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Guru Har Gobind Ji established the Akal Takth (throne of immortality), Baba Budha Ji trained Guru Ji in martial arts and was also one of the main generals in the newly established Sikh army alongside gursikhs such as Baba Bidhi Chand Ji, Baba Mathura Ji and Baba Jaita Ji. This fearless army of the Guru came to be known as the Akal Sena (Army of the Immortal) or Baba Budha Dal.
The army of Akalis (the Immortal Ones) established by Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji served the house of Guru Nanak till the time of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. In this time the Akali army came to be known as the Guru Ki Ladli Fauja, meaning the ‘beloved armies of the Guru’; a name which is still used to describe the Nihang Singh armies to this day.
The martyrdom of Guru Tegh-Bahadur Ji inspired one of the most revolutionary acts in the whole of Sikh history; the creation of the Khalsa converted the Sikhs from their humble backgrounds into the greatest and most noble warriors in the world. Guru Gobind Singh Ji heavily fortified the city of Anandpur Sahib and he blessed his Sikhs with war-like compositions such as Chandi di Var to inspire them and instil bravery into their hearts.
The Khalsa of Guru Gobind Singh were a group of people who were determined, daring and willing to give up everything for the cause of truth and justice. The Khalsa were defenders of religious freedom for all faiths at a time when the Mughal rulers of India were engaging in forced and brutal conversions.
Guru Ji instructed his beloved army to dress in blue martial dress and wear conical turbans called dumalas, adorned with razor sharp steel quoits and various daggers bound together with steel wire known as tora. Those Singhs who had proved themselves with selfless service of the Guru’s house wore a farla, (a loose piece of blue cloth hanging from the top of the turban representing the Guru’s battle standard).
According to Nihang Singh oral tradition the farla was worn for the first time by Sahibzada Fateh Singh Ji at the place where the Gurdwara Dumalgarh Sahib now stands (Sri Anandpur Sahib). In time only those Singhs who adorned the farla came to be known as Akalis, with the rest of the Khalsa army being known as Nihang Singhs.
