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1699: the five who stood up

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A sword and a tent

In 1699 at Anandpur, Guru Gobind Singh stood before a crowd with a drawn sword and asked who would give their head. Harpreet tells the story as the sources give it, discusses what historians disagree about, and explains what the Khalsa was designed to do to a society built on rank.

  • The five volunteers, their castes and their trades
  • Amrit, the five Ks and the names Singh and Kaur as a levelling device
  • What a turban meant in 1699 and what it means at a Canadian airport
  • Guest Jasleen Kaur, a nursing student who took amrit last year, on why

Harpreet closes with the question his students always asked: would you have stepped forward.

Transcript
Sat Sri Akal, welcome back to Langar and Lessons, I am Harpreet Singh Gill, recording again from the kitchen. Today's story is one I used to tell on the last day of term, because students never forgot it. Vaisakhi, 1699, the town of Anandpur. Guru Gobind Singh walks out in front of thousands of people holding a sword, and asks who is willing to give him their head. Silence. Then one man stands up. Then another. Five in total, and from different castes, which was the point. I will tell you what happened next, where the historians argue, and what the five Ks and the shared names Singh and Kaur were built to do. Jasleen Kaur, a nursing student who took amrit last year, tells us why she did. You are listening on Witspeak Podcasts.
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