Circumstances leading to the Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev

 The martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev was the cumulative result of a variety of factors. Now the controversy revolves around the issue whether the Guru was a political offender, as the Persian and other writers like Mohsin Fani, S.M. Latif, Jadu Nath Sarkar, J.D. Cunningham etc. contend; or he fell a prey to the religious fanaticism of the Mughal emperor as Dr. I.B. Banerjee, Sir G.C. Narang, Macauliffe, Dr. H.R. Gupta,  Dr. Ganda Singh, Pr. Teja Singh etc. state.

The theory that Guru Arjan was a political offender is based on an excerpt from Tuzuq-i-Jahangiri. The supporters of this theory believe that the Guru was politically ambitious to have power in his own hands. The works he carried out had behind them his political objectives. As a result of these, the Sikhs had come to acquire the position of an imperium in imperio. In this organizational development of the Sikhs, Jahangir, the Mughal emperor, saw the impending danger to the stability of the Mughal Empire. The realization of the tax from the Sikhs, called Daswand, the appointment of the representatives at different places— the Masands, the establishment of the Sikh troops and the encouragement to the trade in horses—all these indicate the objectives of Guru Arjan.

But majority of the writers refute these views, the reasons being clear. Daswand was not a tax at all, but the Guru had directed his Sikhs to contribute one-tenth of their income for the development of the Church. It was by this only that the Guru could arrange his budget with much more certainty. Moreover, the Masands were appointed by the Guru in order to cope with the difficulties raised by the rapid increase in the number of the Sikhs. These Masands were the spiritual rather than the political representatives of the Guru. The encouragement to trade in horses dealt “an effective blow at the stringency of caste and Hindu superstitions, in breaking down the barrier which prevented the Hindus from crossing the Indus.”

In the Tuzuq, there is a reference to the political offence of the Guru, i.e. Guru Arjan helped Prince Khusrau during his revolt against his father, Jahangir. According to it, he had done so in order to achieve his political ends. Jahangir could not tolerate these rebellious activities on the part of Guru Arjan, and tortured him to death.

However, going into the details of the Tuzuq itself, we do not find any such objectives behind the Guru. Firstly, in the Tuzuq there is a list of the helpers of Khusrau. These helpers were punished by the emperor according to the gravity of their offence. But the name of Guru Arjan does not figure in it. Had Guru Arjan, at that time, played his alleged role in the rebellion, his name would have been included in it. One thing more, had the Guru been active in connection with the revolt, he might have issued the Hukumnamas for his Sikhs to join the army of Khusrau. But no such Hukumnama is found.

Moreover, Jahangir in his auto-biography mentions that the Guru blessed Khusrau for success and also marked tilak on the prince’s forehead, which is believed fortunate enough. However, as Dr. Ganda Singh comments that the marking of tilak was not prevalent in the Guru family or in the Mughals. So this allegation also seems to be baseless.

The above statements prove that the efforts to involve Guru Arjan in the revolt of Khusrau are meaningless. Thus it was the religious fanaticism of Jahangir, which compelled him to torture the Guru to death.

The organizational development of Sikhism under Guru Arjan and his predecessors was not tolerated by Jahangir, who wanted to convert the Guru to Islam, either peacefully or by compulsion, when he writes in the Tuzuq, “In Gobindwal, which is on the river Biyah (Beas), there is a Hindu named Arjun, in the garments of sainthood and sanctity, so much so that he has captured many of the simple-hearted of the Hindus, and even of the ignorant and foolish followers of Islam, by his ways and manners, and they had loudly sounded the drum of his holiness…They call him Guru, and from all sides stupid people crowded to worship and manifest complete faith in him. For three or four generations (of spiritual successors) they have kept this shop warm. Many times it occurred to me that to put a stop to this vain affair or to bring him into the assembly of the people of Islam.” When Jahangir failed to convert Guru Arjan to Islam, he tortured him physically, which ultimately resulted to his death.

The nobility and the members of the Sunni order of Islam felt hatred for the organizational development of Sikhism. This development had reduced the numerical strength of the Muslims in Punjab, which would also reduce their influence in the empire.

The enemies and even the kith and kin of the Guru participated as a factor in the martyrdom of Guru Arjan. Chandu Shah, the Dewan of Lahore, offered his daughter’s hand for Hargobind, the son of Guru Arjan. But the Guru rejected the offer, because of the haughtiness of Chandu Shah. He became very angry at this attitude of the Guru, and as says Sir G.C. Narang, “The Dewan was exasperated and resolved to punish he Guru for his insolence.”  Further, he says, “In all likelihood the part that Chandu could have played in this tragic episode was that as an official of the Government, he made a report to the Central Government in his official capacity about the incident mentioned by the Emperor.”

Prithia, the elder brother of Guru Arjan, was kept away from the guruship and he could not tolerate it. He always sought an opportunity when he could take his revenge from the Guru. Both Chandu and Prithia poisoned the ears of the emperor through Qazi Suleh Khan.

Jahangir was already waiting for an opportunity to take action against the Guru, and Khusrau’s revolt provided it. Guru Arjan’s involvement in this revolt was alleged. By the orders of the emperor, Guru Arjan was imprisoned and brought before him. The emperor asked him why he helped the rebel prince. The Guru’s reply was that his assistance to the prince had nothing to do with his opposition to the emperor. “Had I failed to show some kindness to the grandson of my former benefactor (Akbar), it would have been the height of heartlessness and ingratitude on my part.” But this reply of the Guru had no impact upon Jahangir.  He fined the Guru for Rs. two lakh and also omit those verses from the Adi Granth which opposed the religious sentiments of the Hindus as well as the Muslims. But the Guru refused to omit even a single word from the Holy Granth. For the payment of fine, he said that he would not pay even a single penny because “whatever money I have is for the poor, the friendless and the stranger.” He even prevented his Sikhs when they tried to collect money for his release. When the Guru refused to accept the terms, he “was forced to submit to infinite tortures which ultimately led to his death.” The torturers of the Guru poured boiling sand on him, seated him on red hot cauldrons and bathed him in boiling water. These physical tortures led to his death in June 1606 AD. Thus Dr. I.B. Banerjee sums up the causes of Guru Arjan’s martyrdom in these words: “The organizational strength of Sikhism, the Guru’s position as the leader of a fairly compact community and the facts that he was called a Sacha Padshah by his followers, and that he had compiled a book which did not spare the current perversions of both Hinduism and Islam, were all used to create a prejudice against the Guru.”

The martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev is of great significance in the Sikh history. It brought about the transformation in the Sikh movement. So far, the Sikhs were known as a religious and spiritual community only, but now in self-defence they took to arms under the sixth Guru, Hargobind, for whom Guru Arjan had sent a message, “Let him sit fully armed on the throne and maintain an army to the best of his ability.” He organized his army and fortified the city of Amritsar, apart from giving military training to his Sikhs. This development was not ignored by the State “particularly as the organizational strength of Sikhism and its unified leadership made it a magnet which might at any time become a rallying point of disaffection.” Trumpp also observes that Guru Arjan’s martyrdom was a great turning point in the development of the Sikh community. With it started the struggle which changed the whole character of this reformatory religious movement.  Dr. Narang states that Guru Arjan opened the chapter of persecutions and he himself was destined to be the first to receive the ‘crown of martyrdom’.

Dr. I.B. Banerjee has approached the subject in these words: As a result of the reforms and more specially the organizational work carried out by Guru Arjan and his predecessors, ‘a State, peaceful and unobtrusive, had been slowly evolved and that the Sikh community had come to acquire the position of an imperium in imperio….By the year 1604, the Sikhs had become a more or less compact community, in command of an efficient and extensive organization reaching to the corners of the Province and even beyond….The spectacle of a religious teacher at the head of such an extensive organization and with a body of followers who had been taught that to sacrifice their all for the Guru was the highest and the most meritorious act, and whose sense of brotherhood and love for each other transcended all other feelings, could not but disturb the equanimity of the established State and clearly a crisis was coming when a direct conflict would be difficult to avoid.’

On the whole, it cannot be denied that it was the religious bigotry and cruelty of the Mohammedan government to which Guru Arjan fell a victim.

 

Development of Sikhism under Guru Arjan Dev

The pontificate of Guru Arjan Dev is very significant in the history of Sikhism. He adopted a number of measures for the development of the Sikh Church. He was a powerful organiser and a great statesman. That is why even the Muslim writer, S.M. Latif, also praises him, “He was an energetic and aspiring Guru, and his aims were high. He organised the Sikhs into a community, and devised measures for extending his spiritual authority.”
The first work undertaken by Guru Arjan was the construction of Harimandir in Amritsar. Guru Ram Das, the fourth Guru, had started the work of excavation of two tanks at Amritsar or 
Ramdaspur-- Amritsar and Santokhsar. As the work was left incomplete due to the death of Guru Ram Das, it was for Guru Arjan to complete it.
(A) Construction activities- 
(i) Construction of Harimandir- After the completion of both these tanks, Guru Arjan schemed to construct a temple in the midst of Amritsar. The temple was called Harimandir-- the Temple of God. The foundation stone of the temple was laid down by the famous Muslim Sufi saint-- Mian Mir, in 1589 AD. Some Sikhs counselled the Guru that the temple must be the highest of all other buildings nearby. But Guru Arjan denied it, because says the Guru : 
As the former Gurus had condemned the caste-system, Guru Arjan decided to stage four doors in this Temple, which meant that it is opened to all the persons belonging to any caste or any part of the world. A large number of Sikhs participated in this work of construction and performed the Sewa at the site as part of their daily routine. While the work was going on, the news about the outstanding project of the unique pilgrimage under construction spread far and wide. Devotees of the Guru contributed share from their earning to the construction fund. The construction of the Harimandir was completed in 1601 AD. 
The construction of the Harimandir was significant in many ways. Dr. I.B. Banerjee states, “This was of the greatest importance for the firm establishment of Sikhism, for the Sikhs obtained thereby a fixed central place of worship.” Secondly, the Guru declared that its travel would be equate 68 visits to the Hindu pilgimages. Now the Sikhs had no need to visit such places as Benaras, Hardwar etc. He even asked his Sikhs to settle in Amritsar and deal in trade. The Harimandir came to be known as the Mecca of the Sikhs. Sir G.C. Narang observes, “It became, in fact, the capital and metropolis of the infant commonwealth that the genius of Arjan was gradually and peacefully building up.”
(ii) Foundation of new towns- Twenty two miles towards south from Amritsar was founded the town of Tarn Taran. A tank was excavated and the Guru declared that whoever took bath in the tank would get salvation. An Ashram was founded for the lepers, and the arrangement was made of free food, dress and medicines for them. The foundation of this town is of immense importance in the development of Sikhism, for a number of Jats from Majha joined Sikhism and later on proved to be great soldiers. According to Dr. Banerjee, “People of this tract have always formed the backbone of the Sikh community.”
In 1593 AD, Guru Arjan lay down the foundation of a new town near Jalandhar-- Kartarpur, literally meaning the place of God. He also excavated a tank here, called Gangasar and declared that its water had the sacredness equal to the water of the Ganges. The new town became an important preaching centre in the Bist Doab.
On the banks of the river Beas, he founded the town of Hargobindpur in 1595 AD, on the birth of his son, Hargobind.
(iii) Construction of a Baoli- At Lahore, he made arrangements for the construction of a Baoli at Dabbi Bazar. The Baoli became another place of pilgrim for the Sikhs. It was, however, filled with mud in 1628 AD, on the orders of the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan.
(B) Masand system- The organization and development of the Masand system is one of his most important achievements. There is much controversy on the view whether it was Guru Ram Das or Guru Arjan Dev, who established the Masand system. Mostly, the historians stress on the fact that the system was established by Guru Ram Das. However, Dr. Hari Ram Gupta denies this opinion and states that it was in the days of Guru Arjan that the Masands were appointed.
Be whatsoever it may be, it can’t be denied that it was under Guru Arjan that the Masand system had been organized and fully developed. The number of the Sikhs, in fact, was increasing rapidly in the time of the fifth Guru. He had, therefore, taken in his hands the construction work of many tanks and towns. For this work and also to continue the Langar system started by Guru Nanak, money was needed badly. Money collected by the means of offerings by the Sikhs was not definite. Moreover, times were seen when contributions made by the Sikhs did not reach to the Guru. Therefore, the Guru ordered his Sikhs to pay one-tenth of their income, known as Daswand, for the Church. This Daswand was collected by the appointed deputies of the Guru, called the Masands. The Masands deposited all the money to the treasury of the Guru on the day of Baisakhi. Complete accounts of money were kept. The Masands were ordered by the Guru not to use even a single penny on themselves out of the collections, and warned of severe physical troubles to those who didi not abide by this order. The Masands had further appointed their own deputies, known as Masandias, to perform the duties for the Masands at the regions afar, where the Masands themselves could not go.
The Masands also preached the message of the Guru in their areas. When they visited Amritsar on the first day of Baisakh, to pay the contributions collected from the Sikhs, they informed the Guru about the Sikhs in their respective regions and sometimes even accompanied with them many devoted of them.
Some writers have charged the Guru having political motives behind the establishment of this institution. As Trumpp writes that “the Sikhs were gradually accustomed to a kind of government of their own and began to feel themselves as a firmly organised and strong party within the State.” S.M. Latif also confirms this contention, “He organised a system of taxation and appointed delegates for the purposes of collecting it from his followers throughout the country.... Thus were the Sikhs accustomed to a regular system of government, and, having been formed into a community, gradually developed into a real power.” But hardly does any truth appear in it, because
    - Daswand was not a tax, but a contribution or Nazrana.
    - The Masand were the deputies of the Guru, who preached the religious message of the Guru and           collected money from the Sikh followers.
    - Moreover, the title of Sacha Padshah, as the Sikhs used to address their Guru, indicated his spiritual        supremacy.
The institution of Masand left some important impact on the Sikh history. First of all, the Daswand gave the definite income to the Sikh Church. For this reason, the new towns could be established and the Langar system could be carried on successfully. Secondly, the Masands played an important role in the development of the Church. They brought the Sikhs quite close to the Guru in one instance, even though they were residing very far from the Punjab. They collected money from them and also gave them the mesage of the Guru. Dr. G.C. Narang observes, “The Guru could now arrange his budget with more certainty as the dues of the Guru were paid more readily and unfailingly than even the Mughal revenues.”
(C) Trade in horses- Guru Arjan encouraged his Sikhs to engage in the profession of trade in horses with the countries beyond the Indus. It became very significant for the Sikhs. It gave a severe death-blow to the caste-system. The Sikhs used to go beyond the Indus for this trade while the Hindu society prohibited to cross the oceans. This trade made the Sikhs a prosperous community and also increased the income of the Church. By trading in horses, the Sikhs were able to get knowledge of the best breed of horses, and it helped them in becoming a race of warriors.
(D) Compilation of the Adi Granth- The compilation of the Adi Granth is known as the crowning achievement of his life. The number of the Sikhs had increased rapidly during the life time of the fifth Guru. It was impossible for all the Sikhs to be present before the Guru. Moreover, many persons like Prithia, had started to narrate their own verses in the name of the Gurus. Therefore, to give the complete and authentic verses of the Gurus, Guru Arjan felt the neccesity to provide the Sikhs with a copy which consisted of all the verses of the Sikh Gurus.
Guru Arjan collected the verses of the first three Gurus from Baba Mohan, son of Guru Amar Das. The verses of Guru Ram Das were already with him, while he added his own to them. Guru Arjan also made selections from the compositions of various saints, both Hindu and Muslims. Whose principles he found in accordance with those of the Sikh Gurus, were also placed in the Granth, which was compiled on the banks of the tank Ramsar. The compilation of the Granth was named the ‘Adi Granth’. It was written out by Bhai Gurdas at the dictation of Guru Arjan, and the work was completed in 1604 AD after much arduous labour. The compilation was a very significant step of Guru Arjan. It gave the Sikhs a sacred religious Granth. It infused a new spirit into the minds of the followers of the Guru.
(E) Sacrifice for religion- Guru Arjan sacrificed his life for the sake of Sikhism. When Jahangir became the Mughal emperor in 1605 AD, he ordered for the execution of Guru Arjan, which is believed to be on the grounds of the rapid development of the mission under him. The revolt of Prince Khusro gave the emperor an opportunity to strike at. According to Sir G.C. Narang, “He was not only the first great organizer of the Sikh nation, but was also destined to be the first to receive the crown of martyrdom.”

The twenty-five years (1581-1606 AD) of the guruship of Arjan mark an important phase in the history of Sikhism. It was in this period that the Sikhism exhibited its independent identity and showed clear signs of difference from the Hindu orthodoxy. The Guru’s martyrdom brought transformation in the Sikh Church, when the Sikhs sought it expedient under Guru Hargobind to raise arms to defend their organised sect against the fanatic Islamic government.