Political advancement
Guru Har Gobind, became
the sixth guru of the Sikhs. He carried two swords—one for spiritual and the other for
temporal
reasons (known as mīrī and pīrī in Sikhism).[21] Sikhs grew
as an organised community and always had a trained fighting force to defend
their independence. In 1644, Guru Har Rai became guru
followed by Guru Har Krishan, the
boy guru, in 1661. No hymns composed by these three gurus are included in the
Sikh holy book.[22]
Guru Teg Bahadur became
guru in 1665 and led the Sikhs until 1675. Teg Bahadur was executed
by Aurangzeb for helping to
protect Hindus, after a delegation of Kashmiri Pandits came to
him for help when the Emperor condemned them to death for failing to convert to
Islam.[23] He was
succeeded by his son, Gobind Rai who was just nine years old at the time of his
father's death. Gobind Rai further militarised his followers, and was baptised
by the Pañj Piārē when he
formed the Khalsa
in 1699. From here on in he was known as Guru Gobind Singh.[24]
From the time of Nanak, when it was a loose
collection of followers who focused entirely on the attainment of salvation
and God, the Sikh community had significantly transformed. Even though
the core Sikh religious philosophy was never affected, the followers
now began to develop a political identity. Conflict with Mughal authorities
escalated during the lifetime of Teg Bahadur and Gobind Singh. The latter
founded the Khalsa in 1699. The Khalsa is a disciplined community that
combines its religious purpose and goals with political and military
duties.[4]
After Aurangzeb killed four of his sons, Gobind Singh sent Aurangzeb
the Zafarnāmā
(Notification/Epistle of Victory).
Shortly before his death, Gobind Singh ordered that the Gurū Granth Sāhib (the
Sikh Holy Scripture), would be the ultimate spiritual authority for the Sikhs
and temporal authority would be vested in the Khalsa Panth – The Sikh
Nation/Community.[11]
The first scripture was compiled and edited by the fifth guru, Arjun Dev, in
1604. a former ascetic, was charged by Gobind Singh with the duty of punishing
those who had persecuted the Sikhs. After the guru's death, Banda Bahadur became
the leader of the Sikh army and was responsible for several attacks on the
Mughal empire. He was executed by the emperor Jahandar Shah after
refusing the offer of a pardon if he converted to Islam.[25]
The Sikh community's embrace of military and political organisation made it a
considerable regional force in medieval India and it continued to evolve after
the demise of the gurus. After the death of Banda Bahadur, a loose confederation of
Sikh warrior bands known as misls formed. With the decline
of the Mughal empire, a Sikh empire arose in the Punjab under Maharaja
Ranjit Singh, with its capital in Lahore and limits reaching the Khyber
Pass and the borders of China. The order, traditions and
discipline developed over centuries culminated at the time of Ranjit Singh to
give rise to the common religious and social identity that the term "Sikhism"
describes.[26]
After the death of Ranjit Singh, the Sikh kingdom fell into disorder and
eventually collapsed with the Anglo-Sikh Wars, which
brought the Punjab under British rule. Sikhs
supported and participated in the Indian National
Congress, but also formed the Shiromani
Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee and the Shiromani Akali Dal
to preserve Sikhs religious and political organisation. With the partition of India in
1947, thousands of Sikhs were killed in violence and millions were forced to
leave their ancestral homes in West Punjab.[27] Even though
Sikhs enjoyed considerable prosperity in the 1970s with the Green Revolution making
Punjab the most prosperous state in the nation, a fringe group led by cleric Jarnail Singh
Bhindranwale began demanding an independent state named Khalistan, led to clashes
between militant groups and government forces, as well as communal
violence.[28]