Chandu Shah

Chandu Shah (fl. late 16th and early 17th century, alternatively known as Chandu Lal and Chandu Mal).[1][2] Sikh tradition holds that he was an affluent banker and revenue official of the Mughal emperors from Lahore who conspired against the fifth Sikh guru, Guru Arjan.[3]

Not to be confused with Chandu Lal, the administrator of the Nizam of Hyderabad.
Darbar of Jahangir with officials, ca.1620

Biography

He was from a Sahi (Shahi) Khatri background[4][5] and was in the service of the Subahdar (governor) of Lahore province.[6] His hostility towards the Guru began when he was severely miffed by the rejection of his marital proposal that the Guru's son, Hargobind, be wed to his daughter. He initially appealed to Akbar to punish the Guru based on a false complaint but this fell on deaf ears as Akbar had a high-opinion of Arjan.[7] After Akbar's passing, he continued to plead for the Guru's punishment with the newly enthroned emperor, Jahangir. He teamed up with Prithi Chand, the excommunicated son of Guru Ram Das who was seething at being passed over for the guruship, in his mission against the Guru.[8] Eventually, his instigations finally proved successful and the Guru was arrested and brought to Lahore, where he was tortured to death.[9][10][11][12][13] According to one local Lahori version of the events, Chandu Shah paid the emperor to obtain custody of the Guru to personally torture him at his house.[14]

Death

Sikh tradition states that Chandu Shah was eventually handed over to the Sikhs by Jahangir after the latter having been told about his scheming and misleading conspiracies by Guru Hargobind and was executed.[15] He died after being led by procession through the streets of Lahore, suffering from shoe beatings from angry observers, and suffered a fatal strike from an iron ladle.[4] Ironically, the torturer who had tortured Guru Arjan was also the one who tortured Chandu Shah.[16] It has been argued by Pashaura Singh that Jahangir shifted blame for the execution of the Guru solely on Chandu Shah as a means to escape responsibility himself.[17]

Chandu Shah had been survived by his son named Karam Chand, who had been responsible for instigating the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan against Guru Hargobind, leading to the Early Mughal-Sikh Wars, much like his father before him had instigated emperor Jahangir against Guru Arjan.[18]

Analysis

There are no contemporary Sikh scriptual texts that expound on Guru Arjan's execution. The first Sikh reference to the execution is found within the Mahima Prakash Vartak in 1741; it along with other narratives from the eighteenth and nineteenth century make mention of Chandu Shah and his alleged role in Arjan Dev's torture and execution. Contemporaneous sources, which were limited and contradictory, held that the Guru was executed for his support for Prince Khusrau. A letter written four months after the execution by Father Jerome Xaiver, head of a Jesuit order, stated that the Guru was fined 2 lakh rupees for placing a tilak on Khusrau's forehead- as a result of the Guru's inability to pay the fine, he was subsequently imprisoned. Chandu Shah then purchased the Guru's freedom and tortured him to death. Pashaura Singh has written that the meta narrative surronding Chandu Shah was a ploy by the Mughal empire to absolve Jehangir and its administrators and shift the blame to the Guru's enemy. Positive portrayals of Jehangir in Sikh chronicles in the 18th and 19th century, he believes, are a testament to the effectiveness of the Mughal concoted narrative. [19][20]

Legacy

Chandu Shah's haveli in Lahore, known as 'Chandu de Haveli', located inside Mochi Gate, was demolished by vexed Sikhs in 1799, the year Maharaja Ranjit Singh conquered the city, but it was rebuilt in 1825.[16]

References
  1. Naqvi, Syed Faizan Abbas (2017). The monuments and memorabilia of the Sikh religion's fifth Guru, Guru Arjan Dev Ji in Lahore Pakistan. Translated by Naqvi, Syed Ali Asdaq. Lahore: Lahore Shanasi Foundation. p. 12.
  2. "XIV. The Age of Splendor". Columbia University (www.columbia.edu). Retrieved 2023-03-01.
  3. The encyclopaedia of Sikhism. Vol. 1. Harbans Singh. Patiala: Punjabi University. 1992–1998. p. 438. ISBN 0-8364-2883-8. OCLC 29703420.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  4. Fenech, Louis E. (2014). Historical Dictionary of Sikhism. W. H. McLeod (3rd ed.). Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 80. ISBN 978-1-4422-3601-1. OCLC 881607325.
  5. Gandhi, Surjit Singh (2007). History of Sikh gurus retold. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. pp. 422–24. ISBN 978-81-269-0859-2. OCLC 190873070.
  6. Darshi, A. R. (2004). "Introduction". The gallant defender (4th ed.). Amritsar: B. Chattar Singh Jiwan Singh. ISBN 81-7601-468-0. OCLC 989923277.
  7. Sinha, Anand Mohun (2011). Unspoken history of India of six-thousand years. Central Milton Keynes: AuthorHouse. p. 147. ISBN 978-1-4520-9769-5. OCLC 1152269509.
  8. SINGH, KULJIT. SINGH, HARJINDER (2018). SRI GURU ARJAN DEV JEE - A SHORT BIOGRAPHY. [S.l.]: AKAAL PUBLISHERS. pp. 60–61. ISBN 978-1-9996052-0-9. OCLC 1253473111.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. Kulathungam, Lyman (2012). Quest : Christ amidst the quest. Wipf. pp. 175–177. ISBN 978-1-61097-515-5.
  10. Pashaura Singh (2006). Life and Work of Guru Arjan: History, Memory, and Biography in the Sikh Tradition. Oxford University Press. pp. 23, 217–218. ISBN 978-0-19-567921-2.
  11. Kulathungam, Lyman (2012). Quest : Christ amidst the quest. Wipf. pp. 175–177. ISBN 978-1-61097-515-5.
  12. Pashaura Singh (2006). Life and Work of Guru Arjan: History, Memory, and Biography in the Sikh Tradition. Oxford University Press. pp. 23, 217–218. ISBN 978-0-19-567921-2.
  13. Ahsan, Aitzaz (2005). The Indus Saga. Delhi: Roli Books. ISBN 978-93-5194-073-9. OCLC 1241450989.
  14. Kirpal Singh (2000), Perspectives on Sikh Gurus, National Book Shop, pp. 125-127
  15. Sikhism and Indian civilization. Raj Pruthi. New Delhi: Discovery Pub. House. 2004. pp. 76–78. ISBN 81-7141-879-1. OCLC 434576317.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  16. Sheikh, Majid (2015-05-31). "harking back : 'Laal Khoo' and the fate of Chandu Shah". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2023-03-01.
  17. Nayar, Kamala Elizabeth (2020). The Sikh View on Happiness : Guru Arjan's Sukhmani. Jaswinder Singh Sandhu. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. pp. 41–45. ISBN 978-1-350-13988-6. OCLC 1140790571.
  18. Dhillon, Dalbir Singh (1988). Sikhism: Origin and Development. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors Pvt Limited. pp. 118–125.
  19. Nayar, Kamala Elizabeth; Sandhu, Jaswinder Singh (2020-04-16). The Sikh View on Happiness: Guru Arjan’s Sukhmani. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 41–44. ISBN 978-1-350-13988-6.
  20. Singh, Pashaura (2006). Life and Work of Guru Arjan: History, Memory, and Biography in the Sikh Tradition. Internet Archive. Oxford University Press. p. 232. ISBN 978-0-19-567921-2.
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