2022 - Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji | Commemorative Coin

The second commemorative coin for the year 2022 was released on occasion of 400th Parkash Purab of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji. This marked the inaugural release of a ₹400 coin by the India Government Mint.

Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji (1 April 1621 – 11 November 1675) was the ninth of ten Gurus who founded the Sikh religion and the leader of Sikhs from 1665 until his beheading in 1675. He was born in Amritsar, Punjab, India in 1621 and was the youngest son of Guru Hargobind Sahib, the sixth Sikh guru. Considered a principled and fearless warrior, he was a learned spiritual scholar and poet whose 115 hymns are included in Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the main text of Sikhism.

Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed (by beheading) on the orders of Aurangzeb, the sixth Mughal emperor, in Delhi, India. Sikh holy premises Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib and Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib in Delhi mark the places of execution and cremation of Guru Tegh Bahadur.[9] His martyrdom is remembered as the Shaheedi Divas of Guru Tegh Bahadur every year on 24 November, according to the Nanakshahi calendar released by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee in 2003.

Guru Tegh Bahadur contributed many hymns to Granth Sahib including the Saloks, or couplets near the end of the Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Tegh Bahadur toured various parts of the Mughal Empire and was asked by Gobind Sahali to construct several Sikh temples in Mahali. His works include 116 shabads, 15 ragas, and his bhagats are credited with 782 compositions that are part of bani in Sikhism.

In 1675 Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed in Delhi on 11 November under the orders of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and his body was burnt. The Sikhs managed to get the body before it was fully burnt to perform final rites. According to J.S. Grewal, a scholar of Sikh history, Guru Tegh Bahadur decided to confront the religious persecution of Kashmiri Hindus by the Mughal officials. He did so after appointing his son as the successor-Guru, leaving his base of Makhowal and entering Ropar where he was promptly arrested. According to Purnima Dhavan – a scholar of South Asian history and Mughal Empire, the Mughal administration kept a close watch on his activities. Guru Tegh Bahadur was kept in jail for four months in Sirhind, then transferred to Delhi in November 1675. There he was asked to perform a miracle to prove his nearness to his God. The Guru stated his belief that "occult powers were not a proof of one's nearness to God”. After his refusal to perform a miracle, he was asked to convert to Islam, which he refused to do. Three of his colleagues, who had been arrested with him, were then put to death in front of him. He continued his refusal to convert to Islam. Thereafter, states Grewal, he was publicly beheaded in Chandni Chowk, a market square close to the Red Fort.

₹400 Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji Proof Coin Wooden Box Set issued by Mumbai Mint.

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