Guru Tegh Bahadur martyrdom day commemorates the death anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur. He was the ninth guru of the Sikhs out of the ten gurus. He is remembered for his supreme sacrifice for the sake of religious freedom. This day is an important day in Sikh calendar and is commemorated by the Sikhs worldwide on November 24th every year.
Guru Tegh Bahadur History
Tegh Bahadur was born in Amritsar in 1621 to Guru Hargobind who was the sixth Guru and his wife Nanaki. Tegh Bahadur was married to Gujri and moved to Bakala along with his parents and wife. In Bakala he mediated for about 20 years. He became the successor to Guru Har Kishan who had indicated during his death that his successor would be found in Bakala. Taking advantage of this many people proclaimed themselves as the next Guru. But it was baba Makhan Shah Lubana a trader who found out the real Guru after he realised Guru Tegh Bahadur’s power. After being declared as the Guru he travelled to West Bengal and Assam and his son Gobind Rai was born in Patna who became the tenth guru.
Guru Tegh Bahadur Death
Aurangzeb the Mughal emperor was force fully imposing Islam on people. He executed people who refused to convert to Islam. In 1675 some Kashmiri Brahmins sought the guru’s help to free them the torture of Aurangzeb. The guru decided to fight for their rights. A word was put to Aurangzeb that if he could convert the Guru then he can convert others. Accordingly he was arrested, when he refused to convert after lavish incentives and ransom offers he was tortured in very ruthless and inhuman way for five continuous days. To terrorise the guru one of his devotees was burnt alive, other was sawn alive and the third was boiled in the cauldron. When all their attempts failed to make the guru abandon his faith he was beheaded in Chandni Chowk in broad daylight and thus the Guru attained martyrdom. Today Gurudwara Sis Ganj stands in the exact place where he was behead..
Guru Tegh Bahadur sacrificed his life for sake of freedom and humanity. He sacrificed his life for sake of people’s right to follow their respective religion freely. Because of his supreme moral dedication and sacrifice he is called hind –di-chadar which means shield of India.
Celebrations
On this day Sikhs arrange Prabhat Pheris or morning processions which is a part of Sikh religious festival. Guru Granth Sahib is read on this day along with sermons and lectures. People sing hymns are special kirtans are arranged in Gurudwaras on this day. People visit the gurudwaras on this day and pay homage to the Guru for his epitome sacrifice for the sake of religious freedom.