>InternetArchiveBot at 06:48, 19 May 2021

2021-05-19T06:48:43Z

New page

[[File:Guru Hargobind is released from Gwalior Fort by Jahangir's order.jpg|thumb|Guru Hargobind Ji is released from Gwalior Fort on Jahangir's order]]
[[File:Diwali fireworks and lighting celebrations India 2012.jpg|thumb|Festive fireworks at Harmandir Sahib temple on Bandi Chhor Divas]]
'''Bandi Chhor Divas''' ("Day of Liberation") is a [[Sikhism|Sikh]] celebration that commemorates the day the sixth Guru of Sikhs, Guru Hargobind was released from Gwalior Fort. Emperor Jahangir had held him at the Gwalior Fort for several months. A Sikh Gurdwara, Gurdwara Data Bandi Chhor Sahib, is located at the place of the Gurus internment in the Fort. The day falls in autumn and often overlaps with Hindu Diwali, the festival of lights celebrated across Punjab. Historically, from the time of the third Sikh [[Guru Amar Das]], Sikhs and Hindus of the time used the occasion of Diwali, [[Vaisakhi]] and other such festivals to congregate at the seat of the Gurus.<ref name="ColeSambhi1995p135">{{cite book|author1=William Owen Cole|author2=Piara Singh Sambhi|title=The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=zIC_MgJ5RMUC&pg=PA135|year= 1995|publisher= Sussex Academic Press|isbn=978-1-898723-13-4|pages=135–136}}, '''Quote:''' "Since the time of Guru Amar Das it has been customary for Sikhs to assemble before their Guru on three of the most important Hindu festival occasions - Vaisakhi, Divali and Maha Shivaratri".</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Kathleen Kuiper|title=The Culture of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c8PJFLeURhsC&pg=PA127 |year=2010|publisher= The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-1-61530-149-2|page=127}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Eleanor Nesbitt|title=Sikhism: a Very Short Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XebnCwAAQBAJ |year=2016|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-874557-0|pages=28–29, 59}}</ref> In the late 20th century, Sikh religious leaders and the [[Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee]] formally adopted this day into the [[Nanakshahi calendar]] in 2003, under President Prof. Kirpal Singh Badungar the then president of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.<ref name=nesbitt122>{{cite book|author=Eleanor Nesbitt|title=Sikhism: a Very Short Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XebnCwAAQBAJ |year=2016|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-874557-0|pages=6, 122–123}}</ref>

The Hindu festival of [[Diwali]] is celebrated across all India (and globally) by people of the Hindu, Jain and Sikh faith. Its significance is based on the ancient events and scriptures of [[Hinduism]], while Bandi Chhor Divas celebrates a Sikh historic event related to the sixth Guru, [[Guru Hargobind]]. According to history, on this day, Guru Hargobind was able to secure the release of 52 kings, imprisoned by Mughal Emperor [[Jahangir]].<ref>Phyllis G. Jestice, [https://books.google.com/books?id=H5cQH17-HnMC&pg=PA345 Holy People of the World: A Cross-cultural Encyclopedia, Volume 1]</ref><ref name="google1">[https://books.google.com/books?id=BEP0Ty-GuVEC&pg=PA48 Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed by Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair]</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Knut A. Jacobsen|author2=Kristina Myrvold|title=Sikhs Across Borders: Transnational Practices of European Sikhs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fU8BAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA26 |year=2012|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1-4411-0358-1|pages=26–27, 33 with note 19}}</ref>

The Bandi Chhor Divas is celebrated by lighting of homes and Gurdwaras, celebratory processions (nagar kirtan) and langar ( community kitchen). It is an important Sikh celebration along with Vaisakhi, Hola Mohalla and [[Guru Nanak Gurpurab|Gurpurab]].<ref name=nesbitt122/><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=DQeKTUXphPMC&pg=PA29 Glimpses of Sikhism By Major Nahar Singh Jawandha]</ref>

== Description==
{{Sikhism sidebar}}

Bandi Chhor Divas was celebrated when Guru Hargobind sahib ji was released from Gwalior prison with 52 Hindu kings and princes holding on to his robe or cape with 52 ropes.The guru let all 52 innocent rulers to safety without any signs of war or battle. In addition to ''Nagar keertan'' (a street procession) and an ''Akhand paath'' (a continuous reading of [[Guru Granth Sahib]]), Bandi Chhor (Shodh) Divas is celebrated with a fireworks display. The Sri Harmandir Sahib, as well as the whole complex, is festooned with thousands of shimmering lights. The gurdwara organizes continuous ''[[kirtan]]'' singing and special musicians. Sikhs consider this occasion as an important time to visit Gurdwaras and spend time with their families.<ref>{{cite book|author=Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh|title=Sikhism: An Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w8yWAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT86 |year=2011|publisher =I.B.Tauris|isbn =978-0-85773-549-2|page=86}}</ref>

== History and significance ==
Guru Hargobind Shaib's father [[Guru Arjan Dev]] was arrested under the orders of the Mughal Emperor [[Jahangir]] and he was asked to convert to Islam.<ref name=ps5/><ref name=lkca>{{cite book | last=Kulathungam | first=Lyman | title= Quest: Christ amidst the quest | publisher=Wipf | year=2012 | isbn=978-1-61097-515-5 | pages=175–177}}</ref> His refusal led to his torture and execution in 1606 CE.<ref name=ps5/><ref name=thackston>{{cite book |last=Jahangir, Emperor of Hindustan |date=1999 |title=The Jahangirnama: Memoirs of Jahangir, Emperor of India |translator-last=Thackston |translator-first=Wheeler M. |translator-link=Wheeler Thackston |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=59 |isbn=978-0-19-512718-8}}</ref> This event is a defining moment in the history of India and Sikhs as the martyrdom of Guru Arjan.<ref name=ps5/><ref>Louis E. Fenech, Martyrdom in the Sikh Tradition, Oxford University Press, pp. 118-121</ref> After the execution, Guru Hargobind succeeded his father as the next Guru of Sikhs.<ref name=ps5>Pashaura Singh (2005), [http://www.global.ucsb.edu/punjab/journal_12_1/3_singh.pdf Understanding the Martyrdom of Guru Arjan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303175032/http://www.global.ucsb.edu/punjab/journal_12_1/3_singh.pdf |date=2016-03-03 }}, Journal of Philosophical Society, 12(1), pages 29-62</ref><ref name= "McLeodp20">{{cite book|title= The A to Z of Sikhism|author= W.H. McLeod|author-link= W.H. McLeod|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vgixwfeCyDAC|publisher= Scarecrow Press|year= 2009|isbn= 9780810863446|page= 20 (Arjan's Death)|quote="The Mughal rulers of Punjab were evidently concerned with the growth of the Panth, and in 1605 the Emperor Jahangir made an entry in his memoirs, the ''Tuzuk-i-Jahāṅgīrī'', concerning Guru Arjan's support for his rebellious son Khusro. Too many people, he wrote, were being persuaded by his teachings, and if the Guru would not become a Muslim the Panth had to be extinguished. Jahangir believed that Guru Arjan was a Hindu who pretended to be a saint and that he had been thinking of forcing Guru Arjan to convert to Islam or his false trade should be eliminated, for a long time. Mughal authorities seem plain to have been responsible for Arjan's death in custody in Lahore, and this may be accepted as an established fact. Whether the death was by execution, the result of torture, or drowning in the Ravi River remains unresolved. For Sikhs, Arjan is the first martyr Guru."}}</ref><ref name=whm>{{cite book|isbn=978-0231068154|publisher=Columbia University Press|author=WH McLeod|date=1989|title=The Sikhs: History, Religion, and Society|url=https://archive.org/details/sikhshistoryreli00mcle|url-access=registration|pages=[https://archive.org/details/sikhshistoryreli00mcle/page/26 26–51]}}</ref>

Guru Hargobind, on 24 June 1606, at age 11, was crowned as the sixth Sikh Guru.<ref>Louis E. Fenech, Martyrdom in the Sikh Tradition, Oxford University Press, pages 118-121</ref><ref name=hssingha>HS Singha (2009), Sikh Studies, Book 7, Hemkunt Press, {{ISBN|978-8170102458}}, pages 18-19</ref> At his succession ceremony, he put on two swords: one indicated his resolve to maintain spiritual authority (''piri'') and the other, his temporal authority (''miri'').<ref name=hssyan>HS Syan (2013), Sikh Militancy in the Seventeenth Century, IB Tauris, {{ISBN|978-1780762500}}, pages 48-55</ref> Because of the execution of [[Guru Arjan]] by Mughal Emperor Jahangir, Guru Hargobind was opposed to the oppression of the Mughal rule. He advised Sikhs and Hindus to arm and fight.<ref name=mah>{{cite book |title=Muslim Rule In India|author=V. D. Mahajan |year=1970|publisher=S. Chand, New Delhi, p.223}}</ref> The death of his father at the hands of Jahangir prompted him to emphasize the military dimension of the Sikh community.<ref name="Phyllis2004">{{cite book|title= Holy People of the World: A Cross-cultural Encyclopedia, Volume 1|author= Phyllis G. Jestice|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=H5cQH17-HnMC&pg=PA345|publisher= [[ABC-CLIO]]|year= 2004|isbn= 9781576073551|pages= 345, 346}}</ref>

Different versions exist of how the Guru was imprisoned at Gwalior Fort by Jahangir. One version suggests that when Murtaja Khan, Nawab of Lahore, noticed that the Guru had constructed the Sri Akal Takhat Sahib, 'The Throne of the Almighty', at Amritsar, and was also strengthening his army, he informed the Mughal Emperor Jahangir about this. He also, emphasized that the Sikh Guru was making preparations to take revenge for his father's torture and martyrdom. When Jahangir heard about this he at once sent Wazir Khan and Guncha Beg to Amritsar to arrest Guru Hargobind.

But Wazir Khan, who happened to be an admirer of Guru Hargobind, rather than arresting him, requested the Guru to accompany them to Delhi telling him that Emperor Jahangir wanted to meet him. The young Guru accepted the invitation and soon reached Delhi, where Jahangir interned him at the [[Gwalior Fort]] in 1609. Another version speaks of Guru Hargobind's imprisonment on the pretext that the fine imposed on Guru Arjan had not been paid by the Sikhs and Guru Hargobind.<ref name="mandair48">{{cite book|title= Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed|author= Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=BEP0Ty-GuVEC&pg=PA48|publisher= [[A & C Black]]|year= 2013|isbn= 9781441117083|page= 48}}</ref> It is not clear as to how much time he spent as a prisoner. The year of his release appears to have been either 1611 or 1612, when Guru Hargobind was about 16 years old.<ref name="mandair48" /> Persian records, such as ''Dabistan i Mazahib'' suggest he was kept in jail between 1617-1619 in Gwalior, after which he and his camp were kept under Muslim army's surveillance by Jahangir.<ref name="eos">{{cite web |url=http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/index.aspx
|title=HARGOBIND GURU (1595-1644) |author=Fauja Singh |editor= Harbans Singh|isbn= 978-8173802041 |website=Encyclopaedia of Sikhism |publisher=Punjabi University Punjabi |access-date=7 December 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Sikh Review, Volumes 42-43, Issues 491-497|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=1XPXAAAAMAAJ |year=1994|publisher=Sikh Cultural Centre|pages=15–16}}</ref> As per some accounts, Guru Hargobind upon his release went to Amritsar, where people were celebrating the festival of Diwali. This important event in Sikh history is now termed the ''Bandi Chhor Divas'' festival.<ref>{{cite book|author=Eleanor Nesbitt|title=Sikhism: a Very Short Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XebnCwAAQBAJ |year=2016|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-874557-0|pages=28–29, 59, 120–131}}</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Diwali]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Sikhism}}
{{Punjabi fairs and festivals}}


[[Category:Diwali]]
[[Category:Sikh festivals]]
[[Category:Awareness days]]
[[Category:Punjabi culture]]
[[Category:Religious festivals in India]]
[[Category:October observances]]
[[Category:November observances]]

Bandi Chhor Divas - Revision history

>InternetArchiveBot at 06:48, 19 May 2021