Baisakhi

BIRTH OF THE KHALSA

- Sardar Jasbir Singh

he Sikhs world over celebrate Baisakhi every year on the 13th or 14th of April which is the day when a new faith, the Sikh religion, was born.

The birth of the Khalsa was done in the grandest of ceremonies on the first of Vaisakh 1756 BK (March 29, 1699 CE) 326 years back. Sikh religion is the latest evolution by humans after Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Zoroastrianism.

The emergence of the Sikh religion was the logical outcome of the blueprint given by Guru Nanak Dev Ji the first of Sikh Gurus. The unique event of Baisakhi in 1699 was the culmination of the political and social scenario prevalent in those times. The Mughal state had assumed the form of a purely Islamic state under Aurangzeb. Earlier, especially in the times of early Mughal rulers Babar, Humayun and Akbar, the rule was largely Islamic but not totally Islamic. However, in Aurangzeb’s time, the state became entirely Islamic as orthodoxy was adopted as an “Smperial policy”. He began with puritanic measures. In the second year of his reign, he discontinued the celebration of Nauroz (the first day of the lunar year). A few years later music and dancing were prohibited. “Zharoka Darshan” was discontinued on the ground that it smacked of human worship. Severe punishments were given for anything that was construed by the theologians as violating the spirit of Islam. NonMuslims were singled out for discriminatory treatment in the fields of public services, construction and repair of temples, conversion and taxation. Islam being a missionary religion and the ruling Muslim community being in a minority, great importance was attached to conversions. In March 1695 CE, all the Hindus, except Rajputs, were ordered not to ride elephants, fine horses or palanquins or to carry arms. Aurangzeb was equally bigoted towards Shias, Sufi saints and liberal-minded Muslims.