Latest / Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History / Aurangzeb vs the Sikhs: The Martyrdom That Forged the Khalsa
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- Lucas: We've talked a lot about Aurangzeb's wars in the Deccan, his rivalry with the Marathas, his alliances with Rajput generals. But there's another resistance movement that he utterly failed to crush, one that would outlast his empire and reshape North India — the Sikhs. Luna: The Sikhs really rose during his reign, didn't they? Guru Tegh Bahadur and then Guru Gobind Singh? Lucas: Exactly. And it starts with a martyrdom that Aurangzeb probably thought would end the trouble. In 1675, the emperor had Guru Tegh Bahadur arrested and brought to Delhi. The charge? The guru had refused to convert to Islam and had been protecting Kashmiri Pandits who were being forced to convert. Aurangzeb demanded he embrace Islam or perform a miracle — the guru said he would only do the first. He was given three choices: convert, show a miracle, or die. He chose death. Luna: He was executed publicly, right? In Chandni Chowk? Lucas: Yes, on November 11, 1675, right in the heart of Shahjahanabad, in front of the imperial court and a huge crowd. The guru was beheaded. It was meant to be a terrifying example. But instead, it galvanized the Sikh community. His nine-year-old son, Gobind Rai, was declared the tenth Guru. He would later transform himself into Guru Gobind Singh and create the Khalsa. Lucas: Now, Guru Gobind Singh grew up in the Himalayan foothills, at Paonta Sahib and Anandpur. He was a poet, a philosopher, and a warrior. He began openly defying Mughal authority, building a fort, and gathering a following. By 1689, while Aurangzeb was deep in the Deccan sieges, the guru fought the first major battle at Bhangani, against a coalition of hill rajas allied with the Mughals. Luna: He won that one, didn't he? Bhangani is famous. Lucas: He did. Despite being outnumbered, his forces routed the enemy. That victory cemented his reputation as a military leader. Aurangzeb, however, was too busy fighting the Marathas and the Deccan sultanates to spare serious resources against the Sikhs. He delegated the Punjab frontier to his governors, who were largely ineffective. Lucas: Then in 1699, Guru Gobind Singh did something extraordinary. At the Vaisakhi festival in Anandpur, he called the Sikhs together and asked for volunteers. He walked into a tent with five men, and came out calling them the Panj Pyare — the Five Beloved Ones. He baptized them with sweetened water stirred with a sword, and then asked them to baptize him. This was the birth of the Khalsa — the community of the pure. Luna: So the Khalsa was a brotherhood of warrior-saints. He gave them the five Ks, right? Lucas: Exactly — Kesh, Kangha, Kara, Kirpan, and Kachera. Every Khalsa Sikh took the name Singh — meaning lion. And they were to fight against tyranny, without fear. The guru also composed the Dasam Granth, which includes the famous lines: 'When all other means fail, it is righteous to draw the sword.' This was a direct challenge to Aurangzeb. Lucas: Aurangzeb responded by sending a large Mughal force under his son, Prince Mu'azzam, and the governor of Sirhind, Wazir Khan. They besieged Anandpur in 1704. The guru's forces held out for months, suffering greatly. Eventually, they agreed to evacuate, but the Mughals attacked them while retreating. Luna: That's the story of the Chali Mukte — the forty liberated ones? Lucas: Yes. In December 1705, at Muktsar, a group of forty Sikhs, led by Mahan Singh, fought to the death to cover the guru's escape. The guru later blessed them as the 'Chali Mukte' — the forty saved ones. It was a turning point. Though the guru never captured territory, he created a community that would go on to rule Punjab for a century after Aurangzeb's death. Luna: It's fascinating that this all happened while Aurangzeb was bankrupting his empire in the Deccan. He couldn't afford a full-scale war in the north. Lucas: Right. And that's the irony. Aurangzeb's relentless focus on the Deccan left the north vulnerable. The Sikh rebellion was just one of many fires he couldn't extinguish. By the time he died in 1707, the Khalsa was already a powerful military order. Within a few decades, they would challenge the Mughal throne itself. Lucas: But here's something I think often gets overlooked: the Sikh resistance wasn't just about religion. It was about justice. Guru Tegh Bahadur gave his life to protect the freedom of worship of Hindus — a group he didn't belong to. And Guru Gobind Singh explicitly said his struggle was against oppression, not against Muslims. In fact, many Muslims fought alongside him. Luna: That's a really important point. It wasn't a Hindu-Muslim thing, it was a tyranny versus freedom thing. Lucas: Exactly. The Khalsa was a response to state violence. And it's a legacy that resonates to this day. Lucas: If you've been spending time with us episode by episode, digging into these stories of South Asia's past, you probably know that this show is ad-free and entirely listener-supported. A couple of dollars a month on buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo genuinely keeps these conversations going. It's a small thing that makes a real difference. Luna: Absolutely. Every little bit helps us keep doing the deep research. And we're so grateful to those who chip in. Lucas: So back to the Sikhs — after the guru's death in 1708, the Khalsa continued to grow. Under leaders like Banda Singh Bahadur, they captured Sirhind and established a Sikh state. Aurangzeb didn't live to see that, but his policies made it possible. Luna: Banda Singh Bahadur was a former Bairagi ascetic who became a military commander. He sacked Sirhind in 1710, avenging the deaths of Guru Gobind Singh's young sons. Aurengzeb was dead by then, but the rebellion only intensified. Lucas: Right. The martyrdom of the Sahibzadas — the guru's four sons — is one of the most tragic stories. Two were walled alive, two died on the battlefield. It hardened the Sikh resolve. Within a generation, the Khalsa had become the dominant power in Punjab. Lucas: And all of this can be traced back to that edge of Aurangzeb's sword in 1675. He thought he was cutting off the head of a revolt, but he was planting a seed that would grow into an army. Luna: It reminds me of the saying: the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. Here it was the seed of the Khalsa. Lucas: Exactly. And that's what we should take away. Aurangzeb's empire was huge, but it was brittle. Every time he tried to crush dissent, he created more enemies. The Sikhs were just one example — but they were the most enduring.