Tegh Bahadur become the Guru of the Sikhs at a time when the Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb’s policy of religious intolerance and persecution had antagonized vast sections of his subjects. The Jat peasantry took up arms in the district of Mathura. The Satnamis rebelled in the Punjab but these rebellions were mercilessly crushed. In the Deccan however, Shivaji’s powers continued to be on the rise and in 1674, he proclaimed himself king. This made Aurangzeb even more ruthless in his religious persecution.

When the Hindus of Kashmir were denied the freedom to follow their faith, they approached Guru Tegh Bahadur for help and guidance. More than four hundred years ago religious intolerance and persecution was common all over the world. It was at this period of time that the Guru carried the conviction that every individual must have the freedom to follow the faith of his or her choice. He wrote to the emperor, reminding him that the Holy Koran does not sanction forcible conversion. He expressed his willingness to hold discussions on the subject with the emperor and his advisers on matters of religion. He said, “If they succeed in converting me to their opinion, I will embrace your Islam and all the Hindus too might do the same. If on the contrary, they do not succeed I converting me to their opinion, then I request that henceforth all religious persecution should be stopped.”

Great ingenuity was used in devising new kinds of torture for the Guru and his closest disciples. But Aurangzeb failed to crush their spirit. Thus the Guru laid down his life for a great principle, which today is cherished by people in most parts of the world. Even to this day, he is remembered as Hind-di-chadar (literally, the coverlet of India), protector of India’s honor.