Guru Arjan Dev Ji : A real Martyr

Guru Arjan Dev Ji was born in Amritsar, Punjab, India on 15 April, 1563. He was the 5^th Guru of the Sikhism and became Guru on 01 September, 1581 following in the footsteps of Guru Ram Das. He was born at Goindval, and was the youngest of the sons of Guru Ram Das and Bibi Bhani, the daughter of Guru Amardas. He appointed Bhai Buddha as the chief priest of the Golden Temple. He placed the Adi Granth on the seat reserved for him and himself sat among his disciples. Sukhmani Sahib Path was also composed by Him. Before his death, He nominated his son Har Gobind as the next Guru of the Sikhs.

On the 16^th June of every year since 1606; the Sikhs have commemorated the martyrdom of their first martyr, the fifth Guru, Guru Arjan Dev Ji. Sikh history until then had been peaceful and non-violent. All the Sikh Gurus taught the message of compassion, love, dedication, hard work, worship of one God and the commitment to peace and harmony for all the people of the world.

Relations between Akbar and Guru Ji were cordial but things changed after the accessions of Jahangir. In late May 1606, Guru Arjan Dev was arrested for His refusal to accept Islam and brought to Lahore where he was subject to severe torture. He was made to sit on a burning hot plate while hot sand was poured over His head and body. It is said that Mian Mir (a Muslim Sufi Saint and friend of Guru Sahib) tried to intercede on behalf of Guru Sahib. Guru Ji forbade him to interfere in the Will of Almighty. Guru Ji’s body was blistered and burnt. For several days, the Guru was subjected to this unrelenting torture. Subsequently, Guru Arjan Dev Ji was taken for a bath in the river, Ravi. As thousands watched, he entered the river never to see again. The martyrdom of Guru Sahib changed the entire character of Sikhism radically from a passive people to courageous saint soldiers.

Many reasons have been given for this tragedy. It is stated that Jahangir was annoyed because Guru Arjan Dev ji gave his blessings to his rebel son, Prince Khusrau Mirza.

There are also some Mughal accounts which state that Guru Arjan Dev ji blessed the rebel son of Emperor Jahangir which prompted the emperor to take action against him. But the memoirs of Jahangir make it clear that he in fact was looking for an excuse to, in his own words to bring him into the assembly of the people of Islam.

It is also stated in some sources that one of the courtiers of Jahangir who had first laughed at the suggested marriage between his daughter and the Gurus son, which was later rebuffed, could not put up with the insult and poisoned the ears of the Emperor. Consequently Jahangir imposed a fine of Rupees two Lac (two hundred thousand) on Guru Arjan Dev ji and also ordered him to remove certain passages from the Adi Granth, which were objectionable to Muslims. On the Guru's refusal to do so, he was tortured.

The manner in which Guru Arjan Dev ji was martyred "convinced the Sikhs that they must arm themselves and fight, if they wanted to live". It proved a turning point in the history of Sikhism.