Aurangzeb persecution

The Mughal Emperor, Aurangzebcherished the ambition of converting Indiainto an Islamic country. This philosophy was also pleaded by Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi (1569–1624), leader of the Naqashbandi School of thought, to counter the liberal policies of Akbar's reign.

Although most of the conversions in Kashmir happened peacefully. Yet, the Emperor's experiment was carried out in Kashmir. The viceroy of Kashmir, Iftikhar Khan (1671–1675) carried out the policy vigorously and set about converting non-Muslims by force.

A group of Kashmiri Pandits (Kashmiri Hindu Brahmins),  approached GuruTegh Bahadur Ji for help. Guru Tegh Bahadur realised that sacrifice is needed to stop the injustice being done in India by the Mughul empror.He adviced the kashmiri pandits to tell the Mughal authorities that they would willingly embrace Islam if Tegh  Bahadur did the same.

Orders of the arrest of the Guru were issued by Aurangzeb, who was in the present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistansubduing Pushtun rebellion. The Guru was arrested at a place called Malikhpur near Anandpur after he had departed from Anandpur for Delhi. Before departing he  nominated his son, Gobind Rai (Guru Gobind Singh) as the next Sikh Guru.

He was arrested, along with some of his followers, Bhai Dayala, Bhai Mati Dasand Bhai Sati Das by Nur Muhammad Khan of the Rupnagar police post at the village Malikhpur Rangharan, in Ghanaula Parganah, and sent to Sirhind the following day. The Faujdar (Governor) of Sirhind, Dilawar Khan, ordered him to be detained in Bassi Pathana and reported the news to Delhi.  His arrest was made in July 1675 and he was kept in custody for over  three months. He was then kept in an iron cage and taken to Delhi in  November 1675.

The Guru was put in chains and ordered to be tortured until he would  accept Islam. When he could not be persuaded to abandon his faith to  save himself from persecution, he was asked to perform some miracles to  prove his divinity. Refusing to do so,Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji was beheaded in  public at Chandni Chowk on 24 November 1675. The Guru is also known as "Hind Di Chadar" i.e. "The Shield of India", suggesting that he gave up his life to protect the religious freedom of non Muslims in Mughal India. The three sikhs arrested with him were also tortured to death by boiling in hot water, cutting by saw and burning alive.