Tercentenary of Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621-1675)

The government of India has announced to make 400 ye Prakash Gurupurab of great Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib at an international level. To make this event memorable, the Prime Minister of India, Mr Narendra Modi, has formed a high-level committee, whose purpose is to motivate the programs and to do the guidance work related to the ceremony. The Indian Postal Department was proud to release an Indian Postage Stamp of Prakash Guru Parab Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji. The composition of the High-Level Committee was notified on 27^th December 2021 and it was said that the festival would run from 21^st April 2021 to 2022. The closing ceremony of the 400th Prakash Parv of Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji was organized on 21 April 2022 at the Red Fort in Delhi.

Guru Tegh Bahadur is revered as the ninth Guru of the Sikh faith. Youngest of the five sons of Guru Hargobind, the sixth Guru of the Sikhs, he was born at Amritsar on April 1, 1621. For over two decades he had lived in seclusion and meditation when, in 1661, he was anointed the ninth spiritual successor to Guru Nanak. In 1665, Guru Tegh Bahadur founded in the foothills of Shivaliks a town which came to be known as Anandpur. This town became the fountain-head of a regenerating inspiration and scene of memorable deeds of sacrifice and daring. Guru Tegh Bahaqur travelled extensively across the country spreading his message of love, faith and universal brotherhood.

One of his journey took him as far as Assam in the East. He was sensitive to the people’s sufferings and taught them to be fearless. Guru Tegh Bahadur assumed the Apostolic Office when the country was experiencing growing religious intolerance and persecution. He felt deeply the need to do something to ameliorate the situation and to bring harmony to the land torn by conflict. Soon after, some leading Brahmins of Kashmir came in a deputation to Guru Tegh Bahadur to seek his help and protection. His youngest son who later became Guru Gobind Singh also pleaded the case of the depressed people. Guru Tegh Bahadur then offered to sacrifice himself to defend the oppressed. He resolved to go to Delhi to create among the people the spirit of courage and boldness. While he was on his way, Guru Tegh Bahadur was arrested and taken to Delhi where he was put in an iron cage and asked to perform some miracles and prove the divinity of hi mission or otherwise to abandon his faith. He declined to show any miracle saying that it was not proper to intervene in the Will of God.

On November 11, 1675, he was beheaded in public in the Chandni Chowk in Delhi. This was a most moving event in the history of India. Guru Tegh Bahadur symbolised in his life the noblest values of moral courage, self-sacrifice and tolerance. Guru Tegh Bahadur had a deep spiritual insight and his compositions are preserved in the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh Scripture. The Posts and Telegraphs Department is honoured to issue a special commemorative postage stamp on the occasion of the tercentenary of the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur. The stamp depicts Gurdwara Sisganj in Chandni Chowk, Delhi, where his martyrdom took place.