Introduction To 'Founder Of The Khalsa - The Life And Times Of Guru Gobind Singh' By Amardeep S Dahiya 

Founder of the Khalsa: The Life and Times of Guru Gobind Singh encapsulates the exceptionally eventful and vibrant life of the tenth guru that will provoke thought and debate even in today's times

Guru Gobind Singh - founder of the Khalsa; saint; warrior par excellence; poignant poet; philosopher; soulful human being - was the illustrious tenth guru of the Sikhs.

This extensively researched book goes beyond the established events that broadly include the untimely assassination of Guru Tegh Bahadur; Guru Gobind Singh's coronation; the battles of Bhangani and Nadaun; his stay in Paonta and Anandpur; and the historic creation of the Khalsa.

The book talks about other events that sought to widely establish the Khalsa including the battle of Nirmohgarh; the siege and evacuation of Anandpur; the battles of Chamkaur, Khidrana and Muktsar; his Zafarnama to Aurangzeb and subsequent meeting with Bahadur Shah Zafar in Agra. Most importantly, it provides some unknown facts about the anointment of the holy book of the Sikhs - the Guru Granth Sahib as the eternal guiding light.

Guru Gobind Singh's prowess as a warrior of immense distinction is well­-recorded, besides his understanding of military strategy and execution; the book brings to light his love for literature, scriptures and languages, his philosophical, judicious and humane thought, and is a tribute to the great saint and seeks to outline the historical life, times and events of Guru Gobind Singh in intricate detail. 

By the time Guru Nanak died in 1539, he had a sizeable following, mainly in Punjab but also in little pockets along the routes he had taken on his Udasis. In spite of this, the Sikhs were not regarded as a threat by the Muslim Mughals, and were treated, at best, with a degree of cordiality and, at the worst, with a patronizing tolerance. Emperor Babur had known Guru Nanak personally and found him to be a true man of god. This is why, not only had he ordered his release from imprisonment after the sack of Saidpur, but also deferred to Guru Nanak's wish that all the other citizens be also released. His grandson, Emperor Akbar, made a visit to Guru Amar Das, the third guru's dera, in Goindwal and was so impressed by the Sikh way of life that he wanted to present a gift to the guru. The guru politely but firmly declined this offer on the plea that his needs were more than taken care of by god.

The emperor, not wishing to be thwarted in his generous impulse, made a wedding gift to the guru's daughter, Bibi Bhani, in the form of a jagir of land. It was on this piece of land that the fourth guru, Guru Ram Das, Bibi Bhanis husband, founded the 'Guru ki Nagri' of Amritsar. Ironically, it was also on this piece of land that the fifth guru, Guru Arjan Dev, built the Harmandir Sahib. 

When the fifth guru began the work of compiling the Granth Sahib, rumours were spread by the diehard Islamist fanatics and other enemies of the Sikhs, that the new granth contained passages that were inimical and hostile to Islam. These rumours were strong enough for Akbar to take note of them and to have the draft granth examined by his scholars to see if there was any truth to the rumours. The scholars found that not only were there no truth in the rumours, but the granth contained extracts from the works of Muslim saints and scholars.

The main reason for this cordiality and tolerance of the newly emerging faith, as time was to prove, was that the Sikhs had not yet defined themselves in any definite terms and were generally regarded as another fringe - reformist movement of Hinduism.

This lack of a definite identity was rectified with the completion of the compilation of the Granth Sahib by Guru Arjan Dev in 1604 and the building of the Harmandir Sahib in the same year - another task that was undertaken by Guru Arjan Dev in 1588. The Granth Sahib was installed in the new temple of the Sikhs in 1604. Thus the Sikhs now not only had a religious book of their own, but also a spiritual headquarters of their faith. Their identity had now been clearly and definitely established and there would never again be any doubt that Sikhism was a faith in its own right. The Sikhs were now dimnis, or people of the book, and deserved to be taken seriously.

At last the Mughal rulers awoke to the fact that the new faith was attracting such a strong following, that it might well be a threat to the pre-eminence of Islam in the days to come. The days of the religious liberalism of Akbar were over and done with, and though his immediate successors, put on a facade of religious tolerance, they showed enough signs to indicate the extreme religious intolerance that would be the hallmark of the Mughal rule in the days to come. If any proof of this was needed, it came in the form of the sadistic and totally uncalled for martyrdom of the fifth guru, Guru Arjan Dev in Lahore in 1606.

About The Author Of 'Founder Of The Khalsa - The Life And Times Of Guru Gobind Singh'

Amardeep S. Dahiya has contributed several outrageous articles on the hypocrisy of everyday life to several newspapers including The Tribune. Dahiya published his first book Four Fingers and Seventeen Nails, a collection of short stories that became an instant bestseller. He is an accomplished orator, speaking five languages including: Hindi, English, German, Slovene and Punjabi. He currently lives in Chandigarh.

Table Of Contents For 'Founder Of The Khalsa , The Life And Times Of Guru Gobind Singh' By Amardeep S Dahiya