India, Nov. 14 -- The story of India's freedom deserves to be told from an earlier beginning. It did not start with the 1857 revolt or Mahatma Gandhi's Champaran moment. It began with the execution of Guru Teg Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru, in 1675 - the first great act of resistance against religious tyranny - and continued through unbroken resistance until the foreign rule was overthrown in Punjab and the earliest variant of Swaraj was established in 1801 under Sikh monarch Ranjit Singh. Three-and-a-half centuries ago, in Delhi's Chandni Chowk, a moment unfolded that changed India's moral course. Guru Teg Bahadur, offered his life not for his own faith but to defend everyone's right to practise theirs. His voluntary martyrdom declared that truth and conscience can never be crushed by the power of the sword. When Mughal tyrant Aurangzeb (1658-1707) intensified his campaign of forced religious conversions, a group of Kashmiri Hindus, terrified and persecuted, travelled to Anandpur Sahib to seek the Guru's protection. They came not to a ruler but to the head of a distinct religious faith they revered as their own. To them, Guru Teg Bahadur was not merely the Sikh Guru; he was a beacon of spiritual refuge for all. By then, Sikhism had taken a distinct form, yet the Guru rose above the boundaries of creed. He did not act as the head of one particular sect; he acted as the defender of dharma itself. His decision reflected the essence of Sikhi - that righteousness, freedom of conscience, and human dignity belong to all. He chose to stand against the might of an empire to protect the weak, knowing the price would be his life. On November 24, 1675, he was beheaded savagely for refusing to embrace Islam. His sacrifice proclaimed a principle far ahead of its time: Faith cannot be imposed and truth cannot be silenced. Inspired by the Guru's exemplary leadership and true to his teachings, his Sikhs cast away fear and embraced death with unflinching faith. Bhai Mati Das, Bhai Sati Das, and Bhai Dayal Das faced horrific deaths before his eyes. Sawn alive, burned, and boiled, they refused to renounce their faith or their Guru. They were ordinary men not knights, or soldiers yet they rose to immortality through courage and conviction. After the Guru's barbaric beheading, two more humble Sikhs carried that legacy of devotion. Bhai Jaita (later Bhai Jiwan Singh) secretly carried the severed head from Delhi to Anandpur Sahib, disguising himself and leaving his father's body behind to mislead pursuers. Lakhhi Shah Lubana, a simple cart pusher, retrieved the Guru's body and set fire to his own house to cremate it covertly, for open cremation was forbidden. They were ordinary people transformed by faith - proof that the Guru's light had already ignited countless hearts. The Guru's sacrifice planted the seed of spiritual resistance that became the strength of the Sikh Panth. Guru Gobind Singh Ji, his illustrious son, nurtured that seed into the Khalsa - a nation of saint-soldiers devoted to justice. Across the centuries, that spirit produced an unbroken lineage of courage - from Banda Singh Bahadur to the reformers of the Singh Sabha, from Kartar Singh Sarabha and Bhagat Singh to Udham Singh and the Sikh soldiers who fought for India's freedom and guarded its borders. The spirit and stamina for supreme sacrifice that Sikhs displayed in the cause of India's independence, integrity, and defence were all seeded in the self-sacrifice of Guru Teg Bahadur. The Guru's message remains timeless. He teaches humanity never to yield to tyranny, never to abandon faith or truth even in persecution, and always to defend the weak as one defends one's own. Today's tyranny comes not with swords but with fear, greed, corruption, and moral compromise. To honour his legacy, we must rediscover the courage to stand by our principles, our faith, and our conscience - fearlessly and truthfully. In doing so, we reaffirm not only Sikh values but the very moral foundation of freedom of faith. The 350th anniversary of Guru Teg Bahadur's martyrdom is not a ritual milestone; it is a call for renewal of his priceless legacy. The world needs his message as much today as it did in 1675 - that truth must never bow, conscience must remain free, and the spirit of sacrifice must guide humanity's destiny. Three hundred and fifty years on his indomitable spirit endures - fearless, free, and eternally inspiring....