Shaheedi Divas

• 25 Nov 2022

Why in News?

Every Year, 24^th November, is commemorated as the Shaheedi Divas of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth guru of the Sikhs, who stood up against forcible conversions by the Mughals.

Who was Guru Teg Bahadur?

• Guru Tegh Bahadur was born in Amritsar on 21^st April 1621 to Mata Nanki and Guru Hargobind, the sixth Sikh guru, who raised an army against the Mughals and introduced the concept of warrior saints.
• As a boy, Tegh Bahadur was called Tyag Mal because of his ascetic nature.
• Guru Tegh Bahadur was the 9^th Sikh Guru, often venerated as the ‘Protector of Humanity’ (Srisht-di-Chadar) by the Sikhs.
• He is known as a great teacher, Guru Tegh Bahadur was also an excellent warrior, thinker, and poet, who wrote detailed descriptions of the nature of God, mind, body, and physical attachments among other things spiritual.
• He was only 13 when he distinguished himself in a battle against a Mughal chieftain.
• His writings are housed in the sacred text, ‘Guru Granth Sahib,’ in the form of 116 poetic hymns.
• He was also an avid traveler and played a key role in setting up preaching centers throughout the Indian subcontinent.
• During one such mission, he founded the town of Chak-Nanki in Punjab, which later became a part of Punjab’s Anandpur Sahib.
• In the year 1675, Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed in Delhi under the orders of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.

Who were the Ten Gurus of Sikh Religion?

Guru Nanak Dev (1469-1539)	He was the first guru of Sikh and the founder of Sikh religion. He started the GURU KA LANGAR. He was the contemporary of Babur. Kartarpur corridor was commemorated on the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.
Guru Angad (1504-1552)	He invented the new script called Guru-Mukhi and popularized and expanded the system of Guru ka Langar.
Guru Amar Das (1479-1574)	He introduced the ceremony of the Anand Karaj Marriage. He abolished the custom of Sati and Purdah system among the Sikhs. He was a contemporary of Akbar.
Guru Ram Das (1534-1581)	He founded Amritsar in 1577 on the land granted by Akbar. He started the construction of Golden Temple/Swarna mandir at Amritsar.
Guru Arjun Dev (1563-1606)	He composed the Adi Granth in 1604. He led to the completion of construction of Golden temple. He was acclaimed as Shaheeden-de-Sartaj. He was executed by Jahangir on charges of helping prince Khusrau.
Guru Hargobind (1594-1644)	He led to the transformation of the Sikh Community into a Military community. He is known as “Soldier Saint”. He led to the establishment of Akal Takht and fortified the Amritsar City. He waged wars against Jahangir and Shah Jahan.
Guru HarRai (1630-1661)	He was a man of peace thus devoted most of his life in maintaining peace with Aurangzeb and doing missionary work.
Guru Har Krishan (1656-1664)	He was the youngest guru of all and was given the title of Guru at a very early age of 5. He was summoned by Aurangzeb against anti-islamic blasphemy.
Guru Teg Bahadur (1621-1675)	He founded Anandpur Sahib.
Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708)	He founded a warrior community known as Khalsa in 1699. He introduced a new rite ”Pahul”. He joined Bahadur Shah’s as a noble. He was the last Sikh Guru in human form and he passed the Guruship of Sikhs to the Guru Granth Sahib.

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Question (PYQ)

Q. Consider the following Bhakti Saints: (2013)

1. Dadu Dayal
2. Guru Nanak
3. Tyagaraja

Who among the above was/were preaching when the Lodi dynasty fell and Babur took over?

(a) 1 and 3
(b) 2 only
(c) 2 and 3
(d) 1 and 2

Ans: (b)

Exp:

• Lodi dynasty was the last ruling family of the Delhi Sultanate. The last ruler of this dynasty was Ibrahim Lodi, who was defeated by Babur in 1526 at the Battle of Panipat. It marked the end of the Lodi dynasty and the rise of the Mughal Empire in India led by Babur.
• Guru Nanak (1469-1539): Guru Nanak was the founder of Sikhism and the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. Hence, 2 is correct.
• Dadu Dayal (1544-1603): Dadu Dayal was a poetsaint from Gujarat, India. He was a religious reformer who preached against formalism and priestcraft. “Dadu” means brother, and “Dayal” means “the compassionate one”. Hence, 1 is not correct.
• Tyagaraja (1767-1847): Tyagaraja was a renowned composer of Carnatic music. He was a prolific musician and highly influential in the development of the classical music tradition. Hence, 3 is not correct.
• Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

Source: HT