Introductory - Global Sikh Studies

262
planning for long-range objectives, and not impulsive shortcut decisions
or solutions. Another very important indication of this is that, after
long years of waiting, when the Guru thought the moment opportune,
it was he who took the initiative in coming to grips with the Mughal
authorities. The first battle of Jallo was fought over a hawk of Shah
Jahan, which the Sikhs had captured and the Guru refused to surrender
it. Shah Jahan could not tolerate such an effrontery. He called it an act
of rebellion. An army was sent against the audacious rebel, but it was
routed with heavy loss at Sangrana near Amritsar. Other battles
followed as a sequence.
Another misinterpretation, which has been made a major plank
by those who would trace the genesis and growth of the movement to
environment factors alone, is that the militarization of the Sikh
movement was due to the large influx of Jats among the Sikh ranks.
The Jats and Sikh militarization
It has been stated that ‘the arming of the Panth could not have
been the result of any decision by Guru Hargobind’, and that, ‘the
growth in militancy within the Panth must be traced primarily to the
impact of Jat cultural patterns and to economic problems which
prompted a militant response. This proposition raises three issues—
the question of leadership, the impact of Jat cultural patterns and
economic problems.
1. The Question of Leadership
On this issue, it has to be seen whether effective leadership lay
with the followers of the Gurus or the Gurus themselves.
There is not a shred of evidence to suggest that any of the
succeeding Gurus was nominated in consultation with, or at the
suggestion of, the Sangat (the Sikh following). The choice of the
successor was always a personal decision of the nominating Guru. The
faithful were expected to accept the nomination without any reservation.
Even when the nomination of the ninth Guru was vaguely indicated by
the word ‘Baba Bakale’, 4 the devout Sikhs diverted all their attention to
finding out the intended Baba at Bakala. It was the founder Guru, Guru
Nanak himself, who had arrived at the decision that, in order to carry