The Guru Period

Punjab History

The Guru Period

During the Sultanate period and Mughal rule, Punjab was engaged in intermittent warfare. It was an age of chaos. Saints have a way of arriving when times are bad and sure enough, this was the time when a remarkable man was born – a man who would transform the Punjabi consciousness permanently. This was Guru Nanak Dev.
Guru Nanak Dev (A.D. 1469-1539) founded it as a religious order. He was followed by nine others Gurus. Succession to the Guru’s gaddi was not governed by any law of inheritance, but was determined by the sole consideration of finding a teacher best fitted to safeguard and develop the spiritual legacy left by the founder. “For two centuries a remarkable continuity was maintained in the high standard leadership, and one Guru succeeded the other `as one lamp lights another’.
These 200 years witnessed the growth of Sikhism and its transformation from a religious sect into a military cult. Of the 10 Gurus the 2^nd, the 4^th, the 5^th, the 6^th and the 10^th were mainly responsible for the transformation that took place.
Guru Angad developed the Gurumukhi script by combining the scripts current in Northern India. Guru Ram Dass laid the foundation of the Golden Temple at Amritsar.
The town of Amritsar was initially named as `Ramdaspur’ after the name of Guru Ramdass. The city of Ramdaspur derived its new name of `Amritsar’ from that `tank of nectar’ i.e. Amritsar.
First four Gurus succeeded each after but one of them had blood relation in the worldly sense.
The fifth Guru, Guru Arjun Dev was the youngest of the three sons of Guru Ram Dass. Henceforth, Guruship became inherited but the principle of choosing the fittest and ablest son was never overlooked.
A great organizer, a poet, a seer, a builder and a preacher, Guru Arjan Dev (1581-1606) was the first martyr Guru. He took the first major step to organize the Sikh community. He gave Sikhism its scriptures and compiled the sacred book of the Adi Granth – the Guru Granth Sahib.
Jehangir, grown suspicious of the spreading influence of Sikhism and harbouring Khusro, the rebel, put Guru Arjan Dev to death at Lahore.
Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev sowed the seeds of militarization of Sikh community. His successor and son Guru Har Gobind (1606-1645) ordered Sikhs to take to arms and defend themselves. To render practical shape to his lofty ideals he himself started wearing two swords on his person to emblem – spiritual (piri) and temporal (miri) authority.
His military designs and victories (he successfully fought three battles against Mughal forces) invited Jehangir’s wrath towards him. Jehangir got the Guru imprisoned for 12 years in the Gwalior Fort.
Guru Har Gobind also got the Akal Takhat completed near the Golden Temple at Amritsar. He appointed his grandson Har Rai as his successor. Their great soul passed away in peace at Kartarpur in 1645. Though Guru Har Rai (1645-1661) never meddled in politics or warfare yet he never discouraged the military spirit of the Sikhs. He passed away in 1661 at Kartarpur but before his death he appointed his younger son har Kishan aged five as his successor.
Guru Harkishan (1661-64) got an attack of small pox which proved fatal. While on death bed Guru Har Kishan sent the insignia of Guru-Gaddi to Teg Bahadur the youngest brother of Guru Har Rai.
The youngest son of the first warrior-Guru, Guru Har Gobind and grandson of first martyr Guru, Guru Arjan Dev, Guru Tegh Bahadur (1664-75) yet proved to be another martyr by laying down his life against the bigotry and the tyranny of Aurangzeb against the Hindus.
The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb ordered the Guru to choose between the conversion to Islam or execution. Guru gladly accepted the later and on 11 November, 1675 the Guru was executed at a place in Chandni Chowk Delhi where Sis Ganj Gurudwara stands today. His martyrdom inflamed the Sikhs and they organized themselves into a full fledged military force under the leadership of Guru Gobind Singh (1675-1708).
His entire life is a record of heroism and self sacrifice. It was Guru Gobind Singh who created Khalsa and raised the Sikhs to the status of a mighty factor in Indian politics. He made the first attempt to overthrow the Mughal Empire in the North.
Besides being a warrior, he was a great patron of art and learning. Himself an excellent poet he also promoted the construction of forts. His four sons were sacrificed in battles against tyranny and bigotry but he never got perturbed. His last days were spent in the Deccan and he died at the hands of an Afghan fanatic in 1708 at Nand Pur on the banks of Godawari. He left behind a trusted lieutenant Lachman Das, who was renamed Banda Singh Bahadur.

Information about the Sikh Gurus

	Birth-Guruship-Death (A.D.)	Father/ Mother	Wife	Contemporary ruler	Important events
Guru Nanak	1469-1507-1539	Mehta Kalyan Das/Tripta	Sulakhni	Lodhis, Babar, Humayun	Four udasis (Journeys) Started institution of Langar and Guruship
Guru Angad	1504-1539-1552	Pheru Mal/ Ramo	Khivi	Sher Shah Suri	Introduced Gurmukhi Script Strengthened institution of Langar Humayun sought blessings to regain the throne of Delhi
Guru Amardas	1479-1552-1574	Tej Bhan/ Sulakhani	Mansa Devi	Sher Shah Suri, Humayun, Akbar	Established his headquarters at newly built town Goindwal Sent Bhai Gurdas to Agra Visit by Akbar Composed Anand sahib
Guru Ramdas	1534-1574-1581	Hari Das/ Daya Kaur	Bhani	Akbar	Founded the city of Amritsar Introduced the Masand system Composed “Lavan” the poetry for Anand Karaj
Guru Arjan Dev	1563-1581-1606	Guru Ramdas/ Bhani	Ganga	Akbar, Jahangir	Started the constructiuon of Harimandir and foundation was laid by Sufi saint Hazrat Mian Mir Founded the city of Taran Taran and dug a tank known to cure leprosy Composed Sukhmani Compiled the Adi Granth with Bhai Gurdas as scribe Introduced the institution of Dasvand and strengthened the Masand system Executed at Lahore on orders of Jahangir for sheltering the rebellious Prince Khusro
Guru Hargobind	1595-1606-1644	Guru Arjan Dev/Ganga	Nanaki	Jahangir, Shah Jahan	"Miri" and "Piri", "Temporal Power" and "Spiritual Power". First to maintain an army and fight wars Constructed Akal Takht and Lohgarh Fort at Amritsar Constructed the city of Kiratpur
Guru Har Rai	1630-1644-1661	Gurditta/Nihal Kaur	Krishan Kaur	Shah Jahan, Aurangzeb	Helped Shah Jahan in curing Dara Shikoh by providing rare herbs Was summoned by Aurangzeb on the accusation of helping Dara Shikoh during the war of succession. Sent his son Ram Rai instead
Guru Hari Krishan	1656-1661-1664	Guru Har Rai/ Krishan Kaur	-	Aurangzeb	Visited Delhi and stayed at the residence of Raja Jai Singh of Amber. Died at Delhi due to contracting smallpox while serving epidemic stricken people
Guru Tegh Bahadur	1621-1665-1675	Guru Hargobind/ Nanaki	Gujri	Aurangzeb	Visited Bihar and Bengal Founded city of Anandpur Was executed on orders of Aurangzeb at Delhi
Guru Gobind Singh	1666-1675-1708	Guru Tegh Bahadur/ Gujri	Sundri, Jeeto, Sahib Kaur	Aurangzeb, Bahadur Shah	Problems with hill chiefs especially Bhim Chand of Kahlur (Bilaspur). On invitation by Chief of Sirmur (Nahan) spent some time at the city of Paonta Birth of Khalsa on Baisakhi day of A.D. 1699 Built Fort Anandgarh at Anandpur Attacked by Mughals and hill chiefs. Left Anandpur and wandered about sometime being chased by Mughals Wrote “Zafarnamah”, a letter to Aurangzeb. Went South to meet Aurangzeb on his invitation but Aurangzeb died Helped Bahadur Shah in Succession Died on being stabbed by muslim fanatic probably sent by Wazir Khan, the subedar of Sirhind Wrote Dasam Granth.

Originally, a Dogra Rajput named Lachman Das, was born at Rajouri (village in Poonch District of Kashmir) on 27 October, 1670. Fond of hunting, once he shot a pregnant doe with his arrow. The suffering of the doe fighting against death touched his heart and he became a bairagi and roamed from place to place. Guru Gobind Singh visited his hut in 1708. Guru Gobind Singh convinced him that a when righteousness (Dharma) was in danger, he could do more services as a warrior rather than as an ascetic. Banda agreed to fight out the tyranny and bigotry of Mughals. He was given a Sikh name, Gurbaksh Singh, but he preferred to be called Banda – the epithet used by him at his first meeting with Guru Gobind Singh.
On reaching Punjab, Banda got a large following of armed Punjabis. He gave crushing defeats to Mughal forces one after the other battle. He succeeded in liberating the entire eastern and southern Punjab from the Mughal yoke and established an independent state. In this way he was the first person to lay down the foundation of an independent Punjab in 1710. Banda’s boldness and fierceness made the Emperor Bahadur Shah outlaw the Sikh community. In December, 1715, he was besieged by the Mughal forces near Gurdaspur and starved to surrender. He alongwith his followers was beheaded publicly.
For sometime the Sikhs disappeared from the Punjab as a political force but again to reorganize their ranks. In 1757 the Sikh raiders occupied Lahore for a brief period, but withdrew with the advance of the Durrani invaders. When Afghans returned home, they reoccupied Lahore in 1761. Abdali attacked them and once again in February, 1763 he routed them completely. This defeat is still remembered as `Ghallu Ghara’ or the Great Massacre.
Inspite of the crushing defeat at the hands of Durrani the Sikhs did now show any signs of weakness. Sikhs this time organized themselves under twelve Misis or confederacies.

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