Content-Length: 7915
Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8
sikhism
Guru Nanak Dev ji, born in 1469, was a religious and social revolutionary.
He protested against the industice done to the people by both the
political rulers and the religious authorities of the time.
The ruling community, the Muslims, came from the Middle East. Being
all Powerful, they considered themselves superior human beings and
denied the social rights to their Hindu subjects. They wanted the
Hindus to become Muslims and used force to achieve this aim. They often
tortured them and even killed them for refusing to give up their faith.
Brahmans, the priestly class, too, sucked the blood of the poor Hindu
masses. They had the sole right to perform social and religious functions and therefore were able to extract forced donations from them. To
refuse the helpless people their social and religious rights, the
Brahmans cooperated with the ruling Muslims. About a fifth, of the
local Indian people were degraded as low-caste, untouchables and
treated even worse than animals.
Because of these pressures, many Hindus became Muslims. Low cast people adopted Islam to wash the stigma of being considered low grade
human beings.
The Brahmans assumed the status of the highest class. According to them,
the Khatris, the fighting class were next, while the working majority,
Vaish, farmer and traders, were given the third rnark in society. Women
were considered "incompleted" and "unclear" persons and were not
entitled to the same status as men.
To educate people regarding their human rights and Sikh philosophy, Guru
Nanak founded the institutions of sangat and pangat, where all people
would sit together as equals without any kind of discrimination on the
basis of birth, worth, sex, creed, color, etc. Where they joined together
to sing praises of the Lord, their congregation was called sangat and
when they sat together at to eat langar, they were called pangat. To
obtain solace, all people, HIndu and Muslims irrespective of their caste
flocked to join sangat and pangat. The idea of providing equal rights to
all human beings was a revolutionary concept.
This organized movement which rejected the oppression of the people,
through political, social or religious authority, was not to the liking
of the rulers or the Hindu religious leaders. They wanted
to destroy this movement and for that purpose they adopted all possible
means within their power. The Gurus fearlessly continued to preach
against the repressive policy of the state. When the state adopted
violent methods to finish this movement of religious and human rights,
the Sikhs were forced to defend themselves with the sword.
Guru Amar Das ji was charged with defiling the Hindu faith because he
permitted everyone including the untouchables to take water from the
same baoli (open well with steps reaching the water level) and letting
everyone sit togather as equals in the pangat. The Guru was summoned
to the court. Akbar, the then emperor of Delhi, listened to both sides
and rejected the memorandum of the people who complained against the
Guru. Later, during the rule of Jehangir who had decided to cheak the
wave of Sikhism, Guru Arjan Dev ji was arrested, taken to Lahore, and
tortured to death in 1606. Instead of being demoralized or terrorized
because of this violence as intended by the rulers, the Sikhs exibited
great bravery and fearlessness. They repulsed all four attacks of the
Emperor's army during the life of Guru Arjan Dev ji.
The harassment of the Gurus continued far into the seventeenth and
eighteeth centuries. Guru Teg Bahadur ji, the ninth Guru and his three
associated Bhai Mati Das, Bhai Sati Das, Bhai Dyal were tortured and
brutally killed. Guru Gonind Singh ji was also attacked many times and
forced to leave Anandpur sahib, of course, after being assured of peace.
Breaking their oaths, the joint army of the Hindu rajas and the
Emperor of Delhi attacked the Sikhs when they were out of the fort.
Thousands of Sikhs and all four sons of the Guru saheb were killed. The
older two gave their lives at Chamkaur sahib battle-field defending religions
freedom and human rights. The yonger two were murdered by the Nawab of
Sirhind while upholding their religious faith.
The Sikhs defeated the Imperial army at Mukatsar in the last battle
after which the Guru established a new Sikh centre at Talwandi,
District Bhatinda. The Gurdwara there is now known as Takhat Damdama
Sahib.
After the death of Guru Gobind Singh ji in 1708 at Nanded (Hajur Sahib), Maharashtra,
the Sikhs continued their struggle against state repression, first,
under the guidance of Baba Gurbakhsh Singh, Popular as Banda Singh
Bahadur, up to 1716 and them under other Sikh leader chosen after his
death. The people finally obtained full freedom from all kinds of
state and religious terrorism. Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims ruled Punjab
under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
BACK