Request of Kirpa Ram                          Aurangzeb became the king on July 31, 1658. He was a ruthless man who killed his brothers and had his father arrested just so that he could become the king.               In March 1659, he banned the construction of any new Hindu temples and then in 1664 he banned the repairing of old temples. In April 1665 he passed an order that an Octroi (tax) would be collected – Muslims were taxed at 2.5% while Hindus paid 5%. After some time, only the Hindus paid the tax because the Muslims were exempted from the taxes.               In 1669 he started a plan to destroy the Hindu religion, he wanted to convert everyone to Islam. In 1669 he ordered the destruction of Hindu temples and schools.             Many ancient Hindu temples in Ayodhya, Banaras, and Mathura were destroyed and Muslim mosques were built in there place. Hindus were not allowed to hold government jobs. Hindus were given a choice of either converting to Islam or being tortured, if they still refused, they were killed.               In 1674, Aurangzeb decided to go to Kashmir where there were many Hindu pundits (priests). He thought that if he could convert the priests then the followers will convert too because there would be no one to preach the Hindu religion.               On May 25, 1675, a group of Hindu Pundits led by Kirpa Ram came to Anandpur to ask Guru Teg Buhadur Ji to help them. The Guru agreed to help them, he said, “Go tell Aurangzeb that Guru Teg Buhadur is your leader. If you can make him convert, then we will all convert.”   Back to Main Page   | Gurmat Studies Foundation | Guru Nanak Academy | Shaheed Baba Deep Singh Gatka Akhara | Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!