Guru Gobind Singh founds the Khalsa
Sikhism is given a formal community with distinctive commitments.
- When
- Known to
- ± 1 year
- Era
- Early Modern, Holocene
In 1699 the tenth guru institutes the Khalsa, an initiated body with shared obligations and the five articles of faith, and gives its members the surnames Singh and Kaur to erase caste identification. He also declares that after him the scripture itself, the Guru Granth Sahib, will be the guru. The community forms in a context of severe persecution and takes on a martial character in response.