Under the leadership of which Guru did the Sikh become a political and military force?
Answers
Answer:
Guru Arjan Dev
Guru Arjan Dev became the Sikh Guru after Guru Ram Das.
Answer:
It started with the sixth Guru, Guru Hargobind Sahib, the son of Guru Arjan Dev who was martyred on phony charges at the order of Emperor Jahangir due to his religious influence. Before the fifth Guru left for Lahore where he was martyred after great torture, he sent a message to his young son to gather army to the best of his capacity and be fully armed. He also told him to sit on the throne like a king. It was Guru Hargoind Sahib who erected Sri Akal Takhat, the seat of Sikh spiritual and temporal authority. It is located next to Golden Temple at Amritsar. Guru Hargobind Sahib had about 52 bodyguards with him along with a small army. He invited all youth of Punjab to join him. Many Muslims also joined him.
He fought four battles with the army of Emperor Shah Jahan and won all of them.
The seventh Guru Har Rai also kept 2200 cavalrymen. The Sikh army became far more powerful at the time of Guru Gobind Singh. It continued to grow in strength in the time of his general Baba Banda Singh Bahadur. The Sikhs suffered two massacres in the middle of of 18th centuries, but within six months after the Vadda Ghalughara or major holocaust, they established their first Misl or confederacy. In the next almost 30 years it increased to 12 Misls and they became the rulers of all Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir. The Sikh rule reached its zenith under Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780–1839).