Evolution of the Sikh Community and the Khalsa Panth

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The evolution of the Sikh community, from the spiritual teachings of Guru Nanak to the militarised Khalsa Panth founded by Guru Gobind Singh, represents one of the most significant religious and political developments of medieval Indian history. Tracing this evolution through the lives and contributions of the ten Sikh Gurus — and through the community’s shifting relationship with the Mughal state — offers UPSC History Optional aspirants essential insight into how a movement rooted in devotional monotheism transformed, over roughly two centuries, into a distinct religious and military brotherhood.

Sikhism: The Ten Gurus

Guru Nanak (1469–1539)

Guru Nanak was the founder of Sikhism and the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His teachings and philosophy constitute an important component of Indian religious thought more broadly, resting on three foundational elements: a charismatic spiritual leader (Guru), a body of ideology (Shabad), and an organised community of followers (Sangat).

Nanak critically evaluated the prevailing religious beliefs of his time and sought to establish what he considered a truer path to salvation. He explicitly repudiated:

Idol worship.
Pilgrimage, and the theory of divine incarnation.
Empty formalism and ritualism.
The caste system and the inequality it perpetuated — he held that caste and honour should instead be judged solely by the deeds of the individual.
He believed firmly in the unity of God, and placed great emphasis on the necessity of a true Guru for spiritual revelation.
He advised followers to live by five core principles of conduct and worship: sach (truth), halal (lawful earning), khair (wishing well of others), niyat (right intention), and devoted service to the Lord.
He believed in the universal brotherhood of man and the fundamental equality of men and women, championing the cause of women’s emancipation and explicitly condemning the practice of sati.
Notably, Nanak did not propound either celibacy or strict vegetarianism, and placed considerable stress on the concepts of justice, righteousness, and liberty.
His verses centre on two basic concepts: Sach (truth) and Nam (the divine Name), while Sabad (the divine word), Guru (divine precept), and Hukam (the divine order) together form the foundation of divine self-expression in his teaching.
He placed strong emphasis on kirtan (devotional singing) and satsang (congregational fellowship), and introduced the institution of the community meal, or langar.

Influence of Sufism: The historian Tarachand regards the influence of Sufi thought on Nanak’s religious philosophy as being of fundamental importance. There is a notable similarity of thought between the verses of Nanak and those of Baba Farid, particularly in their shared emphasis on sincere devotion and surrender before the one God — though Nanak did not hesitate to criticise Sufi practitioners for what he saw as their inclination towards a luxurious lifestyle. Ultimately, Nanak made a genuine attempt to unify Hindus and Muslims, and succeeded, within his own teachings, in synthesising the essential spiritual concepts of both Hinduism and Islam.

Guru Angad (2nd Guru, 1539–52)

Born Lehana, he was so close to Guru Nanak that Nanak referred to him as Ange-e-Khud (“part of his own body”).
He faced conflict with the Udasis, a rival sect established under Nanak’s own son, Sri Chand, and consequently shifted the Sikh centre from Kartarpur to Khadur, where he founded the city of Goindwal.
He beautified and perfected the old Landa Mahajani script used in Punjab, evolving from it the Gurumukhi script.
He collected Nanak’s hymns in this new Gurumukhi script, and composed the Janam Sakhi (a biography of Nanak).
He further promoted the practice of langar.

Guru Amar Das (3rd Guru, 1552–1574)

Composed the Anand and Anand Sahib.
Established the Manji System, a spiritual administrative division designed to spread the Gurus’ message more widely.
Regularised the practice of “pahle panghat, pichhe sangat” (inter-dining before congregation), reinforcing social equality among followers.
Introduced the practice of organising a general assembly of followers twice each year, to promote fraternity within the community.
Made the office of Guruship hereditary.
Akbar is recorded as having visited him personally and granting villages to the Sikh community.
Made formal declarations against sati, purdah, and the torturing of the body.

Guru Ram Das (4th Guru, 1574–81)

Born Jetha, he constructed the sacred tank known as Amritsar, on land granted by Akbar in 1577, and separately constructed the tank of Santokhsar.
Founded Chak Guru (or Ramdaspura) — later renamed Amritsar — on the land granted to him by Akbar.
Initiated the Masand System, which would be further developed by the fifth Guru. A masand functioned as a representative and tithe-collector within Sikhism — an officially appointed missionary minister representing the Guru, responsible for baptising new converts to Sikhism and collecting dasvandh (“the tenth” of income) as an offering to the Sikh community and its religious establishment.

Guru Arjun Dev (5th Guru, 1581–1606)

A thinker, poet, philosopher, statesman, and gifted organiser, Guru Arjun Dev fully developed the Masand System, creating dedicated groups to preach the faith, collect one-tenth of the income of Sikhs, settle internal disputes, and keep the growing Sikh community under a regular system of administration.

Constructed the Harmandir (Golden Temple) within the tank at Amritsar, and founded the town of Taran Taran.
Adopted a notably aristocratic style of living, keeping high-quality horses imported from Central Asia.
Wrote the Sukhmani (“Psalm of Peace”), and compiled the Adi Granth in 1604.
He was ultimately executed by Jahangir, on the charge of having supported the rebel prince Khusrau.

Key facts about the Adi Granth:

Composed in verse, in the Punjabi language, using the Gurumukhi script.
Contains hymns from all five preceding Gurus, with the largest share contributed by Guru Arjun Dev himself.
The original version is known as the Kartarpur Bir.
It contains the sayings of sixteen bhaktas, both Hindu and Muslim, including Farid, Kabir, Namdev, Dhanna, Surdas, Pipa, Ramanand, Raidas, and Sadhana, alongside the songs of minstrels such as Mardana, Satta, and Balwand.
Guru Gobind Singh later added 115 hymns of Guru Tegh Bahadur, along with one of his own compositions, at Talwandi Sabo (now known as Damdama Sahib). This final, expanded version is known as the Guru Granth Sahib.

Guru Hargobind (6th Guru, 1606–1644)

Guru Hargobind fundamentally radicalised and militarised the Sikh community.

He wore two swords, symbolising the dual concepts of Piri (spiritual authority) and Miri (temporal authority).
He built the Akal Takht in 1609, directly facing the Harmandir — this structure became the supreme decision-making centre of Sikhism.
He built the Lohgarh Fort at Amritsar, constructed the tank of Kaulsar, and founded Sri Hargobindpur, also at Amritsar.
He was imprisoned by Jahangir, but subsequently developed a genuinely close relationship with him.
He fought three wars during the reign of Shah Jahan, and adopted the title Sachcha Padshah (“True Sovereign”).

Guru Har Rai (7th Guru, 1644–61)

Adopted a broadly military approach, notably maintaining the sizeable army of Sikh soldiers amassed by the sixth Guru, while carefully avoiding direct military conflict for most of his tenure.
During the Mughal war of succession, he lent his support to the moderate, Sufi-influenced Dara Shikoh, rather than the conservative, Sunni-oriented Aurangzeb.

Guru Harkishan (8th Guru, 1661–64)

Became, at just five years of age, the youngest Guru in Sikh history.
Was once summoned to appear before Aurangzeb.
Died of smallpox before reaching his eighth birthday.

Guru Tegh Bahadur (9th Guru, 1664–75)

Established his centre at Makhowal (Anandpur).
Was ultimately executed by Aurangzeb in Delhi.
Gurudwara Sisganj was subsequently constructed at Delhi, at the very site of his martyrdom.

Guru Gobind Singh (10th and Final Guru, 1675–1708)

A prolific author, Guru Gobind Singh’s literary works (numbers 3 through 11 in the list below composed in Braj Bhasha or Hindi) included:

Chandi ki Var (in Punjabi)
Bichitra Natak (autobiography)
Akal Ustat
Rudra Awatar
Brahma Awatar
Krishna Awatar
Chaubis Awatar
Ram Awatar
Jap / Japji Sahib
Pakhyan Charitra
Sri Mukhilak Swayyas
Hikayat (in Persian)
Zafarnama (in Persian) — the “Epistle of Victory,” comprising 111 couplets, written as a direct reply to Aurangzeb, sharply criticising the Emperor’s policies.
Dasam Granth — composed largely in Braj Bhasha during the 18th century, in the Gurumukhi script, and compiled from many of the works listed above by Bhai Mani Singh, Granthi of the Harmandir.

Military campaigns and the founding of the Khalsa:

Between 1688 and 1690, he built four forts on the foothills near Anandpur-Kiratpur: the Anandgarh, Keshgarh, Lohgarh, and Fatehgarh forts.
He fought a series of battles against the Mughals, including the Battle of Bhangani (1688) and the Battle of Nadaon (1690).
After the founding of the Khalsa, he fought several further engagements: five battles at Anandpur, two at Chamkaur, and one each at Nirmoh, Basoli, and Muktsar.
In 1699, he convened a major congregation at Anandpur and formally founded the Khalsa — the organised body of the Sikh people.
- He selected the Panj Pyare (“Five Beloved Ones”) from among his followers.
- He introduced the Khande ki Pahul (a form of baptism) and the Amrit Sanchar (the ceremony of taking Amrit).
- He introduced the title Singh for all initiated followers.
- He introduced the Five Ks: Kesh (uncut hair), Kangha (comb), Kirpan (sword), Kara (iron bangle), and Kachha (specific undergarment).
- He placed a strict prohibition on the consumption of liquor and tobacco.

Other reforms and initiatives:

He rejected caste distinctions outright, actively promoting fraternity and equality among his followers.
He upheld belief in a Nirguna (formless) God, and formally abolished the Masand System, which had, by this time, grown corrupt.
He declared that no single individual would henceforth serve as Guru, instead formally separating the personal and spiritual aspects of Guruship: the personal aspect was to be represented by the Khalsa (or Panth) collectively, while the spiritual aspect was to be represented permanently by the Holy Granth.

Final years:

He was later invited by Aurangzeb to meet him; Gobind Singh was already en route to this meeting when Aurangzeb died.
He subsequently developed genuinely friendly relations with Bahadur Shah, meeting him at Agra, and accompanied the imperial army on its campaign to the Deccan against Kam Baksh — but on reaching Nanded, he separated from the army and settled there permanently.
At Nanded, he met Lachhman Das, whom he styled Banda, entrusting him with the mission of spreading Sikhism and waging a righteous war (Dharma Yudh).
Guru Gobind Singh was murdered in 1708, having given the Sikh community its enduring salutation: “Wahe Guru Ji Ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru Ji Ki Fatah.”

Banda Bahadur

Originally named Lachhman Das (also Madho Das), he was a Rajput farmer who had renounced worldly life, becoming known as a Bairagi.
He adopted the slogan “Raj Karega Khalsa” (“The Khalsa shall rule”), and formally assumed the position of king by issuing his own seal.
He fought a series of wars against the Mughals across the successive reigns of Bahadur Shah, Jahandar Shah, and Farrukhsiyar, capturing and plundering Sirhind and constructing several forts.
He was ultimately captured and executed in 1716, during the reign of Farrukhsiyar.

Caste Within the Sikh Panth

The Sikh Gurus themselves largely belonged to the Khatri mercantile caste, whereas their broader following was drawn predominantly from the rural Jat peasantry. The artisan castes known as Ramgarhia Sikhs, along with converts to Sikhism from the scheduled castes, represented further important groups within the wider Sikh panth. Caste consciousness, while it did continue to exist within the community to some degree, was notably far less prominent than in the surrounding Hindu social order.

Founding of the Khalsa

The Khalsa represents the formal religious-military sect founded by the last Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh, in 1699. This foundational act revolutionised the Sikh community, imparting it with a strong moral and military character and preparing entirely new ground for its coming struggles.

The Founding Ceremony

In 1699, Guru Gobind Singh convened a major assembly of his followers at Anandpur, in which nearly 80,000 persons are said to have participated.

The Guru pitched a tent in one corner of the assembly ground. Once his followers had taken their seats, he emerged from the tent bearing a sword, and asked whether any among them was willing to sacrifice his life for the sake of Dharma.
At his third call, one Daya Ram offered himself for sacrifice. The Guru led him into the tent, and returned shortly after with his sword visibly stained with blood — creating the impression that Daya Ram had indeed been sacrificed.
The Guru then issued a fresh call for a further sacrifice, repeating this process three more times; Himat Rai, Mohan Chand, and Sahib Chand each successively offered themselves.
Finally, when the Guru drew back the curtains of the tent, all five men were revealed standing alive and unharmed — in reality, the Guru had killed a goat on each occasion, rather than any of his followers.

These five men were given the title Panj Pyare (“the Five Beloved Ones”). The Guru then baptised them with Amrit (the “water of immortality”), and, in a striking reversal of hierarchy, subsequently asked them to initiate him in turn — in this single act, the Guru merged himself into the Khalsa, just as the Khalsa was itself merged into the Guru.

From this point onward, all followers of the Guru were to bear the title Singh (“Lion”); the Guru himself changed his own name from Gobind Rai to Gobind Singh.
Every initiated member of the Khalsa was expected to maintain the Five Ks: Kesh (uncut hair), Kachha (undergarment), Kara (iron bangle), Kirpan (sword), and Kangha (comb).

Principles of the Khalsa

Members of the Khalsa were required to reject all faith in the caste system, to lead a genuinely pious life, and to avoid tobacco and alcohol as substances injurious to health.
Members believed firmly in one formless God, and were to greet one another with the words “Wahe Guru Ji Ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru Ji Ki Fateh.”
The Khalsa were, above all, expected to actively protect their religion.

Significance of the Khalsa’s Founding

The creation of the Khalsa stands as an event of genuinely profound historical significance.

It resulted in the creation of a society formally free from caste discrimination, since members of the lowest castes were admitted into its fold on terms of complete equality — a truly revolutionary achievement in the context of the time, giving people who had long been socially depressed the opportunity to fight on equal terms with Brahmans and Kshatriyas against Mughal high-handedness.
By bestowing the title of Singh and requiring adherence to the Five Ks, Guru Gobind Singh effectively gave birth to a new and distinct religious identity, clearly separate from Hinduism.
Perhaps the single most consequential result of the Khalsa’s creation, however, was that it transformed the Sikhs into a genuine martial race, prepared to give determined battle to the Mughals.
- The Guru’s expectations were, in large measure, subsequently realised: Sikh forces, despite their very limited resources, displayed remarkable bravery and heroism in the battles of Anandpur, Chamkaur, and Khidrana, against considerably superior Mughal forces.
In the wake of the Khalsa’s founding, a number of Misls (Sikh confederacies) subsequently arose, which waged a sustained struggle for independence, ultimately paving the way for the eventual rise of Ranjit Singh and the establishment of a strong, unified Sikh Empire spanning the whole of Punjab.

Conflict of Sikhs with the Mughals

The Sikh movement originated with the preachings of Guru Nanak, but its subsequent development remained closely bound up with the evolving institution of Guruship itself. The first four Gurus largely continued a tradition of quiet meditation and scholarship, avoiding overt political confrontation.

The Fifth Guru and the Turn Towards Political Engagement

The fifth Guru, Arjun Das, completed the compilation of the Sikh scriptures known as the Adi Granth (or Granth Sahib). To emphasise that the Guru now combined both spiritual and worldly leadership within his person, Guru Arjun began living in a distinctly aristocratic style.

He erected imposing buildings at Amritsar, wore fine clothes, kept excellent horses procured from Central Asia, and maintained a retinue of attendants.
He also formally instituted a system of collecting offerings from Sikhs at the rate of one-tenth of their income, to help fund and promote the movement’s continued growth.

Akbar had been genuinely impressed by the Sikh Gurus and, according to tradition, personally visited them at Amritsar.

Relations During Jahangir and Shah Jahan’s Reigns

Open conflict began with the imprisonment and execution of Guru Arjun by Jahangir, on the charge of having helped the rebel prince Khusrau with both money and prayers.
His successor, Guru Hargobind, was similarly imprisoned for a time, but was soon released and subsequently developed genuinely good relations with Jahangir, even accompanying him on his final journey to Kashmir shortly before the Emperor’s death.
Guru Hargobind later came into conflict with Shah Jahan over a hunting incident — while the Emperor was hunting near Amritsar, one of his favourite hawks flew into the Guru’s camp, and the Guru’s refusal to return it triggered a series of clashes, though the matter was eventually smoothed over through the intervention of well-wishers at court.
- A second dispute arose shortly afterwards, when the Guru’s attempt to build a new city on the river Beas, near Jalandhar, met with official objection.
- A third dispute occurred when two exceptionally fine horses, being transported to the Guru from Central Asia by royal officials, were stolen by a follower of the Guru named Bidhi Chand, and presented to him.
- By this stage, the Guru commanded a sizeable following, and acquitted himself well in the series of resulting skirmishes, receiving support for a time from a Pathan ally, Painda Khan. Ultimately, Guru Hargobind withdrew to the Punjab foothills and was left largely undisturbed thereafter.

According to the noted historian R.P. Tripathi, all of these early conflicts were of a fundamentally “inconsequential nature,” attributable far more to personal and political factors than to genuine religious antagonism. The Gurus’ adoption of a rich lifestyle, and their being addressed by followers as Sachcha Padshah (“True Sovereign”), does not appear to have particularly troubled the Mughal rulers of this period — several Sufi saints of the era led comparably rich lifestyles and received similar honorific titles from their own followers, emphasising their spiritual eminence rather than any political challenge.

There was, in short, no genuine atmosphere of confrontation between the Sikhs and the Mughal state during this earlier period, nor any systematic persecution of Hindus more broadly that might have given the Sikhs — or any other group — occasion to emerge as champions against religious oppression. Despite some early display of orthodoxy by Shah Jahan, and a handful of intolerant acts such as the demolition of newly built temples, his overall outlook remained relatively unconstrained — further tempered, towards the end of his reign, by the liberal influence of his son, Dara Shikoh.

Relations During Aurangzeb’s Reign

Although clashes between the Sikh Gurus and the Mughals had already occurred under Shah Jahan, there was, notably, no direct conflict between the Sikhs and Aurangzeb until 1675.

In fact, conscious of the Sikhs’ growing influence, Aurangzeb had initially attempted to cultivate Ram Rai, the elder son of Guru Har Rai, at his own court. Guru Har Rai, however, grew displeased with Ram Rai and instead nominated his younger son, Har Kishan — then just six years old — as his successor.
Har Kishan died shortly after, and was succeeded in 1664 by Guru Tegh Bahadur.
Ram Rai continued to press his own claim to the gaddi, both before Har Kishan’s succession and again after his death. Aurangzeb, for his part, chose not to interfere directly, instead granting Ram Rai land at Dehra Dun to build his own gurudwara there.
- Ram Rai, however, largely remained at Delhi, where he continued to intrigue actively against Guru Tegh Bahadur and to work at poisoning the Emperor’s opinion of him.
Following his own succession, Guru Tegh Bahadur initially came to Delhi, but soon travelled onward to Bihar to escape Ram Rai’s continued intrigues, serving alongside Raja Ram Singh of Amber in Assam until 1671.

The execution of Guru Tegh Bahadur (1675): In 1675, Guru Tegh Bahadur was brought to Delhi from his headquarters, along with five of his followers. A range of accusations were levelled against him, and he was ordered to recant his faith — a demand he firmly refused. As punishment, he was beheaded.

Various explanations have been advanced to account for Aurangzeb’s action:

According to a poetic work by Guru Gobind Singh, his son and successor, Tegh Bahadur sacrificed his life in defence of the Hindu faith, following an appeal for support from Brahmans of Kashmir — though no further details of this meeting survive.
A later, separate tradition holds that the Guru was protesting against the oppression of the then-Governor of Kashmir, Sher Afgan, and the large-scale forcible conversion of Hindus taking place there. However, the actual Mughal Governor of Kashmir up to 1671 was Saif Khan — a builder famed for his bridges, and a genuinely liberal, broad-minded administrator who had even appointed a Hindu adviser to assist him in matters of administration. His successor after 1671, Iftekhar Khan, was notably anti-Shia in disposition, but there exists no evidence of his persecuting Hindus specifically — nor is any such persecution mentioned in local Kashmiri histories of the period, including one composed by Narayan Kaul in 1710.
Yet another tradition suggests that the Guru was beheaded because rivals such as Ram Rai had suggested to Aurangzeb that he demand the Guru perform a miracle to demonstrate his claimed divine powers, with punishment to follow any failure. This account appears unlikely on chronological grounds — Aurangzeb was absent from Delhi from the start of 1675 until March 1676, actively pursuing action against Afghan rebels, and could not plausibly have summoned the Guru to Delhi on Ram Rai’s suggestion during this window.
Later Persian sources offer a further explanation, apparently intended as a defence of the official action — alleging that the Guru, who commanded a large following, moved through Punjab in association with one Hafiz Adam, a follower of Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi, extorting money by force from villagers, and that the local intelligence reporter (waqia-navis) warned the Emperor that inaction risked disturbance or even outright rebellion. This account, however, is of uncertain provenance — Hafiz Adam is known to have died well before this period, and the same account places the Guru’s execution at Lahore, rather than Delhi.
- One further account does simply state that the Guru was executed on the direct orders of the Emperor.

A law-and-order framing: It would appear that, from Aurangzeb’s own perspective, the beheading of the Guru was framed primarily as a law-and-order matter. Yet according to another Persian source, whenever ordinary peasants found themselves in conflict with a local revenue collector, jagirdar, or zamindar, they frequently turned to the Guru himself for protection and support — suggesting that, far from extorting money by force from the peasantry as alleged, Guru Tegh Bahadur was, in reality, emerging as a genuine champion against local injustice and oppression.

The broader atmosphere of heightened religious tension during this period — driven substantially by Aurangzeb’s emphasis on the sharia, his destruction of newly built temples (and even, on occasion, older established temples at Mathura and Varanasi, as punishment for local rebellions), and complaints by qazis about non-Muslims teaching openly to Muslims — meant that any confrontation involving so prominent a religious leader was almost inevitably bound to carry larger repercussions. Whatever the precise underlying reason, Aurangzeb’s action remains unjustified by any reasonable measure, reflecting a genuinely narrow approach to governance.

Transformation into a Military Brotherhood

The execution of Guru Tegh Bahadur forced the Sikhs to withdraw once more into the Punjab hills, and set in motion the gradual transformation of the Sikh movement into a genuine military brotherhood. The principal architect of this transformation was Guru Gobind Singh, whose considerable organisational ability culminated in the founding of the Khalsa in 1699.

Before this, Guru Gobind Singh had established his headquarters at Makhowal (Anandpur), in the Punjab foothills. Initially, the local Hindu hill rajas attempted to use the Guru and his followers as instruments in their own internecine rivalries — but the Guru soon grew too powerful in his own right, and a series of clashes ensued between him and the hill rajas, in which he generally emerged triumphant. The organisation of the Khalsa further strengthened his hand in this ongoing struggle.
An open breach between the Guru and the hill rajas occurred only in 1704, when their combined forces attacked him directly at Anandpur. Forced once more to retreat, the rajas subsequently pressed the Mughal government to intervene against the Guru on their behalf.

This subsequent struggle was thus not, at its core, primarily a religious conflict — it was partly an offshoot of ongoing local rivalries between the Hindu hill rajas and the Sikhs, and partly the natural outcome of the Sikh movement’s own internal development and growing militarisation.

Aurangzeb, concerned by the Guru’s growing power, had earlier instructed the local Mughal faujdar simply “to admonish the Guru.” He now wrote to the Governor of Lahore and to the faujdar of Sirhind, Wazir Khan, instructing them to aid the hill rajas in their conflict with Guru Gobind Singh.
The resulting Mughal assault on Anandpur was met with genuinely brave Sikh resistance, which beat off every assault; the Mughals and their allies subsequently laid close siege to the fort.
When starvation began to set in inside the besieged fort, the Guru was ultimately compelled to open its gates — apparently on the strength of a promise of safe conduct extended by Wazir Khan.
- As the Guru’s forces crossed a swollen stream during their withdrawal, however, Wazir Khan’s forces suddenly attacked. Two of the Guru’s sons were captured and, upon their refusal to embrace Islam, were beheaded at Sirhind; the Guru subsequently lost his two remaining sons in a further engagement.
Following these losses, the Guru retired to Talwandi and was, for the most part, left undisturbed thereafter.

It remains genuinely doubtful whether Wazir Khan’s brutal action against the Guru’s sons was actually carried out at Aurangzeb’s direct instance. Aurangzeb, it seems, was not himself especially keen to destroy the Guru — he had, in fact, written to the Governor of Lahore instructing him “to conciliate the Guru.” When the Guru subsequently wrote to Aurangzeb in the Deccan, informing him of these events, Aurangzeb responded by inviting him to a personal meeting. Towards the end of 1706, the Guru duly set out for the Deccan, but was still en route when Aurangzeb died; according to some accounts, he had hoped to persuade the Emperor to restore Anandpur to him.

Although Guru Gobind Singh was ultimately unable to withstand Mughal military power for long, or to establish a fully separate, independent Sikh state during his own lifetime, he nonetheless created an enduring tradition and forged the essential instrument — the Khalsa — for its eventual realisation by later generations. His movement, in this sense, powerfully illustrates how an originally egalitarian religious movement could, under the right historical circumstances, gradually transform into a genuinely political and militaristic force, moving subtly, but decisively, towards the ultimate goal of regional independence.

Khalsa represents a sect (panth), founded by the last Sikh Guru, Govind Singh in 1699. This sect revolutionised the SikhCommunity, gave it a strong moral and military character and prepared a new ground for struggle.

The evolution of the Khalsapanth had background of persecution and struggle as well as changing nature of Guruship:
- The Guru in Sikhism is a perfect Prophet or Messenger of God in whom the Light of God shines fully, visibly and completely.
  - Guru Nanak’s body was a platform from which God Himself spoke and delivered His message Gurbani (Divine Word).
  - God is in the Guru and Guru is in God. Though God is everywhere and in everybody but His traits are illuminated through the Guru.
  - When Guru Nanak conferred Guruship on Bhai Lehna (later called Guru Angad), the Divine Light was passed on and Guru Angad too became the embodiment of Divine Light.
  - At this time, Guruship was not hereditary.
- Later the Sikh gurudombecame hereditary in character under fifth Guru, Guru Arjun, who became Guru in 1581.
- Although the early Mughal emperors had peaceful relations with the Sikh Gurus, the Sikhs started facing persecution during the reign of Jahangir.
  - Guru Arjun Dev, the fifth Guru, was arrested and executed by Emperor Jahangir in 1606.
- The next Guru, Guru Hargobind militarized the Sikhs and emphasized the temporal power and spiritual power in Guru.
  - In 1675, Guru Teg Bahadur, the ninth Guru of the Sikhs was executed by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb for opposing religious persecution by Aurangzeb.
  - Though there is a lot of controversies regarding the events which led to Guru Teg Bahadur’s arrest and beheading.
  - The execution of the Guru paved the way for the final transformation of Sikhism into an armed opposition movement.
- At the day of foundation of Khalsapanth, tenth Guru Gobind Singh chose PanjPiare (“the five beloved ones”).
  - He then baptised them with Amrit (water of immortality).
  - He renamed all of them and added the word ‘singh’ to their names and changed his own name from Gobind Rai to Gobind Singh.
  - He asked PanjPiare to initiate him. In this he merged himself in the Khalsa and Khalsa was merged into Guru.
  - His absorption into the Khalsa led to the five-beloved being equal to him, the Guru was just a Singh of the Khalsa.
  - He installed the Guru Granth Sahib as the final and perpetual Sikh Guru and hence the Guruship was vested in Guru Granth Sahib.
- Principles of Khalsa also testify the background.
  - For example, members of the Khalsawere be the defenders of the truth, fighters of unjust, the purest of all – the Khalsa.
  - The members of Khalsa were not to have faith in caste systems. The members of low caste were admitted to Khalsa on the terms of equality.

Khalsa led to turning Sikhs into a martial sect which fought with injustice of Mughals. In the wake of creation of Khalsa, a number of Misls arose which waged a struggle for independence and ultimately paved the way for the rise of a strongSikh Empire under Ranjit Singh.