Marking the martrydom of Guru Teg Bahadur Ji
On 24th November Sikhs remember the martyrdom of the Ninth Guru of Sikhs, Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, also
known as “Srist dee chadar” (Protector of Humanity). Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji undertook the
supreme sacrifice of martyrdom for the protection of the most fundamental of human rights - the
right of a person to freely practice his or her religion without interference or hindrance.
In the
modern times we tend to take this freedom for granted – but in 1675, millions of people were
denied this basic right by the Mughal rulers of India at the time. The Mughal rulers began a
campaign of forced conversion of religion, and many thousands were killed for refusing to change
their religion.
Well before governments of developed countries had begun discussing liberty, equality and human
rights for all citizens irrespective of their background, the Sikh Gurus had not just been promoting
these ideas but practicing them in their life, already in the fifteenth and the sixteenth centuries. This
posed a challenge to the oppressive Mughal rulers of the time in India who did not believe in the
concept of human rights and dignity for all religious communities.
Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, like the
previous Sikh Gurus, stood against those rulers who remained indifferent to the exploitation and
oppression of the common people and to those who felt helpless.
Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji made the supreme sacrifice for laying his life for the protection of human
rights, in particular the right to religious freedom, not for Sikhs, but for other religious communities. This is the first act in recorded world history where someone.
Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji’s martyrdom
and refusal to accept any form of oppression or injustice remains relevant and meaningful even
today, where sadly injustices, discrimination, and exploitation in different forms and levels still
exist.
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