The Supreme Sacrifices, which began with the martyrdoms of the highly venerated Sikh Gurus, the Fifth Guru Arjan Dev, in 1606 and the Ninth Guru Tegh Bahadur, in 1675, on orders of Mughal Kings, continued down the line with the sacrifice of four sons of Tenth Guru Gobind Singh, Tenth Guru himself, 40 Muktas, thousands of Sikh soldiers in Khalsa Army, hundreds of thousands of ordinary Sikh devotees, Villagers, Farmers, etc., through the centuries. The sacrifices of the Sikhs in the struggle for freedom of India from the British Empire and later for the defence of India after India became an independent country, have also been phenomenal.