Tuesday commemorates the anniversary of the martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Sikh guru. Approximately 30 million Sikhs around the world are celebrating and remembering the religious figure that gave up his life for the Sikh people.
On June 16, 1606, Guru Arjan Dev died after being tortured by the government of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir, according to the Sikh Coalition. He was tortured for five days, and on the sixth day, he was taken for a bath in the river and never seen again.
The holiday is usually celebrated with a cover-to-cover reading of the Sikh holy book — or Sri Guru Granth Sahib — concluding on June 16 with musical recitation of hymns from the Sri Guru Granth Sahib and lectures on Sikhism, according to Sikhs.org. There is also sometimes a procession with the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, and free sweets are offered to the general public outside gurdwaras, or the Sikh place of worship.
Out of the 10 Sikh gurus — also referred to as prophets, or "enlightened" ones — Guru Arjan Dev offered major contributions to the Sikh faith, according to BBC. He compiled all the texts written by former gurus into the Guru Granth Sahib, laid the foundation of the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India, and mandated Sikhs to donate 10 percent of their earnings to charity.
However, Guru Arjan Dev's fate turned sour in 1605, when the newly appointed Emperor Jahangir exhibited a strong desire for a fully Islamic empire, according to J. Gordon Melton, contributor to "Religious Celebrations: An Encyclopedia of Holidays, Festivals, Solemn Observances, and Spiritual Commemorations."
Emperor Jahangir demanded that Guru Arjan Dev convert to Islam, which he refused to do. He was then arrested and tortured until his death, transforming Sikhism forever.
"The martyrdom of Guru Arjun Dev is credited with changing the basic character of Sikhism from a passive, peaceable people into a militant group willing to fight for its own survival and to protect its members from persecution," Melton wrote.
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