Introductory - Global Sikh Studies

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Shah Jahan and refused to surrender it. Referring to this incident,
Guru Hargobind, according to Gurbilas, said:
‘I will not give the hawk to them;
(I wil) get the crown and hawk from them.
I will wrest from them the sovereignty of the country;
I will bestow this all on the poor and the helpless.’ 2
In the words of Koer Singh, when Guru Gobind Singh requested
the five Beloved Ones to baptise him,he addressed them to the
following effect:
‘Hear, Khalsa, with all attention,
You are dearest of dear to me.
The Brahmins were proud that God had given the sovereignty
of the world to them,
There was no ruler (Raja) like them in the world.
The Rajputs felt that they had been created from God’s arms.
But, Vaishya, Sudras and Jats in large numbers I have incorporated
in the Panth.
The sovereignty of the whole world is given to you, the Khalsa,
I have made you leaders of the Khalsa
The way you received Amrit (baptism) from the Guru,
I wish to receive it the same way from you.
The Guru and the Sikh are interwoven with one another,
It had been so recognized by the nine Gurus.
The Sikh and Guru are related to each other as head is to the
body.’ 3 Here the conferment of political sovereignty on Vaishyas, Sudras
and Jats in directly contrasted by the Guru with the Brahmanical scheme
of reserving ruling power in the hands of ruling castes, the Brahmins
and the Rajputs. So, there can be no doubt that the Guru’s plan was a
direct reversal of the Brahmanical caste scheme, both in its social and
its political aspects.
The Guru told the Brahmins, who had earlier boycotted the
baptism ceremony of the Khalsa but later agreed to join it: ‘If you