RAS question
Which Sikh Guru is considered the 'Child Guru' and became Guru at the age of 5?
Correct answer: (D) Guru Har Krishan.
Guru Har Krishan, the eighth Sikh Guru, is remembered as the Child Guru because he became Guru at the age of five.
Explanation
Guru Har Krishan is the right answer because his age at succession was unusually young. Encyclopaedia Britannica describes Guru Hari Krishen as the eighth Sikh Guru and states that he was installed at five years of age. The title Child Guru refers to this succession at the age of five. The RAS-relevant memory chain is that he lived from 1656 to 1664, died at the age of eight in Delhi after serving people during an epidemic, and is associated with Gurdwara Bangla Sahib. Tradition records that, before his death, he uttered "Baba Bakale", pointing towards Bakala as the place where the next Guru would be found.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Guru Angad Dev was already an adult when he became Guru, so he does not fit succession at the age of five.
- (B) Guru Gobind Singh became Guru at nine, so he does not match becoming Guru at five or the title Child Guru.
- (C) Guru Har Rai became Guru at fourteen, which rules him out for succession at the age of five.
Concept
The Sikh Guru succession sequence belongs to medieval Indian religious history. RAS often asks such points because names, order, age at succession, and associated places are easy to confuse in one-line factual questions.