Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur

Guru Tegh Bahadur is the youngest son of Guru Hargobind Sahib, Nanak
VI, and he is the grandson of Guru Arjan Dev, Nanak V, born on 1 April
1621 in Amritsar . he was given the name Tyag Mall and later changed to
Tegh Bahadur after his gallantry and bravery against the Mughal forces,
which means the fearless master of the sword. He is the youngest son of
the Guru Sahib.

During his childhood, he grew up with great Gursikhs like Bhai Gurdas and
Baba Buddha. At that time, there is a continuous external threat to the
Sikhism mission. Training of self-defense, usage of swords, and archery
has become part of the Sikh tradition. Tegh bahadur also received Martial
training. At the age of 14, he took part in the Battle of Kartar Pur. From a
very young age, he witnessed the bloodshed at the battles.

Tegh Bahadur was married to Gujri, daughter of Lal Chand Subhikkhi and
Bishan Kau, at a very early age. Before the demise, Guru Har Krishan
announced Baba Tegh Bahadur of Bakala as the ninth Guru. He took his
Guruship in the year 1664 at Bakala with a Ceremony conducted by the
Sikh delegation from Delhi. He traveled to different parts of the country to
propagate the Guru Nanak's mission, strengthen the network of Guru
Nanak's Sangats, and started community water wells and
langars(community kitchen). During the tour of north and eastern India, he
was detained for the first time. He organized one of the most prominent
Sikh gatherings at Anandpur in the year 1673

He contributed a lot of work to Granth Sahib in the form of slokas. His work
includes 116 shabads, 15 ragas, and many compositions that became part
of Bani in Sikhism. In the Sorath rag, he describes the qualities of an ideal
human being. He fought against the religious persecution of Kashmiri
Hindus by Mughals. Once he reached Agra on a preaching tour, he was
arrested along with 5 Sikhs and was detained for four months. During this
time, he was tortured to convert to Islam by Mughals and later taken him
back to Delhi.

Under the orders of the Mughal emperor Aurangazeb, he was executed in

Delhi. His son Guru Gobind Singh became the successor of Guru Nanak's
mission. After Tegh bahadur's execution, many Sikh temples are
constructed in his and his associate's memory.

The execution hardened the resolve of Sikhs against Muslim rule and the
persecution. It helped to make the protection of human rights central to
Sikhs identity. He will be remembered for giving up his life for religion's
freedom, reminding Sikhs and non-Muslims in India to follow and practice
Sikhs beliefs without fear of persecution and forced conversions by
Muslims. Many institutes, schools, Hospitals, Gurudwaras are named after
the ninth Guru of Sikhs.