Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib is located opposite Bhai Mati Das Chowk in Chandani Chowk area of Old Delhi near the Red Fort. Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib was built at the site where the ninth Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was beheaded on the orders of the Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb, for refusing to convert to Islam.
Guru Tegh Bahadur was born in the Holy City of Amritsar in April 1621. He was the fifth and youngest son of the sixth Guru, Guru Hargobind. He became the ninth Guru of Sikhs nearly 20 years after his father shed his physical form. He was on a missionary tour in Bengal and Assam when he heard Aurangzeb had issued orders to persecute Brahmins. There are reports that 500 Brahmins met Guru Tegh Bahadur under the leadership of Pandit Kirpa Ram to seek help.
In 1675, when Aurangzeb reached Delhi, Guru Tegh Bahadur was arrested in Agra and was brought to Delhi. Aurangzeb failed to convince Guru Tegh Bahadur that idolaters should be eliminated although Guru Tegh Bahadur was preaching against idolatry and Brahminism, and did not believe in forced conversions. He considered it to be against the basic moral values that he believed in.
People believe that Guru Tegh Bahadur refused to use miracles to save his life. On Aurangzeb’s orders, Guru Tegh Bahadur’s leading apostles and companions were tortured to death. The Guru was beheaded under a tree at the place where Sis Ganj shrine stands today.
