In 1675, a delegation of around 500 Kashmiri Pandits, led by Pandit Kirpa Ram, sought help from Guru Tegh Bahadur at Anandpur Sahib, after facing severe persecution in Kashmir including forced conversions under Mughal governor Iftikhar Khan. Recognising their suffering, the ninth Sikh Guru pledged to defend their freedom of faith. He famously instructed the Pandits to tell Emperor Aurangzeb: if he could convert the Guru, then the entire community would follow voluntarily. Instead of capitulating, he chose martyrdom.

Arrested and offered a choice to convert to Islam, Guru Tegh Bahadur refused. As his colleagues Bhai Mati Das, Bhai Dayala Das, and Bhai Sati Das were brutally executed, he remained resolute. On November 11, 1675, he was beheaded in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk, becoming a martyr for religious freedom.

His sacrifice earned him the title Hind-di-Chadar the Shield of India and offered a precedent for pluralistic resilience. Two historic gurdwaras Sis Ganj Sahib and Rakab Ganj Sahib mark the sites of his martyrdom and cremation in Delhi.

Guru Gobind Singh, his son and successor, praised his sacrifice as a divine act that elevated justice beyond faith. Today, Guru Tegh Bahadur’s legacy serves as a timeless affirmation of protecting civil liberties and honouring human dignity even at the cost of one’s life.