Introductory - Global Sikh Studies

200
all men had become brothers, all women sisters. An iron will, an unbent
spirit and unbounded enthusiasm for their faith were their rewards of
this mode of living.’ 18
It was Zakaria Khan, the governor of Lahore, who had launched
a campaign for the extermination of the Khalsa. On learning that the
Singhs still cherished hopes of seizing the government, he exclaimed,
“O God; to eat grass and to claim kingship!” 19
3. The Triumph of the Revolutionary Spirit
Revolutions are generally at a disadvantage, in terms of material
resources, as compared to the established order these want to
overthrow. The Sikh Revolution could not even dream of matching
the military might of the Mughal Empire. The contest between the
Mughal state and the Sikh Revolution was qualitatively different from
contests between feudal or Imperial contending powers depending upon
the respective might of their military machines. The Sikh movement
depended for its success entirely upon the power it derived from the
masses. In revolutions, it is the people, not weapons, that are decisive
in the final analysis. The ultimate victory of the Sikh Revolution over
the Mughal state was, above all, a triumph of the Sikh revolutionary
spirit and morale over that of the Mughals. It is a remarkable feat of
the Sikh movement, attested by independent evidence, that none of
the revolutionaries, including women and children, adjured their faith
in the face of the barbaric tortures current in that age. 20 ‘When a Sikh
was brought before him (Shah Nawaz Khan, the governor of Lahore)
his belly was cut in his presence and sometimes his brain was taken
out by driving a nail (into his head)’ 21 The Sikh revolutionaries could
save their lives by embracing Islam, but they did not. This exceptional
display of the revolutionary spirit was mainly due to three factors.
The Sikh Gurus had charged their followers with a rare synthesis of
the revolutionary zeal with the religious faith. Secondly, it was for the
first time in Indian history that the masses were inspired to capture
political power for their own interests and in their own hands. And,
the people were convinced and aroused because the Sikh Gurus and
other leaders of the movement were always in the forefront in making
supreme sacrifices for the revolutionary cause.