Guru Arjan Dev is one of the greatest Sikh gurus who took over the leadership from his father Guru Ram Das. He was born on 15 April 1563. He was born in Goindval, Punjab, India. He was the youngest son of Bhai Jetha, who later became Guru Ram Das, and Mata Bhani, the daughter of Guru Amar Das. He was the fifth of the tenth Sikh Gurus in total and the first of the two Gurus who were martyred for their faith.
He built Sri Harmandir Sahib Gurudwara, at Amritsar so that all Sikhs can practice their religion freely. He expanded the holy places commercially and became the first Guru to serve as both temporal and spiritual head of Sikhs. Guru Arjan reorganised the Masands system started by Guru Ram Das, by propagating that the Sikhs should donate, if possible, one-tenth of their income, goods or service to the Sikh organisation.
The canonical Adi Granth or Guru Granth Sahib ("The Granth as the Guru"), the sacred scripture of the Sikhs, is based on the Kartarpur Pothi, a work that Guru Arjan wrote after updating the Sikh scriptures. He was also a prolific poet who created hymns of great lyrical quality.
The Sikh community prospered under the leadership of Guru Arjan. People who were envious of Guru Arjan’s prominence started spreading rumours about the Guru. He was taken prisoner and held captive at Lahore Fort under the rule of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir in order to oppress the Sikhs. He was fined Rs 200,000 and ordered to remove all Adi Granth passages that offended either Hinduism or Islam. He was asked to turn to Islam, but Guru Arjan refused and was tortured to death. His martyrdom is considered a turning point in the history of Sikhism.
As part of the golden jubilee celebrations, Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar will be hosting a special zoom event to honour the memory of Guru Arjan Dev. For more information about the event, check page 10.