Prithi Chand and the Succession

Prithi Chand, born in 1558, was the eldest son of Guru Ram Das. Guru Ram Das chose his youngest, Arjan, as successor. Prithi Chand resented the choice and gathered a rival following, which its opponents called the Minas.

Sikh tradition charges him with plots against the young Hargobind and with a part in the conspiracy against Guru Arjan. Those charges are contested. His own tradition remembers him differently.

Counsel

Family is where the thief called attachment gets its handle. The people closest to a throne are the people with the strongest claim on its succession, and the most information about its weak points. Intrigue rarely arrives from outside. It arrives from a seat at your table.

Hold the other side too. A passed-over brother is not proof of a plot, and the accusations against him are partly the winners’ record.

Verification

Source: Wikipedia, 'Prithi Chand', which cites Hardip Singh Syan, Britannica and Gurinder Singh Mann. The succession dispute and the rival following (the Minas) are well attested. Accusations that he plotted against the young Hargobind, or colluded with the Mughals over Guru Arjan, are Sikh tradition and are contested; Minas literature presents him as a devoted supporter and the accusations as biased. Accounts give his place of death two ways.