Latest / Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History / Aurangzeb vs the Sikhs: The Execution of Guru Tegh Bahadur
Transcript
- Lucas: We've talked a lot about Aurangzeb's wars with the Marathas, the Rajputs, the Ahoms. But there's another community that clashed with him—one that would ultimately outlast the Mughal Empire itself. The Sikhs. Luna: Right, I remember you mentioned earlier that the Sikhs were growing in the Punjab during Aurangzeb's reign. Lucas: Exactly. By the mid-1600s, Sikhism was still a relatively young religion, founded by Guru Nanak about a century and a half earlier. Under the fifth guru, Arjan Dev, the community had built the Harmandir Sahib—the Golden Temple—in Amritsar, and had grown into a significant socio-political force. That put them on a collision course with the Mughals. Luna: Did Aurangzeb see them as a threat specifically? Lucas: He did. Aurangzeb was deeply orthodox, and he saw any rival power center as a challenge—both political and religious. The Sikhs had their own hierarchy, their own tax system, and they attracted converts from both Hindus and Muslims, which Aurangzeb's court viewed as a threat to the Islamic order. But the real flashpoint came under the ninth guru, Tegh Bahadur. Lucas: Tegh Bahadur was a quiet, contemplative man—not a warrior. He spent years in meditation. But circumstances forced him into a political role. In the early 1670s, Aurangzeb's governors in Kashmir began pressuring Hindus to convert to Islam. The local Pandits were desperate, so they traveled to Anandpur in the Punjab to beg the Guru for help. Luna: So the Hindu community turned to a Sikh guru for protection? Lucas: Yes. And Tegh Bahadur agreed to represent them. He traveled to Delhi to confront Aurangzeb directly. That was an incredibly bold move. According to Sikh tradition, the Guru told the emperor that if he could convert Tegh Bahadur to Islam, then the Hindus would follow. But if he couldn't, the persecution should stop. Lucas: Aurangzeb, predictably, saw this as defiance. He ordered the Guru's arrest. Tegh Bahadur was brought to Delhi in chains and held in the Red Fort. For months, he was pressured to convert, but he refused. Finally, in November 1675, Aurangzeb ordered his execution. Luna: Where did it happen? Lucas: In Chandni Chowk, the main market square of Old Delhi. A huge crowd gathered. According to the maasir i alamgiri, Aurangzeb's official court history, the execution was meant to be a public spectacle—a warning to anyone who resisted imperial authority. The Guru was beheaded with a sword. But the Sikhs smuggled his body away and cremated it with full honors. Luna: And his head? Lucas: That's a remarkable story. One of his disciples, Bhai Jaita, risked his own life to carry the Guru's head back to Anandpur, hundreds of miles away. When the Guru's son, the young Gobind Singh, received it, he performed the last rites. That moment is seen as the passing of the spiritual mantle—and the beginning of a new, much more militant phase of Sikh history. Luna: Because Gobind Singh became the tenth guru, right? Lucas: Yes. And he was only nine years old when his father was executed. He grew up with that memory—and with a deep resolve that the Sikh community must be able to defend itself. In 1699, twenty-four years later, he founded the Khalsa, the community of baptized Sikhs, and gave every Sikh the surname Singh, meaning lion. He also introduced the five Ks—the articles of faith that Sikhs still wear today. Lucas: But it's important to note that Aurangzeb didn't just target Sikhs. The execution of Tegh Bahadur was part of a broader pattern. The emperor was also suppressing Sufi mystics who had large followings, like Sarmad, who was executed for heresy. And he was tearing down Hindu temples in some regions. So it's not a simple story of Sikh vs Mughal—it's about a ruler who saw political and religious dissent as the same thing. Luna: It's interesting that you mention Sufis. I'd love to come back to that in a future episode. Lucas: Absolutely. But let's stay with Tegh Bahadur for a moment. The execution had long-term consequences. After Guru Gobind Singh's death in 1708, the Sikhs never again had a human guru. The spiritual authority passed to the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture. But the temporal leadership fell to military commanders, and over the next century, the Sikhs carved out their own kingdom in the Punjab. By the time the British arrived, the Sikh Empire under Maharaja Ranjit Singh was one of the strongest states in India. Luna: So in a way, Aurangzeb's execution of Tegh Bahadur backfired spectacularly. Lucas: It's hard to think of a better example of a martyrdom that galvanized a movement. The Sikhs remember Tegh Bahadur as the 'shield of India'—someone who defended not just his own community, but Hindus as well. And Aurangzeb is remembered, fairly or not, as the tyrant who killed a saint. That's a legacy that's lasted. Lucas: One source I want to mention is the maasir i alamgiri. It describes the execution matter of factly: 'The Guru, Tegh Bahadur, who had long been a source of disturbance to the province, was put to death.' It treats it as a routine suppression of rebellion. But Sikh sources tell a very different story—a story of faith, courage, and sacrifice. Luna: It makes you think about how history gets written by the victors. But in this case, the Sikh perspective survived. Lucas: Exactly. And that's one reason we keep coming back to these conversations—because there's always more to the story. Speaking of which, I want to take a quick moment to mention that if you value these deep dives into history and want to keep them ad-free, you can support the show at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Every contribution helps us keep researching and telling these stories. And now, let's return to the aftermath of Tegh Bahadur's execution. Luna: Yeah, it's a small way to make a big difference. So, after 1675, did Aurangzeb pay much attention to the Sikhs? Lucas: He did, but not as much as he did to the Marathas. The Sikhs were a regional problem at that point—they hadn't yet become the empire-wide threat that the Marathas were. Guru Gobind Singh fought several battles against Mughal forces, including the famous siege of Anandpur in 1704, but Aurangzeb was too focused on the Deccan to commit full force against the Sikhs. That changed later, but by then Aurangzeb was near death. Lucas: One fascinating detail: when Guru Gobind Singh was writing to Aurangzeb in Persian, he used the title 'Zinda Pir'—the same title that Aurangzeb himself used for the Sufi saint. There's a letter, sometimes called the Zafarnama, where Gobind Singh rebukes Aurangzeb for breaking his oath on the Quran. It's a powerful document. Luna: Did Aurangzeb ever see that letter? Lucas: Probably not. It was sent in 1705, and by then Aurangzeb was in his late eighties, sick and exhausted. He died two years later. But the letter shows that even at the height of conflict, there was a kind of dialogue—an appeal to honor and faith. Lucas: So the execution of Tegh Bahadur is a pivotal moment not just for Sikh history, but for understanding Aurangzeb's reign. It shows how his policies of religious uniformity and political centralization created enemies faster than he could destroy them. The Sikhs, like the Marathas, were a force that the Mughal Empire could not contain. Luna: And it's a story that still resonates today, especially in Punjab. Lucas: Absolutely. The site of his execution in Chandni Chowk is now a gurdwara, Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib. Every year, thousands of Sikhs visit to pay their respects. It's a living memorial to that moment in 1675 when a quiet guru stood up to an emperor and changed the course of history.