Guru Gobind Singh

Topic: Regional Resistance: Rajputs, Ahoms, Sikhs · NCERT: Class 8, Ch 2 "Reshaping India's Political Map"; Class 12, Ch 2 "Bhakti-Sufi Traditions"

Meaning

Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708) was the tenth and last human Guru of the Sikhs. He was the son of Guru Tegh Bahadur. In 1699 he founded the Khalsa, a brotherhood of "saint-soldiers", and gave it the five Ks and a code of conduct [3][4].

He matters because his Khalsa turned the Sikhs into a disciplined community that could fight for itself. Through the 18th century, that community challenged Mughal power in Punjab.

Explanation

Background: from martyrdom to armed defence

• Guru Nanak founded the Sikh path in 15th-century Punjab. He taught equality, compassion and Ik Onkar (there is One God).
• Guru Arjan first compiled the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book. He was tortured to death under Jahangir.
• Guru Hargobind answered this with martial training. He raised the first Sikh army.
• 1675 changed things. Gobind Singh's father, Guru Tegh Bahadur (the ninth Guru), stood up to protect Kashmiri Pandits who were being pushed to give up their faith.
• Aurangzeb ordered him to convert to Islam. He refused, even under torture.
• He was publicly beheaded in Chandni Chowk, Delhi.
• The young Gobind Singh then became Guru. His father's death shaped his belief that the community must be able to defend itself.

The founding of the Khalsa (1699)

• When and where: on Baisakhi Day, 30 March 1699, at Anandpur. A large crowd of Sikhs had gathered there for the harvest and new year festival [3][4]. (Baisakhi is usually marked in mid-April today. The 30 March date is the one given by Britannica.)
• Meaning of the name: Khalsa means "the Pure". It was an order of saint-soldiers [4].
• Panj Pyare ("the five beloved ones") were the first five volunteers to be initiated. They formed the core of the Khalsa [3].
• Amrit Sanskar is the initiation ceremony (the rite by which a person joins the Khalsa) [3].
• The five Ks that every member keeps [3]:
• kesh: uncut hair
• kara: steel bracelet
• kangha: comb
• kirpan: sword

• kachchera: a military-style undergarment

• New names: men took the name Singh ("lion") and women took Kaur ("princess") [3]. Everyone shared the same surname, so caste differences were weakened.

• Aim: a martial brotherhood committed to justice, equality and defence of the faith.

What the Khalsa changed: three levels at once

The 1699 declaration worked on three levels [3]:

• Authority: it changed who held authority inside the Sikh community.
• Ritual and rules: it gave a new initiation ceremony and a code of conduct (rules of daily behaviour).
• Vision: it gave the community a new religious and political vision. Faith and self-defence were joined together.

Results and what came after

• Conflict with the Mughals: the Khalsa clashed again and again with Mughal forces, with great loss of life.
• The scripture as Guru: according to settled tradition, he added Guru Tegh Bahadur's hymns to the holy book. This final version is called the Guru Granth Sahib. Before he died in 1708, he declared that the Granth, together with the Khalsa community, would guide the Sikhs. No human Guru would come after him.
• After 1708: the Khalsa rose against Mughal rule under Banda Bahadur. Later the Sikhs organised into misls (Sikh confederacies, each led by a misldar, or commander) [5].
• Long-term result: Ranjit Singh joined the misls into a centralised Sikh Empire. He became Maharaja of the Punjab in 1801 [5]. In his state, Khalsa Sikhs got special consideration, but Hindus and Muslims also held posts [5].

Time, place and evidence

• Period: late 17th to early 18th century, during the reign of Aurangzeb and the start of Mughal decline.
• Region: Punjab. Anandpur is where the Khalsa was founded [3][4]. By settled tradition he was born at Patna and died at Nanded (Maharashtra).
• Key people: Guru Tegh Bahadur (his father), the Panj Pyare, Aurangzeb, and later Banda Bahadur.
• Linked site today: Gurudwara Sis Gunj Sahib in Chandni Chowk marks the spot where his father was beheaded. Takht Sri Hazur Sahib, Nanded was one of the venues for the 350th Shaheedi Diwas (martyrdom day) events of Guru Tegh Bahadur in 2025 [2].
• How we know:
• Sikh tradition and the Guru Granth Sahib itself.
• The Dasam Granth, a collection traditionally linked to him (its authorship is debated by scholars).
• NCERT: Class 8, Ch 2 "Reshaping India's Political Map"; Class 12, "Bhakti-Sufi Traditions".
• Modern reference works: Britannica [3][4].

Don't confuse with

• Guru Tegh Bahadur: the ninth Guru and Gobind Singh's father. He was martyred in 1675 in Delhi and is called 'Hind di Chadar' [2]. He did not found the Khalsa.
• Guru Arjan: he first compiled the Guru Granth Sahib and was killed under Jahangir. Guru Gobind Singh gave the book its final form; he did not start it.
• Guru Hargobind: he raised the first Sikh army. The Khalsa (1699) came later and was a full military order with an initiation rite.
• Ranjit Singh: a political ruler (Sukerchakia misl, Maharaja from 1801) who built the Sikh Empire [5]. He was not a Guru.

Prelims Hooks

• Khalsa was founded by Guru Gobind Singh on Baisakhi, 30 March 1699, at Anandpur [3][4].
• Guru Gobind Singh was the tenth and last human Guru. His father Guru Tegh Bahadur was the ninth.
• First five initiates = Panj Pyare. Initiation ceremony = Amrit Sanskar [3].
• The five Ks: kesh, kara, kangha, kirpan, kachchera [3]. Trap: options may include "kalgi" or "kamarband". These are not among the five Ks.
• Singh ("lion") for men, Kaur ("princess") for women [3].
• Chronological order: Guru Arjan (killed under Jahangir) → Guru Hargobind (first army) → Guru Tegh Bahadur (1675) → Khalsa (1699) → Ranjit Singh Maharaja (1801) → Punjab annexed (1849) [5].

Mains Points

• Persecution led to militarisation. The chain runs like this:
• Guru Arjan was killed under Jahangir. Guru Hargobind then raised an army.
• Guru Tegh Bahadur was beheaded under Aurangzeb. Guru Gobind Singh then founded the Khalsa in 1699.

• So Mughal religious policy did not end the Sikh movement. It turned a devotional community into an organised military order.

• The Khalsa as social reform. Shared names (Singh/Kaur), the five Ks and a common initiation all cut across caste. Together they gave the Sikhs a new idea of authority, ritual and political purpose [3]. This shows the egalitarian (equal-for-all) idea of the Bhakti tradition growing into an organised community.

• Regional resistance and Mughal decline. Like the Rajputs, Ahoms and Marathas, the Khalsa filled the space left by a weakening empire. The line runs from the Khalsa to the misls and then to Ranjit Singh's centralised and fairly inclusive state [5]. This is useful for answers on 18th-century state formation and continuity.

Related concepts

• Guru Har Rai and Guru Har Krishan
• Guru Tegh Bahadur
• Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib
• Khalsa
• Panj Pyare and Five Ks
• Dasam Granth
• Veer Baal Diwas
• Banda Singh Bahadur
• Sikh misls
• Rakhi system

Read more

• Guru Tegh Bahadur, the Khalsa and the Sikh Empire