Hindus]] by the Mughal officials.<ref name="Grewal1998p71"/><ref name="SinghFenech2014p236"/> He did so after appointing his son as the successor-Guru, leaving his base of Makhowal and entering Ropar where he was promptly arrested.<ref name="Grewal1998p71"/> According to Purnima Dhavan – a scholar of South Asian history and Mughal Empire, the Mughal administration kept a close watch on his activities.<ref>{{cite book|author=Purnima Dhavan|title=When Sparrows Became Hawks: The Making of the Sikh Warrior Tradition, 1699-1799|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q0ZpAgAAQBAJ |year=2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-987717-1|pages=33, 36–37}}</ref> Guru Tegh Bahadur was kept in jail for four months in Sirhind, then transferred to Delhi in November 1675.<ref name="Grewal1998p71"/> There he was asked to perform a miracle to prove his nearness to his God. The Guru stated his belief that "occult powers were not a proof of one's nearness to God”.<ref name="Grewal1998p71"/> After his refusal to perform a miracle, he was asked to convert to Islam, which he refused to do. Three of his colleagues, who had been arrested with him, were then put to death in front of him.<ref name="Grewal1998p71"/> He continued his refusal to convert to Islam. Thereafter, states Grewal, he was publicly beheaded in Chandni Chowk, a market square close to the Red Fort.<ref name="Grewal1998p71">{{cite book|author=J. S. Grewal|title=The Sikhs of the Punjab|url=https://archive.org/details/sikhsofpunjab0000grew|url-access=registration|year=1998|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-63764-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/sikhsofpunjab0000grew/page/71 71]–73}}</ref><ref name="SinghFenech2014p236">{{cite book|author1=Pashaura Singh|editor=Louis E. Fenech|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7YwNAwAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-100411-7|pages=236–238}}</ref>

According to the official account of the Mughal Empire, written 107 years later by Ghulam Husain of Lucknow in 1782,<ref name=sc2001/><ref>{{cite book|author=H.R. Gupta|isbn=9788121502764|title=History of the Sikhs: The Sikh Gurus, 1469-1708|year=1994|volume=1}}</ref>
{{Quotation|Tegh Bahadur, the Ninth successor of (Guru) Nanak became a man of authority with a large number of followers. (In fact) Several thousand persons used to accompany him as he moved from place to place. His contemporary Hafiz Adam, a faqir belonging to the group of Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi's followers, had also come to have a large number of murids and followers. Both these men (Guru Tegh Bahadur and Hafiz Adam) used to move about in Punjab, adopting a habit of coercion and extortion. Tegh Bahadur used to collect money from Hindus and Hafiz Adam from Muslims. The royal ''waqia navis'' (news reporter and intelligence agent) wrote to the Emperor Alamgir [Aurangzeb] of their manner of activity, added that if their authority increased they could become even refractory.|Ghulam Husain|Mughal Empire records|<ref name=sc2001/>}}

Satish Chandra cautions that this was the "official justification", which historically can be expected to be full of evasion and distortion to justify official action.Satish Chandra also says that "It mentions Hafiz Adam as an associate of the guru, but Hafiz Adam had died much earlier".<ref name=sc2001>{{cite web|last1=Chandra|first1=Satish|title=Guru Tegh Bahadur's martyrdom|url=http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/2001/10/16/stories/05162524.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020228135707/http://thehindu.com/thehindu/2001/10/16/stories/05162524.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 February 2002|work=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=20 October 2016}}</ref> According to Surjit Gandhi, the account by Ghulam Husain suffers from serious inaccuracies and is historically wrong, as Hafiz Adam had left India and died at Medina in 1643.<ref>{{cite book | last=Gandhi | first=Surjit Singh | title=History of Sikh Gurus Retold: 1606-1708 C.E, Volume 2 | publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Dist| year=2007 | isbn=9788126908585 | pages=658, 682}}</ref>

Another Muslim scholar, Ghulam Muhiuddin Bute Shah, wrote his ''Tarikh-i-Punjab'' in 1842,<ref>{{cite book|last=Mir|first=Farina|title=The social space of language vernacular culture in British colonial Punjab|url=https://archive.org/details/socialspacelangu00mirf|url-access=limited|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley|year=2010|isbn=978-0-520-26269-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/socialspacelangu00mirf/page/n50 36]}}</ref> over a century and a half after the death of Guru Tegh Bahadur, saying that there was ongoing hostility from Ram Rai, the elder brother of Guru Har Kishan, against Tegh Bahadur. Ghulam Muhiuddin Bute Shah said that "Ram Rai represented to the Emperor that Guru Tegh Bahadur was very proud of his spiritual greatness and that he would not realize his fault unless he was punished. Ram Rai also suggested that Guru Tegh Bahadur is asked to appear before the Emperor to work a miracle; if he failed, he could be put to death." Satish Chandra and others say that this account is also doubtful as to the circumstances or cause of Guru Tegh Bahadur's execution.<ref name=sc2001/><ref>{{cite book|last=Mir|first=Farina|title=The social space of language vernacular culture in British colonial Punjab|url=https://archive.org/details/socialspacelangu00mirf|url-access=limited|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley|year=2010|isbn=978-0-520-26269-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/socialspacelangu00mirf/page/n221 207]–37}}</ref>

Sikh historians record that Guru Tegh Bahadur had become a socio-political challenge to the Muslim rule and Aurangzeb.<ref name=cs2013>{{cite book|last=Seiple|first=Chris|title=The Routledge handbook of religion and security|publisher=Routledge|location=New York|year=2013|isbn=978-0-415-66744-9|page=96}}</ref> The Sikh movement was rapidly growing in the rural Malwa region of Punjab, and the Guru was openly encouraging Sikhs to, "be fearless in their pursuit of a just society: he who holds none in fear, nor is afraid of anyone, is acknowledged as a man of true wisdom", a statement recorded in the [[Guru Granth Sahib]] p. 1427.<ref name=cs2013/> While Guru Tegh Bahadur influence was rising, Aurangzeb had imposed Islamic laws, demolished Hindu schools and temples, and enforced new taxes on [[Kafir|non-Muslim]]s.<ref name=bbcgtb/><ref name=pslf/><ref name=nsxviii/>

The main substantive record, however, comes from Guru Tegh Bahadur's son, Guru Gobind Singh, in his composition ''Bachittar Natak''. This composition is recited in every Sikh place of worship on the occasion of the Guru's martyrdom. According to records written by his son Guru Gobind Singh, the Guru had resisted persecution and had adopted and promised to protect Kashmiri Hindus.<ref name=cs2013/><ref name=sg2007>{{cite book|last=Gandhi|first=Surjit|title=History of Sikh gurus retold|publisher=Atlantic Publishers|year=2007|isbn=978-81-269-0858-5|pages=653–91}}</ref> The Guru was summoned to Delhi by Aurangzeb on a pretext, but when he arrived, he was asked "to abandon his faith and convert to Islam".<ref name=cs2013/><ref name=sg2007/> Guru Tegh Bahadur refused, and he and his associates were arrested. He was executed on 24 November 1675 in public in Chandni Chowk, Delhi.<ref name=pslf>{{cite book|author=Pashaura Singh and Louis Fenech|title=The Oxford handbook of Sikh studies|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford, UK|year=2014|isbn=978-0-19-969930-8|pages=236–245, 444-446, Quote: "this second martyrdom helped to make 'human rights and freedom of conscience' central to its identity." Quote: "This is the reputed place where several Kashmiri Pandits came seeking protection from Aurangzeb's army."}}</ref><ref name=sg2007/>

William Irvine states that Guru Tegh Bahadur was tortured for many weeks while being asked to abandon his faith and convert to Islam; he stood by his convictions and refused; he was then executed.<ref>{{cite book|title=Later Mughals|author=William Irvine|publisher=Harvard Press|isbn= 9781290917766|year=2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Siṅgha|first=Kirapāla|title=Select documents on Partition of Punjab-1947|publisher=National Book|year=2006|isbn=978-81-7116-445-5|page=234}}</ref>

The associates of the Guru were also tortured for refusing to convert: [[Bhai Mati Das]] was sawn into pieces and [[Bhai Dayala|Bhai Dayal Das]] was thrown into a cauldron of boiling water, and [[Bhai Sati Das]] was burned alive, while Guru Tegh Bahadur was held inside a cage to watch his colleagues suffer.<ref>{{cite book|last=Singh|first=Prithi|title=The history of Sikh gurus|publisher=Lotus Press|year=2006|isbn=978-81-8382-075-2|page=124}}</ref> The Guru himself was beheaded in public.<ref>{{cite book|author=SS Kapoor|title=The Sloaks of Guru Tegh Bahadur & The Facts About the Text of Ragamala |isbn=978-81-7010-371-4|pages=18–19}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Gandhi|first=Surjit|title=History of Sikh gurus retold|publisher=Atlantic Publishers|year=2007|isbn=978-81-269-0858-5|page=690}}</ref>

==Legacy and memorials==
[[File:Gurdwara Rakabganj Sahib, Delhi.jpg|thumb|[[Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib]], Delhi|300x300px]]
[[Guru Har Gobind]] was Guru Tegh Bahadur's father. He was originally named ''Tyag Mal'' ({{lang-pa|ਤਿਆਗ ਮਲ}}) but was later renamed ''Tegh Bahadur'' after his gallantry and bravery in the wars against the Mughal forces. He built the city of Anandpur Sahib and was responsible for saving a faction of [[Kashmiri Pandits]], who were being persecuted by the Mughals.<ref name=pslf/>

After the execution of Tegh Bahadar by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, a number of Sikh temples were built in his and his associates' memory. The [[Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib]] in [[Chandni Chowk]], Delhi, was built over where he was beheaded.<ref name=skc>SK Chatterji (1975), Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur and the Sis Ganj Gurdwara, Sikh Review, 23(264): 100-09</ref> [[Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib]], also in Delhi, is built on the site of the residence of a disciple of Teg Bahadur, who burned his house to cremate his master's body.<ref name=singharakab/>

Gurdwara Sisganj Sahib in Punjab marks the site where in November 1675, the head of the martyred Guru Teg Bahadar which was brought by Bhai Jaita (renamed [[Bhai Jiwan Singh]] according to [[Sikh rites]]) in defiance of the Mughal authority of Aurangzeb was cremated here.<ref>Harbans Singh (1992), "History of Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib", in ''Encyclopedia of Sikhism, Volume 1'', pg. 547</ref> During his journey to Anandpur Sahib Bhai Jaita Singh reach a village near Delhi in [[Sonipat]] and the Mughal army also reach that village.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://dibhu.com/index.php/2019/05/06/baba-kushal-singh-ji-dahiya/|website=dibhu.com|access-date=2020-01-05}}</ref> Bhai Jaita demand for help to villagers so the villagers hideout Bhai Jaita with Guru' head.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hindi.pratilipi.com/read/%E0%A4%B5%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%B0-%E0%A4%AC%E0%A4%B2%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%A6%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%80-%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%B6%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B2-%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%B9-%E0%A4%A6%E0%A4%B9%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%BE-ttraa5um49oe-4v256n71255eh9d|title=Pratilipi {{!}} Read Stories, Poems and Books|website=hindi.pratilipi.com|language=hi|access-date=2020-01-05}}</ref> A villager named [[Kushal Singh Dahiya]] came ahead and offers his own head in the place of Guru's head to Mughal army.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://m.khaskhabar.com/news/news-cm-manohar-lal-unveils-statue-of-kushal-singh-dahiya-at-rai-in-sonipat-news-hindi-1-270473-KKN.html|title=कुशाल सिंह दहिया की प्रतिमा का सीएम ने किया अनावरण|date=2017-11-09|website=khas khabar|language=hi|access-date=2020-01-05}}</ref> After beheading [[Kushal Singh Dahiya]] the villagers shuffle the heads and give the head of [[Kushal Singh Dahiya]] to Mughal army.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailypioneer.com/2017/state-editions/cm-unveils-statue-of-kushal-singh-dahiya.html|title=CM unveils statue of Kushal Singh Dahiya|last=Pioneer|first=The|website=The Pioneer|language=en|access-date=2020-01-05}}</ref>

Tegh Bahadur has been remembered for giving up his life for freedom of religion, reminding Sikhs and non-Muslims in India to follow and practice their beliefs without fear of persecution and forced conversions by Muslims.<ref name=cs2013/><ref name=pslf/> Guru Tegh Bahadur was martyred, along with fellow devotees [[Bhai Mati Dass]], [[Bhai Sati Das]] and [[Bhai Dayala]].<ref name=bbcgtb/> 24 November, the date of his martyrdom, is observed in certain parts of India as a public holiday.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dnh.nic.in/Docs/14Dec2015/HolidayNotification2016.pdf|title=Letter from Administration of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, U.T.|website=Dnh.nic.in|access-date=20 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160806124235/http://www.dnh.nic.in/Docs/14Dec2015/HolidayNotification2016.pdf|archive-date=6 August 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://arunachalipr.gov.in/GH_Restricted.htm|title=LIST OF RESTRICTED HOLIDAYS 2016|website=Arunachalipr.gov.in|access-date=20 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161108090922/http://arunachalipr.gov.in/GH_Restricted.htm|archive-date=8 November 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://himachal.nic.in/en-IN/holidays-2016.html|title=HP Government - Holidays - Government of Himachal Pradesh, India|website=Himachal.nic.in|date=13 June 2016|access-date=20 October 2016}}</ref>

==Effect on Sikhs==
The execution hardened the resolve of Sikhs against Muslim rule and the persecution. Pashaura Singh states that, "if the martyrdom of [[Guru Arjan]] had helped bring the Sikh Panth together, Guru Tegh Bahadur's martyrdom helped to make the protection of human rights central to its [[Sikh]] identity".<ref name="cs2013" /> Wilfred Smith<ref name="ws1981" /> stated "the attempt to forcibly convert the ninth Guru to an externalized, impersonal Islam clearly made an indelible impression on the martyr's nine-year-old son, Gobind, who reacted slowly but deliberately by eventually organizing the Sikh group into a distinct, formal, symbol-patterned community". It inaugurated the Khalsa identity.<ref name="ws1981">{{cite book|author=Wilfred Smith|year=1981|page=[https://archive.org/details/onunderstandingi0000smit/page/191 191]|title=On Understanding Islam: Selected Studies|publisher=Walter De Gruyter|isbn=978-9027934482|url=https://archive.org/details/onunderstandingi0000smit/page/191}}</ref>

==Places named after Guru Teg Bahadur==
{{unreferenced section|date=November 2018}}
'''A number of places are named after the ninth guru of the Sikhs, Guru Teg Bahadur.'''

# [[Guru Teg Bahadur Khalsa Institute of Engineering & Technology, Chhapianwali, Malout]], [[Punjab, India|Punjab]]
# Shri Guru Teg Bahadur Senior Secondary School, Patli Dabar, Sirsa (Haryana)
# Badh Khalsa Memorial, [[Rai, Sonipat]]
# [[Gurdwara Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib]], [[Assam]].
# Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, [[Delhi]]
# Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Institute of Technology
# Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Integration Chair, [[Punjabi University]], [[Patiala]]
# [[Guru Tegh Bahadur Nagar railway station]], [[Mumbai]] (G.T.B. Nagar)
# Guru Teg Bahadur Public School, [[Durgapur]]
# [[Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa Senior Secondary School, Malout]]
# Gurudwara Sri Guru Tegh Bahadar Langar Saheb, [[Aurangabad, Maharashtra]]
# Sri Guru Tegh Bahadar English High School, Aurangabad, Maharashtra
# Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Khalsa College (SGTB Khalsa College), University of Delhi
# Guru Tegh Bahadur 3rd centenary public school, New Delhi
# Guru Teg Bahadur Charitable Hospital, Ludhiana
# Guru Teg Bahadur Public School, Patran (District Patiala)
# Guru Teg Bahadur Public School, Saharanpur(Uttar Pradesh)
#Guru Tegh Bahadur Public School, Meerut (Uttar Pradesh)
# Gurudwara Sahib, Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar, Jalandhar (Punjab)
# Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Gurudwara, [[Sonipat]]
#[[Guru Tegh Bahadur Institute of Technology]], [[Delhi]]
# Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Public Higher Secondary School, Ratlam (MP)
# Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Education Centre Secondary School and Gurdwara, Rawatbhata (NPCIL RR Site) (Rajasthan)
# Guru tegh bahadur road, Dehradun (Uttarakhand)

==Notes==
{{Div col}}

*''Shri Guru Teg Bahadur Education Society Patli Dabar, Sirsa'' (Haryana)
*Gokalchand Narang; ''Transformation of Sikhism''
*Puran Singh; ''The book of Ten Masters''
*N.K Sinha; ''Rise of Sikh Panth''
*Teja Singh Ganda Singh; ''A Short History of the Sikhs''.
*''Guru Tegh Bahadur; Commemorative Volume''. Editor: Satbir Singh. Publisher: Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Tercentenary Martyrdom Gurpurab Committee. Government of India (1975)
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Portal|India|Biography|Punjab}}
;Peer reviewed publications on Guru Tegh Bahadur
*[https://www.jstor.org/stable/606445 Martyrdom and the Sikh Tradition], Louis E. Fenech, Journal of the American Oriental Society, 117(4): 623–42, (Oct-Dec, 1997)
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20151117023122/http://books.sikhbookclub.com/2013/pdfbook/Guru_Tegh_Bahadur_Divine_Poet_Saviour_And_Martyr_By_Ranbir_Singh.pdf Guru Tegh Bahadur] Ranbir Singh (1975)
*[https://www.jstor.org/stable/606560 Non-Canonical Compositions Attributed to the Seventh and Ninth Sikh Gurus], Jeevan Singh Deol, Journal of the American Oriental Society, 121(2): 193–203, (Apr. - Jun., 2001)

{{s-start}}
{{succession box
| before = [[Guru Har Krishan]]
| title = [[Sikh gurus|Sikh Guru]]|years=20 March 1665 – 24 November 1675
| after = [[Guru Gobind Singh]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Writers of Guru Granth Sahib}}
{{Sikhism}}
{{Guru Gobind Singh}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bahadur, Guru Tegh}}
[[Category:1621 births]]
[[Category:1675 deaths]]
[[Category:Sikh gurus|Tegh]]
[[Category: People executed for refusing to convert to Islam]]
[[Category: Executed Indian people]]
[[Category: People executed by the Mughal Empire]]
[[Category:17th-century executions in India]]
[[Category: Punjabi people]]
[[Category: People executed by India by decapitation]]
[[Category: Indian city founders]]
[[Category: Sikh martyrs]]

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Guru Tegh Bahadur