Guru Tegh Bahadur was the ninth Guru who founded the Sikh religion. He led the Sikh community from 1665 until his execution in 1675. He was the youngest son of Guru Hargobind, the sixth Sikh guru, and was born in 1621 in Amritsar, Punjab, India. He was a well-known spiritual scholar and poet, and his 115 poems are included in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Sikhism's central text. He was regarded as a brave and principal warrior.
Guru Tegh Bahadur undertook the supreme sacrifice to safeguard the most fundamental human right, the freedom to practise one's religion without interference or hindrance. He is remembered as the man who championed religious freedom and devoted his life to it.
Here are five facts about Guru Tegh Bahadur
1) Guru Tegh Bahadur was born in Amritsar, Punjab, India in 1621. He was trained by Bhai Buddha, who taught him archery and horsemanship. And Bhai Gurdas taught him old classics. He conveyed the message and light of the sanctity of Guru Nanak and other Sikh Gurus.
2) Guru Tegh Bahadur was a thinker, poet and warrior. He was a skilled spiritual scholar whose 115 songs are included in the holy book of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the fundamental text of Sikhism. He was considered an honest and fierce warrior.
3) In 1672, Tegh Bahadur travelled through Kashmir and the North-West Frontier to interact with the masses as non-Muslim persecution reached unprecedented heights. He also widely travelled India, including Dhaka, to preach Guru Nanak's teaching, the first Sikh guru.
4) On November 24, 1675, Guru Tegh Bahadur was publicly executed in Delhi on the orders of the then Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb, for opposing the policy of religious persecution being imposed on Hindus at that time.
5) During his lifetime, he married Bibi Gujjari and had a son, Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru of Sikhism. He founded the city of Anandpur, which eventually became a Sikhism centre. In Delhi, Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib and Gurudwara Rakab Ganj Sahib are the locations of his execution and cremation.
