Guru Tegh Bahadur Jayanti 2022: Significance, history and more

Guru Tegh Bahadur Jayanti 2022 or Prakash Parv 2022 is being celebrated today to mark the birth of the Ninth Guru of Sikhism, Guru Tegh Bahadur. This year marks the 400th year of his birth anniversary.

Born in 1621, he was the youngest son of Guru Hargobind. Guru Tegh Bahadur is remembered as the warrior guru, who relentlessly fought for religious freedom. Widely regarded as the saviour guru, Tegh Bahadur is considered to be an honourable scholar and poet who greatly contributed to the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of Sikhism.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the celebrations of the 400th Parkash Purab of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji at Red Fort in Delhi today at around 9 pm. He will address the gathering and also release a commemorative coin and postage stamp on the occasion.

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Significance and history  

The Prakash Parv is celebrated to mark Guru Tegh Bahadur's birth anniversary and remember his life and teachings. Widely regarded as the saviour guru, he is considered to be an honourable scholar and poet who greatly contributed to the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of Sikhism.

During the time of the Mughal rule, there were persecutions of the Hindus and people were forced to convert to Islam under the reign of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. At that time, he had resisted forced conversions of non-Muslims to Islam, after which Guru Tegh Bahadur was beheaded in Delhi in 1675.

The sites of his execution and cremation were later turned into Sikh holy places namely Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib and Gurudwara Rakab Ganj Sahib, in Delhi. The day of his execution is observed as Guru Tegh Bahadur Martyrdom Day on November 24.