The ten Sikh Gurus kept alive the flame of Dharma during Islamic rule in India. Guru Arjan Dev was the fifth Sikh Guru who was born on 15 April 1563 and was executed by the Islamic Emperor Jahangir. Guru Arjan Dev was not the only Guru who the Islamic invaders killed. Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru, was beheaded by the Islamic Emperor Aurangzeb, a grandson of Jahangir, for refusing to convert to Islam. Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, was assassinated by Jamshed Khan and Wasil Beg on the order of Nawab Wazir Khan.
Born in Goindval of Tarn Taran district, Guru Arjan Dev was the first martyr of the Sikh religion and was executed on the orders of Mughal emperor Jahangir. In the year 1606, the Guru Arjan Dev, was captured by Jahangir's army and imprisoned in Lahore Fort. The Mughals were afraid of his increasing influence in Northern India and the spread of Sikhism that threatened Islam. According to several contemporary accounts, it has been observed that every Islamic ruler had performed forced conversion of non-Muslims to spread Islam. Jahangir, too, wanted the same. According to Jahangir's autobiography Tuzk-e-Jahangiri (Jahangirnama), which discussed Guru Arjan's support for his rebellious son Khusrau Mirza, too many people were becoming persuaded by Guru Arjan's teachings, and if Guru Arjan did not become a Muslim, the Sikh Panth had to be extinguished.
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As a result, to stop the spread of Sikhism in the region, Jahangir imprisoned Guru Arjan Dev and forced him to convert to Islam. Many Muslims had started following the Sikh faith because of Guru Arjan Dev's work. The reason may be behind it that these Muslims had converted to Islam forcibly. However, Guru Arjan Dev refused conversion to Islam. He knew that his followers, too, converted to Islam if he converted. So the Mughal emperor condemned him to be tortured to death. The Guru was made to sit on a burning hot plate, and hot sand was poured on his face. After torturing for some days, Guru Arjan Dev was executed on 30 May 1606.
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According to the Sikh literature, before his execution, Guru Arjan instructed his son and successor Hargobind to take up arms and resist tyranny. His execution led the Sikh Panth to become armed and pursue resistance to persecution under Islamic rule.
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(Guru Hargobind)
The sacrifice of Guru Arjan Dev was looked at as a sacrifice for the truth, and it became un-Sikh like to stand against oppression. The Guru's death became a watershed moment as from then on began the militarization of Sikhs. This conflict that started between the Muslims and Sikhs with the execution of Arjan Dev continued till the last Guru, Gobind Singh, who finally established the militarized order, the Khalsa, in 1699.
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