The Forerunner of the Red Cross

Among the Mughal Emperors Akbar was very tolerant. He saw much that was good in all religions. However, his successors Jahangir, Shahjehan and Aurangzeb were less tolerant of religions other than Islam. Aurangzeb wanted to change India into an Islamic country, The tragedy was that many Hindus were accepting this religious persecution as their fate. The Ahinsa (non-violence) of Budha and Mahanvira was taken to extremes. The people behaved like cowards: because they thought that killing, even a fly, was against their religion. The Guru thought that this state of affairs was most dreadful. The sacrifices made by Guru Arjan and Guru Tegh Bahadur in defence of freedom of belief for all, had attracted the attention of many people. So Guru Gobind Singh put before the people a new programme by creating the Khalsa Panth a community of saint-soldiers. The Mughals thought this a challenge to their power, ambition and religious principles.