The Sikhs : history, religion, and society 023106814X

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r> THE ry

blKHO HISTOR Y, RELIGION, AND SOCIETY W. H.

McLEOD

I

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY

The sial

Sikhs, a colorful and controver-

people about

erally

whom little is gen-

known,

subject of ulation.

have

much

been

the

hypothetical spec-

non-conformist

Their except

— to their own traditions— and their fierce independence — even demanding to autonomy — have recently attracted

behavior

world-wide attention. internationally

Hew

known

McLeod,

scholar of

Sikh studies, provides a just and accurate description in his introduction to this religious

community

from northern India now numbering about

sixteen

million

people,

exploring their history, doctrine,

and

literature.

The Sikhs begins by

giving an

overview of the people's history, then covers the origins of the Sikh tradition, dwelling on controversies surrounding the life and doctrine of the

first

Guru

Master,

Nanak

The book surveys the subsequent life of the community

(1469-1539).

with emphasis on the founding

of

the Khalsa, the order that gives to Sikhs the insignia by which they are best known. The remaining sections concern Sikh doctrine, the problem of who should be regarded as a Sikh, and a survey of Sikh literature. Finally, the book considers the present life of the community its dispersion around the world to Asia, Australasia, North America, Africa, and Europe, and its irtvolvement in the current trials of r v Fynjab.

—

;

{Continued on back flap)

so.

S.F.

PUBLIC LIBRARY

WEST ORANGE AVENUE

3

-i-

SO.

S.F.

PUBLIC LlSRARV

WEST ORANGE AVENUE

AUG

1989

Digitized by the Internet Archive in

2017 with funding from

Kahle/Austin Foundation

https://archive.org/details/sikhshistoryreliOOmcle

THE SIKHS

LECTURES ON THE HISTORY OE REEKilON Sponsored by the American Council of Learned Societies Seiv Series

Number

so.

S.F.

14

PUBLIC LIBRARY

WEST ORANGE AVENUE

3

I

V

"

j jijo.

1

THE

SIKHS HISTORY, RELIGION, AND SOCIETY

W.

C

()

L U

McLeod

H.

M

B

1

A

L

N

I

N ew

K R S

\ ^

()

r

k

I

I

^

R R K S S

COIXMhIA UM\ KRSITY PRKSS NKW VOKK (Copyright

©

(JLILDFOKI),

SLRKKV

1989 C^okimbia University Press All rights reserved

LIBRAin OF CONGRESS C A'F ALO( ilN(CIN-PL BLJC A FION DA FA

McLeod, I

he Sikhs

:

W

.

H.

history, religion,

(Lectures on the history of religions

and society.

new

;

ser., no.

14)

Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1.

Sikhs

— History.

1)S485.P3M39

2.

1989

Sikhism.

1.

Title.

909'. 0882946

11.

Series.

88-2.5620

ISBN 0-231-06814-X Book

Desigti by

Jaya Dayal

Printed in the United States of .\merica

(>asebound editions of Columbia University Press books are

Smyth-sew n and printed on permanent and durable

acid-free paper

TX

ms

on the

I

volume

is

the tourteenth to be published in the series ot Lectures

bstor\’ of Religions for

Societies,

through

its

w hich the American

(Council of Learned

(>ommittee on the History of Religions, assumed

re-

sponsibility in 1936.

Under

the program the (>)mmittee from time to time enlists the services

of scholars to lecture in colleges, universities, and seminaries on topics in

need of expert elucidation. Subsequently, when possible and appropriate, the (Committee arranges for the publication of the lectures. (Jther volumes

Martin

in the series are

R.

Nilsson, (Week Popular Religum (1940), Henri

Frankfort, Ancient Egyptian Religion (1948), W’ingtsit (^han. Religious Trends

Modern China (1953), Joachim W’ach, Ibe Comparative Study of Religions^ edited bv Joseph .\L Kitagawa (1958), R. .\L (irant, Cnosticism and Early in

Christianity (1959),

Robert Lawson Slater, World Religions and World ComKitagawa, Religion

munity (1963), Joseph

.\1.

Joseph L. Blau, Modern

Varieties ofJudaism (1966),

Parties

and

Politics

That Shaped the

Modern Trends

in

and Pilgrimage

in Christian

in

Japanese History (1966),

Morton Smith, Palestinian Old Testament (1971), Philip H. .Kshbv,

Hinduism (1974), \

ictor

Furner and Fdith Turner, Image

Culture (1978), .\nnemarie Schimmel,

a Veil: Mystical Poetry in Islam (1982), and Peter

Men, Women, and Sexual Renunciation

in

As Through

Brown, The Body and

Early Christianity (1988).

Society:

V

1

CONTENTS 1

The Sikhs /

2

The Origins of the Sikh Tradition 16

3

Four (>enturics of Sikh Historv 32 4

Sikh Doctrine

4S

3

W ho

Is a

Sikh?

60 6

The Literature of the Sikhs 82 7

Sikhs

in the

Modern 102

V

1

W orld

Note on Sources 121

Notes 122

Cilossarv

141

Select Bibliography

147

Index 152

V til

^

A CKNO WLEDGMENTS fl\’F. of these chapters were lectures prepared under the auspices of the American (Council of Learned Societies, d o the committee responsible for the invitation

I

express

my

grateful thanks for the

honor

w hich they did me. In particular w ish to thank Professor W illard G. Oxtobv for his interest and continuing support. Lo these five have been added the essays which appear as chapters gave at various places is a general lecture w hich and 4. (diapter in North America in 1986, slightly amended to bring it up to date. It w as originally puldished in the Harcard D'rcinity Bulletui January-May I

I

1

1

(

1987) and

1

express

mv

mission to reproduce

it

thanks to

its

editor, J.

here, (diapter 4

lengthier form in Joseph 1. O’Connell, cds., Sikh History I

am

grateful to

and Religion

mv

is

M.

a

Michael

W est,

tor per-

paper which appears

Israel,

and

W

.

(L Oxtobv,

in the 'Isssentieth (Century (d'oronto,

co-editors for permission to reprint

Lor their help on February

2,

1987, Ainslie

in a

1988).

it.

Kmbree, Mark juer-

gcnsmever, and jack I law lev earned gratitude I am unable to repay. also acknowledge with profound thankfulness debts w hich I owe to Maureen (Rafferty, j. P. Mohr, and W illiam W (d)rrell. Fo the many friends who helped mv wife and me during our year Punjabis, (Cain Toronto and in our travels around North America I

.

nadians, and others south of the border Finally,

I

am

—

—

I

express

my w armest

thanks.

eternally grateful to Margaret for her never-failing love

and support.

/.V

V

/

THE SIKHS

V

1

The

N'KK^'ONK,

it

Sikhs

seems, knows hou to recognize a Sikh (or

at least a

Sikh man) and most people seem to have some notion of the general outlook and behavior to be expeeted of them.

If a

description of a Sikh

on beards, turbans and possibly swords; a description of Sikh attitudes and behavior will probably have something to sav about militant ideals and a willingness to perform violent deeds. And do thev not w ant their own independent state in India.^ At this point the description begins to falter. We seem to have summarized evervthing that most people know about Sikhs. d'hose who know the truth of the matter may well be offended by is

called for

it

will invariably focus

an introduction of this kind, believing that it can only serve to reinforce a most unfortunate and misleading stereotype. .Many Sikh men do in-

deed wear beard and turban, but not all observe these conventions. Swords are seldom carried and acts of violence are confined to a very small minoritv; there is indeed a tradition of militancy w ithin the Sikh communitv, but it is one which for loyal Sikhs is strictly controlled and legitimate! v expressed onlv under the most extreme circumstances. Just

/

77//:

how

iiianv Sikhs support the

l)atal)le to

W hat

sav the

we

really

demand

for

an independent state

is

de-

least.

need

new and fairer stereotype. A just and aeSikh community w ill certainly stress the coma

is

eurate deseription of the

mon

SIK/IS

outward identity, but it will add that this convention is not practiced by all w ho call themselves Sikhs. It w ill recognize the presence of v iolence, but it will insist on limiting this feature to a tiny minority and it w ill maintain that Sikhs are no worse than other eommunities in this regard. It vv ill also emphasize positiv e features which all too often are overlooked. The usual way of correcting false impressions concerning the Sikhs is to offer a survey of the community’s history. It is a sound method and it is the one which is adopted here, starting vv ith the establishment of the community five hundred years ago. The account begins with (luru Nanak, born into a Punjabi Hindu obseryance of

family in 1469. traditional

I

a distinctixe

he

narratives

of

life

\anak

described with loving detail in

janam-sakhis),

(the

us; they offer a hagiographie

Nanak’s

is

later followers rather

but these need not detain

treatment w hich belongs to the piety of than to the reality of his actual

life.

Al-

though they certainly exercise a considerable intluence on Sikh perceptions of the first (mru, they must be set aside in favor of Nanak’s ow n words. I'he

words of Nanak, preserved

.\di (iranth), tell us little

in the principal

about his

life

Sikh scripture (the

much about his doctrine behind the many hymns of

but

Fhe system of belief w hich lies Nanak begins by accepting the reality of karma and transmigration. All of us transmigrate in accordance vv ith the deeds vv hich w e perform, and if we are to achieve liberation from the cycle of transmigration it is and

belief.

essential that

we

liv

e the kind of

life vv

hich will earn the requisite karma.

Hindu and Muslim) emphasize obedience such outward conventions as temple or mosque worship, pilgrimage,

Traditional teachings (both to

the reading of sacred scriptures, and other such outward observances.

Such only

practices arc, according to bv’

Nanak,

futile.

Liberation can be achieved

inward meditation directed to Akal Purakh, the “Timeless Being.”

True religion

is

Akal Purakh,

interior.

as

conceived by (iuru Nanak,

is

the almighty

Oeator

and Sustainer of the universe, vv ithout form and beyond human reason yet ever accessible to those w ho turn to him in true devotion. How can

7

THE SIKHS the seeker find him? Akal Purakh reveals himself in the tidm or “divine

Name,”

correctly understood as

Because the entire creation

is

all

that constitutes the divine realitv.

a part

of the divine being, that same cre-

ation serves as the primarv revelation of Akal Purakh. Akal Purakh

w hich

revealed in the world is

lies

is

about us and w ithin us, and the world

thus to be understood as an expression of the ndm.

through the tidm Akal Purakh “speaks” the sabad^ ord which communicates the message of liberation to the

In revealing himself

the divine \\

devout believer. In so doing he acts (juru

is

The eternal

the mvstical “voice” of Akal Purakh uttering the divine

in the heart

and w

as the eternal Ciuru.

of the

humble devotee: Open vour

W ord

Look around vou behold the divine harmonv of the eves.

vou shall universe which .\kal Purakh has created. Bring yourself into accord with that divine harmonv and vou will live the kind of life which earns vou a liberating karma. Thus is eternal peace achieved and the cvcle of ithin vou, for there

transmigration brought to an end.

But how,

in actual practice,

can one achieve

this

harmonv and

live

which expresses it? Left to his ow n devices man follows the evil impulses w hich, dwelling within him, insistentlv prompt him to actions which can onlv prolong the cvcle of rebirth. I he solution the kind of

lies in

life

the practice of

ndm

shnaran, a regular discipline of inner medi-

which focuses on the omnipresence of the divine Name. The actual practice of ndm simaran or “remembrance of the divine Name” ranges from the repeating of a word or mantra (one which sum-

tation

marilv expresses the divine realitv) to the singing of devotional songs

and bevond that to mvstical concentration kind. Kach of these activities can be an simaran. I he purpose is to bring the entire harmonv with the divine rhythm; and this is

of the most sophisticated effective

method of ndm

being of the devotee into achieved through regular,

Name

disciplined

remembrance of the divine

methods.

requires no ritual observance, nor should the devotee aban-

It

.\s

or

woman

in

discipline

the mediator of divine

of .\kal Purakh.

all

of these

one which can be practiced bv anv the customarv circumstances of evervday life.

don the world. The

man

by any or

He

is

Name

teachings

Nanak

acted as the “voice”

acted, in other words, as the eternal (Juru, and

it

known. During his life time he attracted disciples (the original Sikhs) and before he died he appointed a successor to follow him as the second (Juru. Thus began is

as

Guru Nanak

that he

is

characteristically

3

77//:

SIK//S

the celebrated succession of the ten Sikh (iurus.

growth and varying circumstances the tradition

Amidst continuing

lasted until the death

of the tenth (iuru, (iobind Singh, in 1708. f^y that time the

community

known) had undergone a dramatic change, I'he dramatic change w hich w as to transform the Fanth did not take place in the time of the early (iurus. During the sixteenth century the Fanth continued to develop, and this rec|uired a more structured organization as it matured and expanded. Fhis included such important

(or

Panth

as

is

it

generally

features as the founding of Amritsar as a sacred center, but until the

beginning of the seventeenth century the Fanth remains very

much

the

Nanak-panth. It w as the community of Nanak’s followers, of those w ho revered the grow ing line of (kirus and accepted their teachings concerning deliverance through the divine Arjan, implemented

a

Name. Although

the fifth

Guru,

decision of crucial significance by compiling a

sacred scripture (the Adi Granth or (iranth Sahib) the form and fun-

damental belief of the community remained unchanged. Arjan died

in

1606 the Fanth was

(iiiru Arjan’s

death w

as,

still

hen Guru recognizably the Nanak-panth.

however, highly significant

in

\\

terms of fu-

fhe Mughal rulers of the Funjab had become suspicious of the growing community of Sikhs and Arjan’s death in Mughal custody signaled the beginning of official hostility towards the Fanth. fhis prompted an important change within the Fanth. According to Sikh tradition Guru Arjan adv ised his son and successor Hargobind to sit fully armed on his throne; and Hargobind, as sixth Guru, symbolically donned two sw ords. V\ hereas one sword represented the continuing spiritual authority of the (luru (pin) the other signified a newlyassumed temporal authority {min). Although there are some major problems associated w ith this tradition it is evident that the Fanth was beginning to assume a new militancy and that it was doing this in reture developments,

sponse to the pressure of early seventeenth-century circumstances.

The new policy

initiated

by the

sixth

Guru climaxed with

matic actions of the tenth, (iuru CJobind Singh.

A

the dra-

period of relative

peace had intervened during the middle decades of the seventeenth cen-

under the Emperor Aurangzeb much stricter measures were adopted and in 1675 the ninth Guru was executed in Delhi. His son, tury, but

Guru

was sheltered until he grew to manhood. As a young adult, however, he was soon involved in wars w ith hostile neighbors and eventually his enemies w ere joined by Mughal forees. Meanw hile he w as evidently contemplating a major restructur-

acceding to the

title

of

as a child,

4

THE SIKHS ing ot the Panth and in 1699 he took the deeisive step of his followers to enter the I

new

summoning

established order of the Khalsa.

Iv

hose w ho heeded the (iuru’s

summons and

offered themselves for

membership of the Khalsa w ere required to undergo a rite of baptism and to promise that thereafter they w ould accept the discipline required of all w ho w ere thus initiated, d he baptismal water was stirred with a two-edged sword, and the discipline w hich all had to accept included certain exterior insignia w hich ensured that the male Sikh would thereafter

be instantly recognizable.

yond dispute.

Phis

much

and apparently be-

clear

is

There are, however, several issues associated with the

founding of the Khalsa w hich

and some of these

raise difficulties

still

are too important to ignore.

There

is,

for

example, the question of precisely what the (Kiru aimed

by requiring all to accept a baptism which symbolically exalted the sword? Was he imposing an outward identity in order to ensure that Sikhs who had cravenly shrunk from recognition in the past would never again be able to conceal their identity? Or was he seeking to recall his Sikhs from loyalty to deputies (masand) w ho had once served the (iuru faithfully but had now become independent and corrupt? In summary terms it can be affirmed that an external identity became mandatory for the Sikh community (or at least for those Sikhs who elected to join the Khalsa) and two prominent features of that identity to achieve. \\ as he seeking to infuse a martial spirit

can also be affirmed.

It

certainly required

initiation to retain their hair

which

is

who

accepted the Khalsa

uncut and bear arms. The newly-fashioned

Khalsa community was thus identity

all

a militant

organization with an external

and the distinctive

typically perceived as the beard

turban. This

much

of the debate can be settled, but

some of the other

issues

demand a little more attention. There are three such issues. First, howdo we reconcile exterior symbols and explicit militancy with (iuru Nanak’s

stress

on inw ard devotion? Secondly, how

is

the militancy thus

affirmed by the Khalsa ideal to be defined? Thirdly, did (Kiru (iobind Singh’s decision

mean

that

all

Sikhs are required to become

members

of the Khalsa, or can one be a Sikh without actually obser\ ing the Khalsa discipline?

d'he

first

question arises from the fact that

terior meditation

Nanak had preached

and had so plainly denounced

ternal practices as a

means of

spiritual

5

in-

dependence on exdeliverance. Vet what could be all

rUE SIKHS more obviously

external than the eonspicuous insignia of the Khalsa or

indeed the greater part of the Rahit (the code of conduct) w hich

members

its

are retjuired to observe?

two answers

The first is that all such communities eventually retjuire at least a rudimentary organization and pattern of behavior, d he original adherents of any such movement may live by the vision and depend exclusiyely on the power of personal conviction. For later generations and larger numbers, There are

however,

a

at least

more

objective order

d he second answer

is

to this apparent contradiction.

needed.

is

that circumstances

had changed, d'he

first

Sikhs

were closely united by their common allegiance and their existence generated no significant hostility. A century later, however, the Panth had become larger and more diverse. (>onventions had been imported into the community by those who joined it, and its growing size had begun to cause alarm amongst the rulers. By the end of the seventeenth century internal pressures and external hostility had become serious and the policy adopted by the tenth (Juru was bound to differ from that of the first. To these two explanations Sikh tradition adds a significant gloss, an interpretation v\’hich derives directly from the doctrine of the eternal CJuru. The eternal (kiru is one and undivided. Proceeding from Akal Purakh it was mystically embodied in the ten (iurus, moving from each to his successor as a single flame passes from one torch to another. 1 he (iiiru who instituted the Khalsa was thus the same Guru as he who to gather at

Nanak’s

feet

had preached interior devotion to the divine Name, telligence

which must

obliterate

a single divine in-

possibility of inconsistency.

all

The second major question raised by the founding of the Khalsa concerns the nature of the militancy which its members are expected to practice. Does the Khalsa ideal encourage naked violence, strictly limited defensive postures, or something in between? The answer to this particular question has an obvious bearing on the current crisis in the Punjab.

how

is

If a militant

response

is

permitted or required then precisely

that response to be defined?

Sikh tradition

is

clear

on

this point.

Sayings attributed to

ind Singh certainly affirm the right to

add two major qualifications. The only

in

second have

first

Guru

(iob-

draw the sword, but they also is that the sword may be used

defense of truth, of righteousness, and of the faith; and the is

that

failed.

It

it

may

be draw n only w hen

is

thus

made

clear that the

6

all

other means of defense

sword may be wielded only

THE SIKHS to defend resort.

fundamental

Needless to sav,

mental rights,” but

concerned there

is

this

at least is

and that

rights,

still

it

mav

it

he draw n only as

a last

open the definition of “funda-

leaves

demonstrates that as

far as the tradition

absolutely no sanction for selfish, unprovoked or

capricious use of violence.

The tradition certainly affirms militancy

as

the proper response in certain circumstances, but they are circumstances

which should seldom

cent years

its

is

W hether

question to w hich

we

or not they have arisen in re-

shall return.

The third question posed by the inauguration of the Khalsa concerns relationship to the Sikh Panth. Are the two coterminous? In other

words, must a

a

arise.

all

Sikhs be

non-Khalsa Sikh?

Is it

members of

the Khalsa or

is

it

possible to be

possible to follow the teachings of

Nanak w ith-

out accepting a bounden duty to observe the later discipline of the Khalsa? If

time

we we

set the

shall

question in the context of (iuru (iobind Singh’s

own

soon discover that some of his leading disciples did not

From

presumably follows that one may indeed be a loyal Sikh without being a Sikh of the Khalsa. d he Khalsa may well be perceived as the ideal or orthodox form, but historically there is insufficient basis for claiming that all Sikhs must be Khalsa Sikhs, fhe term which is used during the eighteenth century to designate the non-Khalsa Sikh is Sahaj-dhan. This is set in contrast w ith Amrit-dbdn, the term w hich denotes a Sikh w ho has “taken amriT (that is a Sikh who has received the baptism of the Khalsa). d 0 this preliminary judgment must be added the fact that there are actually more than two Sikh identities and that today there is increasing pressure to acknow ledge only the Khalsa version as acceptable. In Sikh society today at least four definable identities can be distinguished. At either extreme stand the Amrit-dhari and the Sahaj-dhari. In between there are the Kes-dhan and those who for w ant of a better term w e must call the Maud Sikhs. The Kes-dhari Sikhs are those w ho maintain the uncut hair of the Khalsa, but do not receive baptism. Fhe Mona Sikhs are those who cut their hair, but w ho are distinguished from the Sahajdhari by their connections with the Khalsa. 1 his normally means that they belong to families with a Khalsa tradition and retain the Khalsa names (Singh for men and Kaur for women). If (Kiru (h)bind Singh had anticipated a period of conflict for his Sikhs he w as certainly justified by the events of the eighteenth century. receive the Khalsa initiation.

For the reniilinder of

his life

this

it

time he w as repeatedly involved

with neighboring states and w

ith

.Mughal forces (the

7

w arfare imperial power of in

THE SIKHS the time), and the struggle eontinued well into the eighteenth century. 1

enemy changed

he

as

Mughal authority rapidly diminished and At-

ghan invaders took its place, but the hostility persisted with the Sikhs on one side and Aluslim antagonists on the other. his is the heroic period of Sikh tradition, the century which tested the Khalsa and proved it to be unyielding. It is also the period which critically molded the actual conventions of the Khalsa. By the time it emerged from that cruciallv important century its basic conventions were well defined. Khalsa Sikhs do not cut their hair, they do not touch tobacco, they wear distinctive blue garments, and they wield a skillful sword. I'hev also emerged in triumph. The turn of the century marks I

the effective beginning of the reign of Ranjit Singh, Maharaja of a united

Punjab

until his

death

in

1839.

The death of Ranjit Singh was soon followed by political and military collapse. I he British had been on his borders since early in his reign and following two brief wars with his successors the Punjab became a part of British India in 1849. Very soon the new rulers were confidently predicting the imminent demise of the Sikh faith, firm in their assurance that the Sikhs would “merge back into Hinduism.”

We

upon another of the crucial periods in Sikh history, at once important for what it produced and uncertain in terms of how change actually took place. I he clear result was eventually to be a reafenter here

firmation of the Khalsa identity as the orthodox form for those

\\

ho

regarded themselves as Sikhs. 1873 traditionally marks the beginning

w as

which the

Singh Sabha was founded. Alarmed by evidence of wavering loyalties a group of Sikh leaders gathered in Amritsar and decided to establish a society dedicated to recovery and reform. Although the Singh Sabha movement of the period, for that

was

to be

the year in

plagued by divisions, some of

its

first

more determined members

nevertheless succeeded in generating a major restatement of the Sikh

and during their period of inlluenee there was wards a restored Khalsa loyalty. faith,

In this regard the British

may

a

strong

also have played a part

move

to-

by favoring

the Sikhs as one of the “martial races of India” and by requiring their

Sikh recruits to observe the

Army

or police authorities

full regalia

who

of the orthodox Khalsa identity.

seek to discourage such conventions

today might well ponder the British example.

The

British firmly en-

couraged such observances because they rightly believed that by maintaining them they would ensure higher morale and a stronger loyalty.

S

THE SIKHS The Singh Sabha movement \\ as overtaken during the seeond period of the present centurv bv a more radical Sikh leadership, and during the period 1920-1925 the new lv-formed Akali Dal (Akali Partv) waged a

non-violent struggle with the British authorities.

I

he objective of the

campaign was to have control of the principal gurdwaras (temples) transferred from their hereditarv incumbents to the communitv as a \\ hole. Needless to sav, the episode was a great deal more complex than this would suggest and much remains to be learnt. Once again we must be content with a summarv of the actual outcome. The British, recognizing the strength and determination of the Akali movement, eventuallv agreed to vest control of the gurdwaras in a committee elected bv adult Sikh suffrage. I he committee assumed the name Shiromani (jurdwara Farbandhak (Committee (or SGP(>); and the allimportant definition of the Sikh voter w ritten into the 1925 Sikh (iurd-

waras Act implied that such voters would be Khalsa Sikhs. Phis was not explicitlv stated, merelv the requirement that all should be Sikhs

and onlv Sikhs.

In effect this

Sahaj-dharis, most of

whom

excluded

a substantial

proportion of the

regarded themselves as both Hindu and

Sikh. Khalsa Sikhs tvpicallv have no such sense of a dual identitv. riie 1925 a

more

Act

settled

one

serious problem.

in the

194()s the

would

this

ditional

As

issue,

but

political

British India

moved towards independence

prospect of partition became

mean

for the Sikhs?

homeland

to the

One

Muslim

circumstances s(H)n raised

a real possibilitv.

proposal would deliver their tra-

state of Pakistan,

An

Sikhs could never willinglv accept.

\\ hat

an option w hich

alternative, scarcely

more wel-

come, would have it divided between the two successor states. In the event it was the latter which occurred in 1947, driving the Sikhs (and the Hindus) of western Punjab across the nev\- border into the eastern section retained

bv

India.

Although Partition caused widespread chaos the Indian portion of the Punjab recovered with remarkable speed, at least in economic terms. 'Hie Punjab is an unusuallv fertile area and aided by new strains of w heat its cultivators were soon producing a rich return from their harvest. Fhis brought prosperitv to the fortunate few w ho ow ned land in sufficient quantitv, and a substantial projxirtion of the beneficiaries were Sikhs, fhose who gained most from the so-called “(ireen Revolution” were mainlv Sikhs w ho belonged to the jat caste. Jat Sikhs had long been both the dominant caste in rural Punjab and by far the largest caste

group within the Sikh community. Inevitably the

9

political devel-

rnE SIKHS opnicnts w hich have occurred

members

remained the

Punjabi

modern Punjab conspicuously involve

of this particular sector of Punjabi society.

I'.eonomie success still

in

s(K:iet\’

w as w cIcoitr:, but

it

alone was not enough.

There

of Sikh identitv and the role of Sikhs in

cjiiestion

and government. Those

who

sought to protect and nourish

the traditional Khalsa identity generallv believed that for this purpose a

well-disposed administration would be essential, one which would

protect Sikh interests

the real motive jabi State),

w

w Inch

ithout penalizing other communities.

lav

This

w as

behind the campaign for Punjabi Suba (Pun-

though the ostensible cause w

as language.

The demand for Punjabi Suba required a state boundarv w hich corresponded to the di\ ide separating Punjabi and I lindi speakers, and this in practice meant a smaller state than the Punjab which took shape in India at independence. Prior to independence the Sikhs had formed the third-largest communitv in undivided Punjab. Partition had separated them from the Muslims, but even in the post- 1947 Indian state thev were still a minoritv. A redraw ing of the boundaries on linguistic lines would finallv produce a Sikh majoritv and with it the prospect of reasonable protection for Sikh interests.

Although the

linguistic

demand was

strictlv in

visions of the Indian constitution, Jawaharlal

accord w

Nehru

ith

resisted

the pro-

regard-

it,

form of communalism. E,ventually it w as his daughter Indira Gandhi who conceded the claim, partlv in response to the no-

ing

it

as a covert

table contribution

made

b\’

Punjabi Suba was granted lapse of Ranjit Singh’s

Sikhs during the Indo-Pakistan in

1966 and for the

kingdom Sikhs could

first

W ar

of 1965.

time since the col-

feel that

thev had

a state

of their own.

The majoritv conferred bv the redrawing of the state boundarv w as not a large one and it w as immediatelv nullified bv a division of Sikh support between the Akali But the

realitv

proved to be verv different.

Dal (w hich claimed to represent the distinctive interests of the Sikhs)

and the (Congress Partv (w hich claimed to be strictlv secular). Punjabi Suba certainlv involved a much greater use of the Punjabi language for official purposes, and that was undoubtedlv a gain, in that Sikhs have a strong affection for what thev regard as their ow n special language. In other respects, however, there was little evidence to suggest that Punjabi Suba had

made anv

significant difference to Punjabi soeietv in

general or to Sikh interests in particular.

Lp

to this point there are unlikelv to

10

be strong differences of opinion

THE SIKHS \\

ith

regard to the unfolding pattern of Punjab politics or the role of

Sikhs within that pattern.

From

here on, however,

we

enter disputed

two conflicting interpretations. One of these interpretations is dominant in India as a whole and largely informs the presentation of new s which emanates from New Delhi and the Punjab. It is, in other words, the perspective which one territory

and

it

becomes necessary

to present

generally finds in the media, although there have been recent signs of a

change

may I

in this regard.

1 he other interpretation

is

the view which one

expect to hear w ithin the Sikh communitv.

he dominant view runs, more or

less, as

follow

s:

Having

secure their objectives by means of Punjabi Suba those distinctively Sikh state initiated a

objective

was

to secure a larger

who

new campaign on two

measure of

state

failed to

sought

fronts.

autonomv.

I

a

One

he other

was to rallv Sikh support to the Akali Dal, thus ensuring that the larger autonomv could be utilized to protect Sikh interests. W hereas the former objective was promoted on the all-India stage the latter was pursued within the Punjab. Sikhs w ere to be persuaded that the Panth was in danger, and that onl\’ bv lovaltv to its traditions and its declared defenders could

it

be saved.

Amongst those w ho led the campaign (so this version continues) were many who could be described as “moderates,” men and women who supported a limited increase in state autonomv and w ho w anted no part in violence,

w

ilder

d he objective and the rhetoric served, however, to

men. d hese were the “extremists,”

to the simplistic notion of an willint; to

a variety

raise

up

of Sikh dedicated

independent Khalistan and more than

use brutal violence as a means to attain

it.

Bit

bv

bit

the

and strong-arm tactics of the extremists weakened the resistance of the moderates w hile their inflamatorv appeals to the martial traditions of the communitv won them increasing support from the rank and file. Under the fiercely malign leadership of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale the extremists entrenched themselves in the buildings threats

surrounding the Golden d'emple, eventually necessitating militarv ac-

June 1984. The attack on the (iolden 1 emple complex succeeded in killing Bhindranwale and manv of his followers, but the crisis was not yet over. Mrs. (hmdhi’s ow n bodvguard had been subverted bv extremist propaganda with the result that she was assassinated by two of her guards on October 31, 1984. Phis killing, together with the manv others w hich have since occurred in the Punjab and elsewhere, mean that the crisis tion in earl V

THE SIKHS

is

There must be several vears of firm resistanee to un-

not vet over.

demands before peaee and stability can eventually rePunjab. The alternative would be to risk the very unity of

aeeeptable Sikh

turn to the

which no responsible citizen could contemplate. That is one interpretation. The other one claims that the Punjab issue must be set w ithin the context of all-India politics and specifically the electioneering strategv of the ruling (Congress government in New Delhi. In order to maintain control of the central government the C>ongress Partv must retain solid support in the dominant lindi-speaking area of northern central India. This is best achieved bv single-issue electoral campaigns based on incidents such as the Bangladesh W ar or on striking claims such as Mrs. (iandhi’s famous slogan Garihi hatao (Abolish povIndia, a possibilitv

I

had decided that the issue

ertv). (Congress strategists

for the mid-eighties

should be the unitv of India and that in order to promote this issue

some

potential threats to Indian unitv should be given prominence.

areas

v\

1

he

hich could conceivablv serve this purpose were Assam, Kashmir

and the Punjab. These three states could be represented as menacing the unitv of India if strong Congress government were not retained. Punjab a part of this strategy involved the locating of a Sikh leader who, bv the stridenev of his demands, would simultaneouslv embarrass the Akalis and prove the point about threats to national unitv. The person chosen for this purpose was none other than In the case of the

jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, inducted into

Punjab

politics in

accordance

with Congress strategv. Unfortunatelv Bhindranw ale turned out to be more than merelv dent.

He

proved to be

his

own man,

eventuallv necessitating armed

action on a scale not originallv envisaged, d his did not that the strategv

well indeed.

As

had

failed.

reports of

On

the contrarv,

it

mean, how ever,

was succeeding verv

mounting violence circulated the

rest of India

took fright and increasinglv rallied to the support of Congress.

support became overw helming w

ith

This

the assassination of Mrs. Ciandhi,

sw eeping her son Rajiv to the most impressive of

W ith

stri-

all

Congress

victories.

the electoral objective achieved Rajiv Ciandhi could afford to

be magnanimous and

in

julv 1985 he reached an agreement with the

“moderate” Sikh leader Sant Tlarchand Singh Longowal. This agreement coneeded most of what the Akalis had all along been demanding, thereby raising the cpiestion of w hy the eentral government had previously offered such strenuous resistance. Klections were subsequentlv

held in the Punjab and amidst general relief the Akalis won.

12

The

dis-

THE SIKHS tasteful task of quelling the violenee could

now

be

to the Sikhs

left

themselves.

By now

,

however,

a

Pandora’s box

w as w ell and

trulv open. Feelings

had been violentlv inflamed and politicians in other parts of India had discovered the rewards to be secured bv maintaining the (Congress strategv, Rajiv Ciandhi

mav have been

sincere in signing the Punjab

of July 1985 but his control was insufficicntlv secure to

Accord enable him to

was his promise that the citv of (diandigarh would be transferred from central government control to the Punjab on January 26, 1986. Fwo years later (Chandigarh still redeliver

on

his promises.

I

he

test case

mains untransferred.

The Sikhs have meanwhile been subjected to a concerted campaign ranging from vilification to murder, d he latter reached a gorv climax during the davs immediatelv following the assassination of Mrs. Ciandhi in killings which seemed plainlv to reflect political planning and direction. d o their suffering has been added a campaign of deliberate misinformation designed to convince India and the world that the root of the problem lav in Sikh intransigence and Sikh \ iolence.

w ill tell which of the two is the more accurate, d here are, however, some certainties to which we can point, the first concerning the claim that Sikhs must have their ow n independent state: the Punjab should be separated from India and That

the other interpretation and time alone

is

reconstituted as the nation-state of Khalistan. Although no one can cite reliable figures or accurate! v estimate proportions, there little It

doubt that few Sikhs

powerful appeal as

low ever impractical

it

mav

far

be

it

to be

regard Khalistan as a realistic option.

should also be recognized, however, that the

ercises a I

in India

seems

as

notioti

of Khalistan ex-

Sikh sympathies are concerned.

nevertheless provides an immediate

focus for outraged feelings and for the anger of frustration.

is

d he second point deserving emphasis

is

entirelv understandable, regardless of

how one

that the Sikh sense of outrage

interprets the past and

which one may envisage for the future. The attack on the (iolden d emple complex had a traumatic effect on Sikhs cvervw here, as did the killings w hich followed the assassination of Mrs. (iandhi. Repeated emphasis on Sikh violence and cases of calculated humiliation aggravate that sense of outrage, and the feeling is further regardless of the solutions

strengthened bv the repeated implications that violence confined to die Sikhs. ers receive

such

little

\\

hv, thev insistentlv ask, does

attention?

Most such

13

\

is

somehow

iolence bv oth-

instances are, thev maintain.

niE SIKHS ignored and the few as a

hieh reeeive attention are typieallv represented

\\

provoked baeklash.

This sense of outrage ean be regarded as a general Sikh response, one

wliieh will be found amongst Sikhs of virtually

opinions, d o

must be added

it

nificant cleavages have

extent the

first

W bile stronglv

two sigthe Sikh communitv. l o some

line of division

rural Sikhs

backgrounds and

a third point the fact that

developed w ithin

and principle

boundarv separating

^as

all

from those

who

censuring government policy the

follows the traditional

belong to urban castes. latter nevertheless

tend

from the fiercer reactions of the rural communitv, and to talk in terms of compromise and settlement rather than retaliation or revenge. In the villages one encounters a stronger sense to distance themselves

of grievance and

a lesser

w

illingness to seek conciliation.

Repeatedlv one reads of or hears references to young village

men who

have disappeared, and to claims that these young Sikhs have been seized

and

Mere too

killed.

it

is

impossible to obtain any thing resembling ac-

doubt that strong feelings have issue and that they are feelings which w ill not

curate figures, but there can be

been generated by

this

little

easilv dissipate.

.\lanv

affected

voung men from and

in the villages there

have become seriouslv dis-

appears to be w idespread

activities.

covert

I'he

ensures that they will usually be protected from the police. jectives

if

sympathy which thev command is redevout remembrance of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and it

support for their flected in a

village families

may

generate an uncertain response, thev

mav

I

heir ob-

lack firm lead-

and they may be ever vulnerable to factional splits, vet none of these problems spells an easy end to their disaffection, d heir resistance continues and neither firmness nor conciliation, timelv concessions nor government compromise hold promise of an effective solution. The other divisive feature of particular concern derives from the everwidening gap between Hindu and Sikh in the Punjab. In this, as in so many other respects, it is difficult to gauge the true nature or extent of alienation, but no one seems inclined to contest its existence. It is, indeed, an issue w hich extends well bevond the Punjab. In other parts of India Sikhs have reported a grow ing hostility’, and the tendency for I lindus to move ay\ ay from the Punjab is accompanied bv a discreet ership,

movement

of Sikhs in the opposite direction, d'he actual

not to be great, but

they oyvn property

many have in the

numbers seem

taken the precaution of ensuring that

Punjab. Sikhs li\ing in the Delhi area

14

feel

THE SIKHS particularly insecure, well

remembering the days and nights w hich

fol-

lowed the assassination of Mrs. (iandhi.

Our this

is

account of the Sikhs must remain unfinished. In inevitable, for as long as there

their narrative critical stage, it

\\ ill

is life

continue to unfold.

I

in a

a sense,

community

of course,

or a people

he record of the Sikhs

is

at a

however, and few observers would be prepared to predict

far into the future. Just

what

that record holds time alone will

15

tell.

2

The

Origins of the Sikh Tradition

s

IKHISM, we are often told, is a sect of Hinduism. Guru Nanak may have founded a new panth or religious community within the larger Hindu fold, but he neither violated nor abandoned the Hindu tradition.

Born

Hindu, he remained one until the day he died, and so too did his successors. Fhe doctrines w hich he affirmed were already current in the North India of his ow n period and the message w hich he preached was entirely congenial to many of his Hindu audience. Fanths are a regular feature of the Hindu experience and Nanak, together with his followers, merely added one more. If we seek the origins of the Sikh tradition the place to look is surely the wider area of I lindu tradition and specifically the teachings of the Sants. Nanak did not found “Sikhism,” for this would have meant founding something w hich already exa

isted.

That

Nanak

is

one point of view

A

rather different version of the claim that

did not found Sikhism has been expressed by \\ ilfred (Antwell

him “the founder of Sikhism,” as is often done, is surely misconstrue both him and history.”’ Professor Smith did not have

Smith: “d o to

.

call

16

ORICIXS OF THE SIKH

TRADmOS

contemporary Hindu doctrine or the Sant tradition in mind when he made this statement. He was looking forward to the “Sikhism” which we know today, insisting that his criticism of the common verdict on Nanak relates to the future implications of the term “Sikhism” rather than to the past. Sikhism, he maintains,

is

the evolved product of sub-

sequent centuries, a complex system of beliefs and practices

Nanak

certainly did not “found.”

came

organization and institutions

many

In

it

not leave us

of the Sikh tradition?

If

w here we

“Sikhism”

must surely mean

it

I'he

is

is

an exceedingly helpful

started with regard to the origins to be construed as a later devel-

Nanak and the early Nanakwithin the Hindu tradition. Problems,

that both

panth are to be located firmly

how ever,

a vision.”

later (p. 67).

respects C>antwell Smith’s analysis

one, but does

opment

Nanak had “preached

w hich Guru

and they are considerably aggravated by the claim that Sikhism (or the Nanak-panth) must be regarded as a sect of Hinduism, Smith’s comment on “Sikhism” we can add his sensible l o C.antwcll insistence that there is no such thing as “Hinduism” (pp. 65-66). A persist

moreover, necessarily implies the existence of an agreed orthodoxy

sect,

and even those at

defining

its

who

en\ isage an

entit\' called

I

linduism might well baulk

orthodox form, d he proposition that Sikhism

is

a sect

of

Hinduism is beginning to look distinctly unsatisfactory. One must also be aw are that the proposition will sound exceedingly offensive to

many

Sikhs. Phis cannot be lightly dismissed as a prejudice

of the naive or the result of generations of biased nurture. Although

Sikh scholars are certainly prepared to acknowledge the major devel-

opments that take place during the centuries following Nanak they are most unlikely to accept the notion that he merely replicated a range of doctrines and ideals current within the society of his own time. Professor

1

larbans Singh, a distinguished interpreter of Sikh history

and tradition, explicitly affirms that (iuru Nanak was indeed the founder: “Attempts have been made to split (iuru Nanak’s doctrine into various strands and to trace their origin to preceding schools of thought. But to understand (iuru Nanak fully, we have to look at the totality of his tenet and at what impact it made on history. In this perspective,

we

shall see that

faith.

cant

(iuru

Nanak

is

historically the

founder of the Sikh

His precept was definitively the starting-point. In many

w avs,

it

signifi-

signalled a new’ departure in contemporar\’ religious ethos.”’

Fo ensure thgt his interpretation is clearly understood Harbans Singh quotes the words of the Indian Muslim scholar M. Mujeeb: “ Fhe rev-

17

OF THE SIKH TKADITIOX

()RI(;/\S

came

elation that

and

as

Nanak must have been

to (Juru

independent of history and

records of the Sikhs show

There

it

social

direet

and immediate

circumstances as the religious

to be.”^

certainly an orthodox Sikh point of view concerning the

is

Nanak, and Harbans Singh expresses it soberly. Others yehemence. d his plainly is their right and outsiders must

status of (iiiru state

it

w ith

a

learn to appreciate their

Sikhism and

\

iew’.

It

is

we might w ell conclude

a

conspicuous feature of modern

mere existence demolishes Sikhism can be sensibly regarded as a sect of Hinduism that

its

any claim that or of anything else. But this acknow ledgment does not solv e the real problem, d'here are in fact several problems concerning (iuru Nanak which still remain, and the historian cannot be deflected from a potentially embarrassing

by the strength of a modern interpretation or the vehemence of its supporters. The relationship of Nanak to the belief systems of his own day remains an issue, one which must be reexamined in some detail during the course of this chapter. The other problem vv hich must also be reviewed arises from the traditional accounts of Nanak’s life story and the treatment which these accounts receive today. Although both problems were raised as long ago as 1968 in (lunl task

seems that both are still very much with us."^ Quite by chance Guru Sdnak and the Sikh Religion appeared at an unusually fortunate time; indeed, it would have been necessary to wait

Siinak and the Sikh Religion

500 years for issued in

a better

November

it

opportunity to publish such

a

book.

in the

the principal United

first

1968 in anticipation of the year marking the quin-

centenary of the birth of Nanak. The reception which

was foreshadowed

was

It

it

was

to receive

speech read by the (>hief Justice of India

Kingdom

at

function held to celebrate the quincen-

Mr. M. Hidavatullah delivered an address which comprised two distinct sections. The first portion dealt with the life of Nanak and for this section the speaker ignored Guru Sdnak and the Sikh Religion, relying instead on the janamtenary. Speaking in the Albert Hall in mid-1969

sakhis (the traditional narratives of the (iuru’s

life').

In the second half,

however, the tone of the speech changed dramatically. The second section dealt with the teachings of Nanak and it soon became clear that

much ot

it

of

it

word

had been drawn from Guru Sdnak and for

the Sikh Religion,

word.

This has since proved to be the standard response to the b(K)k. its

some

treatment of the teachings of

Nanak seems

18

to

W hereas

have been largely ac-

ORIGIXS OF THE SIKH TRADITIOX

cepted,

analysis of the biographical traditions has generally been ig-

its

nored within the Fanth.

The one

significant qualification attached to

the teachings portion of the book has been

its

treatment of (iuru

Nanak’s status as “founder” of the Sikh tradition, fhat issue will be discussed further following an examination of the response to the book’s claim that the janam-sakhis are untrustworthy as records of the actual life

of

Cmru Xanak.

The claim that the janam-sakhis are untrustworthy as biographical sources was not meant to suggest that they are yalueless as historical records. They are indeed yaluable in this regard, but their yalue principally deriyes from the insight which they supply concerning the deyeloping beliefs of the later Panth. Phis issue was subsequently treated in Early Sikh Eradition,^ a book which was written as a companion yolume to Guru Xanak and the Sikh Religion, fhe earlier work had focused on the janam-sakhi contribution to our knowledge of the actual details of the (iuru’s life; and the conclusion w hich it drew was that they proyide yery

little

reliable information.

could be know n about the

life

sakhis early references to

Xanak

of

From

this

it

followed that

little

iuru Xanak, for apart from the janam-

(

are exceedingly scarce. His

own

con-

siderable works, faithfully recorded in the Adi Ciranth, proyide nothing

more than an occasional glimpse, fleeting and tantalizing. 1 he final conclusion was that the know n life of Guru Xanak could be recorded in four short paragraphs.

d'he

first

Sikh Religion

and

to test

and scholars are places

response to the biographical portion of Guru Xanak and

the

was a brief flurry of actiyity intended to probe its findings them rigorously. (Contemporary sources were scrutinized v\

ere despatched to

which

Assam,

Sri

I^nka, and Baghdad, d'hese

figure prominently in the traditional records

and w hich

had receiyed special attention in the book’s analysis.^ Fhe expedition to Sri Lanka produced new information which seemed, at first sight, to offer strong support for a visit by (iuru Xanak. Subsequently, however, it was shown that information which had been supplied in Sri

Lanka and accepted

in

good

faith

was

made

in fact

wholly inaccurate.*^ Fhe

Guru Xanak and the Sikh Religion thereafter lost its driv e and little has been done since. A few books show that the biographical message of Guru Xanak and the Sikh Religion has been understood and that their authors have generally accepted it.“’ For the most part, howev er, this portion of the book has been ignored. Most publications from within the Panth thus continue to treat the effort to disprove the claims

in

19

()R/(j/\s

or THE SIKH r rad it i os

janam-sakhis as acceptable sources for the

of (iuru

life

Nanak and

supply accounts based on the anecdotes which they record. it

true, a rationalizing process at

is

work

in that the

are eliminated leaving only a refined product.

It is

I'here

to is,

grosser elements

nevertheless a very

one which offers a marked contrast to the four paragraphs in (iunl Sanak and the Sikh Religion. It is, moreover, a version w hich continues to bear the visible imprint of M. A. .Macauliffe. Fogether with his Singh Sabha associates Macauliffe had decided that the substantial remnant,

Rurdtan janam-sakhi tradition supplied a more creditable account of the of

life

Nanak than

the other available traditions."

was thus the Purdtan schema which provided Macauliffe with his framework and ever since his work was published in 1909 it has dominated the field. Details continue to be drawn from the other janamIt

sakhi traditions, but the usual pattern remains the distinctive chronol-

ogy and

itinerary of the Purdtan version.

account as

when

far as

Fhis follows the standard

Nanak’s childhood and early adulthood are concerned,

comes to the period of his travels it adopts a dig-vijaya perspective and sends him on journeys to the four cardinal points of but

it

the compass. I'he Purdtan version offers a relatively coherent reordering

of the it is

many

anecdotes which together constitute the janam-sakhis and

not surprising that

it

should have exercised

a

strong appeal for

men

with an essentially rational approach to the problem of biography." In terms of

its

biographical analysis, therefore. Guru Sdnak and the

Sikh Religion seems largely to have failed, at least is

w

ithin the Panth. d'his

unfortunate, for there are at least three reasons for concern.

these reasons need not

mean

be accepted

if

has

come

in detail,

to review

its

that the specific findings of the

U hile

book must

valid they will at least suggest that the time

general approach and to determine again whether

or not that approach deserves to be reapplied.

Fhis task,

if it

is

un-

dertaken, should also involve a review of the case for janam-sakhi interpretation a

which

is

made

in Early Sikh Tradition.

The

issue

depends upon

thorough understanding of the nature and content of the janam-sakhis,

aspects of the general problem

w hich were not adequately covered

in

Guru Sdnak and the Sikh Religion. Fhe first reason concerns the relationship betw een the life of Guru Nanak and his many compositions recorded in the Adi Granth. Although it will sound exceedingly presumptuous it must nevertheless be maintained that these works cannot be fully understood if they are not

()R/CI\S

OF THE SIKH TRADITIOS

A

firmly w ithin their historical context.

set

that context consists of the actual

many

sible to ascertain

life

very significant portion of

of the (iuru.

of the details of that

life,

may not be we should at

It

but

protect oursehes against mistaken or misleading yersions.

Read

posleast

literally

the janam-sakhis must lead us into that trap. They are themselyes interpretations of the

life

and mission of Baba Nanak, and

as historical records of the actual life of (iuru

if

Nanak they

we

trust

them

will assuredly

skew our interpretation of his works. A conspicuous example of this effect is supplied by the strong janamsakhi insistence on the irenic purpose of the (iuru’s mission. “Na koT hindu hai na koT musalaman,” he is alleged to have declared as he emerged from his life-changing vision of Akal Purakh: “ fhere is neither Hindu nor Muslim.”' In another famous Puratafi reference Baba Nanak is said to have dressed in an odd assemblage of clothes combining Hindu and Muslim styles. Other janam-sakhi features reinforce this image, leaving the clear and distinct impression that a fundamental intention of (juru Nanak’s mission was to draw Hindu and Muslim together. I'here can be little doubt that this janam-sakhi image has significantly influenced the interpretation of Nanak’s works. Indeed, origin of the

w idespread

may

it

yet erroneous notion that his

w orks

represent a conscious syncretism, one which sought to blend

Muslim

beliefs.

ample of the

1

which

his notion,

risks associated

be discussed

will

w ith misconstruing

well be the

whole iindu and

as a I

later,

is

an ex-

the true nature of the

janam-sakhis. This leads to the second reason for disputing false interpretations of

and work of (mru Nanak which must suffer from these misinterpretations; understanding of the janam-sakhis themselves will also suffer, and if they are to be treated the janam-sakhis.

as little

It

is

more than sources

yield their true value. later Panth.'^

can

not merely the

tell a

I

life

for the life of

he

real

Guru Nanak

they will never

value of the janam-sakhis concerns the

Produced within the context of the developing Panth they

great deal about

it.

I

he historian

who

seeks in

them extensive

growth of the Khalsa vv ill be disappointed, but certainly not the scholar w ho works on the earlier period of development. Even the Khalsa period can be illuminated by a product such as the BiO Janaw-sakhP^ and because the janam-sakhis continue their growth right up to the recent past they can contribute inmaterial relating to the origins and

sights across the entire span of Sikh history, d his they are unlikely to

21

ORICIXS or THE SIKH TRADITIOS

do

if

they are treated as doeuments and traditions relating exclusively

to the actual life of (iuru

Nanak. Interpreted

as biographies they are

deprived of their true value.

A

third reason for concern 'may perhaps be found in

which constitute the modern he outsider who ventures to com-

Sikh society, particularly those parts of Sikh diaspora

ment on Sikh

in \\ estern countries,

I

contemporary

it

society runs the risk of earning a well-merited rebuke,

and the opinion which follows may well deserve this response. It does seem, however, that for those who value the religious content of the Sikh tradition there are considerable dangers associated with any in-

on treating the janam-sakhis as reliable records of the life of (iiiru Nanak. Sikh children w ho receive a \\ estern-style education will assuredly imbibe attitudes which encourage skepticism, and having done so they are most unlikely to view traditional janam-sakhi perceptions with approval. Coven the emphasis which is typically laid on stories concerning (oirii Nanak there is a risk that Sikhism as a whole may come to be associated with the kind of marvels and miracles which are the janamsakhi stock-in-trade. Problems w ith this particular feature of the total Sikh tradition may well carry over into other areas. For some the price may be worth paving, but at least they should be aw are of the risks involved in adopting the traditional approach. Seemingly harmless stosistence

ries

can be

lethal to one’s faith.

The janam-sakhi image of Baba Nanak leads us back to the problem w ith which we began and so to the (iuru’s teachings. 1 here can be no doubt concerning the dominant janam-sakhi view of his status. From the wonders associated with his birth to the miraculous disappearance of his earthly body the stress is strongly on the divinity of Nanak and on the unique quality of his message. Here too the janam-sakhis have presumably exercised a significant influence on subsequent interpretations. Nurtured in this understanding of his role and status we can entertain only one possible view concerning the nature of his teachings. The message preached by Nanak was divinely given and unique, the Word of the eternal Ciuru uttered through its living embodiment. If this is indeed the ease it presumably follows that the message began w ith (iuru Nanak and that he is indeed the founder of the Sikh taith. In spite of the sceptical tone running through this discussion there is an obvious case to be made for accepting the claim that

Guru Nanak

should be regarded as the founder of the Sikh Panth, and that

in a cer-

ORIGISS OF THE SIKH TRADITIOX Panth can be construed as coterminous with the Sikh I'here can be no questioning the fact that Ciuru Nanak attracted

tain sense the faith. a

group of followers;

that these first disciples constituted the original

nucleus of the Nanak-panth; and that the continuity of this newly-formed

community was ensured by a spiritual lineage. If

we

the appointment of a successor Ciuru and

are talking about the Panth, the line

which we

must end with the person of Nanak, thus confirming his status as founder, fhe Sikh faith, howeyer it may be conceiyed, is inextricably Ixiund to the Panth and whatever intluences may hav e molded the eyoK’ing Panth its connection with Nanak must surely be secure. trace back in time

This, eral

however,

is

avoiding the difficult issue associated with the gen-

question of Sikh origins, (^an the teachings of

garded

as

Nanak

really

be

re-

unique? fhe question leads us back to the claim with which

this discussion

began.

It is a

question which must be asked because the

fundamental doctrines w hich inform the works of Nanak are to be found

elsewhere I

in the

North India of

lere the reference

is

his

own

time and the immediate past.

to the Sant tradition of

North

India, the range of

which stressed such features as the formless quality of (iod {nirgutja) and a doctrine of deliverance which attached no significance to caste. Phis is the tradition which evokes such names as Kal)ir and Raidas. Outside the Panth most scholars include Nanak within the same tradition. Although the first (iuru is seldom if ever called Sant Nanak (a title which most Sikhs would find exceedingly demeaning) his place w ithin the movement is explicitly affirmed. Nanak, it is claimed, replicated teachings which w ere already current in North India. \\ hether or not he received his doctrines from Kabir fhe belief system promulgated by the Sants w as is of no consecjuence. gaining widespread currency and Nanak could have absorbed its ideals from a variety of possible sources, fhe fact that he so faithfully reproduces these doctrines sets him firmly within the Sant tradition, effectively destroying any claims to significant originality. Kven the appointreligious understanding

ing of a successor does nothing to affect this judgment. Spiritual lineages

one wants more recent examples with Sikh the Nirankari, Namdhari, and Beas Radhasoami move-

are forev er appearing and affiliations,

ments

if

will readily oblige.

In stating the issue so frankly

offense and of alienating

begun.

It

many

must nevertheless be

one runs

a serious risk

of causing grave

readers before the real discussion has clearly stated

if

we

are to grapple ad-

equately and' sympathetically with the question of Sikh origins.

23

\\ as

OR/CISS OR rHE SIKH TRADITION

Nanak merely another he entered on

Sant, or are there distinetive elaims which

his behalf? If

we concede

may

that the links with Sant doctrine

must we then accept that the Sikh movement is a Sant movement? Should the Nanak-panth be properly regarded as one amongst many such panths emerging within the larger context of Hindu tradition and still remaining a part of it? For some participants in this debate these questions normally imply affirmative answers, and the answers are commonly carried through to the present day. Subsequent developments may have transformed the later Panth, but it has never renounced its direct descent from the teachings of Nanak nor have its members effectively abandoned their are altogether too obvious to be ignored

place within the structure of caste society. For

and such incidents

as

participants the ques-

hev recur repeatedly within Sikh sothe current crisis in the Punjab greatly sharpen

tions are not simply academic. ciety

all

I

their thrust.

answer one must first understand the tradition which allegedly supplies the principal components of Nanak’s doctrine; then survey the teachings of Nanak, briefly examining the fundamental features which they offer and setting those features within the total system w hich his works enable us to construct; and finally return to the problem of origins just broached and endeavor to find a solution. In order to attempt an

I

or

he Sant tradition of northern India can be viewed both as

method of

spiritual liberation

and

as a

form of

a

sadhan

social protest.

Both

elements are in fact inextricably linked. Most of the tradition’s leading

exponents were from lower castes and the theory of spiritual release

which they

state or

assume

in their religious

songs

is

one w hich plainly

rejects the relevance of caste status in matters pertaining to the soul’s

deliverance from the bondage of transmigration.

scorned, as are

all

who

Brahmans

are typically

claim to exercise authority as purveyors of re-

Fhe condemnation was such authority and its claimants,

ligious merit or as mediators of divine grace.

one which the Sants applied Muslim as well as Hindu.

As

makes

to

all

and unqualified emphasis on the interior nature of the spiritual understanding and on the discipline required in order to secure freedom from the suffering of death and rebirth. I heir ultimate goal remained the same as that of the \ aishnava bhakti w ith which Sant docrine has so often been confused, the same indeed as Hindu sadhan in general. Fhe objective was nioksa, liberation from the transmigratorv cycle and from the suffering this verdict

clear the Sants laid firm

ORIGINS OF THE SIKH TRADITION which necessarily attends nor of the consequences individual performs.

I

\\

it.

I

here

is

no denying the

reality of

karma,

hich ineluctably follow the actions which each

he difference concerns the method whereby one

breaks or terminates the cycle and to some extent the quality of nioksa

\\

hich the Sants offered to

all \\

ho followed their devotional

dis-

was emphatically and exclusively interior, at least as preached by the more significant of the Sants. The objective was a permanent stilling of all emotion and all conflict, peace in an eternal equipoise which could be achieved by the devout Sant while cipline.

still

This discipline

living out his present existence.'^

From

this brief

by the Sants

summary

it

in their religious

will

be evident that the message preached

songs

l)ears

obvious resemblances to other

North Indian experience. It is easy to see why they should have been confused with contemporary V'aishnava bhaktas, for both share the same uncompromising insistence on devotion as the way of liberation. I he connection is, moreover, a legitimate one to the traditions familiar in the

extent that the Sant tradition plainly derived fundamental features of

doctrine from \ aishnava belief.

its

I

he Sant emphasis on interiority

points to the other principal source of

Nath panth,

its

belief

and

1

practice.

his

was

contemporary representative of the ancient tantric tradition. Sufi influence may also have contributed to the development of Sant doctrine, though if this is indeed the case its results are much harder to detect in the terminology of the Sant than features which derive from V’aishnava and Nath sources. the

Of

a

these three contributors to Sant doctrine the least familiar

doubtedly the Nath tradition.

Today

it

survives as a fading

is

un-

memory

acknow ledged leaders and dedicated practitioners of its yogic theory. During the time of (iuru N'anak, however, it commanded a considerable influence in the Punjab and North India generally. Although its origins remain unclear there can be no doubt that they relate intimately to Shaivite teachings and to tantric Buddhism. I he word iiath means “master” and the Adindth or “Primal Nath” was identified as Shiva. In addition to the Adinath there were believed to exist nine other Naths, master yogis w ho had attained immortality through the practice of hatha-yoga and who were supposed rather than as an active system with

to be living far

was, by

back

common

in the

I

limalayas.

Of these

nine the principal figure

consent, the semi-legendary Ciorakhnath to

adherents of the Nath tradition

owed

whom

all

allegiance. Belief in the nine im-

mortal Naths’is obviously connected in some

way with

the eighty-four

O/^IC/S'S

OF THE SIKH TRADITIOS

immortal Sitldhas of tantric Biiddliism. In Sikh tradition the two terms,

Nath and Siddha, attaching to the

are used interchangeably with a strong preference

latter.

Adherents of the Nath tradition were commonly known as Kanphat or “split-ear” yogis, a name vv hich derives from their practice of wearing large ear-rings.

I

heir direct influence

on the educated seems

been limited, but amongst the people

manded

to

large they evidently

at

have

com-

respect for their austerities and aroused considerable dread for

the magical powers which they were believed to possess. attributed to Kabir are shot through with

I'he

Nath concepts and termi-

nology, clearly demonstrating the extent of their influence on representative of the Sant tradition,

if

a

major

work of a Muslim name)

these songs are the

single person called Kabir that person (regardless of his

must surely have had

songs

close personal connections with the Naths. If they

and evolved products of a Kabirian was presumably subjected to a strong Nath

are to be regarded as the composite tradition the tradition itself

influence.

W hatever

the root,

Nath

influences are plainly evident in the

works attributed to Kabir and in other products of the Sant tradition. Fhev are also present in the works of (iuru Nanak. Fhe impact of this Nath influence can presumal)ly be observed in the characteristic Sant stress on the irrelevance of caste status as a means to deliverance, the folly of sacred languages and scriptures, the futility of temple worship and pilgrimage, and their general stress on interior devotion. Such features are the essence of Sant belief. Their starting point is a concept of Ciod w hich insists upon his wholly formless quality. He is nirgiina, as opposed to \\\^sagiina belief w hich envisages physical incarnations and accepts visible representations in the form of idols. For the Sants all such exterior forms are misguided, as are the associated practices of temple worship and outward ceremony. CJod is to be found within each human heart or spirit, and there alone can one practice the loving devotion w hich will ultimately lead to union with the divine and thus to the eternal bliss of deliverance. I he inner path which the devout Sant must follow is not an easy one, but its rew ard is sure and it is one which can be secured in this present existence. The reward is

the bliss of total peace in mystical union.

sahaj, a

word w hich

leads us back to the

Fhis

is

the condition of

Naths and beyond them

to

the earlier tradition of tantric Buddhism.

on Nath antecedents should not imply that the Sants were mere imitators of Nath belief and practice. Such a conclusion would I'his stress

ORICISS OF THE S/KII TRADETIOS from the truth, for the Sants w ere generally strong critics of the Naths, and their doctrine offers much more than Nath borrow ings. Sahaj^ they insist, is not to be attained through the practice of hatha-yoga. It is to be attained through inward devotion and the practice of meditation. In looking for the closest relatives of the Sants one must still acknowledge them to be the \ aishnava bhaktas, for the essence of Sant be

far

belief remains loving devotion to a personal deitv.

must be repeatedlv stressed

I

he points w hich

are that the object of their devotion

strictlv

formless (iod, and that the actual practice of devotion

inward

discipline.**^

An

outline of (iuru Nanak’s system will

show how

is

closely

is

a

a strictly

its

fun-

damental features match the insistent emphases of the Sant, d'he teach-

Nanak

ings of

are easily accessible.

Although

important question of spiritual deliverance

is

his

approach to the

all-

not that of a systematic

theologian there can be no doubt that a developed and integrated system

mind and that it informs the many hvmns w hich he d he hvmns were recorded in the .\di Granth half a centurv

was present has

left,

in his

after his death

and

it

appears that (iuru Arjan,

in

(iranth, had access to an earlier collection compiled I

he source

system

lies

is

behind the hymns which

mav have

case of (iuru

by the

third (iuru."**

thus a sound one and exegesis will reveal that it

exercised a

a

coherent

preserves.

was noted that Sufi doclimited intluence on its development. In the

In the earlier brief survev of Sant origins

trine

compiling the Adi

it

Nanak one commonly encounters

the insistent claim that

owed much to Islam and specifically to the Sufis. As was also indicated, some writers have carried this theorv to the point of claiming he

example of conscious svncretism, one w hich deliberatelv tried to blend Hindu and .Muslim ideals, d hese interpretations v\’ere criticized in Gunl Sdnak and the Sikh Religion w here it w as suggested that whatever .Muslim influence might be detected in Nanak’s work no aspect of that influence could claim fundamental sigfhis denial of the svncretism thesis was itself attacked and nificance. it must be acknowledged that were the book to be rewritten some marginal qualifications would be needed. The substance of the denial has, however, been confirmed by a much more thorough analysis of the issue, one which approaches it by way of the Persian loan-words which appear in the .\di (iranth. 1 he analysis is the work of Professor (Christopher Shackle and the publication of his finds seems clearly to that his religion can be treated as an

have demolished the old syncretic claim.

()RI(;i\S

OF THE SIKH TK ADIT I OS

Nanak viewed both

(uiru

manner. In

eallv Sant

the

Hindu

their eonventional

tradition

and Islam

in a typi-

forms both offered systems of

and practiee vvhieh largely relied on external authorities and outw ard response. As sueh both were to be condemned. Only those who perceived the inner reality of truth could achieve deliverance, and this belief

end could be attained regardless of whether one were a Hindu or a Muslim, d hose w ho followed this inner path are the “true” Hindu and the “true” Muslim as opposed to the “false” believers w ho continue to put their trust in ritual and pilgrimage, temple and mosque, brahman and mullah, Shastras and Qur’an. As Professor Shackle demonstrates, the Islamic loan-words which appear in the works of (kiru Nanak (as elsewhere in the Adi (iranth) are most famous example occurs in a shalok from Vdr Mdjh. Make mercy vour mosque and devotion vour prayer mat,

lim. d'he

righteousness vour Qur’an;

Meekness vour circumcising, goodness your for thus the true

Muslim expresses

Make good works vour Ka‘bah,

fasting,

his faith.

take truth as vour pir

compassion vour creed and vour prayer. Let service to

and This

is

God

the classic

insistent interior

God

be the beads w hich you

will exalt

you

to glory.

Guru Nanak approach,

emphasis and of

particular instance

it

tell

its

typical both in terms of

striking use of imagery.

its

In this

Muslim and in makes of Muslim

supplies a definition of the “true”

w hich Nanak typically concepts. I he same contrast between the true believer and the false explains the conjoining of Hindu and Muslim names for God, and when Muslim names for God are elsew here introduced it is commonly for the so doing

it

illustrates the use

poetic purpose of achieving assonance or alliteration.

The

terms certainly does not guarantee an Islamic content.

use of Islamic

Having noted

Shackle adds (pp. 93-94): “Nor is this awareness indeed evidenced by this and other uses of Islamic

this feature Professor

of Islam, which

loan-words

is

in the A[di] (i[ranth], to

be confused with any direct influ-

ence from Islam, as suggested by the proponents of the syncretic or eclectic origin of Sikhism, necessarily

since the primary text has so

little

on the

to offer

Professor Shackle concludes his analysis fact that the

basis of secondary sources,

them by wav of support.” by draw ing attention to the

Adi (iranth borrowings from Persian concentrate much

ORIGIXS OF THE SIKH ERA Dili OX more heavily on images of

royal authority than on the doctrines and

practice of Islam (pp. 94-96). in the

w orks of (iuru Nanak

1

le

adds that the relevant features present

are also to be found in those attributed

to Kabir.

This analysis of Adi (iranth terminology should

put aside, once and for a synthesis

of

all,

lindu and

I

the mistaken notion that (iuru

Muslim

of belief draws

little

controversy

now becoming

is

make

ideals.

I

it

possible to

Nanak

offers

he view that the Sant pattern

of significance from Islam also bears repeating, d'he sterile,

deserving to be briefly examined

dominates popular representations of the teachings of (iuru Nanak. For journalists covering the recent troubles in the

only because

it

still

seems to have been a mandatory introduction they might say about Nanak and his influence. Punjab

I

it

for

whatever

laving thus discarded a mistaken interpretation of the teachings of

(iuru

Nanak

it

is

possible to proceed to a

summary

of what they ac-

Adi (iranth itself begins, with Nanak’s doctrine of (iod. .Many terms, draw n from a variety of traditions, are used to designate the (iod of Nanak’s theology, each of them offering a facet of his total understanding. One which has achieved particular [^Kipularitv is .\kal lAirakh, the “Person beyond l ime” or “Fternal One.” .\s one might expect from the Sant background of Nanak’s thought .\kal Purakh is understood as Xirankdr, “the One without Form,” and repeated emphasis is laid on the ineffable quality of his being. I his does not mean, however, that .\kal Purakh is inaccessible to the understanding of men and women or that he is beyond the reach of their affections. .\kal Purakh has in fact manifested himself in the world w hich he has created, and they w hose eves are opened to spiritual understanding will perceive him immanent in all creation. 4 hus perceiving him they receive the means to approach him and so to appropriate the freedom and eternal bliss which is proffered for all to grasp. .Mankind, however, is congenitally blind and for most people the vision of the divine, ever present around them, remains forever concealed. that inner faculty which comI he problem lies in the human monly we call our “heart” but which is better understood as a complex comprising heart, mind and spirit. W ithin the man eyil exercises its yicious way and, seduced by the passions which it generates, most are blind to the spiritual reality which lies within and about them. Drixen by their eyil impulses they behaxe in a manner w hich, in accordance tually contain, beginning, as the

^

with the law of karma, earns appropriate penalties. For such people the

ORK^IWS OF THE SIKH TRADITIOX

result can only

be the round of death and rebirth, the endless sequence

which extends suffering through

all

eternity, d he

haumai or self-centered concern for

is

sensual and the selfish.

As long

can be no hope of escape. \\ hat,

then,

is

as the

all

man

fundamental problem

that attracts the proud, the is

in the grip

of haumai there

The endless round must continue.

the solution?

I

he solution, according to Nanak,

is

the

nam or the “divine Name.” le v\ ho learns how to appropriate the nam w ill be freed from the chains w hich bind him to the wheel of transmigration. The term nam, as used by Nanak and elsewhere in Sant I

literature,

summary

a

is

expression for the whole nature of (iod and

that constitutes his being.

It

is,

all

to use another favored expression, sat

commonly encounters the combination satinam or “ rue Name.” Anything that may be affirmed concerning Akal Furakh constitutes an aspect of the divine Name, and a sufficient understanding or “truth” and one I

of the divine

How

is

confers?

Furakh to \\

all

is

who

provides the essential means to deliverance.

the divine

revealed and it

Name

a

Name

what manner is it secure the reward which

to be appropriated? In

w hat must a person do in order to knowledge of the Name can be attained because

God

of grace, speaking the

Word

.Akal

of divine understanding

are prepared to shed their haumai and listen in humility, d he

ord {hbad)

is

the message inscribed in creation, and the mystical “voice”

whereby it is “spoken” is the eternal Guru. Akal Furakh is himself the eternal Guru, speaking through the creation which constitutes his visible form. The message thus spoken is the \\ ord which reveals the divine Name. It is a simple message. Look around you and look within. Both around and within you will perceive the divine Order {hukarn), a harmony expressed in the physical and psychical creation w hieh reflects the divine harmony of Akal Furakh himself. In order to secure liberation one must attune one’s whole life to that harmony expressed as the divine Name. This purpose one achieves bv means of regular, disciplined practice of nam simaran or “remembrance of the

Name.”

.A

simple version of this technique consists of repeating

w hich summarizes the meaning of the di\ ine Name and thus of .Akal Furakh himself (a w ord such as satinam or the later term Vdhiguru). d he more sophisticated version is a technique of meditation which inw ardly reflects upon the meaning of the divine Name, with the intention of bringing one’s w hole being into harmony with the divine harmony of the Name. Kirtan (the singing of appropriate hymns) a

word

or expression

ORICIXS OF THE

is

another form of

SI FI I

TRADITIOS

fidni siniaran, for in this

manner

also

devout believers

can attune themselves to the divine.

The discipline ultimate rew ard

who

for those

is

w

not an easv task, nor can one expect to secure the

ithout lengthv striving.

sincerelv seek

it.

All

who

It

is,

however,

a

sure reward

follow the discipline of

udm

simarau with devout persistence will progressively ascend to levels of spiritual

experience which thev alone can comprehend.

mvstical union in the eternal bliss of total serenity.

I

I

hus

is

he end

is

the cvcle

Thus does one merge in the divine Name. Those w ho know the works attributed to Kabir and other Sants will find in this brief summarv of Nanak’s theologv much that is familiar and nothing that conflicts w ith anv significant feature of Sant doctrine. In Nanak, as in Kabir, there is the same rejection of exterior forms, the same insistence on the need for inward devotion and its sufficiencv as the sole means of liberation.’^ We return to the problem which has recurred throughout this survev of the life and teachings of (iuru Nanak. Must we conclude that Nanak was a Sant? d he answer will depend on the tone and color of the question. If it is a strictlv neutral question of antecedents and influences the answer must be in the affirmative. Because he represents the essential concerns

of transmigration broken.

of the Sants dition.

If,

we

are

bound

Nanak w ithin

to locate Ciuru

however, the question implies

a

the Sant tra-

lack of originalitv

on the

Nanak the answer must be an emphatic negative. Plainlv there much that is profoundlv original in the hvmns which we find re-

part of is

corded under his distinctive svmbol

Adi (iranth.^^ d'here is in them an integrated and coherent svstem which no other Sant has produced; there is a claritv which no other Sant has equaled; and there is a beautv which no other Sant has matched, d here is, moreover, the question of permanence. The fact that Nanak appointed a successor to follow him is scarcelv unique, but nothing in the Sant experience can compare to the Panth which was eventually to emerge from that decision.

31

in the

3

Four Centuries of Sikh History

Q

L R\

HYING Sikh

history since Nanak’s death might

would indeed be easy

seem

to be an

were possible to agree on the facts which should be presented, and upon their interpretation. In the case of Guru Nanak there should be no serious problem, at least as far as the facts are concerned. \\ hereas knowledge of his actual life must necessarily remain limited his teachings are readily accessible. As we easy task.

It

have already seen there lationship of

Nanak

is

to the

a

if it

continuing controversy regarding the

Sant tradition, but

at least there

re-

should be

argument concerning either the paucity of biographical detail or the abundance of authentic compositions. Moving beyond his death in 1539, however, the task becomes much more complicated. Serious problems arise throughout the survey and any general interpretation that may be offered is bound to be disputed.' One of these problems w as indicated earlier w hen dealing with the life and teachings of Nanak. I trod then on sacred ground and must continue to do so. Fhis means that an attitude of sympathetic caution must be sustained in order to hold the attention of a representative aulittle

FOUR CESTURIES OE SIKH HISTORY Fhe subject concerns the sul)stance of a living faith, one which generates strong devotion and a fierce lovaltv. It is not an area to be entered carelessly or with anv hint of disrespect. A second problem arises, as one might expect, from the restricted dience.

quantitv of source material, notablv the nineteenth centurv.

fhis

is

\\

ith

regard to the period preceding

scarcely an issue peculiar to Sikh his-

Other regional historians of India typically encounter the same problem, particularlv if thev must move awav from official sources in order to obtain the material which thev need. In the case of the Sikhs it has been reasonable argued that those w ho were making historv during the eighteenth centurv were unaccustomed by tradition to recording fhe increasinglv disturbed conit and far too busv to bother anvwav. ditions which encouraged this response would also have been responsible for the destruction of some portion of the small legacv. W hatever the reason, it is immediately obvious that sources which predate the nineteenth centurv are restricted in quantitv and in coverage. A time torv.

of relative plentv

is

onlv reached with the nineteenth-centurv source

materials (both Sikh and British).

fhe increase tainlv helps, but

in it

supplv which comes with the modern period cer-

does not solve

all

problems relating to sources.

\\

hether

these sources be scantv or profuse, whether of the sixteenth century or the late

tv\

entieth, there remains the general

pret those sources.

problem of how

to inter-

This has already been noted with regard to the janam-

sakhis, the traditional narratives of the

life

seems possible, from the whollv credulous

of Nanak.

Any

response

to the totallv sceptical. In

practice the significant debate sets the cautiously traditional scholar against

those trained in

modern

W estern

historiography, d'he difference of ap-

one to which we shall return. Moving from janam-sakhi interpretation into eighteenth-centurv materials a similar range of differing views is encountered with regard to proach

is

the rahit-namas and the gur-bilas literature.^

fhe earlv rahit-namas,

which record various versions of the Khalsa code of conduct, invariable purport to date from the time of (iuru (iobind Singh (1675-1708) or at least to report words which the author claims to have heard directlv from his lips. 1 hese claims mav be believed or thev mav be questioned, fhe response which each of us chooses must make a substantial difference both to the facts w hich we accept and to the interpretations which we derive from them. The issue raised by the rahit-namas recurs when we turn to the gur-

33

FOUR CFSTURIES OF SIKH HISTORY l)ilas literature,

stirring aeeounts of the

mighty deeds of the Ciurus.

I

hese

works tvpieallv eoneentrate on the life and mission of the tenth (Juru, exalting both his w isdom and his steadfast heroism. In thus deseribing the gur-bilas literature one ean immediately sense the presence of the first problem. It is yery easy to sound critical or condescending, and if this be the result of such descriptions they can be yery damaging indeed. ^ et the point must be made and attention must be insistently draw n to the way in which these narratiyes are actually used. I'oo often they are cited as proof-texts for a cherished tradition without adequate scrutiny of their actual dates or of the purpose w hich they were intended to serye. F.yen those w ho are free from prior commitment or preconeeiyed interpretation can fall into the trap. An example of that trap is provided by Koer Singh’s (iur-hilds PdtasdhJ 10, a work which claims to be eighteenth-century in origin. (Iur-hilds PdtasdhJ 10 evidently

belongs to the early nineteenth century and

it

serves a patently inspi-

rational purpose. I

shall return to these

codes and narratives in chapters

5

and

6.

I'hey

are cited here as important examples of the available sources for the

middle period of Sikh history and of the differing responses which such materials can is

elicit.

It

should also be noted that this particular problem

not confined to Punjabi sources: Macauliffe’s enormously influential

The Sikh Religion must be intimately associated with the traditional ap-

proach, both with regard to

unw ar\’

its

source-material value and as a trap for

researchers. Published in 1909 this six-volume study' relies largely

on traditional works, selectively organizing their material in a manner w hich answers the needs of consistency rather than those of critical scholarship. Macauliffe’s work is justly renow ned, but it should not be used as

a reliable

source except for the student of the Singh Sabha re-

form movement. The Singh Sabha moxement developed within the Sikh

community

late in the

nineteenth century, extending

its

active period

and education into the early decades of the twentieth. Maeauliffe drew much of his inspiration, and its ideals are faith-

ot publishing

From

it

fully reflected in his

work.

Macauliffe’s reputation leads to vet another of the serious problems

confronting the student of Sikh history, one w hich was implied in

my

problem can be described as the burden of tradition. I here are in fact two dominant traditions not merely the variety which so readily springs to mind; and, as we shall see, they produce two a)nflicting types of interpretation. brief treatment of the sources issue. Fhis final

FOUR CESrURlES OE SIKH HISTORY I

he obvious variety

is

that

w hich preserves and presents

a traditional

view of Sikh historv from within the Fanth. d'his is indeed a major aspeet of the problem. Scholars who have been nurtured in the Sikh tradition

\\ill

naturallv find

it

verv difficult to comprehend with svm-

pathy findings or interpretations

\\

hich seriously contest a traditional

one which esscntiallv derives from the Singh Sabha reinterpretation of Sikh historv. As such it draws extensivelv on traditional sources, interpreting them in an essentially conservative mode, and anv approach to Sikh historv which seems to view, d'his

viev\-,

should be noted,

it

is

be calling either the sources or the reinterpretation into question will

fhe historiography and hermeneutics generated during the Singh Sabha period are still dominant and this inevitablv means that a vigorous contest avxaits the historian or theologian who be stronglv resisted,

challenges This

is

its

approach.

one of the traditions

\\

hich presents a problem, d he other

is

W estern

academic tradition with its strongly skeptical tone. Proponents of the first view assume that they have taken the measure of this one, for those w ho affirm the Singh Sabha approach will usually

the

claim to have absorbed the benefits offered by

while discarding

its

W estern

historiographv

excessive rationalism and rather absurd rigor.

How

can one possiblv hope to understand the essence of the Sikh tradition

one lacks a svmpathetic willingness to accept its definitions.^ And whv should one refuse to acknowledge all but the definitively proven? The field must remain arid if this be the theory and the stvle. fhe rebuke is a just one, for there can be no doubt that rigor and scepticism can be overdone, d hat admission does not mean, however, that the principles of rigor and scepticism should be abandoned. \\ hat is to be expected is that here, as in the scholarlv studv of anv religious tradition, both approaches will continue to be evident and that a meaif

sure of scholarlv tension

is

thus bound to persist.

not involve fierce dispute or denunciation. a

On

Phis tension need

the contrarv,

it

can be

generallv creative tension and the proponents of either approach are

exceedinglv foolish

if

thev refuse to listen svmpatheticallv to the other.

Although the debate between the two sides affects many of the issues raised bv a study of Sikh history one such issue commands a particular importance, d his is the “transformation of Sikhism” theme, d'he question of whv a tradition built on Nanak’s interior practice of tidm itmaran (meditation on the divine Name) should have become a militant communitv and proclaimed its identitv by means of prominentlv-dis-

FOUR CFM'LRIFS OF SIKH HISTORY plavcd exterior symbols.

1

low, in Khushwant Singh’s words, do

we

explain the transition “from the pacifist Sikh to the militant Khalsa?”"^

There are aetuallv two distinct issues involved tion.

First,

why

in this general

ques-

did a religion of interiority assume such an overtly

exterior identity? Secondly,

why

did the Fanth adopt a militant phi-

losophy and develop an appropriately militant tradition? d'he two issues deserve to be treated together, for they are intimately related in practice

and the answers which are given dictate the response to the other.

question with

a significance

to

one

set of

questions must largely

Fogether they raise

extending

far

fundamental

a

beyond the bounds of

aca-

demic debate. Differing answers to the fundamental question retleet differing responses to major issues which continue to agitate the Panth. For some the fundamental question

is

posed

in the following form:

“Should the transformation have occurred?” Thus expressed the question commonly implies a negative answer, an answer which many Indians (including port.

on

I

his

many

Punjabi Hindus) are strongly inclined to sup-

he radical argument

own and

mns

as follows:

Nanak conferred

way

succeeding generations by preaching the

erance through the practice of nam simaraii; this

great benefit

of deliv-

where (iurmat began and that is how it should have "remained;’ the later Gurus may w ell have been sorely provoked by Mughal authorities, but the decision to arm their followers and to redirect their teachings along militant lines w as wholly regrettable. Religion should follow the path of peace, not is

the path of war.

A

modified version of the argument accepts that there

may have been

reasons for the creation of the militant Khalsa order while firmly rejecting the claim that this should necessarily have transformed the

as a

w

hole.

1

he Khalsa should exist as

the larger Panth, to be joined by those

a

voluntary association

w ho

find value in

but certainly not to exclude from the Panth others their loyalties to the teachings enunciated

cessors.

I

he divine

the essence of

Name

Gurmat.

I

who

by Nanak and

its

Panth

w ithin

discipline

prefer to limit his early suc-

Nanak should be regarded as he Khalsa mode should be treated as a strictly teachings of

voluntary extra.

Fhe modified version of the argument raises the difficult question of how one should regard those w ho affirm veneration for Nanak w hile rejecting the discipline of the Khalsa.

(Chapter precisely.

I

shall return to this

question in

w hen seeking to define the nature of Sikh identity more At this point it can be acknowledged that Khalsa doctrine is

5,

FOUR CEXTURIES OE SIKH HIS'EORY strongly predominant

w

ithin the

Khalsa tradition the question of historian

who

Panth and that

its

for

all

w ho aeeept the

necessity simply does not arise.

stands outside the Panth can likewise (for

somewhat

I

he

dif-

no doubt that a significant change did remodel the Panth and the releyant question must therefore be why this happened. Four distinct answers hax e been giyen to this question, two of which should be scrutinized before w e finally proceed to our summary suryey of Sikh history. I he other two theories are first that militancy was for the defense of the Panth; and second, a theory which can be summarily discarded, that credit for Sikh militancy must be bestow ed on the nineteenth-century British rulers of the recent-annexed Punjab and on elite groups w ithin the Panth itself w ho subsequently turned the same traferent reasons) set the question aside, d here can be

dition against

w ere

its

creators, .\ccording to this latter interpretation there

seyeral Sikh identities ayailable during the period immediately fol-

lowing the 1849 annexation and one such identity (the militant Khalsa yersion)

own

was

v

igorously promoted by the British in order to serve their

same identity w as accepted by the stronger of the Singh Sabha leaders and became the focus of their reforming military purposes, d he

activities late in the nineteenth century. .\

brief

summary

of this theory necessarily does

it

serious injustice

and before passing on it should be acknowledged that it incorporates important insights for discussion later in this chapter.^’ In general terms, however, it can be rejected. It focuses much too narrowly on the condition of the Panth during the mid-nineteenth century, failing to take

adequate account of the

rise to

dominance of the Khalsa

ideal

during

the course of the eighteenth century.

fhe second answer which may be early Sikh tradition,

Panth. Because

is

briefly covered,

that Sikh militancy

Nanak and

was

one with roots

in

for the defense of the

his successors attracted

an expanding group

Mughal authorities in Delhi and Lahore became alarmed. Kgged on by bigoted Muslims and a few malicious Hindus they began to take steps to suppress the movement. Confronted by this threat the later Gurus had little choice but to arm their followers or face extinc-

of followers the

tion.

I'hey chose the former alternative, thereby converting the Panth

group of unarmed dev otees into one w hich was able to defend itself. Phis alone proved to be inadequate and eventually the firm discipline of the, Khalsa had to be imposed on men who, in times of real danger, proved to be less than totally loyal. from

a

FOUR CFXTi'RIFS OF SIKH HISTORY

I

his

second theory can be treated summarily, not because

to be rejected but because

theories. Neither of the

answer

it

is

two remaining

theories accepts

to the transformation question, but they

a significant feature

deseryes

generally incorporated in the remaining

of the total explanation. For both

swer,

it

it

is

a

it

as a sufficient

do accept

that

it is

part

subordinate aspect of the an-

which should not be regarded

as the core

explanation. I

here remain tw o conflicting interpretations, one of which has long

dominated Sikh historiography and still shows little sign of weakening. I'his theory affirms that the Panth was remolded by Guru Gobind Singh in order to defend the truth and secure justice for the oppressed. It begins with the insistent claim that the militarizing of the Panth by the sixth (itirii and the subsequent creation of the Khalsa by the tenth were strictly in accord with Nanak’s own intention. For many the classic statement of this claim

CAinningham:

“It

is

to be

was reseryed

found

for

in the stirring

Sanak

words of Joseph

to perceive the true principles

of reform, and to lay those broad foundations which enabled his successor Goh'uid to fire the ality,

and

minds of

his

countrymen w

ith a

new

to give practical effect to the doctrine that the lowest

with the highest

nationis

equal

in race as in creed, in political rights as in religious

hopes.

w as,

words, Nanak’s doctrine of equality which supplied the essential basis for later developments. Nanak had signaled the deIt

in other

words of explicit denunciation. Ciobind Singh sealed his intention by requiring all Khalsa entrants to drink the same water of initiation from a common cup. Nanak had proclaimed that deliverance from suffering and transmigration is available to all, regardless of how lowly or oppressed an individual might be. His successors, and notably (iuru Gobind Singh, translated this doctrine into militant defence of the rights of all men. In the face of tyranny justice can be defended and maintained only by the use of force. If all other methods of redress have failed it is legitimate to draw the sw ord in the defense of righteousness. I he obligation to perform this duty if need should arise must be accepted by every loyal follower of the (iuru.*^ Many see this summons to a new order and discipline as a sudden change, one which the tenth (iuru dramatically thrust upon a startled Panth when he announced the inauguration of the Khalsa on the Baisakhi Day of 1699. The execution of his father by order of the F.mperor Aurangzeb had convinced the youthful (iuru that his followers struction of caste with his

FOUR CESTURIES OE SIKH HISTORY must learn to defend justice \\ ith the sword, and that they must adopt an outw ard identity of a kind w hich would make craven concealment impossible. The actions of the sixth (iuru, Hargobind, are recognized as a significant foreshadow ing of the change which w as to come, but the actual transformation belongs to the time of (iuru (iobind Singh

and

founding of the Khalsa in 1699. This was the dominant view of the Singh Sabha period and specificallv to the

it

has

been restated bv Khushwant Singh in his w idely read A Histo/y of the Sikhs.'^ More recently Jagjit Singh has developed this interpretation into a detailed

theory of revolution, one w hich maintains that the period of

w hich they led as sustained ideal. “The Sikh

the (iurus must be viewed as a whole and the Panth the progressive development of a single

movement w as an organic growth of of

life.

to use

I

it

the Sikh religion or the Sikh view

he founding of the Sikh Eauth outside the caste society as the base for

in

order

combatting the hierarchical set-up of the caste

order, and the creation of the Khalsa for capturing the state in the interests of the

poor and the suppressed, were only

a projection,

on the

military and political plane, of the egalitarian approach of the Sikh religious thesis.”'^’

The essence and that they least

all

common

feature of these related interpretations

attribute the historical

during the

first

development of the Sikh Panth

three centuries of

its

is

(at

existence) to the explicit in-

tention of the (iiirus. d hev thus represent a strictly ideological view,

d he (iiirus envisaged

a particular

pattern for the Panth which they cre-

and the actual form which it assumed corresponded to their intention. It accordingly developed as a militant order with a particular range of external symbols because that is what the fundamental intention required. Guru (iobind Singh may have been responsible for engendering the spirit and proclaiming the actual form w hich the Khalsa ated,

was to assume, but he did so only because a basic egalitarian principle had already been enunciated by (iuru Nanak. d he intervening (iurus likew ise contributed to the same process, each advancing the same basic ideal and formulating practical responses as circumstances demanded. This interpretation has been contested on the grounds that it stresses intention and ideology much too strongly, d here has been no suggestion that the (mrus lacked clear objectives, nor that they were ineffectual in the pursuit of their declared purposes, d he point w hich this fourth interpretation seeks to

elsewhere thrown

much

make

's

that the weight of

emphasis

is

too strongly on preconceived intention as an

FOUR CESTl'RIES OE SIKH HISTORY explanation for subsecjiient developments; and that insultieient allow-

anee

is

made

for

environmental faetors. Fhese factors include the social

eonstitutenev of the developing Panth, the economic context within which it

evolved, and the influence of contemporary events such as those pro-

duced

l)v local political rivalries

The claim embodied

in this

and foreign invasion. fourth interpretation was advanced in

Ehe Evolution of the Sikh Community,

first

published in 1975 but building

on insights supplied bv earlier writers." d his book (pp. 4-5) claimed as one of its purposes “to seek a more radical concept of development, one which will express a much more intricate synthesis of a much wider range of historical and sociological phenomena.” The traditional explanation is, it suggested, much too simple and its use of sources much too narrow! V selective. It should perhaps be added that the interpretation partlv derives from a suspicion of manv wide-ranging explanations based on the preconceived intentions of individuals, however influential those individuals mav be. W ithin a narrow and immediate range such explanations can be wholly plausible, but not for a movement as complex and long-lived as the Sikh Panth. The fourth interpretation thus claims that the progressive development of the Panth must be explained not merelv in terms of purposeful intention but also (and in significant measure) bv the influence of the social, economic and historical environment. Phis specificallv includes such major features as the militant texture of the later Panth and the growth of the Rahit (the distinctive code of conduct associated with membership of the Khalsa). " As such it necessarilv applies to the modern Panth as much as to the earlier, seeking to explain continuing controversies as well as agreed orthodox v. l o those nurtured on Western historiographv this fourth interpretation mav well sound like an elementarv statement of the received wisdom which, in general terms, all academic historians accept. If so it may simplv reflect our own subjection to a particular tradition. The interpretation offered bv The Evolution of the Sikh Community has been stronglv attacked from within the Panth, vv ith criticism focusing on two major features of the general theorv. The first is its treatment of caste within the Panth. fhe second is its suggestion that the growth of militancv should be related to the traditions of a particular group within the Panth, namelv those of the Jat caste. " Some attention has also been paid to

its

theorv that the doctrine of the Ciuru’s mvstical presence within

both Panth and Granth (communitv and sacred scripture) should be

40

FOUR CEXrURIES OF SIKH HISTORY regarded as

a belief

developed over time rather than as the result of

a

pronouncement bv (Juru (iobind Singh. Its claim (pp. 50-53) that the Rahit should likewise be viewed as a product evolved (and still evolving) over time seems so far to have escaped serious attack. Because the views expressed in Fhe Evolutioti of the Sikh Community are my ow n, and because continue to hold those views, the brief summarv of Sikh historv which now follows will inevitably be informed bv the fourth interpretation noted above. This means that the summarv I

will incorporate a particular bias.

nor

is

there anv suggestion that

No

apologv

k'or the

offered for this feature,

regard the bias as misplaced.

I

however, important to remember that at certain crucial points,

is

it

will represent a

dominant

traditional

It

is,

minoritv view

view one must

look elsewhere.

Before he died in 1539 CJuru

Nanak appointed

as his successor a dis-

bestowed on him the new name of Angad. Ciuru Angad was followed bv (iuru Amar Das, and he in turn bv his son-in-law Guru Ram Das.'^ Thereafter the succession was confined to the male line of the Sodhi familv descending from (mru Ram Das. His voungest son Arjan became th' fifth (iuru in 1581, and was followed

ciple called Lahina, having

in

turn bv his

own

son Hargobind in 1606. The succession was some-

times disputed, notably by Arjan’s elder brother Prithi Cihand, but an

acknowledged 'succession was sustained and it seems that none of the rival contenders was able to detach a significant segment of the growing Panth.

(iuru .Krjan carries us into the seventeenth centurv and into a period

Throughout the sixteenth centurv the Panth had continued to grow in numbers and to develop in terms of organization and definition. The earlv Gurus were obviouslv faithful to the original message of Nanak, repeating in endless varietv his doctrine of release from the transmigratorv cvcle through the practice of nam simaran or meditation on the di\’ine Name. As the numerical strength of the Panth increased administrative features which had been unnecessarv during the time of the first (iuru inevitably became a part of its regular life. It is still verv difficult to determine in detail exactlv what was happening during this sixteenth-centurv period, but the outlines seem clear and thev confirm the reasonable expectation that the Nanakpanth was developing patterns and procedures, customs and rituals. It was (to use (iantwell Smith’s term) crvstallizing. To some extent the principal features of this phase might be regarded of significant change for the Panth.

41

FOUR CFM'i'RIFS OF as an implicit denial of a

Nanak had

teachings.

SIK/I

HISTORY

fundamental feature of (iuru Nanak’s

laid the characteristic

own

Sant emphasis on the fu-

of such external observances as temple-worship and pilgrimage,

tility

and of blind

Amar

trust in the efficacy of sacred scriptures,

Das, evidently

and

for pilgrims

it

made

his

ow n

I

he third Guru,

village of Cioindval a destination

appears that he also gathered the materials which

form the nucleus of the Adi (iranth. Guru Ram Das excavated the pool know n as Amritsar, and this and other sites became places of pilgrimage for devout members of the Panth. d o perform kJrtan (the

w ere

to

congregational singing of hymns) Sikhs assembled in dharam-salas and these buildings began to acquire the ritual connotations sociate

w

There

the

ith

gurdw

maturing community

is

bound

cating in institutional form

The

original message.

sacred all

ham

if

many

A

grow ing and

shape and definition,

repli-

of the ideals which constituted the

role of the (iuru, the liberating

and the

were fundamental features of that

ceived by the early Sikhs. prised

to acquire

(the utterances of the (iurus),

believers

as-

ara (the successor of the dharam-sala).

nothing surprising about such developments.

is

which we

This being the case

spiritual equality of

original

we

induence of the

message

as re-

can scarcely be sur-

the process of crystallization should produce appropriate cus-

toms and

institutions.

W ith

them came

a

rudimentary organization

designed to maintain spiritual oversight of an expanding community

and

to receive the gifts offered to the

allegiance, (kiru

placed the

more

Amar Das

Guru

as

devout expressions of

apparently organized the mafijJ system which

under his deputies, and be know n as a masand. It

distant saiigats (congregations)

each individual appointed to a manji came to

was the duty of the masands to act as the (uiru’s vicars, guiding his growing Hock and collecting their offerings. The period of the fifth (iuru, Arjan, is important for two main reasons. The first is that it was (iuru Arjan who arranged for the .Adi (iranth to be recorded, conferring on the Panth a sacred scripture w hich was to acquire great symbolic power. The second is that Mughal interest and apprehension became evident during his time. I he precise cause and circumstances of the fifth (iuru’s death may still be obscure, but it occurred w hile he w as in .Mughal custody and it made him the first

Sikh martyr.

Mughal

had descended from .Afghanistan into India during the life-time of (iuru Nanak and during the next halfcentury the dynasty had established rule over most of northern India. Rabur, the

first in

the

line,

42

FOUR CESTURIFS OF SIKH HISTORY At first the Sikhs attracted little Mughal attention, but as their numbers grew they began to be noticed. According to the traditional Sikh view it was Mughal hostility and the need to protect the victims of Mughal oppression

\\

hich produced the

itarizing of the I

Panth. (iuru Arjan

largobind to carry arms, and

in

first

it is

significant is

move towards

the mil-

said to have advised his son

believed that following his accession

1606 Hargobind wore not one but two swords.

The

action

was sym-

one sword represented the (kiru’s continuing spiritual authority {pin) the other proclaimed a new ly-assumed temporal role {win). bolic. \\ hereas

d he three battles fought against Mughal forces during the time of Ciuru

may have been mere skirmishes, but an important decision had nevertheless been made and a major development initiated, fhe I

largobind

Panth was thereafter to be armed. The alternative explanation does not deny the Ciuru’s decision to take

up arms,

which is supported by strong evidence.'^ What it that Mughal hostility need not have been the only reain policy. I here were certainly Jats amongst the Guru’s

a tradition

does propose

son for the

is

shift

following and the rural location of the Panth’s principal centers suggest

predominance of later centuries was probably developing bv the time of the fifth and sixth Cjurus.’^ fhe jats are a people accustomed to bearing arms and to using them as a means of resolving disputes. If we are right in assuming that significant numbers were entering the Panth it obviously follows that a significant portion of the Panth’s constituency bore arms as a matter of course. d his need not mean that they had previously worn arms when appearing before the (iuru and it certainly does not mean that there had been a jat take-over of any kind. W hat it does mean is that the bearing of arms was already an established custom for many Sikhs. It was, moreover, a custom v\’hich would be unlikely to generate strong disapproval on the part of the dominant Khatri leadership, apart from those with a strong commitment to the traditional role of the religious teacher. Khatris (as their name and some distinguished examples indicate) are bv no means divorced from the use of arms. If this theory is correct it would mean that (juru Ilargobind’s change of policy was undertaken in the context of an existing tradition of arms-bearing, a tradition which largely derived from the attitudes and customs of a major component that the Jats’ numerical

of the Panth’s membership.

fhe same kind of problem recurs w hen we reach the end of the seventeenth century.

A

period of peace followed the skirmishes of the sixth

43

I

lOl'R CEM'LRIES OE SIKH HISTORY

time and under the seventh (iuru, Hari Rai (1644-61), the Panth

(Jiiru’s

attraeted

little

attention from anxious

Mughal

authorities.

I

he aeeession

of a minor ereated internal problems during the brief period of the child (iiiru

1

lari

Krishan (1661-64), but these were largely solved

was followed bv (iuru of (iiiru

l

l

egh Bahadur (1664-75). During the

when he

later years

egh* Bahadur, however, the Panth again attracted hostile

Km-

•Mughal attention, culminating with his execution bv order of the peror Aurangzeb. I

he beheading of Ciuru

l

egh Bahadur

historiograph V. .\lthough there are

two

in

1675

is

a

key point

two

the

Ibihit,

One

men

of

ith its

man-

tradition emphasizes the (iuru’s

sparrows had to be turned into hawks, that

and discipline should be introduced ers into

w

are not dissimilar and both relate to the crisis

caused bv his father’s execution. belief that

Sikh

different traditions concerning

the tenth Ciuru’s decision to inaugurate the Khalsa order

datorv

in

steel.

in

a

new baptism

order to convert his follow-

he alternative tradition focuses on the (iuru’s

conviction that his Sikhs,

having shrunk from recognition

at

legh

Bahadur’s execution, should never again be permitted to conceal their

two

supplement each other and together thev supplv the standard explanation for the founding of the Khalsa. I he actual event took place in 1699. Having dramaticallv introduced his new rite of sword-baptism {kharide dJ pdhul) the Guru promulgated the Rahit which all who accept initiation must promise to observe.'' .According to the traditional view' this single event sealed and confirmed both the militant character of the Panth and the substance of the code which its members were thereafter to follow Onlv one major addition was still to be made and this too resulted from an explicit command issued bv the tenth Guru. Shortlv before he died in 1708 (iuru Gobind Singh decreed that at his death the line of personal Ciurus should terminate. I he Guru would thereafter be mvstieallv present w ithin the sacred scripture and the corporate communitv. I he Guru Granth and Guru Panth w ould thus exercise the di\ ine authoritv of the Guru, and identity.'" I'he

traditions

.

all

issues concerning belief or practice should be referred to

guidance and (w hen necessarv) for

The tradition

a

must

persist.

Questions must

persist because the historical context of the Khalsa’s foundation

subsequent development tradition allow's.

The masands,

as

I

here

is

is,

we have

for

formal decision.

consistent, but doubts

is

them

and

eonsiderablv more complex than the simple for

example, the problem of the masands.

alreadv noted, were the Gurus’ representa-

44

A

FOUR CES FURIES OF tives, responsible for

SIR/I

HISTORY

shepherding scattered sangats (groups of diseiples

Many

or congregations) and for eollecting their offerings.

of the mas-

ands had apparently become arrogant and corrupt, prompting the tenth (iuru to suppress them.

own

the (iurii’s

A

portion of the Fanth was ev idently under

direct supervision

and

this [portion constituted his khalsa

being the w ord used for that part of

{khalsd

the direct control of

its

w hich already

under

is

commanding all loyal summoning them to join a khalsa

central authority).

Sikhs to abandon the masands he w as

domain which

a

‘‘

In

existed.

d his clear intention weakens the traditional stress on the militant purpose of the Khalsa inauguration, but

it

certainly does not destroy

it.

The true nature of the formalized Khalsa depends upon the Rahit and if (iuru Ciobind Singh did indeed promulgate the Rahit the traditional

command

interpretation

may

complexity

encountered and

is

still

general acceptance.

at this stage

sults that research will eventually

produce.

It is

here that real

no one can predict the I

re-

hat the (iuru did pro-

system of belief and behavior no one need doubt, d he problem concerns the nature of the new code which he personally enunciated, as opposed to those portions of the developed Rahit which evolved durmulgate

a

ing the period following his death.

A it

detailed discussion of the Rahit will be offered in chapter

can merely be noted that the evidence convincingly points to

Here

5.

a

period

of major development during the course of the eighteenth century. Even the institution of the “Five Ks,” that most famous feature of the Rahit,

cannot be

immune from

this scrutiny.

I

he Five Ks

{patlj

kakke or pafij

which every initiated member of the Khalsa must wear. Most prominent of the five is the kes or uncut hair, d he other four are the comb w hich is

kakdr) are the five items, each beginning with the letter “k,”

worn

in

the topknot of the uncut hair {kaiighd), the steel bangle {kard),

the sword or dagger {kirpdu), and the distinctive shorts {kachh). In the oldest manuscript of the earliest extant rahit-nama

(a

recorded version

no reference to the Five Ks as such, although there later version is abundant emphasis on the uncut hair and the sword. of the same rahit-nama introduces five items w hich loyal Sikhs must embrace and three of these {kachh, kirpdn and kes) figure in the Five Ks. Fhe other two, however, are hdtii (the sacred words of the scripture)

of the Rahit) there

is

and sddh sangat (the congregation

ol the laithlul).’'*

and other rahit-nama evidence seems plainly to point to of development during the course of the eighteenth century, d

his

45

a

period

a devel-

FOUR CFXTL RIFS OF SIKH HISTORY opment w hich to

it

One w

external events,

l)v

the presence of a

is

ithin the Panth.

through actual

much

w

reflects pressures operating

Panth or applied

d'wo such pressures should be briefly noted. substantial and highly active Jat constituency

The other

is

the experience of protracted warfare

of the century. Although

emergence of

ithin the

may be

it

difficult to trace the

no doubt that the Rahit

specific details there can be

was (and remains) an evolving tradition, and that some of its key tures derive from the eighteenth-century experience of the Panth.

W ith

fea-

regard to other aspects of the Panth’s eighteenth-century ex-

perience the traditional and the evolutionary interpretations reconverge. This

is

the heroic period of Sikh history and from

of bravery and endurance which

still

fire

the

it

emerge

traditions

modern Panth. During

the early decades of the century the Sikhs suffered vigorous hostility

from

their

sion

w hich

Mughal enemies, surviving

advantage of the confu-

resulted from a series of Persian and

ing the middle decades.

divided

to take

at first

I

Afghan invasions dur-

hereafter their strength continued to grow,

but eventually united under the rule and expanding em-

Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1799-1839).

pire of

Rapid collapse followed the death of Ranjit Singh and by 1849 the

Punjab had been annexed bv the advancing British. I'he Panth seemed to be rapidly decaying and British observers confidently predicted its

imminent demise, fheir mistake leads us to the last of the great controversies which we shall note in this chapter. During the later years of the nineteenth century and the first three decades of the twentieth there occurred a notable revival, one w hich has left traditions powerfully present within the

modern Panth. The

credit for this revival

is

usually bestowed on the enlightened devotion of the leaders responsible for the

The movement as

Singh Sabha movement.

first

Singh Sabha was founded

in

whole was troubled bv internal conflicts its active participants succeeded in promoting a reformed Sikhism of a highly durable quality."^ Eventually it was overtaken bv the more strident approach of the Akali movement which during the early 192()s conducted a non-violent campaign aimed at restoring the principal gurdwaras to orthodox Khalsa control."^ \ laving thus sketched the received version of the Singh Sabha and .\kali movements we must note that here too questioning voices have been raised and that much remains to be done before anything resem1873 and although the

a

bling a consensus emerges. Reference to the

most direct of the relevant

w as made

criticisms,

46

earlier in this chapter

namely the claim

that the

FOUR CESTURIES OE

HISTORY

S/KII

Singh Sabha version of the Khalsa identity should be regarded British creation.

This creation,

it is

as a

maintained, was subscquentlv adopted

and embellished bv a class elite within Sikh society, d'he general theory may be summarily rejected, but some of the questions which it raises should certainly be examined before they are put aside. In addition to British intentions and class interests these questions concern the issue of multiple identities within the nineteenth-century Panth and the inlluence of political circumstances on particular groups within

time for firm conclusions This

but

it

may seem an

is

is still

far off.

I

The

he debate has scarcely begun.

unsatisfactory note on

which

end this survey, of academic play.

to

an accurate impression of the current state

Few would

it.

suggest that a mass upheaval awaits us, that the old land-

be swept away leaving an entirely

new

Fhe outline of Sikh history will retain its familiar features and the same figures will continue to dominate it. It is, however, likely that new interpretations will produce some considerable shifts in the understanding of that history. From the debate now under way there may yet emerge marks

will

some very

significant changes.

47

landscape.

4

Sikh Doctrine

TX

HIS chapter otters two elementary hypotheses, two simple notions

which some might as tollows.

A

like to

regard as axioms. The

religious tradition can be

first

may

understood only

be enunciated

in its

own

terms

rather than exclusively in translation. This, in practice, requires an un-

derstanding of the terminology w hich expresses the fundamentals of the tradition, an

understanding w hich can seldom be achieved by means of

single-word English translations. first

and

to

some extent merely

The second axiom follows from the

restates

It is

it.

that the essential outline

of a religious tradition can be sketched by defining a series of key terms in

an appropriate sequence.

w e seek an understanding of the Sikh concentrate our primary attention upon a carefully If

therefore

terminology arranged

which

is

in a logical order.

w ithin such

a limited

selected choice of

It

would

space either

plainly be impos-

a detailed analysis

individual doctrines or the closely integrated sequence

theology of (iurmat should eyentually deliver.

48

we must

Needless to say the selection

offered here must be inadequate.

sible to present

tradition

It

vv

of

hich an ideal

should be possible.

SIKH nOCTRISE however, to indicate the elements of a system, hoping that someone within the Panth will one day correct it and spell it out in detail. I he paramount need for working from the tradition’s own concepts and terminology can be illustrated by a brief examination of that most obvious of examples. W e have all heard reasons w hy the word “(iod” is

inappropriate as

a translation

when we move beyond

the Christian

and some readers w ill find those reasons very cogent indeed. I he Sikh example must surely offer strong support for the claim. I'he term which is traditionally used to express (iuru Nanak’s concept is Akdl Purakhy literally “the timeless Being.” Akal Purakh is a very different concept from the range of meaning covered by the English word “(iod” and if w e persist in using the latter term w e shall find it very tradition

difficult

indeed to avoid

its

distinctive connotations. Kartdr

is

another

Supreme Being in w hich the translation “Oeat(jr” communicates a range of meaning different from the W estern sense. Some, it is true, claim the ability to be able to make the necessary adjustments and thus to invest the old word w ith new meaning. It is

of (itiru Nanak’s terms for the

a

claim which deserves to be met with considerable skepticism.'

is is

complicated one as

far as the

Sikh tradition

concerned, (^implications arise partly because Nanak’s

own meaning

Phis particular issue

is

a

necessarily elusive and partly because the Akdl Purakh usage

is

ac-

companied by the more recent compound Vdhiguru. d his, however, is the kind of problem w hich belongs to a later stage in the analysis. Any survey of the tradition must start with (iuru Nanak and the w ord Vdhiguru has no place in his teachings, foday Vdhiguru is a more common term than Akdl Purakh, but in Nanak’s time it was unknown and when it first came into use it meant “Praise to the (iuru.”^ Nanak actually employed many different words in giving expression to the ultimate reality

these terms are traditional are

words which designate

attempt is

not.

Some of names such as Hari and Ram. Many more his attributes, commonly as negatives which

w hich Sikh

in the traditional

tradition calls

style to define reality in

Indeed the word a-kdl or “timeless”

Nanak’s meaning

is

Akdl Purakh.

is

a

terms of what

it

conspicuous example.

necessarily elusive because his belief and practice

were essentially mystical and in the last resort only those who comprehend Akal Purakh in their ow n mystical experience can truly grasp the meaning w hich human words endeavor to communicate, d he final and all-embracing term is alakh. .\kal Purakh is ineffable. This does not mean, however, that Akal Purakh is altogether un-

49

SIKH DOCI RISE

knovvable.

On

vealed for

all

the contrary, the essential being of Akal Purakh to see

if

they w

ill

is

re-

but open their eyes. VV e are brought

word which can be regarded as the most important of all the many terms used by Nanak in order to communicate his understanding

to the

of Akal l\irakh and of the in

way

to liberation.

And

it

should be noted

passing that a particular English vvord has just been used instead of

vation,” a

common

The word was “liberation” and not choice based on the conviction that the latter term is

another more

usage.

“salalto-

gether inappropriate in the Sikh context.

That important word

in

ndm, frequently linked w

ith

sat'i

to give the

ndm is, of course, “name” and for once there is an English rendering which corresponds closely to the original. Ehe problem is knowing w hat ndm or “the Name”

compound form

sat'mdm.

Ehe

literal

translation of

means in Nanak’s repeated usage. brief definition offered tw enty years ago was “the total expression of all that (u)d is.”^ Substitute Akal Purakh for God and you have a reasonable summary. Ehe definition adds that the same reality can also be called the Eruth, thus indicating the sense of the sat 'indm

compound.

everyw here around us and w ithin us, yet man is rendered congenitally blind by hatimai. "Phis is another compound, one which comprises two forms of the first person singular pronoun. .\s such it signifies the pov\ erful impulse to succumb to personal gratification, thus d'he

ndm

is

earning the kind of karam (karma) w hich holds

a

person firmly within

the cycle oi sansdr. Birth follows death and suffering infuses

all.

Akal

Purakh, however, looks graciously upon the suffering of mankind and

through the guru utters the sahad which communicates derstanding of the ndm to those is

who

a sufficient

are able to “hear”

thus the “voice” of .\kal Purakh, mystically uttered

it.

d he

un-

Guru

w ithin the man

Ehe mhad or “W ord” is the actual “utterance” and in “hearing” it a person awakens to the reality of the divine Name, immanent in all that lies around and within him. he nature of the divine Name is itself determined by the hukam of (heart-mind-spirit) of the devotee.

I

Akal Purakh.

Phis designates the divine order of the entire universe,

synonymous with harmony. Liberation is achieved by means of bringing oneself w ithin this harmony. An objective which progressively attained by the strictly interior discipline of ndm is simaran or “remembering the ndm." Phis discipline ranges from the simple repetition of an appropriate word or mantra {ndm japan) through the an order which

is

devout singing of hymns

{kirtan) to sophisticated meditation.

so

All arc

DOCTRISE

S/K/I

designed to bring the individual into accord with the ndw, thus earning lor

him or her the kind of

condition of blissful sahaj

karatn is

khand (the “realm of truth”), physical death which

is

which provides

release.

I

he ultimate

when the spirit ascends to sack which may be reached before the

achieved a goal

its final seal.

communicating this truth Nanak became the embodiment of the eternal guru and those who succeeded him in the lineage which he established assumed the same role. Although the line included ten individuals there remained but one^//rw, passing sucone responsible

.\s the

cessively

for

from one to the next

d heir compositions are their teachings

as a single

known

bam

as

or

The

of course Ciurmat.

is

flame ignites a series of torches,

gurhdm and the sum fifth in

total

the succession,

of

Guru

had the bdui of the first five (lurus recorded in a book (grauth) 1603 1, adding to it approved works by earlier representatives of the

.\rjan, in

—

Sant tradition such as ferred the respect

due

Namdev and to

its

Kabir.

authors and

it

Upon

the book

was con-

was accordingly' known

the Ciranth Sahib. Later, as the sy stem of doctrine developed,

it

as

yvas

to receive a further dignity.

The establishment of a spiritual lineage folloyv ed the first forming of a group of disciples. These yvere the original sikb, “learners” or Sikhs. As a group of devotees yvith a common lovaltv and tradition thev constituted a pauth (“path” or “yvay”) and because the first lovaltv had been to Nanak thev yvere knoyvn as the Sduak-panth. Pauth is another of the kev terms is

yy

hich refuses to yield a simple translation.

an analvsis yvhich

for the tyvo at this

is

better postponed until the discussion of khdlsd,

terms overlap to

point because there

Ciiirus attracted

and

This, hoyvever,

a

yvill

for this

considerable extent.

be reference to the

It

should be noted

folloyy

ing yvhich the

group of disciples the appropriate term

is

either \duak-pauth or simply Pauth.

Before discussing khdlsd there

is

an intermediate term to be intro-

duced. During the period of (iuru Arjan (1581-1606) the Nanak-panth

became the object of .Mughal suspicion and the Guru himself died

in

.Mughal custody’. .Vccording to tradition he responded to the developing threat of .Mughal hostility by instructing his son, the future (iuru 1

largobind (1606-44), “to

to this

command

donned

sit

fully

armed on

his throne.”"* In

obedience

Idargobind, having succeeded his father, symbolically’

tyvo syvords.

One

syvord designated a neyvlv-assumed temporal

role {turn) yvhile the other represented the spiritual authority’

had inherited from

his five succes.sors {piri).

51

y\

hich he

SIKH DOCTRIKK

I'hc doctrine

of mirl-pM signals the Panth’s immenselv' important

towards militancy, d

his did not

mean

shift

that the spiritual concerns of the

Nanak-panth had been renounced. On the contrary, these were explicitly affirmed throughout the remainder of the Gurus’ period and the same emphasis continues to the present day. I he change should not be understood, howeyer, as the mere defending by military means of an unchanging theory of spirituality. It was a change which significantly affected the subsetjuent understanding and promulgation of Sikh earlier

doctrine.

It

during the time of the tenth (iuru, (iobind Singh, that

is

the change emerges to

full

yiew. Akal Purakh

is

characteristically called

Sarah Loh, “All-Steel,” and the sword assumes a central significance in the doctrine and ritual of the Panth. I

hee

1

inyoke. All-conquering Svxord, Destroyer of Pvil,

Ornament of the brave. Powerful your arm and radiant your

glory, your splendour as

dazzling as the brightness of the sun. joy of the devout and scourge of the wicked, \ anquisher of sin, I

1

seek vour protection.

lail

to the

mv

w orld’s Creator and

invincible Protector the Sword.’

Akal Purakh w ho

It is

burnished

Sustainer,

steel

is

here addressed, divinity

of the unsheathed sword.

The

made

manifest in the

intervening history of

the Panth explains the change and appropriate terminology retlects I

it.

he sword thus introduced into Sikh doctrine and tradition figures

prominently

in amrit sanskdr, the initiation

the recreated Panth of

Guru Gobind

ceremony marking entry

Singh.

course, the Khalsa. Although the term

is

The

recreated Panth

correctly traced to the

into

is,

of

word

immediate etymology seems not to be the common adjectiyal meaning of “pure.” d he Persian khdlis had produced the form khdlsd, used as a noun to designate lands under the direct administration of the crown or central authority. As the early Panth grew and expanded the

khdlis the

superv ision of an indiv idual saiigat (congregation) or small clusters of sangats was entrusted by the (iurus to gats,

v

Some sanof the Guru

icars called rnasands.

howev er, remained under the continuing supervision

Guru Ciobind many of the rnasands had become arrogant or corrupt and in commanding all Sikhs to abandon the rnasands the Gum simultaneously summoned them to join his khdlsd. All who heeded the (iuru’s summons and accepted invitation were required to observe the rahit, another key term. The Rahit comprises as his khdlsd.

By

the time of

SIKH DOCTRISE the outward symbols, the very specific rules of conduct, and the dis-

which

tinctive rituals

such

is

it

much

a

a

Sikh of the Khalsa

very important word indeed, one w hich should certainly be

better

known.

In

its

developed form

features as the pafjj kakke or “Five

with the

expected to observe. As

is

letter

Ks”

includes such celebrated

it

(the five items, each beginning

“k” which a Khalsa Sikh should wear) and a rigorous

ban on smoking.

We

now to the word “Fanth.” Are “Panth” and “Khalsa” synonyms.^ For some Khalsa Sikhs the answer is a firm “yes.” Others, however, are obviously unw illing to adopt such a hard line, for in so return

doing they necessarily imply that

many who

call

themselves Sikhs have

Fhe more obvious of these deregistered claimants are the so-called sahaj-dhari Sikhs, men and women who affirm allegiance to the teachings of Nanak and his successors (particularly to the doctrine and practice of ndm s'lmaran) but w ho decline to accept Khalsa no right

to

do

so.

initiation or the full rigors of the Rahit. Less

obvious because they so

model are those who observe the outward forms required by the Rahit (particularly the kes or uncut hair) but who nevertheless fail to “take amrit" (i.e. undergo initiation). Such people are certainly not members of the Khalsa. Are they thereby disqualified from membership of the Ranth also? .\s we shall see, the ambiguity of this situation reflects a real ambivalence. W ith regard to the definition of the Khalsa there is no ambiguity, nor is there likely to be a problem in the minds of most of the uninitiated. For the latter the simple answer is that the Panth is a larger entity which contains Sikhs of the Khalsa together with many who for various reasons do not accept the full Khalsa discipline. Fhe Khalsa closely resemble the Khalsa

may be

regarded an an

identity, but the Rahit

matically excludes is

all

elite

or as the “orthodox” version of the Sikh

need not be regarded

w ho do

not meet

the loyal Khalsa Sikh to think?

If

its strict

as a

code which auto-

requirements. But w hat

(iuru CJobind Singh envisaged

purpose for the Khalsa surely that intention must apply to to be his disciples, (falling oneself a follower of (Kiru

unacceptable

if it

all

Nanak

a

w ho claim is

certainly

implies a rejection of later developments within the

Fhe Guru is one and instructions issued by the tenth (mru are as binding on Sikhs as guidance given by the first. fhe problem is a real one and at times of crisis (such as the recent past and immediate present) it can become serious. It is further complicated by the widespread existence of multiple identities in Punjabi Panth.

SIKII

DOCTRINE

moving

from one to another or (more commonly) maintaining dual identities w ithout any sense of incongruity. The (]uestion is one w hich the outsider is unable to answer except society, with individuals

in strictly

pragmatic terms.

w

to be Sikhs

\\ t

freely

may

observe that

many

people claim

ithout taking amrit and that a substantial proportion of

these people actually observe the

more obvious requirements of

d'hough their precise status may be

a

the Rahit.

matter for concern outsiders are

certainly not entitled to offer answers, d'he debate continues, advancing

and receding as circumstances dictate. It has sometimes involved the terms sikhJ and siiighJ, w ith the former used to describe the larger identity

and the

designate the specific identity of the Khalsa.

latter to

The demarcation issue is not the only problem associated w ith this richly complex word “Panth.” .Another difficulty is signaled by attempts to supply single-word Knglish translations, attempts which should serve to reinforce the point with regard to the translating of basic terminology.

It is

word “church”;

easy to dispense with one such suggestion, namely the this

inappropriate that I

still

it

appears from time to time, but

quickly creates uneasiness and

is

it is

soon abandoned.

w'o other attempts have achieved a wider popularity

little

more

“Sect”

attention.

is

a

One

is

“sect” and the other

word w hich has been

is

and deserve

a

“nation.”

dealt with already.

history, having acquired a firm hold

so patently

It

has had a long

on an early generation of European

observers. Nov\’adays, however, the usage

is

inappropriate, for

an orthodoxy from which

it

im-

most users of this particular “translation” the orthodoxy from which Sikhism diverged was presumably “Hinduism.” The latter term is itself unacceptable (particularly as a word designating an agreed orthodoxy) and even if it were viable the suggestion that the modern Sikh Panth can be described as its “sect” would be absurd. Such a usage is also regarded as highly offensive by many Sikhs. The word has run its misguided course and mercifully it is seldom heard nowadays except as a feature plies the existence of

it

deviates, f or

of the language of polemic.

For some people, of course, the use of “sect” derives from

a

cursory

interpretation of the nature of the Panth rather than from any acquaint-

ance with the actual word.

way,

to the

I

he same applies, in an even more complex

second example. British authors who, during the

first

half

of the nineteenth century, referred to the Sikhs as a “nation” are most unlikely to have had the

word panth

in

mind,

rellected the existence of the very visible

fheir usage obviously

kingdom of .Maharaja Ranjit

S/Kf/

DOCTRIXE

Singh. I'he description, having slumped w

ith

Sikh

political fortunes in

the later nineteenth century, has since revived and during recent years it

has been ardently promoted bv advocates of a larger political auto-

mony

modern usage, though specifically associated with the Fanth, involves some crucial shades of meaning. lovering in the background is the word qatim, an Araliic term which having entered for the Sikhs.

Fhis

1

Funjabi through Fersian has long since been thoroughly naturalized. I

he Fanth constitutes

But does qauw I

in

he issue

is

a

“nation” because the Sikhs are a qaurn.

really deliver “nation” as an appropriate translation?

an exceedingly controversial one and great tact

order to preempt an overwrought response. In

means

“a people

who

its

is

lated today as “ethnic identity.” \\ hat

it

qaum meaning

original sense

stand together” and the substance of this

has carried over to Funjabi usage. Arguably the

required

word can

best be trans-

certainly involves

is

a conflict

of attitudes which continues to ramify through Sikh society. In a very

we

sense

real

emerged

in

Funjabi.

I

from

problem of translation which, having

are dealing with a

English usage, has

his

linguistic

is

now

returned to create confusion in

not to suggest that the fundamental problem derives

W hat

misunderstanding.

it

does suggest

is

that the lin-

problem concerning corporate the basic problem has been seriously aggravated

guistic issue accurately reflects a basic

Sikh identity and that

bv linguistic misunderstanding. Other terms which have figured prominently in the recent crisis will bring us back to clarity and firm definition. The founding of the Khalsa order and the decades of \\ arfare which followed immediately thereafter remolded the traditions of the Fanth, creating a heroic ideal which endures to the present day. The ideal is commonly perceived to be the sant-sipdin, he who combines the spirituality of the devout believer {sant) with the bravery and obedience of the true soldier {sipdhJ). I'he supreme exemplar is Ciuru (iobind Singh and to this ideal the loyal Khalsa must aspire.

Sant

is

an interesting term in that

for a succession of

meanings.

another example of

a

Is is

it

has been required to do service

also interesting because

word which has been skewed by

its

it

provides

standard En-

Ehe temptation to insert an “i” has proved irresistible his is a misleading transand sant has typically emerged as “saint.” lation, regardless of which meaning may be indicated by the actual Fun-

glish translation.

I

jabi usage.

I'he

word

sant derives

from

sat

and thus designates

in its basic sense

^

S/KII

one

who knows

be applied to

nOCTRISE As sueh it came to the one with which (iuru

the truth or eoniprehends reality.

a particular

Nanak himself was

devotional tradition,

affiliated.

Fhe word passed into standard Sikh usage

through the works of Nanak and

his successors, bearing a strong sense

of devotion and intimaev associated w ith the concept of the sadh saiigat or satsaiig (the congregation of true believers). Increasingly

w

it

came

to

and thus acquired the status of an actual title. Those \\ ho have followed recent events in the I\mjab will appreciate how intluential some Sants have now become. Such men are preceptors whose primary function is to give instruction in the beliefs and traditions of the Fanth. These traditions stress vvorldlv involvement as well as spiritual devotion and it should thus come as no surprise to discover that men bearing the title of Sant are to be found amongst the

designate an

elite

ithin the sangat

political leaders of the

Such men teach the

modern Fanth. mm-pJn tradition and

those

who

personallv match

the ideal will be regarded as saut-sipdhJ. Other terms used in current

Sikh polities also recall the militant traditions of the Fanth. inant political partv unit of the partv

is

is

the Akali Dal or Akali

designated

ganized political campaign

important and lengthy “a

war fought

is

a jathd (militarv

a niorchd (facing

political struggle

Armv. Each

territorial

detachment) and an or-

the enemv).

may

The dom-

A

partieularlv

be called a dharam

ytidh,

'''

in

defense of dharam.

words which defv translation, an instance which will have a familiar ring, Dharam is the Funjabi version of dharma, but one should not assume that the tw o are identical in terms of meaning and connotation. Although the Fanth preserves the caste structure of societv it is non-easte in theorv and it thus rejects the strict This leads us to another of the

definition of dharma as the obligations associated with a particular caste identitv.

moves awav from the individual to whole, and the sense connoted bv dharma

In Sikh usage the stress

the Fanth or to societv as a

w hieh alone provides a sure foundation for harmonv and social stabilitv. An attack on dharam is an attack on justice, on righteousness, and on the moral order generallv. It must be defended at all costs and when other means have all failed the defenders of dharam must resort to the sword. involves the moral order

None

of this should suggest that the Fanth exists onlv to breathe

or wield naked swords.

The use of force

is

fire

eertainlv sanctioned in a

famous couplet attributed to (iuru Ciobind Singh' but is is authorized onlv in defence of dharma and onlv as a last resort. In times of distur-

SIKH DOCTRISE

bance or

crisis

one

is

though

liable to forget that the gurclwaras,

legit-

imately used for political purposes, are primarily places of worship.

haye come to yet another of the key terms.

I

V\’e

he word gurduard (angli-

cized as “gurdwara”) can be translated as either “the Guru’s door” or

“by means of the Ciuru’s [grace]. Since earliest days members of the Fanth haye gathered together in satsangs to sing kirtan (sacred songs, specifically those composed by the Gurus and eyentually those which are recorded in the Ciranth Sahib), d'he building in vyhich a devotional

gathering was held was originally

known

as a dharam-sdla,

the course of the eighteenth century this term

but during

was progressively sup-

planted by gurduard.

The change presumably occurred because of the increasingly com-

mon

presence within these buildings of the Ciuru himself in the form

of the sacred scripture. Following the death of (iuru Ciobind Singh the mystical guru remained present within the scripture which

had compiled

a

century

earlier,

Ciuru Ciranth Sahib, sharing this

Guru Arjan

became the dignity with the gathered Panth which d'he (iranth Sahib thus

likewise incorporated the mystical presence of the eternal Ciuru. practice the scripture has proved to be the effective vehicle and

presence constitutes any room or building

W ithin

its

In

mere

gurdwara.

a

gurdwara most activity focuses on the sacred volume or its contents. Fhe standard pattern of worship consists largely of the singing of kirtan, led by cjualified members of the sangat or by professional hymn-singers called rdgis. At appropriate times kardh prasdd (sanctified food) is distributed to all who are present and kathd may be delivered, a

d'his consists of an exposition of the scriptures or perhaps the narrating

of an incident from the lives of the

Kathd

We

is

Cmrus

or from later Sikh history.

normally the responsibility of the gurdwara’s

come

to yet another of the terms

which has been misunderstood

during the course of the recent political crisis. A grantht is a person who serves as the custodian of a gurdwara, with responsibility for the

maintenance of the shrine and the conduct of its routine are humble men serving small gurdwaras, but the few pointed to prominent shrines acquire of

all

is

the (>hief Ciranthi of

1

rituals.

who

Most

are ap-

Most prominent Amritsar (known to for-

a larger dignity.

larimandir in

eigners as the Ciolden femple). In recent times the (]hief Ciranthi of the (iolden d'emple has to

come

be regarded as one of seven “High Priests” of the Panth. Five of the

others are the jathedars (or

“Oimmanders”) of the

five takhats or “thrones,”

S/Kf/

gurdwaras with

a

DOCTRISE

unic]uc role and dignity.

Special decisions affect-

ing the temporal welfare and politics of the Panth are taken before

Akal

l

akhat, the building

which

faces the Ciolden

was so seriously damaged during the army Takhat

is

Temple and which

assault in

June 1984. Akal

thus the principle focus of the Panth’s worldly concerns, sup-

Anandpur, Damdama, Patna, and Nander. The takhats are highly rcyered as institutions, and their custodians are accorded a certain measure of dignity and respect. Each takhat is also serx ed by granthis and the (vhief Ciranthi of Akal Takhat has been recognized as one of the “High Priests.” It is, howeyer, w holly incorrect to describe these two (iranthis and fiye Jathedars as “1 ligh Priests.” The Panth recognizes no priesthood and by no stretch of the popular imagination can these seven men be ported by similar institutions

in

legitimately regarded as priests. Moreover, they are not particularly

“high.” All receive their appointments by committee decisions and each

can be removed by the same process. circles

to treat

them

as

It

has been convenient in

“high” during the recent

crisis

in

some

order to

lend weight to policy statements and claims which are routed through

them. Five of the seven are appointed by the Sikh organization which

main gurdwaras in the Punjab (the Shiromani (iurdwara Parbandhak Committee) and the remaining two have been vulnerable to central government pressure because their seats in Patna and Nander are well beyond the borders of the Punjab. The media have picked up the term “High Priests” and in persistently using it have distorted our understanding of both the nature of the Panth and the mechanics of

controls the

the recent crisis. If

one

is

seeking genuine authority in the Panth one should examine

the term pafjj pidre, “the Cherished Five.”

W hen

(mru Gobind Singh chose

proven loyalty to receive the

first

five Sikhs of

baptism and then to administer

ers. All initiation

it

to the

inaugurating the Khalsa

Guru

himself and to oth-

ceremonies have since been conducted by groups of

plan and important decisions concerning a sangat may likewise be entrusted to them. This is not the end of questions of authority, however, for one may well have to investigate those w ho stand behind the pad] pidre. There can be no doubt that the issue of authority w ithin the Panth is an exceedingly difficult one. One last word which deserves to be mentioned is sevd^ yet another example of a term which undergoes a shift in meaning when introduced in its standard English translation. The translation “service” can easily pafij

S/KH DOCTRISE suggest the kind of welfare activity which

munity or

is

intended to

alleviate individual suffering. Seva certainly

com-

assist a

embraces these

purposes, at least within the modern understanding of the term, but

primary meaning designates service to

a

words which,

meaning and connotation,

in the full richness

of

its

gurdwara.

It is

its

another of the defies

easy translation.

As such

it

reinforces the claim that only through careful analysis of

such terminology can the inner meaning of

a culture or a tradition

be

penetrated. In addition, by inducting such words into English usage, it

may

be possible to diminish misunderstanding and distortion.

terminology stantial;

w ith

may

The

often seem intimidating, but the inducements are sub-

diligence and perseverance there are considerable rewards.

'

5

Who

W,no

a

is

Sikh?

Is a

Sikh? Sikh Rahit Marydcid, the standard manual of Sikh

doctrine and behavior, provides a succinct answer:

A

Sikh

Ciurus

who believes in (iod (Akal Purakh); in (Guru Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh); in Sri Guru is

any person

the ten

(iranth

Sahib, other writings of the ten Gurus, and their teachings; in the

Khalsa initiation ceremony instituted by the tenth Guru; and

v\

ho does

not believe in anv other svstem of religious doctrine.

But all

is

this

statement really a sufficient answer to the question? Like

such summaries of

a religious tradition

it

inevitablv glosses over

com-

and reducing diversitv to a single simple offers is the normative Khalsa definition

plexity, skirting essential issues

model. I'he model which

and

it

it

should be acknow ledged

at

the outset that there have alw avs been

other definitions of Sikh identity. But inition has long since established

its

60

it

is

a fact that the

Khalsa def-

claim to be regarded as the ortho-

WHO dox torm

IS

A SIKH?

Although the continuing problem of non-Khalsa versions ol Sikh identity is one which must be discussed later, in order to examine the nature of orthodox Sikhism it is necessary first to discuss the doctrine and practice of the Khalsa. I he first answer to the question “\\ ho is a Sikh?” should be that he or she is a Sikh of the Khalsa. It was not always so. d'he inauguration of the Khalsa as a formal order and discipline took place 200 years after Guru Nanak first began to preach the doctrine of deliverance through the practice of ndm simaran. Although proponents of alternative Sikh identities commonly draw pointed attention to this feature it presents no problems as far as the Khalsa theologian is concerned. It is adequately covered by the fundamental Sikh doctrine of the Guru. I he Cmru, or mystical “voice” of .\kal Purakh, is a single consistent authority, present within the Panth since first it w as established. For more than two centuries it sfxike through a succession of ten Masters (CKiru Nanak to Ciuru (iobind Singh) and since the death of the tenth it has continued to speak through the sacred scripture (the Guru Granth) and the corporate community (the Guru Panth). I'he divine wisdom of the eternal Guru has been available to succeeding generations of Sikhs, guiding them as circumstances change into fresh decisions and new patterns. By the end of the seventeenth century circumstances had indeed changed, and it was to meet new challenges that Ciuru Gobind Singh took his momentous decision to ot Sikhism.

reconstitute the Panth. traditional accounts describe the actual inauguration of the Khalsa in

graphic detail.

festival to

News was

spread

v\’ithin

the Panth that the annual

Day 1699 was

be celebrated on Baisakhi

to

be

a particularly

and that Sikhs should gather before the Guru on that occasion. After the expectant crowd had assembled all were stunned by the proclamation which the Guru issued. Five Sikhs were needed, he declared, five Sikhs who were prepared to offer their heads as a sacrifice. Fhis summons was greet(^d with an understandable lack of ensignificant event

thusiasm, but eventually a loyal Sikh called Daya Singh offered himself

and was led by his Master into a nearby tent. sword was heard and when the Guru returned

I

he thud of

a falling

was a blood-stained demand and one by one four it

weapon w hich he carried. He repeated his more Sikhs trooped into the place of slaughter, each to lose The Guru then revealed what had actually happened inside Each of the

five heroes

had retained

6

/

his

head and

his head.

the tent.

in their place five

WHO goats had been slain.

The

five

IS

A SIKH?

heroes were the original Panj Pidre, the

“(dierished Five” chosen for their bravery and total loyalty as the nucleus of a I

new

order,

^

members of

laving thus chosen the foundation

having initiated them with the (juru

pdhtil) the

He

hands.

is

new

rite

his

new

order and

of sword-baptism {khande dl

said to have received the

same baptism from

their

then delivered a sermon, explaining his reasons for intro-

ducing the new order and enunciating the code of conduct which its initiated members were to follow. He was, in other words, proclaiming the Rahit and

is

it

the Rahit which defines in very specific terms the

must observe, tradition readilv acknowledges that certain features of the Rahit were alreadv a part of the pre-Khalsa pattern and it records that one major addition (the conferring of the Guru’s authority on the Granth and the Panth) was made nine years later. It clearly implies, however, that the substance of the Rahit had been delivered to the Khalsa by the time pattern of belief and practice which the Khalsa Sikh

the tenth

Guru

died.

The

Rahit remains thereafter the sole and suffi-

cient statement of Khalsa doctrine, ritual

such

and personal behavior.

.\s

supplies the standard definition of Sikh orthodoxv and Sikh

it

identity.

Much

that

is

contained in this popular version of the 1699 proceed-

open to serious question and although certain features receive support from near-contemporary sources others do not.^ At this point ings

is

the onlv feature

One would

\\

hich need concern us

is

the promulgating of the Rahit.

expect that a statement so central to the

life

and purpose

of the reconstituted Panth would have been committed to writing at an

Guru Gobind Singh. The “letters of command” to partic-

earlv stage and at least within the lifetime of

Guru

did indeed issue hukam-ndmds or

and sangats, and the examples which survive incorporate items which would certainlv have been included in anv svstematic statement of the complete Rahit. This, however, was a form of communication which had been used bv some of his predecessors and although the surviving examples provide valuable illustrations of contemporary practice they cannot have been intended primarilv as vehiular individuals

cles of the Rahit in

No

anv

full

or svstematic form."^

such systematic statement survives from the actual period of the

Randhir Singh has assumed that manuals or comprehensive statements would certainly have been prepared for use bv the Guru’s emissaries in order to instruct scattered sangats in their ncwlvGuru’s

lifetime.

62

WHO established Khalsa faith.’

IS

SIKH?

:\

These manuals,

implied, must since have

it is

Others have draw n attention to the upheavals of the period immediatelv follow ing 1699, suggesting that the urgency of conflict would leave little time for careful recording of w hat otherw ise could be effecbeen

lost.

communicated bv word of mouth and

tivelv

The

fact that a distinctive

visible

example.

code of conduct w as operative by the early

in Sainapati’s

by references occurring Gur Sohha (Radiance of the Ciuru). Gur Sohhd is a narrative

poem which,

as

decades of the eighteenth centurv

genre. ^

It

is

its title

development of Sikh

indicated

suggests, belongs to the hagiographic gur-bilas

work of verv

a

is

great significance in terms of tracing the

because

ideals, not least

lection of Rahit items. Lnfortunatelv

siderablv diminished bv the fact that

its

its

it

supplies an early se-

potential significance

is

con-

actual date has yet to be con-

fhe two contending dates are 1711 and 1745. If the earlier of the two could be defmitivelv established the importance of Gur Sohhd would be greatlv enhanced, for this would place the work verv close to the death of Ciuru (iobind Singh in 1708. Kven v\'ith its precise date undetermined, however, Gur Sohhd a work of great significance. There can be little doubt that it belongs to the first half of the eighteenth century and in terms of the available sources for tracing Khalsa development this makes it very early indeed. .\mongst the Rahit items which it offers are an insistence on the timehonored practice of udm simaran and a categorical denunciation of hooclusivelv settled,

kah-smoking and cutting the hair.^ Giur Sohhd remains, however, a narrative poem. It makes no effort to enunciate the Rahit in sy stematic or comprehensive terms and accordingly’

it

cannot

of the Rahit).

strictly’

W orks

be regarded as

a

rahit-nama

recorded version

yvhich can legitimately be regarded as rahit-namas

no rahit-nama survives from the actual are, hoyvever, several

As

have

just indicated,

lifetime of (iuru

Gobind Singh.

present an even yvider range of problems.

There

(a

yve

such yvorks claiming to record instructions

yvhich their yvriters received directly’ from the (iuru before he died.

These yvorks form the rahit-nama corpus as

it

existed prior to the

com-

posing of the modern tyventieth-century code. In no case can yve accept a rahit-nama’s

the

Guru

claim that

it

reports injunctions received directly from

and, as yve shall see, the problems associated yvith dating them

and placing them in their appropriate contexts are is, hoyvever, no'doubt about their potential value

development, nor of their importance

63

far

from simple. There

as indicators of

as standards to

y\

Khalsa

hich later gen-

WHO

IS

A SIKH?

orations have appealed in the ongoing effort to define normative Khalsa practiee. 1

he rahit-namas which appear prior to the twentieth century can be

divided according to form into three groups.” All offer statements, brief or lengthv, of

w

hat a Khalsa Sikh

how

expected to believe and

is

he

or she should act. Four of the rahit-namas are brief works expressed in

simple Punjabi verse, d hree are lengthy prose collections, and the re-

maining two are brief works

in prose. All

nine claim or clearly imply

Guru Gobind

derivation from the specific words of

Singh, posing as

products of his actual intention rather than as responses to any subse-

quent period of Khalsa experience.

Of

the four verse rahit-namas

the distinguished poetr\’

commands

member

two

are attributed to Bhai

Nand

Lai,

of the tenth (iuru’s entourage whose Persian

great reverence

w ithin

the Panth.

fhese two are brieflv

and I'ajiakhah-tidtna (Manual of Penances). fhe former (plainlv misnamed) is more discursive than the usual rahit-nama, concentrating on an exposition of the doctrine of the mvstical Ciuru and stressing the believer’s obligation to practice ndm

entitled Pramn-uttar ((Catechism)

simaran.

Bv

contrast the I'auakhdh-udmd follows the tvpical format.

ing listed various practices to be spurned or observed,

it

concludes with

assurance of the future glorv awaiting the Khalsa.

a stirring

words continue

to exercise an

immense

rdj karegd khalsa, dki rahahi

na

Hav -

Its

final

influence:

koi.

kh^'dr hoi sahh milainge, bachahi saran jo hoi.

fhe Khalsa All

shall rule,

w ho endure

no enemv

shall

remain.

suffering and privation shall be brought to

the safetv of the CLiru’s protection.*^

fhe remaining verse rahit-namas, attributed respectively to Prahilad Singh (or Prahilad Rai) and Desa Singh, also follow the standard form. Like the two works bearing Nand Lai’s name both claim to record firsthand information. Prahilad Singh is said to have been with (Liru ( h)bind Singh in Abchalnagar (the tow n of Nanded in the Deccan) during the period immediatelv preceding the Guru’s death there. According to the rahit-nama’s brief prologue the

Guru

evidentlv realized that

know its the Hesh. He therefore sum-

the Rahit should be recorded in order that the Khalsa might

duty

after he

moned to him.

was no longer present

in

Prahilad Singh for this specific purpose and dictated the Rahit

fhe rahit-nama attributed

64

to

Desa Singh similarlv claims

to

WHO

IS

A SIKIH

record the Guru’s words, supplemented bv information received from

Nand

Lal.*‘

same claim is made even more insistently bv one of the three prose rahit-namas which offer detailed statements of the Rahit. (>haupa Singh Chhibbar was closelv associated with (iuru Ciobind Singh, first as his khiddva (adult plavmate), then as his tutor, and finally as a trusted servant and counselor. Such a person might well claim intimate knowledge of the (iuru’s ideals and intentions. 1 he Chaupd Singh Rahit-ndmd This

does indeed make this claim, recording junctions which the Ciuru

is

in

profuse detail the

many

in-

said to have issued for the benefit of the

Khalsa.

Within

this

arate sections.

lengthv work the Rahit material

One randomlv

lists

actions

is

gathered into two sep-

w hich the khalsa Sikh should

perform or avoid; and the other specifies the many breaches of the Rahit for which an erring Khalsa should be required to do penance {tanakhdh).^^ I he remainder of the v\ork is devoted to various anecdotes

from the life-storv of Guru (iobind Singh, including a variant version of the founding of the Khalsa; to vigorous denunciations of the men who assumed leadership in the Khalsa following the Ciuru’s death; and fmallv to promises of the apocalvptic glorv which will accompanv the arrival of Kalki and the consequent dawning of the long-awaited Satiyuga.

The other two lengthv rahit-namas both belong to a much later period than the Chaupd Singh Rahit-ndrnd^ though this does not mean any from the standard claims to authenticity. In their present form both belong to the middle portion of the nineteenth centurv and at least one of them mav well have originated at this time. I his is the Rrem Stimdrag (or Raram Sumdrag), a work which begins with an announceretreat

ment of imminent cosmic

disaster

and then

details in

an unusuallv svs-

wav of life which the Khalsa should follow. I'he Sau Sdkhi or “Hundred Episodes” is also vitally concerned with the troubles which must afflict the Ranth and w ith prophecies of the rewards which tematic form the

await the faithful. In

its

extant form (and possibly in

its

origins) this

work has been associated w ith the Namdhari sect and w ith the agitation which it conducted during the early period of British rule particular

in the

two prose rahit-namas w hich confine the Rahit and deal with it briefly. One of the two

I

to

Punjab.

his leaves the

attributed to

Nand

Lai)

is

always found

65

in association

their attention (a

third

work

with the Chaupd

'

W

Rahit-nama.

Sifigh

I

hc

HO

few'

IS

A SIKH?

manuscripts which

record

Chaupd

the

Singh Rahit-ndmd also append this short and fragmentary statement as a

supplement. Finally there

the rahit-nama attributed to

is

Daya Singh,

first

Panj Piare to offer his head at the founding of the Khalsa in 1699.

the

Nand

uct the

Lai prose rahit-nama

This feature

is

W hereas

certainly an eighteenth-century prod-

is

Daya Singh version seems

century.'”

of the

plainly to date

from the nineteenth

reminder that claims to represent

a further

the direct dictation of the (iuru or a first-hand record of his pro-

nouncements must always be regarded with profound skepticism. Indeed, one can go further and affirm that no extant rahit-nama sustains its claims in this regard. All are removed, to a greater or lesser extent, from the lifetime of Cniru (iobind Singh. That conclusion, needless to say, leaves the considerable problem of which rahit-namas qualify for the “lesser extent” status and which must be more distantly removed from the founder of the Khalsa. Later in chapter

this

shall return to this

I

problem, together with the associated

difficulty of identifying actual contexts

and the varying

interests rep-

resented by each claimant.

Such

were

issues

a part

of the larger problem of authenticity which

confronted the more ardent of the Singh Sabha reformers the nineteenth century. 1 hat

the end of

Guru Gobind Singh had promulgated

Rahit was a tradition which could and must be accepted tion.

at

But did the extant rahit-namas

Guru? Plainly, for some of their

fully

and

w

the

ithout ques-

faithfully record the Rahit

seemed, they did not offer wholly

as delivered b\' the

it

reliable versions,

injunctions seemed manifestly to be

in conflict

with enlightened

own

Guru’s

may have been

time

Muslims

rected against

belief.

(all

Although the Muslim cruel tyrants

Muslims and not

rulers of the

some of the items

di-

just the perverse rulers)

appeared rather too fierce for the educated leaders of the

late nine-

seemed, offered little more than superstition, and some were patently in conflict with the egalitarian ideals of the Khalsa. Lhe Chaupd Singh Rahit-ndmd was vulnerable teenth-century Panth. Other injunctions,

on

all

it

three counts, producing such unacceptable examples as the fol-

lowing:

A

(lursikh

.

.

.

should never become friendly with

should he ever trust his sw ord.

.

.

.

66

Never

a

Muslim, nor

trust the oath of a

Muslim.

W

He who

HO

extinguishes a fire

IS

w

A SIKH?

ith

water

left

over after drinking vio-

lates the Rahit.

He who

administers baptism of the sword to

a

Sikh

woman

violates

the Rahit.

Anv

(lursikh

who

is

a

Brahman should

receive twice the service

[and consideration that other Sikhs receive].

I

he problem thus posed bv the extant rahit-namas produced three

different responses.

One

response was to prepare commentaries on the

Rahit in general, or on those features of

Sabha period perceived

it

which Sikhs of the Singh

to be of particular importance.

Some

of their

authors could be regarded as conservative upholders of received prac-

prominent example being Avatar Singh V'ahiria who in 1894 published his Khdlsd dharam-sdstar and in 1914 issued a substantial work of the same title which he had cornpiled.^^ Arrayed against them were the insistent reformers of the Tat

tice.

I'hese

Khalsa or

“

were the Sanatan Sikhs,

I

rue Khalsa,” radical

a

men who

increasingly sustained their

right to speak as the authentic voice of the Panth. 4 he general

“Singh Sabha” usually refers to these men, though one

may

term

not be

aware of the fact. 4 he first Singh Sabha was founded in 1873 and as the fat Khalsa gradually took shape its first endeavors concentrated on single issues, particularly those which might signal a distinctive Sikh identity as opposed to Hindu tradition and practice. Amongst the single issues the most conspicuous was the question of how Sikhs were to be married.

W hereas

had incorporated a sacred fire (thus implying obvious Hindu connotations) the fat Khalsa reformers insisted on the Anearlier ritual

and marriage ceremony as the only rite acceptable for Sikhs. Phis order involved circumambulation of the (iuru Ciranth Sahib in place of the sacred fire, thus utilizing a major feature of the Rahit to assert a separate Sikh identity.^' Other issues concentrated the debate on items which expressed a Khalsa identity as opposed to the generalized Sikh variant (the variant

w hich accommtxlated

the so-called Sahaj-dhdn or non-Khalsa

Sikh).''

fhis

was

a truly radical

approach, for the fat Khalsa was signaling

from Hindu society. Alone, however, it was not enough. Debates and publications of this kind could obviously contribute to a rediscovery and redefinition of the Rahit, but for the first time

its

basic difference

67

W

they were insuffieient.

A

HO

IS

A SIKH?

svstematie statement was also required, one

would earrv the proeess beyond eommentarv' and express the w hole of the historie Rahit in a single authoritatiye document. whieli

The second of the 189S

objeetive. In

Hindi, following

in

w as

a

I'at

Khalsa responses moved

a step

nearer to this

Kahn Singh of Nabha published Guramat it

compendium

with a Punjabi edition

in

1901.“^

Siidhakar

Guramat Siidhakar

of works relating to the person and period of Ckiru

from the rahit-namas and in editing the materials w hich were available to him Kahn Singh implicitly expressed a particular interpretation of them. Although his selections were presented as abridged versions of extant rahit-namas they (iobind Singh. Inevitably this included

a selection

more accurately described as expurgated versions. \\ hat this implied was that the pure Rahit enunciated by the tenth Guru had subsequently been corrupted by ignorant or malicious transmitters of the tradition. By eliminating all that conflicted w ith reason and sound tradition (as understood by such men as Kahn Singh) one might hope to are

restore the pristine Rahit. If in fact this

was Kahn Singh’s hope

it

was doomed

to certain dis-

appointment. Quite apart from the problem of distinguishing sound from spurious tradition there was the generally unsystematic form of the ex-

and the patchy nature of the material which they actually presented. No existing rahit-nama, purged or marginally supplemented, could satisfy the Singh Sabha reformers’ insistence on a clear definition of Khalsa identity. Only a new statement would meet the need. A new rahit-nama had to be produced, one which would give clear and systematic expression to the Rahit as preserved in historical documents and sound tradition. This recognition produced the third response to the problems posed by the extant rahit-namas, one w hieh was eventually to prove definitive tant rahit-namas

for twentieth-century purposes.

A

first

attempt was made

in the years

1910 to 1915. (Concentrating on what were perceived to be appropriate

endeavored to produce acceptable rubrics and procedistinctively Khalsa ceremonies, fhe result of this attempt

Khalsa rituals dures for

it

was issued in the latter year as Guramat Prakds Bhdg Sauskdr, w hieh incorporated Rahit injunctions within suggested orders

a

work

for var-

ious rituals.

Following

its first

publication the manual achieved only a limited suc-

was soon deflected by the Akali agitation of 1920-25. This campaign produced the Shiromani Ciurdwara Parbandhak Com-

cess and interest

68

WHO mittee or

SGPC

IS

A SIKH?

(chosen bv a general Sikh electorate to administer the

principal gurdwaras)’^ and

was the SGP(^ which

it

initiated the next

produce an agreed statement of the Rahit. In 1931 it resolved commission a new rahit-nama. Although a sub-committee appointed

effort to

to

for this

purpose had produced

postponed ally (

I

final

a draft

approval until 1945.

published bv the SGP(^

within

The new

a series

of delays

rahit-nama was eventu-

1950 under the

in

vear

a

title

Sikh Rahit

Maryada

he Sikh (>)de of Conduct). Sikh Rahit

Maryada

is

not a model of clear organization nor of coherent

presentation. In spite of

of haste and

it

leaves

its

lengthy period of gestation

some important

it

shows

signs

issues insufficiently defined. Its

primary division of the Rahit into “Personal Discipline” and “Panthic Discipline” is difficult to defend, and the all-important question of fundamental authority remains unanswered. Ultimate authority

is

plainly

declared to be the dual right of (iranth and Panth, but radical ambiguity persists in that the translating of mystical authority into actual decisions remains only partially defined. Moreover, as

beginning of than

a

this chapter,

code for

all

plying that there

is

it

is

who might

a

at

the

statement of Khalsa orthodoxy rather

regard themselves as Sikhs, clearly im-

an approved Khalsa style and that alternative Sikh

identities are ipso facto unacceptable, d'his, is

we noted

not explicitly declared to be the case.

As

\\

it

should be emphasized,

ith the

problem of

practical

authority the nettle remains ungrasped.

Maty add has so far stood the test of time remarkably well. It has run through numerous editions, it and it has absohas admitted very little in the wav of amendment, In spite of these shortcomings Sikh Rahit

no rivals. I he S(JP(^ continues to issue it, both in its original Punjabi and in Knglish translation; and if a Sikh seeks an answ er to any problem of personal observance or Khalsa ritual Sikh Rahit Matyada is the rahit-nama to which he or she is likely to turn. I lere care must be taken not to exaggerate its importance, d'he answers to such questions will more commonly be sought orally from a Sikh with a reputation for lutely

some circumstances, they may be ascertained by opening the Guru (iranth Sahib at random and using it as an oracle. If, how ever, the appeal is to be made to a rahit-nama Sikh Rahit Maryada learning or piety, or, in

will

normally supply the means. In the pages of

be found answers to

many

this brief

manual

will

of the standard t|uestions, and there can be

no doubt that it> has significantly contributed normative orthodoxy.

69

to the

maintenance of

a

W

Does

HO

IS

A SIKH?

then follow that Sikh Rahit Maryada has succeeded in captur-

it

ing the substance of the historical Rahit and that diligent reference to

make

answer to the cjuestion of who is a Sikh? Some will insist that the answers to both of these tjuestions should be affirmatives, and given its regular imprimatur it mav be assumed that this remains the official view of the SCiPC. Should we agree? It mav be regarded as impertinent for an outsider to question these answers, and such a response would indeed by justified if the questioning were to suggest that the outsider is telling Sikhs what pages will

its

possible to produce a sufficient

it

thev should believe, d'here are nevertheless questions w hich should be raised before final conclusions are

drawn.

In the sincere

hope that these

questions will be regarded as neither impertinent nor irrelevant

now

and others d he is

first

relate to the historic

I

development of the Rahit

its

w

hich

is

bound

actual nature of the Rahit,

answers.

hosc

who

to invoke differing beliefs

and differing

beliefs

w

ill

one

set of

produce different

must be

Gobind Singh

answers. At the other extreme those

who

perceive

the mutating product of an evolving societv will give a different

Others, simultaneously attracted to both view

s,

will

It

concerning the

believe that the substance of the Rahit

traced fullv and directlv to the intention of CJuru offer

will

contemporarv application. question concerns the origin and eonstancv of the Rahit.

to

question

a

Some

put them.

I

will it

as

set.

endeavor to find

a

compromise w hich accommodates both the (iuru’s autonomous purpose and the infiuence of external pressures.

The question leads back to the conflict between traditional scholarship and rationalist historiography w hich we noted in the third chapter, d hose w ho subscribe to the unvielding, uncompromising varietv of traditional scholarship will insist that the essence of the Rahit, in all its

fundamental features, was present

Ciobind Singh and that in I

1708.

I

it

in

the intention of Cdiru

must have been promulgated before

he actual sources make this

\

iew

complete his death

verv difficult to sustain.

he variant versions of the Rahit which appear in the earlier rahit-na-

mas

clearly indicate that

much

of the Rahit crvstallized during the course

of the eighteenth centurv and that a fullv-developed version able until

we move

is

not avail-

into the nineteenth centurv.

none of the major elements was promulgated prior to the (iuru’s death, nor that the emergence of a recognizable Rahit w as delaved until the end of the eighteenth centurv. W hat it does suggest is that a process w hich was alreadv under wav bv I

his

is

eertainlv not to suggest that

70

WHO

IS

A SIKIH

1708 continued to operate through succeeding decades, generating in

response to eighteenth-century pressures several of the elements feature prominently in the traditional Khalsa Rahit.

\\

hieh

These elements were

subsequently purged, supplemented and restated during the period of the Singh Sabha reform

movement,

late in

the nineteenth century and

early in the twentieth, d he reforming process eventually produced the

Rahit as

we know

it

today.

1

laving thus evolved over a lengthy period

contemporary pressures and producing the new emphases which progressively remold it. it

continues to develop, responding slow

ly to

There are actually two separate issues involved tion of Rahit

in this general

ques-

One

development, though the two are intimately related.

concerns origins and the other sequence:

From w here

did the various

w hen did they variously enter the Ranth’s conventions, thus becoming features of the orthodox Rahit? Linking the two is the tjuestion of cause: \\ hv did particular items become features of Khalsa items come, and

belief

and practice?

Some

items are easily explained, in terms either of origin or of timing

and occasionally the practice of

no problem

in

terms of both. The strong rahit-nama insistence on

nam simaran

is

an example of

a feature

w Inch presents

The devotional discipline had been central to the teachings of the Ranth ever since the time of (iuru Nanak and it has retained its eminence through the peri(Kl of rahit-nama grow th. There are certainly

w

at this level.

problems

to be

encountered w hen one proceeds to ask

w as understood by such terms

hat

as

nam

simarati or

nam

just

japan at

and by different people. This opens up a new range of which must be immediately put aside at least for now. For pres-

different times issues

ent purposes

it is

sufficient to note an unquestioning acceptance of

some

form of nam simaran as a primary feature of the Rahit at all stages of its development. It is a feature which illustrates one of the early roots of the Rahit and also its long-term continuity. Other major items are less easy to identify in terms of origin, cause or sequence. The patlj kakke or Five Ks provide a conspicuous example, one to which drew attention during the earlier discussion of tradition in chapter 3. The verdict of modern tradition is clear and wholly unambiguous. .\ccording to modern belief the Five Ks were introduced I

as a

primary and essential feature of the Rahit

at

the inauguration of

the Khalsa in 1699. .\s such they derive directly from the deliberate intention of Ckiru (Jobind Singh, a purpose in

w hich

is

to be explained

terms of the Ciuru’s determination that never again should his Sikhs

71

WHO l)c

able to conceal themselves.

IS

A SIKH?

This tradition

is

called into serious ques-

tion l)v the testimony ot eighteenth-eenturv sources. kes (the

uncut

hair) there

W ith

emphatic agreement that

is

regard to the

this feature

is

a

mandatory recjuirement for all Sikhs ot the Khalsa, and there is also repeated emphasis on the obligation to carry a sword.’” I'he other three items, however, are much less certain and there seems to be no doubt that the actual concept of the five-k status belongs to a period well into

the eighteenth century.

d his conclusion contributes something to our understanding of the

sequence without individual is

Ks or the reasons

no cause

w

may

for their introduction into the Rahit.

to c|uestion the tradition that (iuru (iobind

be visible and

his Sikhs to

tablished

anything about the actual origins of the

telling us

ithin the

it

(as

seems

I

here

Singh wanted

was formally esthe traditional answer

likely) the kes

Rahit during his lifetime

well be a correct one as far as this particular item

is

concerned.

must be emphasized, concerns the induction of the practice into the Rahit, not its actual origin. It still leaves open the strong possibility that its origin should be traced to the Jat custom of leaving the hair uncut, a possibility which may also explain some of the other Ks. By now it must surely be eyident that any adequate analysis of the historical Rahit is bound to be an exceedingly complex task, and that there I

is

his,

it

still

a

long

w ay

to

go

in

terms of explaining

it.

Another interesting example is prov ided by the strict ban on smoking. dliis, as Gur Sobha makes clear, is an early entrant into the Rahit, but from w here did it come and why is it thus emphasized as an essential mark of the loyal Sikh? Although it is unlikely that concepts of health or hygiene w ill supply a convincing explanation we should note that the early rahit-namas do display a lively sense of the perils of pollution (ritual pollution, not environmental).

It

may

well be their un-

derstanding of pollution which supplies the essential clue to their

abhorrence of hookah-smoking. I

he treatment of Muslims by the early rahit-namas clearly suggests

that they

were regarded

as

Shigh Rahit-uamd the belief

is

polluting and in the case of the Chaiipa explicitly stated.

^'

It is

quite possible that

marked hostility which the rahit-namas show tow ards Muslims and all that mav' be associated

the smoking ban supplies an example of the early

with them, d'his feature

must

eat jhatkd

avoiding

all

meat

is

overtly expressed in the insistence that Sikhs

(the tlesh of an animal killed

w

ith a single

blow

),

contact with the haldl meat of the Muslims. Another prom-

72

WHO inent example

item which a

is

A SIK/ir

IS

the ban on sexual contact with

later,

more

sensitive generation

was

Muslim women to

(an

transform into

a

The hookah traveled eastw ards with Muslims and was w idelv used in Muslim societv. As such it mav well have been regarded as a distinctivelv Muslim practice and thus a candidate for prohibition of adultery).

proscription.

The actual origins of the hostility’ can presumablv be traced to the extended period of w arfare with Muslim authorities, commencing earlv in the seventeenth century but fought with particular intensity during the eighteenth. Injunctions which reflect this hostility could have entered the conventional behavior of the Panth at any stage during this The more settled conditions of the Singh Sabha period produced a weakened emphasis on anti-Muslim features of the Rahit, a muting process which has fitfully continued through most of the present century, d he events of 1947 1-8 fired old animosities once again, followed by a gradual subsiding of feelings; and for some at least the events of 1984 seem to have actually produced a cautious alliance between Sikhs and Muslims, each for differing reasons aimed at the central government of India. laving thus developed a reasonably plausible explanation for the ban on hookah-smoking we must acknowledge that there are other possibilities. It might be argued that the hcxikah was banned because it would reduce the alertness and mobility of Khalsa guerillas. Although the Muslim connection seems the more likely explanation, support for it must be tempered with an awareness of other options, (x)mpeting explanations serve to emphasize the complexity of the task which confronts anyone seeking to understand and explain the Rahit. period.

—

1

This discussion could be continued at great length, scrutinizing the

many them lem.

features of the traditional Rahit and seeking to explain each of in turn. In briefly

A

pursuing

it

1

have touched on

a

second prob-

major source for understanding the evobing Rahit must ob-

viously be the corpus of rahit-namas, supplemented by relevant refer-

and other early sources. If, however, the rahit-namas are to yield useful information they must be satisfactorily located in terms of time, place and purpose. I'his is still impossible to do in most instances. The problem has already been noted w ith regard to Our Sobha, though ences

in the gur-bilas literature

at least

it

tury and

is it

possible to locate that particular

seems to

raise

work

no serious problems

73

to

w

ithin half a cen-

as far as the interests of

WHO

author are concerned. In the case of the Chaupd Singh Rahit-numd

its it

A SIKH?

IS

is

possible to proceed

much

further, placing

the eighteenth century and associating

Brahman Sikhs w ho had 19).

That

is

a

lost a

it

in the fifth

it

with

decade of

family of disalfected

a

coveted influence within the Panth

very substantial gain, and so too

is

(p.

the firm location of

Sdnak Prakds and Silraj Prakds (see chapter 6). I'here are many problems to be overcome w hen dealing with Santokh Singh, not least the difficulties presented by his Brajthe works of Santokh Singh, author of

influenced Punjabi. interpret his

work

It

however,

is,

when

help

a substantial

seeking to

know that he was educated within the Niramala the Malw a region, and wrote during the first half

to

tradition, resided in

of the nineteenth century. Because of the contextual information w hich can be assembled w

ith

regard to the Ohuttpd Singh Rahit-ndnid and the works of Santokh Singh

such sources can yield valuable returns. But w hat can be deduced from the remaining rahit-namas, notably the brief verse versions

been so influential?

One

effective contribution

is

bound

to

must remain

be convincingly located

in

acknowledge that

limited, for

at

w hich have

present their

none of them can yet

terms of author, time or purpose.

leged origins can easily be set aside and this

is

a

necessary

I

heir al-

first step.

The Nand Lai of (iuru (iobind Singh’s retinue could not possibly have produced the naive

the Prahilad Singh/Rai if

we

w hich bear his name; and date w hich makes no sense

style of the rahit-namas

work ends w

ith a

are to believe the author’s claims concerning the circumstances

under which he recorded the CLiru’s words. manuscript evidence to support an early origin.

fhere

is,

moreover, no

’’

These and other features indicate that the verse rahit-namas must be

detaehed from their alleged origins. ever, that they

It

must be separated by

does not neeessarily follow a substantial distance.

contents of these rahit-namas are generally consistent

v\

ith

,

how -

The actual

an early stage

of rahit-nama development, a conspicuous example lieing the absenee of any clear reference to the Five Ks.

’’’

The problem remains, one of the many w hich demand attention the near future. Until

it

is

in

solved any comprehensive conclusion must

be deferred regarding the eighteenth-century development of the Rahit.

Also the precise origins of some very influential words must remain

unknown. Attention has already been drawn to the “riij karegii khalsa” couplet which occurred in the Pcinakhdh-ndnid and is recited in gurdw aras follow intj the conclusion of Ardas (the Sikh Prayer). It would be

74

WHO very helpful to

know when

tantalizing delay

IS

A SIKH?

w ere first eomposed. The same the two eouplets which precede “raj

these words

must apply

to

karega khalsa” in the regular Ardas supplement, d hese couplets appear in

an earlier form as separate parts of the Prahilad Singh/Rai rahit-

nama: guru khalsa manJahi paragat guru kJ jo sikh

mo

cleh;

milahu chahabi khoj inahu mahi lehu.

Accept the Khalsa

as Ciuru, for

The Sikh w ho w ishes

to find

it

me

is

the manifest

should seek

me

body of the (iuru.

in its midst.

aka! purakh ke bachau siun pragat chalayo panth; sahh sikhan ko hachati hai guru mauJahu grauth. I

he l^mth was founded

Fa cry Sikh

is

at

command

the

of Akal Purakh.

hidden to accept the (iranth as (luru.^^

would greatly assist our understanding these two couplets. It

In theory, of course, such

demic.

If

if

w e could

definitively date

problems can be regarded

the doctrine of the mystically-present (iuru

merely aca-

as

is

to be accepted

must follow that the (iuru’s guidance continues to be given. Phis in turn means that there is doctrinal sanction for the notion of an everit

developing Rahit. In practice

is

it

tradition of a fully-formed Rahit

not so easy.

(Aim’s

cumstances encounters such serious obstacles.

W ho

ithin the

This

respect,

and

will in today’s ciris

the third prob-

modern Panth.

possesses the right to determine the proper content of the Rahit

and thus is

w

because the

difficult

commands such enormous

also because the process of interpreting the

lem, the question of authority

It is

to define the

a routine

answ er

meaning of Sikh

identity? In a general sense there

to the question of authority in the Panth,

one which

few practicing Sikhs are likely to dispute, d he ultimate authority is the (iuru and the objective standard is the (iuru (iranth Sahib. Phis, however, returns to the doctrine of the mystically-present (iuru and, as

one which

we

most Rahit problems unsolved. Phe Adi (iranth provides little specific guidance on issues relating to the Rahit, and differences of opinion quickly emerge whene\ er the attempt is made to apply its general principles to partichave

just noted, the doctrine

is

in practice leaves

ular cases.

.Although no, orthodo.x Sikh questions the obligation to utilize the

guidance of the sacred scripture

seldom produce

clear,

in all

such issues the procedure w

incontestable answers.

75

Dependence on the

ill

in-

WHO dividual conscience

IS

A SIKH?

likew ise unsatisfactory as a

is

means of determining

basic principles. For certain personal decisions each individual can claim

Guru

responsibility (preferably in conjunction with a reading of the

Granth Sahib), but not

or normative practices of the Panth.

liefs

fundamental be-

for general issues affecting the

convincing answer, one w hich w

ill

he problem requires

I

more

a

involve an objective authority with

an acknowledged right to deliver specific judgments.

Two

them solving the Fhe first answer is

different solutions can be offered, neither of

problem

terms which will be acceptable to

in

all.

Shiromani (iurdwara Parbandhak (Committee possesses the authority to make such decisions. Democratically elected by adult Sikhs that the

Hying

in the

Punjab and neighboring

districts the

as the manifest expression of the Sarhat Khdlsd

(iuru-given right to speak with authority on cern.

It is

the

SGPC

which

issues Sikh Rahit

and

SCjP(> stands forth as

such

it

holds the

matters of panthic con-

all

Maryddd and

its

imprimatur

signals ultimate authority.

Phis answer will immediately

SGPC>

prompt

a

number of

objections.

represents, at best, only the Sikhs of

The

first is

that the

torate.

Phis excludes the yitally important Delhi constituency and the

equally important diaspora.

SGPC

A

second objection

is

its

elec-

that enrollment as a

depends on a prior definition of who is a Sikh, thus begging the most fundamental of questions. ^' Phis particular objection is further strengthened by the fact that the electoral definition requires each voter to testify that he or she abstains from alcohol. Some firmly reject this item as a part of the definition of a Sikh. Others who might be prepared to include it in an ideal definition acknolwedge it to be so widely disregarded in practice as to be meaningless. A third v

oter in

objection for

elections

many

is

that the

SGPC

is

too deeply involved in sordid

be acceptable as an ultimate authority for matters of faith

politics to

and behavior. It may wara funds, but it is

still

serve a purpose as the administrator of gurd-

far too

compromised

to act as a religious court of

final appeal. I

he alternative

bly of

all

is

the local sangat (congregation), either as an assem-

adherents or through powers delegated to five trusted

mem-

bers acting as Panj Piare. d his raises another set of objections. First,

who

decides the qualifications for sangat membership? Secondly,

w w

believe that sangats are

ill

hich, for

many

immune from

Sikhs, discjualifies the

cates the differences of interpretation

v\

who

the kind of political activity

SGPC? hich are

Thirdly,

bound

who

adjudi-

to distinguish

W 7/0 IS A

.S/A//?

one sangat from another? I'he Fanth would disperse into an ever-expanding array of independent congregations. Local customs would be formalized

\\

ithin each

group and the Rahit would

slip into

ever-deep-

ening confusion.

The immediate response to this prophecy of doom is that in practice it just does not happen that wav. I his implies the only possible answer to the problem. In practice the Panth has learnt to live w ith a radically uncertain theory of ultimate authority. Although the result involves constant stress there nevertheless persists a sufficient measure of agreed uniformity. 1 he consensus may suffer some slow attrition and an occasional upset, but at least its principal features survive. A major reason for their survival

is

the agreed insistence that tradition delivers a well-

defined model, and that no subsequent argument or decision can change that model.

Phis in turn helps us to understand

traditional identity

is

why

the defense of a

so important.

The absence of an executive authority with acknow ledged powers must ensure that certain issues will continue to trouble the Panth for periods covering many decades and sometimes centuries. Some of the issues are trivial matters, but bv no means all can be dismissed in this wav. Reference has just been made to the requirement that all who qualify as voters in SGP(> elections must swear that they are total abstainers from alcohol. Is abstinence an approved feature of the Rahit? Sikh Rahit Maryada specifically declares alcohol to be an offense, but where does one find the scriptural or traditional justification for this claim?^^ Justifications do indeed exist, but all lend themselves to alternate explanations and the question remains doubtful. It is common know ledge that alcohol is copiously consumed by many members of the Panth and few' of them seem inclined to apologize for the practice. Others insist that it is wrong and the issue remains undecided. Lor some the debate also extends to meat-eating. In the consumers rather than the abstainers

who

fhe influence of the Indian tradition

it

is

can claim the support of

Sikh Rahit Matyada, provided only that the meat haldl.'^^

this arena

is,

is

jhatkd and

is

however, strong.

not It

ensures that meat-eating continues to be controversial and that few of the consumers will touch beef, particularly in India.

Opinion hardens again when we return to the ban on smoking, an injunction which is widely upheld. Although the ban has moved from smoking the hookah to all forms of tobacco it remains relatively firm. Paradoxically the line drawn against smoking has held more securely

77

W

HO

IS

A SIKH?

than the emphatic prohibition of hair-cutting.

he

I

latter

an abso-

is

fundamental feature of the Rahit, one which clearly dates from

lutely

the seventeenth century and which no statement of the Rahit ever overlooks. d here are,

We

cut their hair.

however, many w ho claim the title ot Sikh and yet are finally brought to the most basic of all problems

of Sikh identity, one which has been with the Panth ever since the

founding of the Khalsa and which remains with Strictly speaking there are

who

ting their hair. All

Khalsa

initiation.

“take amrit")

to the present day.

two kinds of Sikhs w ho

observe the convention

Kes-dharJ Sikhs, regardless of

kes) are called

it

Those w ho do undergo the

become Amrit-dhan

refrain

from cut-

who

retain the

(i.e., all

whether or not they accept rite

of initiation (and thereby

Sikhs. VVhat this

means

that all

is

who

and that some Kes-dharis are also Amritdharis. Although there is no means of know ing what proportion are baptized Amrit-dharis it seems clear that they constitute a relatively retain the kes are Kes-dharis,

small minority of the total Kes-dhari eonstitueney. I

he situation becomes even more comple.x

who do

when w e

turn to those

cut their hair, for here there are three distinct varieties to be

noted. For one of the three the act technically amounts to apostasy and as

such

is

implicitly

condemned

in Sikh Rahit

and the

sins (the char kurahit) are specified

any of them four offenses a

baptized

Maryadd\ four grievous

initiated

who commits

Sikh

qualifies as patit (“fallen” or “renegade”).

The

predictably, the cutting of one’s hair.

This

means

who

cuts his (or

is,

member

of the Khalsa

(viz.

an Amrit-dhari)

first

of the that

one who should properly be ostracized loyal adherents of the Khalsa until the sin has been confessed

becomes

her) hair

a Patit Sikh,

by all and due penance performed. This

the strictly orthodox response. In

is

practice the level of disapproval ranges

and although some may

dom

feel

from outrage

strongly on the issue the

word

patit

is

sel-

heard.

In spite of this ambivalent response Sikh Rahit clear

to indifference,

with regard to the theoretical status of the

when

less clear

Maryada

is

relatively

Patit Sikh. It

is

much

dealing with the two remaining varieties of hair-cutting

Sikh, although one of the

two has been the subject of recurrent debate

within the Panth during the past century. This

is

the variety

known

as

Sahaj-dhari Sikhs. Such people will typically claim to be ardent ad-

mirers of the personal Sahib.

Their

actual

simaran teachings of

Guru and

loyal devotees of the

observance,

Nanak and

however,

is

Guru

limited

his early successors, d'hev

78

to

Ciranth

the

ndm

do not adopt

WHO the

names Singh or Kaur

IS

A SIKH?

as required b\’ the

Khalsa discipline and

al-

though they may well be devout practitioners of mt-nem (the daily rule) and regular visitors to the gurdw ara they are certainly not Sikhs of the Khalsa. Arc they truly Sikhs.^ If so, what is the purpose and special value of the Khalsa?

(Confronted by this problem the Singh Sabha reformers (specifically the

at

1

dhari.

It

Khalsa) fastened on

seems

a

particular

etymology of the term

likely that the first part of the

compound

sahaj-

originally re-

by (iuru Nanak,'^' condition w as sahaj and

ferred to the condition of ultimate bliss as described

One this

Nanak

of the words by

to describe this

evidently the meaning w hich should properly be read into the

is

compound

were those w ho sought the ineffable sahaj-avasthd in the manner indicated by (iuru Nanak. In other words they sought to attain the bliss of sahaj by means of ndni simaraa, without sahaj-dhan. Sahaj-dharis

the Khalsa discipline. (iiiru

meaning of the “easy” or “slow,” and the Singh

Nanak’s usage, however, involves

a specialized

The usual meaning of sahaj is Sabha theorv’ was that the term sahaj-dhan should be construed as “slowadopter” or “one who proceeds by easy stages.” fhe Sahaj-dharis were word.

thus to

l)e

treated as aspirants to full

membership of the Khalsa who manner they could theoretically

had not yet attained their goal. In this be accommodated within the Khalsa ideal.

I

hev could also be accepted

as loyal (if implicitly subordinate) allies of the true Khalsa.

d his conclusion was uneasily accepted by the compilers oi Sikh Rahit

Maryadd, their hesitation clearly indicated by the muffled and ambig-

The third variet)’ is completely ignored, though it actually poses the most serious problem of all. Fatits have always been few’ in number and the Sahaj-dhari identity seems plainly to be in rapid decline. The same cannot be said for Sikhs who cut their uous terms which they use.

hair without qualifying for either Fatit or Sahaj-dhari status,

who Those who

Sikhs

belong to

a

fhese are

category best described as “affiliated Khalsa.”

belong to this category occupy the extensive middle ground

betw een the formal Khalsa of the of the Sahaj-dhari.

Many w ithin

l^atit

it

Sikh and the overtly non-Khalsa

retain the Kes-dhari identity.

Others

cut their hair without renouncing the affiliation and these are the people

who

constitute the third variety of hair-cutting Sikhs.

Those w ho belong to Fatits

group should not incur condemnation as because they have never been Amrit-dharis; and because of their

inherited links

w

ith

this

the Khalsa tradition they cannot be treated as Sa-

79

WHO Many were onee

haj-dharis.

their hair retain the link

Khalsa

ideal.

IS

A SIKH?

Kes-dharis. Others

by virtue of

a

who

have always eut

family tradition of loyalty to the

Sikhs of this kind are partieularly numerous in countries

outside India, and although reeent events have slowed the trend

be expeeted to cjuieken again existing term deseribes

when peaee

it

ean

returns to the F\mjab.

No

them aceuratelv and we must aeeordingly use

the impreeise label of niona or “shaven.”

As w

ith the c|uestion

of Patit status the issue

is

one whieh

elieits a

who regard the Khalsa identity as the only aeeeptable answer the Mona style is altogether unacceptable. Some who adopt this strict view actually equate the Mona with the Patit, range of responses. For those

applying to both the same rigorous condemnation. Others regard the issue with uncertain

embarrassment, and many more

Mona

parent unconcern.

Sikhs themselves usually

retaining their Sikh identity, and

many

it

with ap-

insist that

they are

treat

of those living overseas affirm

by regularly attending a gurdw ara. If they are jats by caste the claim is usually an easy one to sustain. Others may find it more difficult, particularly those w ho belong to urban castes. In the case of their claim

the latter cutting their hair

may

well

amount

to returning to a

Hindu

identity. I

is

he issue

is

not one that can be put aside indefinitely. Although

it

unlikely to be resolved by a deliberate decision on the part of any

formal authority some form of resolution will

reflect the

practice

w

ill

bound

is

to

emerge, one which

increasintj influence of Sikhs living overseas.

Actual

determine w hat votes and decrees can never achieve. Phis

should not imply an inevitable dismantling of the orthodox Khalsa identity, a

a

mistaken conclusion w hich was draw n by

century ago.

Much depends on

many

British observers

the accident of future events and the

pressures which they will impose on the Panth.

One

final issue

may be

briefly noted.

to discuss the present circumstances

the subject of caste

is

commonly

W henever

meetings are held

and future prospects of the Panth

raised, particularly

if

there are artic-

young Sikhs present. Here too alien circumstances place much greater strains on many diaspora Sikhs, but it is a topic of frequent ulate

comment wherever 1

Sikhs discuss the nature of their faith and practice.

he situation seems to involve

ings of the

a clear

contradiction between the teach-

Gurus on the one hand and the

on the

and condemn caste the actual clear purpose. In terms of ritual and

other. V\ hereas the CKirus affirm equality

practice of the Panth denies their

practice of the Panth

80

WHO

A SIKH?

IS

dining customs the injunction to spurn caste

generally observed,

is

though caste gurdw aras are by no means unknow n, W hen it comes marriage arrangements, however, the old conventions seem to stand

al-

to as

firm as ever.

There are two possible solutions to this problem. in the belief that caste

For most

barrier.

such hopes

may

wrong and endeavor

is

this will

is

to persist

to breach the marital

not be easy in present circumstances and

may, however, succeed as may actually be forced on many groups of

well prove to

circumstances change and

One

it

illusory.

l)e

It

diaspora Sikhs,

The second option is to accept that caste in a certain sense can be a sound convention and that lovalt\’ to the (iurus actually demands this response.

It

should be remembered that the (iurus arranged marriages

ow n children w hich were in complete conformity with caste prescription. Does it not follow therefore that their

for their tional

tures

on caste have been

misunderstood?

partially

W as

it

tradistric-

not the dis-

criminatory aspect of caste to which they objected, the notion that some are purer that others

on one’s place

and that access

to spiritual

hierarchy? In

in the traditional

freedom w as dependent the gurdwara Sikhs are

obliged to renounce caste, but need they carry this obligation into aspects of their

life?

Shorn of

its

all

concern with privilege and pollution

caste can be accepted as a valued social stabli/xT,

one which ideally

retains notions of place without necessarily involving degrees of status.

42

Once

again the discussion has

perhaps ser\e as a reminder that the question

“W ho

is

a

become one of ideal types and this may for many people (including many Sikhs)

Sikh?”

is

not really an important one.

W ho

from the pious and the academic? Most Sikhs know that they are Sikhs without requiring a detailed analysis of the Rahit, That sort of response is sufficient for most people most of the time. really cares, apart

In a time of crisis, however,

it

answer and we should need

may prove little

present experience of the Ranth,

who

to be a

thoroughly inadequate

reminding that

An

crisis

is

indeed the

adequate answer can scarcely be

They may ask sympathetic questions and probe the initial responses which they receive, but the answer is not theirs to give. It ean come only from within the Fanth and it can never be a final one, (dianging circumstances will ensure that the, question “W ho is a Sikh?” must forever be asked and expected from those

stand outside the tradition.

never definitively answered.

81

6

The

Literature

of the Sikhs

w

IKNKX KR the question of Sikh literature is raised one automatically thinks of the Adi Ciranth. 1 his is entirely natural, d’he sacred yolume is of crucial importance in the Fanth, rex ered as no other Sikh scripture is revered and regarded as an authority vv hich none may question. As such it inevitably dominates any discussion of Sikh literature and this will be true of the treatment which follow s. Hav ing acknowledged its primacy, however, shall endeavor to curtail the discussion and turn to other works of importance in the field of Sikh literature. This procedure will be adopted because detailed accounts of the Adi Ciranth already exist.* Descriptions and analyses of supplementary Sikh literature are, by contrast, much more sparse and there is a danger that its importance will remain largely unrecognized. I

In addition to the .\di Ciranth

we

shall

accordingly examine the

Ciranth, the works of Bhai Ciurdas and Bhai his,

Lai, the janam-sak-

some of the works which were proSingh Sabha movement. A complete survey would also

the gur-bilas literature, and

duced by the

\and

Dasam

H2

THE LITERA TURE OE THE S/RHS include the rahit-namas, but because they have already been described

chapter they w

in the last

It

ill

be omitted from this one.

The Adi (iranth may be viewed from many different perspectives. occupies a position of great significance in the early development of

the Panth, serving as the principal repository of the (kirus’ doctrine

symbol of the Panth’s emergent identity. In the modern context it also serves a key purpose in terms of ritual, occupying the central position in all Sikh ceremonies. This role it fulfills not merely because it is the primary scripture but more particularly

and

also an important

because (iuru.

is

it

It

is

embody, in a strictly literal sense, the the “manifest body of the (kiru” and as such it is believed to

eternal

treated

with the most profound respect. In such circumstances one normally

abandons the term “Adi Ciranth.” thus receives the veneration of

It is

the “CTiru (iranth Sahib” which

Sikhs, the (iranth or book

all

which

incarnates the actual presence of the (iuru.

We

return to the

title .\di

(iranth

The distinction

students rather than as devotees.

whereas “.\di (iranth”

when we approach

a neutral title

is

is

the volume as

a useful one, for

“(iuru (iranth” or “(iuru (iranth

Adi means simply “first” or “original” and has been used to distinguish the volume compiled by (iuru Arjan from the later Dasam (iranth. For historians, philologists and theologians it is a treasure-house which has yet to yield the full store Sahib” imply

of

its

a confession of faith.

w hich concern

riches. In the areas

resources have been a variety

little

of reasons.

richness of

its

It

the difficulties which will

may

it

may

from an exaggerated fear of be encountered, or perhaps from an inade-

difficulties associated

are certainly not problems

be an ignorance of the

also derive

tjuate recognition of the Panth’s importance.

major

its

tapped, a neglect w hich can be attributed to

10 some extent

contents.

scholars of these disciplines

w

ith

Fhere are indeed some

the text of the .\di (iranth, but they

w hich should

inhibit attempts to analyze

language or trace the doctrinal developments w hich

Fhe history of the Adi (iranth are concerned, but unclear

w

ith

is

it

its

presents.

relatively clear as far as

its

origins

regard to the subsequent history of the

According to well-founded tradition the original version was recorded by the famous disciple Bhai (iurdas, acting as amanuensis for (iuru Arjan.’ d'he task was performed in Amritsar over a period extending from 1603 into 1604. As a major source lor his new

original manuscript.

scripture (iuru Arjan for (iuru

Amar Das

is

said to have used an earlier collection

(the so-called (ioindval pothJs).

83

compiled

During the seven-

THE LEEERM'L RE OF THE S/RHS tecnth and eighteenth centuries, however, the actual location and treat-

ment of the manuscript is obscure. IVadition maintains that it was stolen largobind and a disappointed asl)v Dhir Mai, the grandson of (diru pirant to the succession, (dim (iobind Singh subsequently asked for it I

(dim and when his request was refused he is said to have produced his own copy by dictating the entire cono the original text he added compositions by his tents from memorv. egh Idihadur, and perhaps a couplet of his father, the martyred (dim to be returned to the legitimate

l

l

o\\ n.

means that the later recension containing the works of the ninth (dim was thus created bv (dim (iobind Singh. he original version is know n as the Kartarpur /;/> (“volume” or “recension”), so-called because Dhir .Mai and his successors lived in the small tow n of Kartarpur near Jalandhar. The version atIf

the tradition

is

to be believed

it

I

tributed to

recension

(dim (d)bind Singh

is

the

is

called the

Banno version which

Damdama

\

bJr.

third

tradition locates chronologically

between the other two. t radition stoutly upholds the claims of the concordant Kartarpur and Damdama versions, rejecting Banno w ith equal firmness. Because of its deviant reputation the latter is also known as the khan hJr (the “brackish” or “spurious” version). .\n alternative explanation derives the name from Khara, the village from which Banno is said to have come.

Damdama

apparently agrees with Kartarpur

only the compositions of Cdiru

may perhaps

be the work of

as the “authorized” yersion text. terial

l

in all respects,

adding

egh Bahadur and the couplet w hich

Guru Gobind

Singh.

.\s

such

it is

and printed editions reproduce

its

accepted received

Banno, diverging from the other two, incorporates additional maw hich the “orthodox” recensions lack."^ This difference raises a

problem which must be discussed later. Although the Banno version raises a serious textual problem

it

does

nothing to disrupt the remarkably consistent structure of the .\di (iranth.

W hen

(iiiru .\rjan dictated his scripture to Bhai

Gurdas he followed

a

well-defined pattern, conferring on the collection a regular organization

w hich

seldom breached, fhe .\di Granth begins w ith an introductory section containing works which serve a liturgical purpose; and it concludes w ith an epilogue comprising a group of miscellaneous w orks w hich is

evidently failed to find a place in the middle section.

It is

this

middle

which supplies both the bulk of the collection’s contents (more than ninety percent of the total) and also its distinctive structure. section

84

THE LITERA TURE OE THE SIKHS I

he basic division of the middle section of the Adi (iranth

ragas or metrical

modes

of thirtv-one). Each raga

(a total

varietv of

hvmn

Each of these

to the longer.

subdivided according to author, the

hymns

and those of (iuru Arjan appearing

last.

of

the shorter

classifications

further

is

Guru Nanak coming

W orks

into

then sub-

is

w orking from

divided according to the length of compositions,

is

first

attributed to authors

other than the (iurus (the so-called Bhagats) are grouped

at

the end of

each raga. Amongst the Bhagats of the .\di Granth the most prominent figure

Kabir, followed bv

is

\amdev, Ravidas

(Raidas),

other poets whose works match the doctrinal concerns of I

and various

Guru

Arjan.

he Adi (iranth thus provides one of the major collections of Sant works

and significant use has been made of its Kabir material bv scholars terested in the development of the Kabirian tradition.^ In terms of language the

Adi (iranth presents an interesting

one which predictable covers

in-

varietv,

range of linguistic usage but which

a

nevertheless sustains a sufficient degree of uniformitv to justifv the use

of a single collective term, (ihristopher Shackle cautiouslv labels this

Language of the Sikhs” (SLS). In so doing he stresses the “mixed character” of the Adi (iranth language, a result of draw ing on “a varietv of local languages and dialects, as well as incorElsew here, however, porating a good manv archaic forms and words. collective “the Sacred

he identifies mit

a

a linguistic

pattern

w hich

is

sufficiently consistent to per-

simple diagram.'

d'his

diagram should be viewed

in

geographical terms,

w ith

Professor

fhe football designates the “core” and substantial bulk of the collection, with only minor supplements represented in the three outliers. W ithin the core the thick arrows mark a progressive development in historical as well as geographical (or geo-linguistic) terms. Beginning with the Punjabi of (iuru Nanak’s Japujih progresses through the W estern Hindi of Guru .Vrjan’s Shackle’s football seen as covering the Punjab,

Sukhwanf, eventuallv reaching the Braj of (Liru

Fegh Bahadur,

period covered extends from the beginning of the sixteenth centurv

((

fhe iuru

Nanak) through to the beginning of the seventeenth centurv ((iuru Arjan), and onwards to the middle of the same centurv ((iuru fegh Bahadur). .Although this period of development covers one and all

but the

turv and a

a

last

contribution

(a

verv small one)

falls

a half

centuries

within a single cen-

corqparativelv narrow’ linguistic range. .\s such

it

represents

Punjabi/U’estern Hindi version of Sant Bhasa, the “language of the

85

THE IJTERA TL'EE OF THE SIKHS [HINDUISM]

[ISi.AM]

CLASSICIZINXi

Sahaskriti

'Forki^

RKCilONALIZINX;

The

lingtiisfic

Sants.” Sant Bhasa (also

pattern of the Adi Oranth

known

as

Sadhukari) served as

a lingua tranea

for the

Sant tradition from whieh (jurniat emerged.*^ There

words,

a signifieant

degree of linguistic uniformity

w ithin

is,

in

other

the Adi CTanth,

one which covers the works of the Bhagats as w ell as those of the Coirus. Anvone who knows the Ciurmukhi script and has learnt to read Sant Bhasa should have

Adi Granth.*^ The three tinv

little

diffieultv in

understanding most of the

diagram are their language. Torki (Indo- Per-

outliers represented in Professor Shackle’s

interesting for their content as well as

and South-V\ estern (Multani) forms are used when Muslim doctrines are invoked or a Muslim audience is addressed. Fhe first of these sian)

linguistic usages involves

an appeal to

a classical ideal

the third outlier. In the case of Sahaskriti, however,

and so too does it

is

the

Hindu

which is addressed.’^ fhe core takes its place within the grid established bv the outliers. It is much closer to Hindu tradition than to Islam and in linguistic terms it occupies a regional location. The linguistic pattern identified bv Professor Shackle is also highlv suggestive with regard to the doctrines of the Adi (iranth. Here too w e encounter diversitv w ithin a generally consistent frame. It is a diversitv whieh develops as one (iuru succeeds another, vet without anv suggestion that a later (iuru has transgressed the bounds set bv his predecessors. As we have alreadv seen, the fundamental message of (iuru tradition

86

THE /JTERA Ti'RE OF THE Nanak

is

the divine

SIE//S

on the (iurus whose

that liberation can be achieved only through meditation

Name.

I'his

remains the message of

all

works appear in the Adi Ciranth, but it we limit ourselves to this single statement w e shall do them serious injustice v\ ith regard to the diversity which they present. The diverse styles offered bv Nanak’s successors range from (iuru Angad’s pithy couplets and the eminently simple declarations of (iuru Amar Das to the music of (iuru Ram Das. Most prolific of all the (iurus, Arjan covers a w ide span of human experience and related doctrine. In marked contrast (iuru l egh Bahadur stresses the theme of suffering and the imminence of death." fhe Adi (Jranth is both one and many. On the one hand there is little that fails to fit a single, consistent doctrinal pattern. On the other there is a variety which serves to stress and illuminate different aspects of the pattern. It is a pattern which w ill be very familiar to those w ho are acquainted w ith Sant doctrine, and it offers an exposition of that doctrine w hich no other collection can match." The doctrinal consistency of the Adi (iranth is, like the beauty of so much of its poetry, something that neither the textual problems nor neglect can destroy. 1 here are, however, two textual problems which should be noted, and likew ise two varieties of neglect. Although the two textual problems deserxe close scrutiny they w ill not receive it here, mainly because there is little progress to report on descriptions of both problems which were published more than a decade ago. shall accordingly limit myself to brief notices of these two textual issues." The first issue concerns the existence of the two (ioindval pothJs and (if in fact the two volumes did exist) the extent to w hich they w ere used in compiling the Adi (iranth. The claim that Ciuru Arjan had access to such a source is entirely plausible and arguably the compiling of the Adi Ciranth becomes much harder to understand if we dismiss it. 1 he tradition w hich describes the origin of the pothJs during the time of (iuru Amar Das is likewise plausible and to some extent it is supported by claims that the actual volumes still exist." By itself, however, a plauI

sible tradition

is

inadequate, d he reliability of the tradition needs to be

examined and if the artifacts actually exist they should be brought to light and duly analyzed. Neither need has been met in the case of the ( Joindval pothJs and until both tasks have been satisfactorily performed the tradition must be regarded w ith some skepticism. The second issue is also stalled and no progress w ill be possible until

S7

THE IJTERATi’RE OF THE SIKHS scholars secure access to the manuscript in Kartarpur

which

tradition

holds to be the document actually written by Bhai (iurdas. I'he script, as

we

manu-

have already noted, disappeared during the seventeenth

century. In 1849 the annexing British discovered in the custody of the

Lahore court

a

manuscript which was identified

original. 4'he large path!

as the

Bhai (iurdas

had evidently been delivered to Lahore

1830

in

by the successor of Dhir Mai, and having been satisfied that Dhir .Mai’s descendants were indeed its legitimate owners the British restored the manuscript to Kartarpur.'’ C>arefully guarded by the Kartarpur family it has remained unexamined ever since, apart from a period of brief access which occurred in the mid-194()s w hile its ow nership was subject to litigation.'^ Lhe volume is displayed once a month for the purposes of darkin, but actual examination of the text .\

is

not permitted.

problem of considerable significance

textual

parison of the

Banno recension with

tents of the Kartarpur manuscript.

Banno recension may

is

indicated by a

com-

reports concerning the actual con-

This comparison suggests that the

actually represent the original text inseribed

bv

Lhe theory allows that the Kartarpur manuscript may well be the document recorded bv Bhai Gurdas, but adds that if this is indeed the case the original version has subsequently been amended bv obliterating occasional portions of the text. l he evidence for this hy pothesis is bv no means overw helming, but a prima facie case for investigation certainlv exists.' Until the Kartarpur manuscript can be properly examined the inquiry must be postponed. Bhai Gurdas.

Lhe two

varieties of neglect also require little

indicated in passing

is

comment. One already

the notable lack of attention which the .\di Granth

has received from scholars outside the Punjab and from university teachers

responsible for courses dealing with sacred texts.

haps seem more surprising. actual contents of the .\di

munities where Punjabi

is

W ithin Granth

The second may

the Panth itself is

very limited.

know ledge of the In overseas com-

beginning to give w av to English as the

mary language of communication

this feature

is

per-

pri-

becoming even more

pronounced. This should certainlv not suggest, however, that reverence for the

sacred volume

showing any sign of diminishing. It remains the “manifest body of the (Liru” and as such it continues to receive appropriate gestures of devout respect. Strictly speaking its mere presence transforms a room or building into a gurdwara and certainlv no gurdwara w ill be w ithout at least one large copy, reverently wrapped in expensive is

SS

THE LITERATI' RE OE THE SIKHS cloth and installed under a canopy. All

pected to touch the floor

and none

may

sit

on

\\

ith their

who

enter a gurdwara are ex-

foreheads before the sacred volume,

a level higher than the lectern

on which

it

is

placed.

At appropriate times during a service of worship hymns are read from the book w ith great reverence, the actual pages meanw hile being protected from contamination bv means of a whisk. Most of the remainder of a regular service consists of kirtan (the singing of hymns from the same scripture). In a gurdwara it is customary for kirtan to be led bv a group of three singers {ragis), with other members of the sangat joining in the singing as

they

feel inclined.'^

The (iuru (iranth Sahib also occupies the central position in other Sikh rituals. If specific guidance is required for any purpose the sacred volume should be opened at random and the first hymn beginning on the left-hand page should be read for

named

\\

hatever help

it

may

give.

W hen

opened at random and the name which is chosen should begin with the same letter as the first hymn on the randomly-chosen left page. .\ wedding conducted in accordance with the Anand rite must take place in the presence of the (iiiru (iranth Sahib and the actual marriage is performed bv having the couple walk around the volume four times. A funeral should be accompanied bv the singing of hymns from the Guru (iranth Sahib and followed bv a complete reading of the entire scripture.*^ (Complete readings of the (iuru Granth Sahib are a prominent feature of the Panth’s life, performing a valuable social function while emphasizing the importance of the sacred scripture as a key denominator of the Panth’s identity. For special occasions an “unbroken reading” {akhaud path) will be conducted by a relay of readers, a task which oca child

is

to be

the

volume

is

similarly

(Complete readings

cupies approximately fortv-eight hours,

be spread over longer periods, as

Such readings

little

may

also

week or as much as a year. mark occasions of grief or joy,

as a

{sddhdrati path) are held to

or in order to secure divine favor for a particular undertaking. Relatives, friends and acquaintances are

the bhog

commonly

invited to be present during

ceremony with which the complete reading concludes,

partic-

ularly in the case of an akhand pdth}^

d'he Adi Granth

is

the (iuru and as such

it

receives the honor

and

reverence which the personal (iurus would have received from their

During the eighteenth century the same respect was also bestowed on the second of the Sikh scriptures, the Dasam Ciranth. It too was regarded as the visibly present (iuru and thus received the same Sikhs.

89

A

HE IJTEEM LEE OE THE S/EHS

I

\

cneration.’"

That veneration has now diminished in the case ot the

Dasani (iranth and although

would place the

ranks as

it still

a

saered scripture few Sikhs

on the same

entire collection

level as the

Adi (iranth.

Supreme honor of that order is reserved for only a few portions ot the Dasam (iranth, not the volume as a whole. (Certain works attributed to (iiiru (iobind Singh are treated w ith the same respect as the hd ni ot' the Atli (iranth, but the Dasam (iranth as a whole is seldom invoked and little I

its

understood.

Dasam

he

(iranth

printed edition.

mav be

is

a substantial

W ithin The

distinguished.

work comprising

1,428 pages in

the collection four varieties of composition first

group comprises two works w hich may

be regarded as autobiographical or

at least as

attributed to (iuru (iobind Singh.

biographical, both of

These are Bachitar \dtak or

them “

The

W ondrous

Drama” (an account of the (iuru’s previous incarnation, early tills) and 'Aafar-ndma life, and battles w ith his neighbors in the Shivalik (a defiant letter addressed to the Kmperor Aurangzeb). The second clusI

works attril)uted to (iuru (iobind Singh jdp, Akdl Lstat, Gian Erahodh, and Sahad Hazdre). The third comprises two miscellaneous works {Savayye and Sastar ndm-mdld)\ and the fourth a collection of legendarv narratives and popular anecdotes. It is this fourth group w hich constitutes the bulk of the Dasam (iranth (more than eightv percent of the total). Like most of the remainder the works in this section are w ritten in Braj, one of the reasons w hich explains ter consists of four devotional

K

Dasam

the general neglect of the

Research on the that

Dasam

(jranth.*^

(iranth has been very limited, with the result

most of the major questions w hich

it

raises

cannot be answered

at

commence w ith the problem of its actual origins and indeed with the verv name w hich it bears. Most continue to assume that it must mean “ The Book of the Tenth [(iuru],” but some claim present.

that

it

These questions

should be construed as

“

The Tenth Portion” of

a

much

larger

work.'"^ f our theories are current

The traditional view

is

(iobind Singh himself.

mav

that the entire collection

A

Dasam (iranth. the work of (iuru

concerning the origins of the

second theorv

is

is

that the first three clusters

be attributed to (iuru (iobind Singh, but that the remainder must

have been the work of w

riters

w ho belonged

to his retinue.

third

interpretation maintains that nothing except Vaifar-ndmd can be safelv

attributed to (iuru (iobind Singh. collection derives

This interpretation agrees that the

from the following attracted bv the (iuru, but that

it

THE LITERATI' RE OE THE SIKHS should be read as

of ideas and attitudes rather than as

a refleetion

source tor his “authentic” compositions.

A

fourth theory agrees that

only '/Mfar-ndma has strong claims to authenticity, but restricts the

mainder

a

ot the third interpretation to the first three yarieties of

re-

com-

fhe legendary narratiyes and popular anecdotes obyiously had a clientele w ithin the Fanth, but they need not be interpreted as works which reflect the ideals and attitudes of the CJuru himself.’*^ position.

At

this stage

equately.

quite impossible to evaluate these four theories ad-

it is

There

is

now

popular imagination; and still

plausible

until

it

may

first

theory except in the

be noted that although the second

is

has been seriously weakened by a recent analysis of

it

Hach'itar 'Sdtak}^

done and

support for the

little

it

1 he essential analysis, howeyer, still remains to be is done it will be impossible to affirm any of the con-

tending theories with assurance.

As

far as the

ongoing

perhaps irreleyant and

life

this

is

of the Fanth

is

concerned such issues are

we

presumably the conclusion w hich

should

draw from the neglect which the Dasam (manth receiyes. yj/) Sahib and the Sai'ayye Amrit are firmly lodged in the regular pattern of daily deyotions {nit-nem). Akdl Lstat offers some magnificent poetry, Bachitar Sdtak helps us to understand the (iuru’s early wars, and '/.afar-ndma dramatically expresses his defiance. The remainder is, in effect, discarded and some [:K)tentially embarrassing questions are thereby ayoided. Difficult questions are

(iranth

is

bound

to be raised

if

Dasam

the bulk of the

carefully examined, for the kind of Furanic material

which

dominates the narratiye and anecdotal portion of the Dasam (iranth

is

scarcely consonant with the preferred interpretation of the Sikh tradition.

This policy

may

be explicable, but the neglect which

unfortunate. Locked within the

Dasam

the early Khalsa which at present

is

(iranth

lacking.

is

it

sustains

is

an understanding of

Although

this

understand-

w ill not yield to a mere reading of the yolume’s yarious contents it must assuredly emerge from their careful analysis. It cannot be claimed ing

Dasam

that the

suredly

it

(iranth alone will answer eyery question.

will not do.

W ith

This as-

equal certainty, howeyer, an analysis of

contents will insistently raise

many

its

of the issues associated with the

dcwelopment of the Khalsa, and any successful attempt to grapple with these issues will significantly adyance understanding of the eyoly-

early

ing Fanth. d he task

is

a

forbidding one, demanding a language back-

ground w hich few possess together with

91

analytical skills of a high order.

/'///:

It

w

ill

there

UTERM i RE

OE THE

SIR/ES

he an cxceedingK’ hard nut to crack, hut cracked

is

to l)e an

it

must he

if

adequate understanding of the crucial period covering

the late seventeenth and earlv eighteenth centuries.

The Adi (iranth occupies the supreme position in terms of sanctity, and if the Dasam (iranth is to he accorded its traditional status it should he treated as an equal. In practice this

not the case, except in gurd-

is

The Dasam Cmanth mav nevergurdwaras, and if not the actual equal

waras managed hv the Nihang Sikhs.

and read

theless he installed

in

must nevertheless he treated as sacred scripture.'*^ Oecupving a third level on the sacred literature scale come two collections w Inch offer none of the amhiguities associated w ith the Dasam

of the Adi (iranth

it

These are the works of the tw o distinguished Sikhs of the

(Jranth.

period, Bhai Ckirdas and I5hai

sacred scripture in the

Dasam

Nand

manner of

Lai.

(mru

Neither collection ranks

as

the Adi (iranth or (in theorv) the

Ciranth. Both, however, are explicitlv approved for recitation

in

gurdw aras and

as

an authorized Sikh canon.

as

such thev constitute

Bhai Ciiirdas, the earlier of the two w

a part

of

w hat w e may regard

w as a relative of the third Ciuru and closelv associated with all subsequent Gurus until his death in about 1633. Although his name was Ciurdas Bhalla he received the honorific

title

riters,

“Bhai” (Brother) and ever since he has been invariably

known as Bhai Gurdas. As we have alreadv noted, it was he whom Guru Arjan chose to act as his amanuensis during the original recording of the Adi Granth text. He w as also a missionarv and trusted assistant, serving his Masters in a varietv of responsibilities.

he was

a

poet and a theologian, leaving

a

Most

signifieantlv

corpus of works w hich

tra-

Cdanth Sahib.” There are two distinct collections w ithin the works of Bhai Ciurdas. W riting in Braj he produced a series of 556 poems in the kabitt stvle, little read for the same linguistic reason as the Dasam Ciranth.^' Much more influential are his thirtv-nine lengthv poems called vars. These also present problems, for their Punjabi has inevitablv dated and most readers require a glossarv to assist in their full understanding.^’ The attempt is well worth the effort. In addition to their beautv of expression the vars contain much information concerning the life and beliefs of the early Panth. As such thev provide an extensive eommentarv on the teaching of the Ciurus, together w ith source material w hich can be

dition regards as “the kev to the (iuru

verv useful to the historian of the Panth.

92

This latter feature

is

well

THE LITERATI' RE OE THE SIKHS famous stanza from \ ar 26 one w hich contrasts the differing policies and lifc-stvles of the sixth Ciuru and his predecessors; he earlier Gurus sat peaceably in dharamsalas; this one roams the land. Kmperors yisited their homes w ith rexerence; illustrated

by

a

,

I

this

No

one they cast into prison.

rest for his followers, ever actixe;

their restless .Master has fear of none.

The

earlier (iurus sat graciously blessing;

this

one goes hunting

They had serxants this

ho harbored no malice;

draxx n as bees to the lotus.

still

still

lies

subdued.”

xxe find reflected the criticisms xxhich Ciuru

dently attracted (represented in the

lines).

truth;

he truth stands firm, eternal, changeless;

and pride

loxxed

dogs.

one encourages scoundrels.

the Sikhs are

Here

ith

none of these changes conceals the

^ et

I

xx

xx

first

Hargobind

evi-

fixe lines of the stanza) fol-

by the dexout response of the loyal folloxx er (the txxo remaining If one should need ex idence of the change xx hich took place un-

der the sixth (iuru this stanza should certainly offer

Other portions deal

a

contribution.

\yith the essential doctrines taught

by the Gurus.

In the folknx’ing stanza external obseryances are gently yet effectixely

mocked: If

bathing for sure,

.\nd if

If

at tiraths

procures liberation frogs,

must be sayed;

likexx ise

the banyan

ith

tangling tresses,

groxving hair long sets one free.

the need can be serx ed by roaming unclad the deer of the forest

So too the donkey if

limbs caked

Saxed are the if

xx

xx

hich rolls in the dust

ith

cattle,

must surely be pious;

ashes can purchase salxation.

mute

in the field,

silence produces delix erance.

Guru can bring liberation; only the Guru can set a man free.” he way of life to be folloxxed by the dex’out Sikh Only

I

xx

the

stanzas such as the following:

93

is

described in

THE ITER ATI' RE OE THE SIKHS l.

Rise from sleep during night’s

and diseharge the

Speak w

ith

Obey

the

(iiirii

v\

ateh

diseiple’s threefold task.

courtesy,

practise virtue

last

w alk

in

humility,

by aiding others. by acting w

ith restraint;

sleeping, eating, speaking in moderation.

Live by your labour, performing honest

nexcr take pride Dailv join w

ith the

in status

toil;

or achievement.

eompanv

of the faithful,

singing (iod’s praises by day and by night.

Seek your joy

in the (luru’s

Word,

means w hereby he delights the soul. Abandon the ties of wordly concern; let your only hope be the Ciuru’s grace. the

In practice Bhai (durdas,

though deeply respected within the Panth,

seldom read or heard, d he same applies to Nand Lai Cioya who, because he wrote in Persian, is even less accessible to most members of the Panth. Although Nand Lai belonged to the retinue of Ciuru Gobind Singh his poems breathe a spirit very different from the militant piety w hich we usually associate w ith the tenth Guru. Phis may perhaps explain w hy his works do not appear in the Dasam (iranth. In terms of both spirit and doctrine they are much more in harmony w ith the div ine Name teachings of the earlier Gurus and it may perhaps be is

significant that

Nand

Lai’s

the Khalsa identity. His

name

indicates an unwillingness to adopt

two famous works

are his Dtvdn (a collection

of sixty-one ghazals) and his Zindagf-ndmd. I'he introductory ghazal of the Divan illustrates his characteristic style:

Only

me

the longing to worship Ciod has brought

why

But for the joy of offering praise

Happy

the

life

of the

man w ho spends

should

ever come?

I

his dav

into the world;

s

in

remembering

(iod;

W ithout

remembrance vv hy should w e linger, under the dome of Heaven? W ithout that remembrance life is death, remembrance alone can sustain me. W ithout that remembrance all that life offers is empty and futile for me. All that am, my heart, my life, offer in humble abasement. that

1

1

9

-/

THE LITERA TLRE OE THE SIKHS Faking the dust from the blessed

w ho has

No

led

traee ot

me

feet of the

one

to you.

you had

I

ever seen in

I

leaven above

or on earth below Until the desire to behold you. Lord, laid

awe and devotion. ithout the remembranee of

me

prostrate

in

W

(irant that deliverance soon that treed

d'his

is

1

mav meet mv

(lod, () (iova,

mav be

how can

I

ever live?

mine,

Beloved.^

removed from the spirit and style of the early Khalsa. It is generously open style, one with which the followers of many traditions would easily identify.

far

in fact a

different

he same openness

bv the janam-sakhis, the traditional narratives of the life of (iuru Nanak.^^ .Mthough it is impossible to sav when the janam-sakhi form first developed within the Fanth it can be safely assumed that anecdotes concerning Baba Nanak would have started to circulate as soon as his reputation began to develop and spread. The process is a natural one and story cycles of this kind were already a part of Punjabi culture. In the I\mjab anecdotes and anecdotal sequences were particularly associated with Sufi pirs and the janamI

is

also provided

sakhi narrators obviously use the Sufi style as a model.

individual stories directly

which we find

from the Sufi

store,

in the

Some

of the

janam-sakhis were borrowed

with only the name of the central character

The actual form itself also resemand some relevant details changed. bled the Sufi model, with several anecdotes assembled to form a coherent sequence.

was the process which produced the janam-sakhi form within the early Panth. Isolated anecdotes which circulated orally were evidently drawn together to constitute a rudimentary life-story, beginning with an auspicious birth and proceeding through the various stages of the Ciiiru’s life to his triumphant death. The sequence thus established grew and diversified. Kventuallv it produced several distinct cycles or traditions, each with its own distinctive pattern and doctrinal concerns. .\t some point (probably during the early seventeenth century) there began the practice of committing particular collections to w riting, thus enabling us to trace their development more precisely. I'he earliest extant manuscript is dated S.1715 (A. I). 165S) and subsequent manuPhis

scripts carry the style

through to the middle of the nineteenth century.

THE UTERA TI RE OF THE SIKHS

W

came

the arrival of the British

itli

the printing press and during the

next half-eenturv the stoek of reeorded aneedotes, stimulated by the

new teehnologv, expanded dramatieallv. This expansion dw indled during the tw entieth eenturv and although the janani-sakhi stories eontinue to be very popular there is now little sign of eontinuing grow th. At least six traditions or distinetive secjuenees ean be reeognized.'^*’ The

manuseript reeords

earliest extant

so-ealled beeause

a

version of the Bella tradition,

purports to be the work of

it

a eertain

w ho (iuru Nanak

Bhai Bala

(aceording to this tradition) was a regular eompanion of

During the past eenturv the Bala tradition has established a firm grip and it still dominates both the book market and the popular imagination. It is clear, however, that it was not the first tradition to emerge and ironically its original version w as distinctly hos-

during

tile to

his travels.

the legitimate line of (Jurus.

d hroughoLit the present eenturv the principal challenge to Bala dominance has aneceiotes

come from the Piiratau tradition, a structured collection of much favored bv the Singh Sabha reformers and used l)v

supplement the framework for his life of Nanak. fhis tradition, which nowhere mentions Bhai Bala, was more acceptable to .Macauliffe and his Singh Sabha associates, partly because it provided a more coherent sequence and partly because its miracle stories were .Macauliffe to

rather less grotesque than those of the Bala cycles. Just as Bald has a

firm hold on the popular imagination, so Purdtan dominates the writing

of respectable “biographies.”

standard account of the derives

its

shape and

Purdtan provides

a

its

much

more

need not mean that

it

life

It is

of of

Nanak w e

its

when we

read a

are reading a version

which

useful to

know

substance from the Purdtan tradition.

rational account of the

is

that

any closer

Guru’s

life,

though

this

to the actual events of his life than

Bdld competitor.'^’

The Purdtan tradition ean be regarded as “orthodox” in its presentation of the Guru’s life-storv and this doubtless helped to establish its credentials for the Singh Sabha writers and their successors, d he same can also be said for the Adi SdkhJs tradition, but the bulky Miharbdn Janam-sdkhJ

is

associated

w ith

the schismatic .Mina sect and as such

it

has always been regarded with suspicion. Evidence has recently been

produced

to

show

that the Gydn-ratandvalJ, a janam-sakhi attributed to

the celebrated eighteenth-century martyr .Mani Singh,

in fact a

prod-

from the early nineteenth century.^' d'hese but they normally do little to affect the actual

uct of the Ldasi sect dating origins can be significant,

is

96

THE LITER A TL RE OE THE SIKHS style of the typical janam-sakhi/^

I

anecdote from the composite collection know n as

Baba Nanak, haying he came to house.

\\

by a brief the IHO Jmiam-sMJ:

his style can be illustrated

that place, trayeled to another country. I'here

left

w here he noticed four pennants

a city

hen he asked

fluttering oyer a

for an e.xplanation the people told

marked the residence of

a

w ealthy money-lender. “He

him

that they

has a large hoard

of treasure which he keeps in four coffers,” they said. “1 he four flags signify the four coffers.”

Baba Nanak then approached the money-lender and asked him explain his pennants, “d he treasure w hich they signify

pany

me w hen

Nanak

1

him

tjaye

money-lender assured him.

die,” the

needle and asked him to return

a

w

ill

to

accom-

In response

Baba

w hen they both

it

reached Heayen. I

“1

he money-lender accepted the needle, but

low can

“How

take this needle

1

will

I

w

me w hen

ith

be able to return

it

1

later

die?” he asked himself.

He

to that facjir?”

Nanak and haying caught up w ith him he returned is

no sense

in

“If there

is

“how w

ill

my

keeping

no sense

you be able

in

it,”

all

his possessions

the needle. “There

keeping this needle,” answered Baba Nanak,

to take

le

I

ran after Baba

he said.

your four treasure-chests with you w hen

you die?” Instantly the money-lender begged forgiyeness.

he began to w orry.

realized the truth

and reyerently

returned to his house and haying giyen

away

he applied himself to the deyotional discipline w hich

Baba Nanak taught.

He became

a

Sikh and, liberated by the

(lurii’s

grace from the bonds of transmigration, he found true happiness.'^'*

This story illustrates seweral of the typical features of a janam-sakhi

anecdote. Baba

Nanak

there encounters a benighted indiyidual or yentional religion.

during his

yisits a particular place

some

and

representatix e of con-

discussion takes place, climaxed by

gesture or a miracle. (>)nyersion follows, the

tra\'els

new

a

symbolic

disciple begins to

Baba Nanak continues on his way. As transmitters of Nanak-panthi doctrine and conyention the janamsakhis hayc few rivals. In that most accessible of all forms (the simple, practice iiaw s'lmaran, and

interesting,

easily-comprehended anecdote) they repeatedly present Nanak

Supreme (Tiru and his message of nam s'lmaran as the one effective means of deliyerancc. .\lthough they have never been accepted as sacred scripture their immense popularity has conferred on them a maas the

97

THE LEEERA TLEE OF THE SIKHS jor role in the sustaining

tion.

and transmission

ot the

Nanak-panthi

tradi-

45

summarizing the signifieance of the janamsakhis we have speeifieallv referred to the Nanak-panthi tradition rather than to Sikh tradition in general. I'he distinetion is retpiired beeause It

w ill he noted

that in thus

must take aeeount of the Khalsa transformation and in this the janam-sakhis play no part, f or the Khalsa inheritance we must look he other elsew here. The rahit-namas provide us \\ ith one such source. the latter

I

is

mode

the

of historical presentation

known

as gur-bilas."^^

The term gur-bilds means “pleasure of the (iuru” and in a strictly literal sense it might well be applied to the janam-sakhis. In practice, howcN’er, it designates works which narrate the later history of the Panth in a style

molded by the

other words,

a

w hieh emerges from the

“heroic” style

Sikh history. Predictably

and (w

militant aspirations of the Khalsa.

ith particular

its

It

is,

in

heroic period of

products concentrate on (Kirii Ilargobind

emphasis) on Ciuru (iobind Singh. These w ere the

two warrior Ciurus, exemplifying in their own lives the ideals which were to inform the eighteenth-century Khalsa. The gur-bilas literature reflects these ideals and delivers a version of Sikh history which conspicuously embodies them. The earliest work w hieh can be regarded as a representative of the gur-bilas style

is

Bachitar Scltak, the account of the early

(iobind Singh which appears rative it

is

poem

is

in the

Dasam

life

of (iuru

(iranth. Because this nar-

traditionally attributed to (iuru (h)bind

Singh himself

not usually treated as an example of the “pleasure of the (iuru”

style.

It

does, however, breathe the authentic gur-bilas spirit, partic-

sword or describe the early battles fought by Ciuru (iobind Singh. It seems likely that Bachitar Scltak was the work of a close disciple rather than the Ciuru himself^^ and if this ularly those portions

is

correct the

The next

which

poem can

to

exalt the

certainly be regarded as the first of the breed.

appear was Sainapati’s Gar Sohhd or “Radiance of the

Ciuru,” variously dated 1711 and 1745. In this

work

particular emphasis

and divine authority of the Khalsa. A lengthy pause follow ed the composing of Gar Sohhd. Although chronic warfare greatly strengthened the Khalsa spirit and thus the gur-bilas impulse it also inhibited the actual production of literary work. The next example of is

laid

on the

the tradition ot the lite ot

role

is

Sukha Singh’s

Giir-hilds

DasvJn BdtasdhI, a heroic aeeount

(iuru (iobind Singh w hich w as completed

9S

in

1797.

Two

THE LITER A Ti’RE OE THE SIKHS w hich

other examples of the tradition

Koer Singh’s

are

also claim eightcenth-centurv origins

and Gur-hilds Chhevw Pdtasdhi appears, however, that both belong

Gur-hilds TdtasdhJ 10,

attributed to a poet called Sohan.

It

to the early nineteenth century/'^

w as the period before the middle of the nineteenth century which his was Ratan produced the most famous of all gur-bilas histories. It

I

Singh Bhangu’s Prdchtn Patith Prakds, completed

1841. Also within

in

same period there appeared the enormously inlluential Suraj Prakds of Santokh Singh. In his earlier \dnak Prakds Santokh Singh had followed the janam-sakhi style and this carries over to his accounts of the this

remaining (iurus

in Suraj

PrakdL 1 he treatment

enced by gur-bilas ideals and the

two approaches,

a

as

is

nevertheless influ-

such provides an interesting blend of

combination w hich dominates

much

of the

lit-

erature subsequently produced within the Panth.^*’

Arguably

is

it

of (dan Singh,

same mingling of

this last

st\ les

which appears

in the

works

of the traditional historians to exercise a significant

intluence on the receiyed yersion of Sikh tradition. Ciian Singh pub-

and installments of his I'avarJkh Guru Khdlsd (1 listory of the (iuru Khalsa) w ere issued between 1891 and 1919. In these works, howeyer, the stress has returned to the gur-bilas interpretation and Ciian Singh may appropriately be regarded as its last great lished his Pauth Prakds in 1880,

exemplar.^'

By the time of

has arrived and with of the Sikhs.

I

it

another significant

he Singh Sabha, as indicated

ment dedicated

many

earlier,

w as

a

reform mov e-

to the restoration of traditional Sikh values following a

period of apparent decay. for

Sabha moyement development in the literature

(iian Singh the period of the Singh

A

significant role

was assigned

of the Singh Sabha leaders were educated

to literature,

men who

believed

power of the printed word.^^ The Singh Sabha writers were in fact men who had been greatly iniluenced by the British presence in the Punjab, a presence w hich soon in the

delivered the technology for disseminating literature while progressively affecting the outlook of those responsible for

not

mean widespread abandoning

its

production. 4 his did

of traditional beliefs and attitudes.

The traditions were loyally retained, but they were subjected to reinterpretation in accordance with ideals exposed to the scientific and rationalist influence of W estern education. The result was a restatement of traditional beliefs, one w hich resolutely affirmed the mission of the

99

THE IJTERA TL RE OF THE SIKHS (iiirus but did so in

terms congenial to

a

generation enlightened by

contemporary notions of reason. f or \\ cstern readers the principal

M. A.

Macauliffe’s I'he Sikh Religion, probably followed

Sikhism: Its Ideals and Institutions.

been lific

felt

by Feja Singh’s

impact, however, has

I'he principal

within the Panth. First to emerge to prominence was the pro-

Ciiani Dit Singh, a leading

member

himself a Sikh of outcaste birth.

were

product of the movement has been

later

of the Lahore Singh Sabha and

Dit Singh’s booklets and pamphlets

followed by the weightier works of

Kahn Singh Nabha, and

men such

ir

Singh,

various lesser luminaries. .Meanwhile news-

papers and journals were developing a marked influence on I

as \

literate Sikhs.

hese publications were issued in Punjabi, English, and Urdu, thus

ensuring that

all

Sikhs

who

could read would have access to the

new

ideals.

In addition to the janam-sakhi

and gur-bilas

styles the writers of the

Singh Sabha period also inherited two differing traditions w hich had earlier influenced the interpretation of Sikh scripture. Fhese were the

and Nirmala traditions, the former stressing strict adherence to the sacred text and the latter venturing into \’edic interpretations. I'he Singh Sabha writers generally favored the Giani approach, but here too

(iiani

was

by intellectual ideals derived from Western sources. The combination was not always a satisfactory one, for there were features of the received tradition which the received tradition

proved

significantly modified

difficult to accept in the enlightened

days of the

later

Singh

was nevertheless a reinterpretation of very substantial importance which they achieved, one marked by a notable consistency. The proof of their success is the fact that Sikh scholarship and W estern perceptions of the Sikh tradition are still largely dominated by Singh Sabha interpretations. Although the intellectual achievement of the Singh Sabha has been a truly impressive one its dominance must eventually be lost. A century is long enough for any such movement to remain unchallenged and new approaches must supplant the old if our understanding of Sikh scripture and Sikh literature is to keep pace with intellectual developments in Sabha movement.

It

other parts of the academic world, fhis will not be an easy task. W'ell-

entrenched views are always

happens

to

difficult to dislodge

and when the tradition

be associated with deeplv-held religious convictions the

magnitude of the task becomes truly impressive. For some people, of course, there is no real problem. If the academic need involves nothing

100

THE LITERATURE OE THE S/RHS more than description fear

one which can often be discharged with little of indignation or offense. Literature, however, demands analysis it is

and so too does the Sikh tradition as a whole. (Challenging Singh Sabha interpretations will involve such a process and the welcome which it receives will not necessarilv be a favorable one.

101

7

Sikhs

Modern World

in the

TX

HOSE who know

year. For the Sikhs

India are well aware that 1947

it

was

was

a

traumatic

particularly devastating. All Punjabi

com-

munities suffered from the disorder and killing which preceded and

fol-

lowed independence and Partition in August 1947, but for the Sikhs the experience had a special significance. The Punjab was their homeland and the division of that homeland resulted in a total evacuation of the western portion. .Muslims could take comfort from the creation of Pakistan and Hindus from the new India. Sikhs inevitably cast their lot with India, but as lives

and land

a result of the

left in

1947 Partition they lost more than

Pakistan: the birthplace of

Guru Nanak and

the

numerous shrines associated w ith it were no longer accessible; the city of Lahore, Ran jit Singh’s capital and the place where the first Ciuru had suffered martyrdom, had likewise become foreign territory; Panja Sahib, the famous gurdwara situated between Rawalpindi and Peshawar, was far beyond their reach. It was a disastrous year and the scars are

‘

still

visible.

102

THE SIKHS IS THE MODERS W ORLD Migration was not it

had been

a

a

new

experience for the Sikhs, though previously

voluntary transter to

new

territories rather

than a forced

abandoning of the old. Many of the Sikhs w ho crossed to India after Partition belonged to families which had moved to the recently-developed canal colonies of Lvallpur and Montgomery districts late in the nineteenth century or early in the twentieth. Others had traveled overseas during the same period, most of them to return after several years but some to remain as the earliest representatives of the Sikh diaspora. Ik'fore examining the aftermath of Partition in the Punjab, the outlines of this movement overseas w ill be traced, a movement which is now producing new opportunities and new pressures within the Panth as a w hole. Sikh migration overseas is at once easy and difficult to explain.^ It begins with the enlistment in the Indian Army during the years following the 1849 annexation of the Punjab and particularly after the up-

showed increasing favor towards the recruitment of Sikhs and some of those w horn they recruited were subsequently posted to Singapore and long Kong. Phis rising of 1857-58. After the latter event the British

I

revealed a range of opportunities in

h.,ast

and Southeast Asia, thus

tiating the first stage in overseas migration.

It

ini-

also revealed a larger

world beyond the fringe of Asia, one which included Australia and North

America. \ enturesome Punjabis drawn to these distant places transmitted the news and the earnings which attracted others, thus setting the well-known chain in motion.

Those

who

participated in this process frequently claimed that their

principal reason for so doing

iSganhi or poverty.^ In reality they were

\\ 2

economic stratum of rural Punjab w hich could be descril)ed neither as wealthy nor as desperately poor. The wealthy had no need to seek overseas opportunities and the truly poor lacked access to the limited capital which such an enterprise demanded, d hose who emigrated came from an inseldom,

if

termediate

ever, truly poor.

I

vpicallv they belonged to an

level.

group with economic problems, fhese problems derived from such features as a falling water-table and the Jat practice of dividing a patrimony equally among all sons. Such a convention inevitably reduced some holdings to an unacceptable size and prompted the need to find supplementary resources. Social convention reinforced the need, for a diminished land-holding involved more than economic probIt

was, however,

a

103

THE SIKHS IS Icins.

It

also

MODEKS WORLD

rilE

reduced the means whereby

a

man

could discharge essen-

duties (such as the marriage of daughters) in appropriate style and

tial

thus endangered his all-important izzat (honor or self-respect).

means of meeting this need and overemployment supplied another. I hose w ho traveled overseas for

Military service provided one seas this

purpose invariably planned to return

most did

so.

Karnings were remitted

to the

home

Punjab and

to the Punjab,

in practice

w ith only

a

small residue retained for the simplest of living expenses. Debts could

thus be paid, additional land purchased, ters

new houses

built,

and daugh-

honorably married.

mere affluence was the primary objective, nor that the individual migrant was typically feathering his own individual nest. Money can be used for various purposes and the posPhis should not suggest that

session of property can service differing ideals. In the case of the Sikhs

w ho worked overseas during this early period an overriding concern w as the perceived need to maintain or restore izzat, a term w hieh only roughly translates as “honor” or “self-respect.” hzat was (and remains) a dominant ideal in Jat society and, to a lesser extent, amongst other rural castes of lesser status."^

I

together with such associated items as a

implements.

The

cern, particularly

dowry required

prime criterion, brick-built house and modern

he possession of land

is

a

same condaughter. The

scale of one’s hospitality also reflects the

on such occasions

as the

marriage of

a

for a daughter’s marriage provides another

example.

d he status thus acquired was one w hieh attached to the family rather than to the individual and decisions to emigrate overseas seem typically

and minor children seldom joined their migrant husbands or fathers, remaining within the joint family and (in the case of the women at least) living out their lives in the Punjab. Sons commonly joined their fathers w hen they were old enough to do so, provided that immigration rules still permitted their entry into the same country, d he pattern was one common to Hindu and Muslim Punjabis as well as to those w ho regarded themselves as Sikhs. In practice the Sikh group w as much the largest, even when allowance is made for those w hose “Sikh” identity was indistinguishable from that of their Hindu colleagues. W hen we talk about Punjabi emigration we are usually talking about rural Sikhs, most of them Jats. I he second-largest group (w ell behind the jats) consisted of outcaste Chamars. to

have been family choices.

1

his

much

difficult part

VV ives

of the process can be explained w ith relative ease.

comes w hen tracing the migrants

104

to their actual

I

he

homes

in

THE SIKHS IS THE MODERS WORLD the Punjab. \\ hen this travelers

came from

soon narrow

and Satluj

s

done

a varietv

it is

who

Indeed the focus traveled to

discovered that although the earliest

w ithin the Punjab the focus region w hich lies betw een the Beas

of locations

Doaba, the plains

to

rivers.

the Punjabis

is

New

is

even narrow

er.

An

analvsis of

all

Zealand prior to 1921 shows that an

overwhelming majority came from the three tahsils (sub-districts) which occupy the eastern corner of Doaba. ^ I his small area has been the heartland for all overseas migration from the Punjab, with the principal supplements coming from the areas which are immediately adjacent to it.

W hereas

the standard explanation for employment-seeking emigra-

Doaba it is much more difficult to explain why it should have applied w ith such force to that particular territory, leaving some other portions of the Punjab virtually unaffected. d his feature is not confined to the earlier wave of emigration tion can be easily applied to eastern

(the period extending

the emigration It

is

from the

w hich followed

187()s until the 192()s). It also applies to

W orld W ar

possible to determine precisely

11.*^

when

overseas emigration from

the Punjab began, but at least the pattern and direction are clear.

we

As

examples appear in Hast and Southeast Asia, establishing communities there which in some cases continue to the present day. fhose who moved into (>hina, the Dutch Fast have already noted, the

Indies,

earliest

and the Philippines

mained

in

left

few traces, but significant groups re-

Singapore, Malaysia and

Thailand.

There, as later in

Tiji,

they are to be clearly distinguished from the indentured population or

anv Punjabis ever accepted an indenture contract the numbers must have been exceedingly small and they included no Sikhs. All Sikh arrixals entered as “free” migrants. In Southeast Asia and Hong Kong former soldiers and policemen were often able to secure employment as guards and caretakers, creating a stereotype which still surits

descendants.

If

vives.

W hile

in

Hong Kong and

Southeast Asia l\injabis learnt of the two

was Australia and it was migration to Australia that came next. Mitkan (.\merica) was a more distant prospect and Punjabi migrants did not seek to reach it until twenty years after they had begun to enter .Australia. I'he .Australian phase, w hich commenced in the 1880s, provided work as hawkers and sugarcane cutters. It was a comparatively brief phase, for the colonial government of .Australia soon became alarmed at growing .Asian immitapu (islands) of Telia and Mitkan.

Telia

105

THE SIKHS IS THE MODEKS WORIA) 1901/ A small Sikh the east-coast banana-growing

gration and effectively legislated to block

communitv tow n of

V\

survives, concentrated in

still

oolgoolga,” but Australia has never again permitted Asian

immigration on

Meanw hile the

few of the Australia migrants had found to

New

example

Zealand. The

first to

make

Zealand was soon persuaded to follow its

earlier legislation

only after World action

New

about 1890 and were followed thereafter by

though tive

a

a significant scale.

Tasman Sea

in or

in

it

was taken

War

1,

when

was confined

their

w ay

across

the journey arrived

Al-

a small trickle.

.\ustralia’s restric-

to the Chinese.

It

was

the trickle began to swell rapidly, that

to block further arrivals

from

India.

the only attractive destination in the South Pacific.

^

This

left Fiji as

There the door

re-

were initiated in 1930.*^^ W ell before this happened the American door had been found open and had long since shut. As far as the Punjabis were concerned Mitkan was a single place with a single range of opportunities. W'hat this meant was that their destination was the west coast of North America where they could expect to find laboring opportunities (notably as lumbermen) in a developing new economy. The result was a movement of Punjabis into British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California, commencing soon after the turn of the century. (Canadian and United States authorities acted independently for the most part, but their prilicies proved to be very similar and both governments soon began the process of blocking entry. British Columbia was actually the principal destination and it was there that dramatic events were to unfold. It has long been believed that Punjabi interest in the possibility of migration to North America was initiated by the visit to Canada of a detachment of Sikh troops who passed through the country after pa-

mained open

rading in

until

London

measures to close

for

Queen

it

\ ictoria’s

Diamond

Jubilee in 1887.

If

was in fact raised bv a ceremonial contingent it v\as probably the detachment supplied for the coronation of Fdward \ II in 1902.'* The first Punjabi immigrants arrived in mid- 1903 when ten men landed in British Columbia, and in the year 1903-04 a total of about thirty men entered. From fortv-five arrivals in 1904-05 the number jumped to 2,124 in 1906-07 and within another year the total for the four-vear interest

period had passed 5,000.’*

The Canadian government took action early in 1908, promulgating an Order in (Council w hich required all immigrants to come on a “continuous journey” from their country of origin.'^ This stratagem effec-

106

THE SIKHS IS THE MODERX WORLD ended entry from India as no travel facilities existed for such a voyage. Attempts were made to meet or circumvent the requirements of the new policy, notably the 1914 arrival in \ ancouver harbor of the ship called the Komagata Maru. The authorities were able to frustrate most of these attempts, although the Komagata Maru incident involved considerable embarrassment and left an enduring memory. Wives and dependent children were admitted from 1919 onwards,'^ but in other respects Canada routinely refused Asian immigrants until after W orld tively

W ar A

II.

similar policy had

meanw hile been

applied in the United States.

Obstacles were introduced in 1910 and a blocking procedure was regularized in 1917. d he effect in each country

nant consisting of the few

and had chosen not

who had

was

to leave a small

rem-

entered while the door was open

to return to the Punjab, d'hose

who remained

in

Columbia could live normal family lives, though their isolation from both their homeland and the host society imposed great difficulties. For the remnant left in the United States (soon limited to (California) the impact of isolation was more serious. Both communities still survive (as do those in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji), retaining an identity distinct from that of immigrants w ho have arrived from the Punjab since World War II. British

One

other region to acquire a significant Sikh population prior to

World War

Here too the first beginnings go back to an Indian Army presence, but much more important w as the introduction of Indian labor to build the Fast African Railway. Fhis was II

was Fast

Africa.

done between 1896 and 1901, and the labor force included many Sikhs. I here w as, however, a notable difference distinguishing the Fast Africa

from Sikh migrants to other countries. I he latter, as we have noted, were predominantly Jats. For railway construction workers with artisan skills were required. Within the Panth those who belong

work

force

to artisan castes together constitute the distinctively Sikh caste of

comes

Ram-

no surprise to learn that a substantial majority Fhis feature was of the Sikh settlers in Fast Africa were Ramgarhias. later transferred to Britain follow ing the expulsion of Indians from Uganda bv Idi Amin in 1972. In the United Kingdom this group constitutes a garhias and

it

self-contained

both bv

its

Britain

is

as

community within

the Panth,

East African antecedents and the

last

its

its

closed identity defined

Ramgarhia

affiliation.

of the countries to be noted in this survey of early

Sikh migration, though

it

should be remembered that small numbers

107

A

THE SIKHS IN THE MODERN WORLD found their wav to

many

Although there were Indians

told.

nineteenth century the tatives of the tinv

Kingdom

first

in

the United

Bhatra caste

who

the

worked

arrived during the 192()s and also represented, but for the

the period of significant immigration

World War

Kingdom during

Sikhs to be clearly identified are represen-

few other castes were

as pedlars.

A

other plaees.*^^ d he British tale can be briefly

was delayed

United

until after

II.

change

in British policy

followed World

W ar

II

because

its

post-

war economic boom created needs which the native British were unable or unwilling to meet, d'he result was the flow of immigration which has transformed much of the United Kingdom. It included many Indians, and a majority of the Indian immigrants were Sikhs. For rather different reasons Canada and the United States also decided to loosen the restrictions so tightly maintained during the preceding four decades.

was now an independent country and the two North American nations were both sensitive to issues involving international relations. Quota systems were eventually introduced and these have since produced new Sikh communities in both countries. In Canada the post-war change of policy was implemented in 1951. Although the policy applied to all South Asians it was to be expected that Sikhs, with their traditions of migration and their old-established links with Canada, would figure prominently amongst the new entrants. Bv the mid-198()s the Sikh population in Canada was evidently 80,000- 100,000, approximately thirty percent of all South Asian Canadians.^^ In Canada, as in the United States, a significant proportion India

of the Sikh immigrants have entered with professional qualifications or

have acquired them after

from

arrival,

fhis distinguishes the

predecessor, a contrast which

new commu-

bv a greater diversity of caste backgrounds and by the preference which many have shown for eastern Canada rather than for British Columbia. Inevitably this has led to tensions in places such as V ancouver where the two waves have overlapped. Although the weight of professional numbers makes the North American situation somewhat different from the United Kingdom all three countries now possess Sikh communities which share some common characteristics. One is the continuing importance of the gurdwara nity

its

as a social center as well as a place for

worship.

further strengthened

Some

Sikhs with profes-

and ambitions find their personal fulfillment elsewhere, but most the gurdwara remains an essential component in the mainte-

sional skills for

is

108

THE SIKHS IS THE MODERN WORLD nance of valued traditions and important

social linkages. In

waras the weekly langar (the meal which ularly valuable

all

many gurd-

take together)

means of sustaining such contacts within

a

a partic-

is

congenial and

familiar atmosphere.

Kven within the gurdwaras, however, there

are distinct signs that

impinging and that changes are imminent. Although the gurdwara patterns of worship still replicate the traditional forms local influences are

practiced in the Punjab there ing of these forms

is

now

is

evidence which indicates that the mean-

being questioned by some of the second-

generation Sikhs living overseas.

many

I

he same questioning also extends to

of the time-honored traditions of the Panth and include an oft-

repeated desire to

know what

the sacred scriptures actually contain.

The new communities also replicate the other standard features of panthic practice, though commonly under conditions which impose serious strains. (Aste observance provides an obvious example.

dia

is

it

in In-

not difficult to find instances of inter-caste marriage, particu-

amongst those from

larly

As

families

with high-status professional or

however, caste continues to be observed in terms of marriage arrangements, and many gurdwaras are covertly or openly caste-based in terms of control and dominant membership.^'^ Phis is not necessarily a condition w hich v\’ill be accepted by educational backgrounds.

the children

who

are now’

In general,

growing towards adulthood, and signs of

se-

rious stress have already appeared with regard to traditional marriage

arrangements.

fhe

factional character of Punjabi society also persists in the

Western

context, intimately associated with traditional concepts of izzat.

erners

who

lack an understanding of these traditions

find Sikh behavior difficult to

tured in the tradition can be expected to cope

generations

may

may sometimes

comprehend, particularly

dispute happens to involve violence. Sikh elders

w ith

who

its

W est-

if

a factional

have been nur-

results,

but younger

well share the incomprehension of the foreigner.

Phis treatment of the Sikh diaspora brings the discussion to the present day, bypassing the Punjab

during the four decades since Partition in 1947. I return to 1947 in order to trace those events and to examine their effect

transformed

now

homeland and the events which have so

it

on the Sikhs. Although the partition of the Punjab had brought incalculable suffering and loss it soon appeared that one notable advantage might have been acquired by the Panth. Prior to Partition the Sikhs comprised a

109

THE SIKHS I\ THE MODERX WORLD mere tw elve percent of the

Punjab population, scattered unev enly

total

over the entire province but numericallv dominant nowhere.

“

Partition

altered that pattern significantlv, producing the large-scale migrations

which moved substantial populations across the new border. Muslims moved westwards into Pakistan, Hindus and Sikhs eastwards into India. Phis demographic disruption had obvious consequences for the Sikhs and in retrospect not all the results were seen to be disastrous. Most of the Sikhs who crossed from Pakistan did not proceed far bevond the border. Although manv of the refugees settled in New Delhi and some moved on to other parts of India most found their new homes in Pastern Punjab. Phis produced a concentration of Sikhs, further increased w hen the former princelv states w ithin the area merged with the Punjab in 1956.“^ Although the Sikhs were still a minority in the Punjab thev obviously constituted a majority within the central and upper portion of the state. It was only the Hindu-majority districts of the southeast w hich made them a minoritv within the state as a whole. Phere

now

existed, so

it

seemed, the possibilitv of achieving

a

po-

The SGP(^ was

still

litical

identitv

w hich would be

intact

and

1949 the central government had conferred on

in

which

distinctivelv Sikh.

it

a

cen-

had never previously’ possessed. Phe Akali Dal had likewise survived Partition and its leaders could now survev a more promising political scene. One man stood out. Phis was Master

tralized influence

Para Singh, himself

a

a distinctive identity.

his supporters

it

refugee and a

The

was what

man

deeplv committed to belief

in

question w hich confronted Para Singh and

political

free expression to that identity

form thev should seek

in

order to give

.'^

Phe objective which they eventually formulated was Punjabi Suba, a redrawine of the state boundaries to include onlv those who claimed C’ Punjabi as their mother tongue. In pursuing this objective Para Singh did not lead a unified Panth. Since independence political allegiances within the Sikh community^ have alwavs been divided between Congress and the Akalis, with small minorities supporting the two principal communist parties. Phere have, moreover, been the ever-present caste factor (one which all parties have been able to exploit) and the influence of factional alignments.^*’ Jat support has been vital for all parties, and although Para Singh yvas not himself a Jat he necessarily depended on the loyal assistance of Jat lieutenants. Phe substantial Plarijan vote has also been significant. Although local pressures could often direct Plarw

ijan votes to a particular

candidate the

I

10

I

larijan voters

tended strongly

THE SIKHS IS THE MODEKS WORLD to support the (Congress Party as the best protector of their interests.^'

w as

by pow erful notably by Jawaharlal Nehru. Fhe claim for Punjabi Suba

also opf'K)sed

ing state was, in his view, a covert

interests outside the Panth, a

redraw n Punjabi-speak-

means of securing

a

Sikh-majoritv

and was thus to be view ed as serving the needs of the Sikh communitv rather than strictlv linguistic. Manv others shared this view, particularly’ those associated w ith the Arva Samaj and the Jan Sangh.^^ It was, however, a view w hich patently conflicted with the provisions of the Indian Constitution and l ara Singh could legitimately claim that state

opposition to Punjabi Suba should a

view which advocated,

aside because applying

itself

be treated as communal.

in effect, that the (Constitution it

might favor

a

was

It

should be

particular community’.

set

The

Constitution provided for the drayving of state boundaries on linguistic lines

and

if

the inhabitants of a particular area

y\

ere predominantly’ Pun-

jabi-speaking that area could claim the right to statehood. It

is,

of course, evident that the

demand had

a

communal purpose.

Those y\ho proposed Punjabi Suba had the (Constitution on their side but they’ also had Sikh demography

They yvere assisted in their task bv a misdirected Arya Samaj campaign to persuade Punjabispeaking Hindus that thev should declare lindi to be their mother tongue. This set some lindu-majority areas beyond the purvieyv of the in

mind.

I

I

proposed neyv the

demand

state,

thus ensuring a Sikh majority. After Nehru’s death

yvas eventually’

conceded, partly as

a result of the conspic-

uous service rendered bv Sikhs during the India-Pakistan W ar of 1965. d'ara Singh had meanyvhile been displaced as leader of the Punjabi Suba

campaign bv his principal lieutenant, Sant Fateh Singh, and it yvas Fateh Singh yvho conducted the final negotiations yvith Lai Bahadur Shastri. Fhe demand yvas finally accepted bv Shastri’s successor, Indira (Candhi, in 1966.^^

Fara Singh had provided an opportunity for his enemies yvhen in 1961 he terminated a fast-unto-death yvithout securing his objective, and

accompanied by deep personal humiliation.^^ There can be little doubt that the lengthy campaign for Punjabi Sul)a reflected in large measure his personal strengths and y\’eaknesses. It could justly be claimed that he yvas highly emotional and frecjuently impulsive. It must also be acknoy\’ledged that he possessed enormous poy\ ers of persistence and that he spoke a language yvhich stronglv ewoked Sikh traditions and sensitivities. Although the sty le has ahvavs been a feature of Akali Dal strategy it yvould be difficult to find an exponent to ee|ual his dismissal y\'as

THE SIKHS IS THE MODERS WORLD Master

1

unless

skills

No

ara Singh.

IMiindranw

it

Sikh leader of reeent times has matched his

be that forthright examplar of

latter

days, Jarnail Singh

ale.

The granting of Punjabi Suba heralded

a brief

period of optimism,

one which has been termed “the creative half-decade.”^^

An outward

expression of this spirit was the series of anniv ersary celebrations which

began

in

Singh. of

I

1966-67 with the tercentenary of the birth of Ciuru Gobind his was followed in 1968-69 bv the tjuincentenarv of the birth

(dim Nanak and

event

in

by the annual choice of some appropriate he first two celebrations produced a parthe Panth’s history. vibrant response, one which clearly testified to a spirit of hope thereafter

I

ticularly

and confidence.

It

is

w as

true that the exercise

elitist in

terms of plan-

ning, conspicuous participation, and the choice of appropriate rials.

I

memo-

he bursts of activity produced by the various jubilees were

means of generating self-awareness amongst Sikhs and some important projects were initiated or extended. Literature and education are prominent examples of the spirit which w as abroad within the Panth during this brief period. In order to appreciate its influence one need only compare the number of books dealing with Sikh history and tradition which were available before and nevertheless highly significant as a

after the period began.

Punjabi University

in

Patiala,

having partici-

pated prominently in stimulating the wave of enthusiasm, benefited considerably from

its

result.

(Juru

Nanak University (now Guru Nanak

Dev University) w as established in Amritsar by the Punjab government to mark the quincentenary occasion and it has since shown considerable imagination in the range of academic enterprises w hich it has initiated. .\n institution

pose

is

founded during

this period

with

a specifically

Ciiirmat College in Patiala. Affiliated to the (iuru

Department of Religious Studies

in

Sikh pur-

(mbind Singh

Punjabi University this college pre-

pares students for a master’s degree in Sikh history, religion and phi-

losophy. Another institution established

Nanak Foundation

in

New

at

same time is the (duru in research and Sikh mu-

the

Delhi, specializing

si col otjy.

A

w

cynical view

ill

stress the privileged nature of these enterprises

and will draw’ attention to the wav in which they express the usual dynamics of Sikh society. Punjabi University, it is sometimes claimed, represents the Khatri-Arora interest

new foundation

in

tional alignments

w

ithin the Panth, ensuring that the

Amritsar would have to be

immediately appear w ithin

I

12

a jat university.

all

Fac-

such institutions and

THE SIKHS IS THE MODERX WORLD all

which has

are inevitably subject to a political influence

little

interest

which they represent. Scholarship attracts little more than lip-service. Patronage, contacts and skilled maneuver are the effective means of advancement in academic institutions as anvw here in the original ideals

else. I

hese are accusations

there

mav be

in

w

commonlv

hich one

them there can be no denving the

ments which such

W hatever

hears.

truth

substantial achieve-

produced and which thev proved to be resilient, weathering

institutions have alreadv

continue to deliver. 1 hev have also

Mrs. (iandhi’s Emergency (1975-77) and the more recent troubles that have so conspicuouslv assailed the Panth. such storms

as the period of

Hints of the troubles were alreadv becoming evident bv the beginning of the

197()s. In political

terms Punjabi Suba had failed to deliver

w hich would give effective expression to Sikh aspirations. In part this was because the small Sikh majoritv could never be mobilized for long enough to initiate anv such plan; and in part it w as because there was no clear consensus regarding the form which anv plan should take. Punjabi Suba had provided a the anticipated result, namelv a government

one which could be defined with precision and defended with simple arguments. But w hat lav bevond it? W hat are the special interests of the Sikhs and how should they be given statutarv expression? Are these Sikhs a “nation” as many have claimed and if so what

clear purpose,

does the English word “nation” mean

in this context?

w hat

It

mav

be agreed

meaning should one attach to these words? During the 198()s these issues were to come into sharper focus. Ehroughout the preceding decade, however, there was to be much uncertainty concerning fundamental definitions and it would be idle to claim that even todav the uncertaintv has been elimthat the

Punjab

is

the Sikh homeland, but

inated within the Panth. Plainly

it

practical

persists.

Uncertainties have also been prompted bv the nature of the Akali

Dal and bv the contending elements within

its

declared policies. Since

Independence the Akali Dal has been largely dominated bv Jat landowners and inevitablv it reflects their special concerns in the policies which it enunciates. I he distinctive purposes of Sikh homelanders and Sikh land-owners are not always easy to separate and because both constituencies are present within the Akali Dal, grappling with the true nature and dominant concerns of the party can be a challenging task.

The

fact that 'Akali leaders

tion to great effect

have often deployed Sikh idiom and tradi-

merelv complicates the general

113

issue.

Are we con-

THE SIKHS ccrncd

\\ itli

THE MODERS WORLD

I\

Sikh aspirations or w

inant elite? Obviously

v\'e

shall

the economic interests of a

ith

encounter both, but what

is

dom-

the nature

of the mix and how does one range of objectives relate to the other?

complex problem, rendered even more complex by the success of the (been Revolution in the Runjab, From one perspective the Green Revolution can be viewed as a triumph of Sikh versatility, appropriating modern techniques in order to advance a traditional occupation. From another perspective it will be seen as an alarming growth in the power of land-ov\ ners, many of w hom happen to be influential members of the Akali Dal or of the factions which it produces. It also has a relevant side-effect in that one consequence has been the need for increasing supplies of labor from outside the Punjab. Many of the workers drawn from such regions as Bihar have remained in the Punjab, generating fears that their presence may alter the communal balance and increase is

It

a

local tensions. I

he essential ambiguity of the Akali position

series of policy statements

past fifteen years,

d he

w

first

olution of October 17, 1973.

is

w ell expressed

in a

hich the Akali Dal has issued during the

of these was the celebrated

Anandpur Res-

^^

This controversial statement begins with the claim: “ I he Shiromani Akali Dal is the supreme body of the Sikh Panth and as such is fully authorised to represent and lead them.” It states a series of aims w hich include both the propagation of Sikh reand the introduction of

ligion plies

two

lists

a just

economic system, and

The

of specific objectives.

first is

it

then sup-

confined to religious

Fhe second (headed “Political”) demands that certain territories should be added to the Punjab and in item II. fib) briefly claims a significantly enlarged state autonomy. Economic concerns, generally absent from the Anandpur Resolution, became much more conspicuous in later statements such as the Charter of Akali Grievances issued on September 8, 1981.^^ Fhis statement adds economic and social categories to the religious and political lists of its predecessor, and the former includes items which plainly reflect the concerns.

concerns of rural land-owners. C>onspicuous (twenty-one as op['K)sed to the fourteen claims

among

these grievances

listed as “Religious”)

such items as inadequate prices for agricultural produce and

were

a ceiling

of seven hectares of rural land without any corresponding limitation on

urban property. Fhe 1981 charter

is

a

much more

document than the Anandpur Resolution, by the

political

strident

and anxious

change of tone produced developments of the preceding decade. Fhe 197()s were

I

14

a

THE SIKHS IN THE MODERS WORLD years of repeated frustration for the Akalis and these frustrations were increasingly

affecting

the

Panth

as

a

whole.

'Fhev were certainly

achievements to be recorded, notably the unique willingness of the Akali

Dal to stand up to Mrs Gandhi during the period of her Emergency.

A

reward followed the ending of the Emergency, but the Akali welcome w ithin the janta government w as at best lukew arm. W hen it brief

fell

they found themselves in the familiar position of disadvantaged con-

frontation with a (Congress central government.

This brings us to the end of the decade and to political developments

which were

to prove dramatically significant for the Akali Dal

and

for

the Panth as a whole. Although the events themselves and their actual

purpose remain topics of vehement controversy

and some key events seem

now

a clear outline

to be generally

has emerged

acknowledged.

One

sue derives from an insistent Sikh claim that the Punjab be given

a

is-

new’

Congress strategy. 1 ogether with Kashmir and Assam (both of them, like the Punjab, peripheral areas with potentially disaffected minorities) it was to serve as an example of the kind of unstable disruptive role in

society which,

unity of India.

if it .\11

were

who

to

remain unchecked, would threaten the very

treasure that unity

must accordingly

rally to

Mrs Ciandhi and her Oingress government, thus ensuring electoral support sufficient to guarantee at least one more term in office. In order to make this policy credible it was necessary (so this interpretation runs) to stir up trouble in the Punjab and to ensure that the trouble continued for as long as necessary.

Support

for peace

and

sta-

must be publicly affirmed, but no agreement was to be reached with the Akalis. W henever agreement seemed imminent negotiations were broken off or sabotaged in some way or other, thus increasing Akali frustrations and prompting them to actions which could only confirm the Congress analysis of the threat which they posed. bility

Phis interpretation proceeds a further step with

its

explanation for

the induction into Punjab politics of the extremist leader Jarnail Singh

Bhindranwale. Jarnail Singh was a Sant, one of the religious teachSanjay ers who impart Sikh doctrine and tradition to rural Sikhs.

Gandhi, having noted the increasing influence of Sants in Sikh politics, suggested that a chosen example of the breed should be introduced into the political arena in such a way that he would serve to divide Sikh forces and further frustrate the Akali leaders, d his he could be depended on to do by lodging claims that w ould attract extremist support while embarrassing the more moderate leaders who at the time were

115

THE SIKHS I\ THE MODERX WORLD participating in an unstable state government, (iiani Zail Singh, at the

time

I

lome Minister

in the central

government,

is

also said to

have been

involved in the plan although he himselt has vigorously denied any such connection.'^' I

he actual occasion for Bhindranwale’s induction w as an assembly

Fhe

of Nirankaris held in Amritsar on April 13, 1978.

w as

Nirankari sect

heretical Sant

alreadv the target of orthodox Sikh disapproval and

such an assemblv, reluctantlv sanctioned by an Akali state government,

was represented bv Hhindranwale as altogether intolerable. 1 he march w Inch he led on the convention ended in a serious clash, leaving three Nirankaris and twelve Sikhs dead. Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale had arrived on the political scene, and having

done so he soon demonstrated

was his own man."^' Bhindranwale has predictable been the object of respect and adulation, denigration and fear. A considerable hagiography has gathered around him, matched bv a corresponding demonologv. Although he was killed during the Indian armv assault on the Golden I'emple complex in June 1984 his reputation lives on, both for those w ho revered him and also for those who feared or despised him. An unbiased that he

impression

needless to say, very difficult to acquire at such close

is,

quarters and

we

shall

have to wait until the dust

settles before accurate

assessments can be made, fhis much, however, can be affirmed. Jarnail

Singh Bhindranwale has car\ ed for himself tradition

and no amount of academic or

dislodge

him from

For

manv

a martvr’s niche in the Panth’s

journalistic reassessment

w

ill

that place in the popular affections.

Sikhs Jarnail Singh Bhindranw ale marked a return to the

older traditions of pietv and heroism, a visible representative of the ideal sant-sipahJ.

In

its

generic sense sant has

come

to

mean one who

upholds the religious principles of Ciurmat, exemplifving life

those elementarv truths which the

firmlv

in his personal

Gurus progressivelv taught

their

from the cvcle of as the eternal power

disciples to observe in order to achieve liberation

transmigration.

These

principles include such beliefs

Name

and the absolute sanctitv of the divine scripture. 1 hev also affirm the compelling power of nam simaran and a w illing acceptance of the undiminished Rahit. Beliefs and behavior of this order characterize the sant and as has just

of the divine

been noted the word has been appropriated for teachers of popular Sikh tradition who (in theorv at least) manifest such qualities. To these qual-

/ 1

6

THE SIKHS IS THE MODEKS W ORLD added the loyalty, obedienee and unswerving heroism of the sipahJ or soldier. Although there is no sanction in Sikh doctrine for capricious or unnecessary w ielding of the sword there is the clearest possible authority tor its use when the Fanth is assailed and w hen all other means ot protection have failed. I he authority derives from a famous couplet attributed to Guru Cjobind Singh, sealed and dramatically exemplified by his ow n career as a military leader. Upon this foundation ities

are

are built the powerfully militant traditions of the eighteenth century,

replete

w

ith stories

of prodigious bravery, noble suffering, and willing

martyrdom. Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale has had a bad press in the West, one which effectively conceals the attraction which he exercises for many Sikhs as a genuine exemplar of the sant-sipahi ideal. Some dismiss it as “fundamentalism,” a word which we use when we wish to imply that reason has fled leaving a simplistic interpretation of whatever passes for basic tradition. In a sense the term is just, for Bhindranwale did indeed give expression to a strict and essentially intolerant view of the Sikh tradition.

It is

also legitimate to trace a part of his influence to radical

w hich communicated the

uncertainties within the Fanth, uncertainties belief that a closing of

“Fundamentalism” is

used persistently

orthodox ranks was

is,

may

however,

a

vital.

word which may mislead, and

if it

cause to be misconstrued both the problem and

the response. Like the condition which

it

purports to describe

too easily suggest simplistic explanations, prompting evasion of a

it

can

com-

plex task by offering crude doctrine as a substitute. For an explanation

of the problem

we must

take account of

much more

tions or the militant traditions of the Khalsa.

but so too are the

political

complex range of

social

than Sikh aspira-

may

Fhese

be relevant,

circumstances of India’s recent past and the

and economic

interests

which produced those

circumstances. Its

strongly pejorative connotations can also encourage misunder-

standing.

I

he response has indeed involved

traditions of the Fanth, but labeling

it

may

strong emphasis on the

“fundamentalist” wall probably

ensure that our approach to the problem outset. Bhindranwale’s actions

a

is

unsympathetic from the

be regarded as

the tradition, out of touch with present realities and disaster.

a

gross version of

doomed

His response should nevertheless be underst(X)d as

endeavored

to'

apply traditional ideals

/ I

7

in

a

end in rellex which to

contemporary conditions.

It

THE SIKHS IS THE MODERS WORLD should also be appreciated that those traditional ideals

power

siderable

well

beyond the

still

retain a con-

circle of i^hindranwale’s

immediate

followers.

not to suggest that

I'his is

style,

nor that they w

ill

all

Sikhs will approve of Bhindranwale’s

may be justified when

agree with his objectives. \ iolenee

Punjab and armed resistance may be the faith is under attack, but many will acknowledge that the situation had indeed got out of hand prior to the army attack of June 1984. Although few would defend the decision to mount an assault on the Ciolden femple complex it is generally accepted within the Panth that a res-

endemic

in rural

toration of law

and order was

essential.

who acknowledge

Sikhs

this

need, how ever, will usually maintain that primary responsibility for the crisis

should be attached to the Oingress Party, and they will add that

a restoration

of law and order must involve Congress politicians and the

police as well as

armed Sikhs on motor-cycles. \

source must certainly be eliminated or

at least

iolenee from whatever

contained.

must also be asserted, contrary to the opinion so commonly delivered by the W estern news media, that amongst those who can be regarded as Sikh leaders a substantial majority still oppose the concept of a separate and independent Khalistan.'^ Phis is particularly the case of It

the Sikhs

who

live in India,

partly because they recognize

how

vul-

nerable the Sikhs in states other than the Punjab would be and partly

because they see the proposal as unviable. Having acknowledged these differences

we must

nevertheless note that the events associated with

the current crisis (particularly the storming of the plex and the events following the assassination

created deep resentments

w

ithin the Panth.

Golden Temple comof Mrs Gandhi) have

There

is

a

strong feeling

Panth has been cynically exploited for purposes which do not concern the Sikhs, and that the Panth has been grievously maligned by that the

those responsible for that exploitation or willing to be persuaded by

its

apologists.

which have been made since 1984 to settle the Punjab have all failed and it has become increasingly clear that real peace is probably many years and possibly several generations away. The wounds indicted by recent years will not heal quickly, nor w ill suspicions, fears, and resentments suddenly dissipate. It is to be expected that these feelings w ill not only be eneountered for quite some time to come, but w ill also continue to affect the attitudes and behavior of those w ho retain Fiforts

118

THE SIKHS IS THE MODERS WORLD them.

It

has been a truly serious crisis and no one should imagine that

there will be a speedy return to the situation

One

which preceded

it.

w hich subsists between Punjabi Sikhs and Punjabi Hindus. Again care must be taken not to exaggerate the damage which has occurred. One will still encounter many indiyidual friendships which are as firm as they eyer w ere, in some cases made stronger by the fire through w hich they haye passed. Suspicions haye neyertheless been aroused and old enmities

particularh' unfortunate casualty has been the relationship

reawakened.

It is

certainly to be expected that the allaying of these

feelings will take a long time

w

ill

and that the restoration of genuine trust

take eyen longer.

These are negatiye results.

On

the positiye side

many

Sikhs have

rediscovered a tradition which for them was quietly fading and an identity

which they had

effectively renounced.

There

awareness of the strength which the old tradition

is

still

now

a

much

retains

and

livelier

much

a

greater readiness to accept the exterior marks of the Panth’s historic identity.

Again care must be taken neither

to oversimplify

nor to ex-

would be false to suggest that the Rahit has suddenly resumed a dominance which it had lost or that the heightened consciousness of recent years will necessarily survive a return to more peaceful circumstances. The tradition has nevertheless been revitalized and its influence on future developments within the Panth must surely have aggerate.

It

been strengthened. For Sikhs the compensating factor nas thus been awakened consciousness, a revived concern for their inherited tradition and identity.

For others

it

is

a

new awareness

may many the

of the Sikhs. 1 he actual events

not have been accurately represented in

all

instances and for

may quickly fade, but by no means all will be lost. Something the new awareness will remain and it will be particularly welcome countries where migrant Sikhs now form significant communities.

interest

of in

Sikhs and the Sikh tradition have never before rated as topics of wide-

spread interest outside India.

It

is

a

high price to pay, but

events can weaken indifference and diminish neglect

have come from the tragedy.

I

19

if

recent

some good

will

V t" -

'

NOTE ON SOURCES

T

X HERK are standard

printed editions of both the Adi Granth and the

Dasam

(iranth. All editions of the

and

correspond exactly

all

pages. Similarly, the

name

in all printed editions.

Adi (iranth references give

word vdr. I'he number number of the hymn, followed by

of a raga, sometimes preceded by the

the Adi Granth page on which first

of 1,430 pages,

has a total of 1,428 pages, with each

v\’hich follows the raga designates the

the

a total

terms of the material printed on individual

Dasam Granth

page exactly the same the

in

Adi Granth have

it

occurs. \\ here the reference

figure designates the stanza

and the figure

is

to a vdr

after the colon gives

number of the shalok or “couplet” which precedes that stanza. Guru Nanak’s Vdr Mdjh 7:1 accordingly designates the first of the shaloks at-

the

tached to the seventh stanza of the vdr

in

Mdjh

raga.

In the case of the Vdrdn Bhdi Gurdds the first of the

two

figures indicates

the vdr and the second gives the stanza in that vdr. For example, Vdrdn Bhdi

Gurdds 26:24 refers to the tw entv-fourth stanza of the tw enty-sixth vdr. \\ hen a

reference to

TSSS follows

it

indicates that a translation

is

to

be found

in

Textual Sources for the Study of Sikhism. Earlier

works by the present author are frequently

necessary repetitions they will be cited by author and

and thereafter by abbreviated

title

cited.

To

title at first

only as follows:

B4() J-s

The B4() Jafiam-sdkhi

CSR-n

The Chaupd Singh Rahit-ndmd

ESC EST GSSR

The Evolution of

Early Sikh Tradition

PSZ

Ptoijahis in IVevc 'Zealand

TSSS

Textual Sources for the Study of Sikhism

Guru Ndnak and

Full publication information can be

the Sikh

121

Community

the Sikh Religion

found

in the

avoid un-

Bibliography.

mention

i

1

i

»

i

t

i

r t

NOTES

2.

Origins of the Sikh Tradition

I'he

W ilfred

1.

Cantw ell Smith, The Meaning and End

of Religion

(New York:

Macmillan, 1962), pp. 66-67. 2.

Marbans Singh,

3.

.\1.

mukh

“Guru Nanak’s

.Mujeeb,

Religion, Islam and Sikhism,” in

Nihal Singh, ed.. Guru Sanak: His

Harbans Singh,

more

Berkeley Lectures on Sikhism, pp, 7-8,

detail

on

p. 8; Professor

\\

5.

The

.

the Sikh Religion.

janam-sakhis are hagiographic narratives of the cast as a series of anecdotes.

hundred years

See chapter

old.

H. McLeod, Early

6.

\\

7.

GSSR,

8.

Ibid., pp.

9.

\\.

.

this view’ in a little

11.

p.

Nanak, usually at least a

Times, and Teachings, p. 116.

Harbans Singh defends

H. McLeod, Guru Sanak and

4.

Life,

Gur-

The

life

of

Guru

existing janam-sakhis are

6.

Sikh Tradition:

Study of the Janam-sakhis, ch.

14.

146.

p.

110-12, 114-17, 125-32.

H. .McLeod, “Inter-Linear

(1973), no.

3,

pp. 105-6.

10.

\n example

11.

.M.

(strictlv

Inscriptions in Sri V.AwVdi," South Asia

is

J.

S. Cirewal, particularly in

A. .Macauliffe, The Sikh

speaking

a

Religion, vol.

Guru Nanak

1. '\ \\t

Purdtan janam-sakhi

small group of related janam-sakhis)

ditional accounts of the life of

in History.

is

one of the

tra-

Nanak, evidently recorded around the middle

of the seventeenth centurv. 12.

51;

d'he Purdtan janam-sakhi

.McLeod,

'The

W’. 11.

•!

.McLeod,

latter

work

GSSR,

pp. 36-

and ES'T,

esp. pp.

extensively discussed in

Evolution of the Sikh Community, ch.

22-30, 181-97, In the the Narrative

is

it is

2;

labeled the Narrative 1 tradition. For

tradition anecdotes included in the B-IO Janam-sdkhJ, tr..

The B4() janam-sdkht, p. 11-14.

123

see

ORiaiXS OF THE SIKH TRAD IT IDS

2.

Singh,

\'ir

13.

Samachar, 1959), \

14.

ed.,

Puratan Janani-sdkhi,

of the janam-sakhi

set

is

w

16.

p. 25;

G\SR,

ithin its larger conte.xt in

ESI\ pp. 248-67. The B4() janam-sakhi has

15.

Khalsa

(Amritsar:

ed.

16. B4() J-s, p. 21.

p.

Singh, cd., Puratan Janam-sdkhJ,

ir

5th

a

1

p. 39.

EST,

poor Sikh cut his hair

254-56.

p.

in

his feature

order to

sell

it

to provide hospitality to the (iuru. B4() J-s, p. 50.

For

17.

and

W'.

1

a

1.

much

fuller

survey of the Sant tradition, see Karine Schomer

.McLeod, eds.. The Sants: Studies

esp. (Charlotte \ audeville,

Sanctity,” pp. 21

W

.

Mat: Santism

as the Universal

See also GSSR, pp. 151-58.

K).

.M.

1938);

.McClelland, cutta:

1958);

Yoga:

Fliade,

may

be consulted:

Immortality and Freedom

Shashibhusan Dasgupta, Obscure

Firma K. L. .Mukopadhyav, 1962); and the

X’audeville, esp. Kabir, vol.

1

(London:

Religious Cults (Cal-

v\Titings of (Charlotte

(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1974).

d’he view that Nanak’s teachings utilize concepts

19.

Path to

Briggs, Gorakbnath and the Kanpbata Yogis (Calcutta: O.xford Univer-

Press,

sity

a Devotional Tradition of India,

For the Nath tradition the following works

18. Ci.

—

'"Sant

in

drawn from Nath

sources has been attacked by Daljeet Singh, The Sikh Ideology, pp. 43-66.

The

attack

is

misguided, for the author assumes that Nath concepts are

said to have directly influenced

Guru Nanak’s works

Nanak

in a

conscious sense.

The

fact that

Nath doctrines does not mean that the follow ers of the Sant tradition were uninduenced by them. The word sahaj provides an example; although the Sants clearly reject the Nath concept of sahaj, those v\’ho employ the term affirm its prime importance in its explicitly reject

reconstituted form.

ESC, pp. 60-61.

20.

See chapter

21.

GNSR,

22.

C. Shackle, “.Approaches to the Persian Loans in the Adi Granth,"'

6.

pp. 158-61.

Bulletin of the School of Oriental

also J. S.

and African Studies (1978), 41(l):81-96. See

Grewal, From Guru Xanak

to

Maharaja Ranjit Singh, 2d ed., pp.

6-17. 23. \\

.

11.

(lUru Nanak, Vdr Mdjh 7.1. .\di (iranth, pp. 140-41.

.McLeod, Textual Sources

24.

Shackle, p. 93.

25.

.Attention

is

drawn

ranslated in

for the Study of Sikhism, p. 43.

to the fact that the

word

is

italicized.

word “man.” This and other key terms are discussed chapter 4 and in GXSR, pp. 163-226 pass.

the Fnglish length in

I

124

It

is

not

at greater

3.

FOUR CENTURIES OE S/KH HISTORY Linda Hess, “Three Kabir Collections:

26.

A

Comparative Study,”

in

Schomer and McLeod, eds.. The Sants, pp. 122-23, 137. 27. In the Adi Granth all the Gurus sign their works “Nanak” and each is identified by the word mahala with an appropriate number. Compositions labeled “.Mahala 1” (or simply “.Ml”) are by Guru Nanak; those labeled “.Mahala 2” or “.M2” are bv Guru .\ngad, and so on. EST, p. 287.

3.

Four Onturies of Sikh History

survey of Sikh history, see J. S. Cirewal, The Sikhs of the Punjab. Harbans Singh’s The Heritage of the Sikhs is written bv a devout Sikh but is 1

For

.

a

aw are of the problems which

.

Owen

Practices;

(>)le

it

too,

.\mong the

raises,

Guru

covers the history of the \\

it

which are involved

Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs

approach,

in its

is

sensitive to the

3.

is

and

problems

study of Sikh history and religion.

in the

TSSS, pp. 9-13. Surjit Singh Hans, “Historical .\nalvsis of Sikh Literature

2.

one which

period and the religion of the Sikhs

and Piara Singh Sambhi, The though cautious

briefer surveys

Nanak Dev

to 1850)” (Ph.D. dissertation, (iuru

(.\.l).

1500

University, .Amritsar, 1980),

pp. 439-40.

Khushwant Singh, A “(iurmat” means “the

4. 5.

as

“Sikhism.” See chapter

History of the Sikhs, 1:76.

Ciurus’ teachings.”

It is

inaccurately translated

4.

d'he theory has been argued in considerable detail bv Richard

6.

Ci.

P"ox, Lions of the Punjab. 7.

J.

A

D. Cunningham,

History of the Sikhs (Delhi: S.

Chand,

1955),

p. 34. 8. 1

The

standard

te.xt is

one from 'Aafar-ndma,

st.

22,

Dasam Granth,

p.

390:

chu kar az hamah halal asatu

(When It is

9. liffe.

Khushwant Singh,

all

hilate dar guzasat;

buradan ba samaser dasat. other means have failed.

lawful to grasp the sword.)

1:88-89. For Singh Sabha examples, see .Macau-

The Sikh Religion, 5:91-97. Teja Singh and Cianda Singh,

tory of the Sikhs,

w hich gave

1:68-70.

the issue

formation of Sikhism

its

w as

From

the

same period came the

characteristic first

A

Short His-

influential

book

name: Gokul Chand Narang’s Trans-

published in Lahore

12 5

in

1912.

FOUR CENTURIES OE SIKH HISTORY

3.

Singh, Perspectives on Sikh Studies,

10. Jagjit

his thesis in this 1

1

.

12.

ESC,

book and

chs.

1

Ibid., pp.

and

in his earlier

p. vii.

work The

The

author developed

Sikh Revolution.

3.

13-19, 45-52.

For particularly vigorous attacks on The Evolution of the Sikh Community, see Jagjit Singh, Daljeet Singh, and jasbir Singh Ahluwalia in The 13.

Journal of Sikh Studies (February 1977), 4:36-54, 166-77; and Fauja Singh The Punjab Past and Present 11.1 (April 1977) and The Journal of Religious

in

(Spring 1978), vol. the

two

See also jagjit Singh, Perspectives on Sikh

6.

sections of the latter

title

Studies:

are devoted to the caste issue and Jat

influence respectively. 14.

ESC, pp. 45-50.

The ten Ciurus were: Ciuru Nanak (1469-1539), Guru Angad (150452), Guru Amar Das (1479-1574), Guru Ram Das (1534-81), Guru Arjan (1563-1606), Guru Hargobind (1595-1644), Guru Hari Rai (1630-61), Guru Hari Krishan (1656-64), Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621-75), and Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708). Each Guru succeeded to the title at the death of his 15.

predecessor. 16.

The

notable e.xample of the egalitarian principle was the institution

of the langar, the refectories attached to dharam-salas in which

were expected 17.

to sit

and eat without regard

This evidence includes

Guru

to caste status.

bv Bhai Gurdas, the distinguished riting of the original Adi Granth during

v\

Arjan. In his celebrated vdrs, Bhai Gurdas clearly indi-

cated unease at the change of policy initiated by the

Gurdas 26:24. For a translation, see TSSS, 18.

The

Jats

were

p.

31,

si.xth

Guru. Varan Bhai

and chapter

tilled

the

soil.

This, however, does not correspond

to current status, for today they are without question the

ing

Punjab.

They were

N. Gerald

dominant

modern Uttar Pradesh. of Punjab and Sind,” in Harbans Singh and into

Barrier, eds., Punjab Past and Present: Essays in

Ganda Singh, pp. 72-103. In disturbances Jats were prone to they were also distinguished bv their long hair. 19.

This interpretation

caste

comparatively recent entry to the Punjab, mov-

a

up from the south and spreading eastwards

See Irfan Flabib, “Jatts

6, n.33.

people, ranking low in the conventional caste

a rural

hierarchy because they

in the

devotees

a verse

Sikh responsible for the actual the time of

all

is

Honour of Dr. violent means;

preeminently offered by Ratan Singh Bhangu

1-36, translated in TSSS, pp. 7173. PrdchJn Panth Prakaf which strongly stressed the divine mission of the

in his Prdchin

Khalsa,

w

as

Panth Prakds,

completed

sec.

16, st.

in 1841.

126

4.

SIKH DOCTRINE

20.

See for example the Chaupd Singh Rahit-ndmd^

21.

TSSS, pp. 34-37. ESC, pp. 14-15.

22.

I

his

is

sec.

166.

Cur Sobhd.

the interpretation of Sainapati in

S.

J.

Erom Guru Nanak to Maharaja Ranjit Singh, p. 79. See chapter 23. \\ H. McLeod, tr., The Chaupd Singh Rahit-ndmd.

Grewal,

5, n.6.

.

Grewal, pp. 59-60, notes that early sources refer to “five weapons,” not to “five Ks.” Five is a popular number in Sikh tradition 24.

Ibid., p.

150.

and the panj mel (the Spurned Five)

as the panj pidre (the (Cherished Five)

indicate. 25.

1

he best work dealing with the Singh Sabha movement

available, but

W orld

is

it

hoped

that

it

will be.

Reconstructed: Religion, Ritual, and

It

is

not vet

Harjot Singh Oberoi,

is

(ommunitv .Among

“A

Sikhs, 1850-

1909” (Ph.l). dissertation, .Australian National University, Canberra, 1987).

Oberoi disputes the notion that the Ranth was “decaying” during riod.

For

a useful

summary

N. G.

of the period, see

this pe-

Barrier, The Sikhs and

Their Literature, pp. xvii-xlv. 26.

Rajiv

.A.

Kapur, Sikh Separatism: The

Politics

of Eaith,

chs.

2-6.

Mohinder Singh, The Akali Movement.

4. 1.

One work w hich

Sikh Doctrine

does offer

a brief

Singh Mansukhani, Aspects of Sikhism, chs. ever, on Fnglish terminology. 2. 3.

to

840 J-s, pp. 45-46. GNSR, p. 196. am I

be found

theology of 2

and

3.

It

well aware that the elements

in the earlier of

my own

studies.

I

draw

Gurmat

Gobind concentrates, how-

1

am

is

criticizing are

attention to the years

that have elapsed since then. 4.

M.

5.

Bachitar Ndtak,

6.

The

.A.

Macauliffe, The Sikh Religion, 3:99. st.

2,

Dasam

(iranth p. 39.

Sants are religious teachers

who communicate

teachings con-

cerning Sikh doctrine and tradition in village gurdwaras and in derds abode). \

oung bovs

in a Sant’s

company

are sometimes sent to for

months or even

them

years.

for instruction

of

Sant’s

and remain

Fhe Sants are particularly

commonly succeed inculcating a firm attachment to them. VV. H. McLeod, “I'he Meaning sant in Punjabi Usage,” in Karine Schomer and W. M. .McLeod, eds..

strong on the traditions of the eighteenth century and in

(a

The Sants, pp. 251-63.

127

4.

SIKH DOCTRISE Dasam

Zafar-iiama,

8.

I'he term can be traced to either

22;

st.

1390. See above chapter

Ciranth, p.

7.

3,

n.8.

\.o

gur

Sikh Rahit

dhak Kamiti, 2.

For

Maryada 16th

a particularly

Khalsa. See chapter

4.

a

Is

Sikh?

ed. (Amritsar:

Shiromani (iurduara Parban-

dramatic narrative of the event, see (iiani Gian

should be noted that this

3.

W ho

1983), p. 8.

Singh’s account written late It

(Juru’s door) or

(bv means of the (luru).

diiara

S. 1.

[da] dtiar (the

last is

century and translated

a traditional

in

TSSS,

p.

34-37.

version of the founding of the

3.

Grewal, From Guru Nauak

Maharaja Ranjit Singh, pp. 86-87. Ganda Singh, ed., Ilukamaname (Patiala: Punjabi University, 1967).

J. S.

Shamsher Singh

.\shok, ed., Sisan

to

hukamandme

te

(.Amritsar: Sikh Itihas

Risarach Borad, 1967). 5.

Randhir Singh,

Buk Kampani,

ed.,

Prem Smndrag Granth, 2d

ed. (Jalandhar:

Niu

1953), pp. 73-81.

TSSS, pp. 11-12. Grewal, From Guru Sanak, ch. Gtir Sobhd is discussed in Ganda Singh, ed., Srt Giir Sobha 6.

10.

The

(Patiala:

date of

Punjabi

University, 1967), pp. 21-23. For a brief description and discussion of the gur-bilas literature see chapter 6. 7.

TSSS,

8.

For

p. 74.

a fuller description of these

problems which they pose, see jabi rahit-namds," in S. in

Honour

a useful

of A. L.

.

a

discussion of the

U. .McLeod, “The Problem of the Pan-

N. .Mukherjee,

ed., India: History

P asha m (CAcuna: Subarnarekha,

and Thought: Essays

1982), pp. 103-26. For

description of the important rahit-namas see .\vtar Singh, Ethics of

the Sikhs, pp. 9.

\\

rahit-namas and

TSSS,

128 p.

—

15.

78.

For

a selection

of translations from Prasan-uttar, the

Tanakhah-nama, and the rahit-nama of Prahilad Singh/Rai, see TSSS, pp. 75-79. 10. 1

1

.

“The Problem Ibid., p.

of the Panjabi rahit-namas,''' p. 114.

112.

12.

CSR-n.

13.

Ibid., pp.

149-66, 174-90.

14.

Ibid., pp.

167-74, 190-201.

128

WHO

5.

15.

Randhir Singh,

Buk Kampani, 16.

ed.,

IS

Prem Sumdrag Grauth, 2d

(jurbachan Singh Naiar, ed., Gur ratan mdl arathdt

Or

Sakhee Book:

(Benares: 1873)

See also

Punjab,” ute

Niu

ed. (Jalandhar;

1953).

Punjabi University, 1985), provides

lation.

A SIKHF

a critical text, .\ttar

rendering of the version current at the time of transH. McLeod, “1 he Kukas: Millenarian Sect of the

a

W

.

W ood

in Ci.

Singh of Bhadur,

Gobind Singh's Religion and Doctrines

the Description of Gooroo is

(Patiala:

sail

and

P. S. ()’(>onnor, eds.,

W.

P. Morrell:

A

Trib-

(Ounedin: University of Otago Press, 1973), p. 97. 17. GSR-n, pp. 202-4. The [:K)rtion attributed to Nand Lai begins abruptly

and may perhaps be part of 18.

“The Problem

19.

GSR-n,

a

longer work.

of the Panjabi rahit-namds," pp. 112, 117. (iursikh

10, 543, 506, 24.

secs.

is

Sikh of the Ciuru, a

a

loyal Sikh.

World Reconstructed: Religion, Ritual, and (k)mmunitv .\mong the Sikhs, 1850-1909” (Ph.I). dissertation, .Australian 20.

Ilarjot

Singh Oberoi,

National University, Canberra, 1987), pp. 176-84. far

he Singh Sabha was

I

from united on the question of Rahit reform or on the Khalsa identity

in general.

I

he Lahore Singh Sabha, led by (iiani

(lurmukh Singh, was much more

active in

I)it

Singh and Professor

promoting reform than the more

conservative .Amritsar Singh Sabha. 21.

I

he .Anand

rite

was developed within the Nirankari

sect earlier in

the nineteenth century. John C. B. Webster, The Nirankari Sikhs (Delhi:

Macmillan, 1979),

Although the Nirankaris and Singh Sabha

16.

p.

formers both maintained that

it

replicated a pristine order, no sufficient

evidence can be offered to establish this claim. 4 he

presumably derives from the celebrated is

recited

on

this occasion

RdmakalJ Anand,

sts.

and others

hymn

name Anand

Ram

Das’s

in the Panth’s ritual

(Guru Amar Das’s

1-5 and 40, .Adi (iranth pp. 917-22).

Siiht

It

is

occupied bv

2,

Khalsa see Prem Sumdrag Granth, ch. 22.

does not form

Adi Granth, pp. 773-74. For a detailed fire-ceremony observed bv some members of the

Chhant

description of an earlier

(or “Jov”)

of that name, part of which

the centerpiece of the ceremony, however, as that place

(iuru

4.

Harjot Singh Oberoi, “From Ritual to (Counter-Ritual: Rethinking

the Hindu-Sikh (Question, 1884-1915,” in Joseph F. O’CConnell et Sikh History and Religion in the Tuoentieth Gentury p.

Oberoi attaches produced 23.

re-

a list

in 11^84

1

In an

36ff.

of tw entv-four rahit-namas or similar

and the

last

(.Amritsar,

129

1901).

I

eds.,

appendix

w orks, the

(Guramat Prakds Bhdg Sanskdr)

Kahn Singh, Guramat Sudbdkar

al.,

first

in 1915.

he most recent

WHO

5.

edition, extensively revised,

A SIKH?

published from the l.anguages Department,

1970.

l\injal), in Patiala in

Ciiiramat Prakds

24.

is

IS

Bbdg Sanskdr, published bv the Chief Khalsa

I3iv\

an,

.\mritsar, in 1915. 25.

up

set

he Shiromani (lurdvvara Parbandhak (Committee (the SGP(.') was

I

accordance with the 1925 Sikh Ciurdwaras Act, with which the

in

ended. See chapter

.\kali agitation effectively

SCiPC, see (iobinder Singh, Sikh

26.

Maryddd,

Rahit

and

Religion

n.26. For a study ot the

3,

Politics in the

Punjab.

Parbandhak

Shiromani (iurduara

Amritsar,

Kamiti, 1950, and numerous reprintings. Fmglish translations: Rehat Maryada:

Guide

.4

Way

Sikh

to the

(I>ondon; Sikh Cultural Centre,

trs.

Sikh

Way

1970).

of Life,

tr.

Neither of the translations is

is

aljit

Kaur and

it

completely accurate.

.A

to the

SCiPC^,

translation of

given in 7'SSS, pp. 79-86. Nine years earlier small

his

book

incorporates routine Khalsa injunctions within

its

orders for

ini-

and marriage.

tiation

The

27.

Guide

rahit-nama; as in the case of Gurarnat Prakds Bhdg

strictly speaking, a

Sanskdr,

A

Dharam Parchar (Committee,

had appeared Jogendra Singh, Sikh Ceremonies. 4

there

Indarjit Singh,

1971); Rehat .\Iaryada:

anon. (.Amritsar:

most oi Sikh Rahit Maryddd

is,

of Life, Kanv\

only example appears to be the addition of

a fifth

takhat in 1963,

which time Damdama Sahib \\ as added to the list (or acknowledged to belong to it). .A takhat is a gurdwara with special authority within the Panth.

at

See discussion

chapter

Sainapati, Sri

28. p. 24.

29.

in

See chapter

4.

Gur Sohhd,

5, n.6.

CSR-n,

secs. 54, 61, 80, 92,

145, 295, 360, etc.

ith

30 Srt

kes,).

it,

The two remaining

Gur

Sohhd, sec. \

,

st.

Ibid., p.

items are bdnJ (the scripture) 150

21.137, p. 22 and

st.

30.146, p. 24.

CSR-n, pp. 15, 18-19. Piara Singh Padam, comp., Rahit -ndme {PAGWei: author, 1974), vadi

5,

S.1752

= February

13,

1696.

also gives a date in S. 1752 as the time of facie

30.146,

but only three of the five begin w

s

and sddh sangat (the congregation).

Magh

st.

its

“k” {kachh, kirpdn,

32.

19.135, p. 22, and

st.

I'he Chaupd Singh Rahit-ndmd does not contain the grouping in

original text. .A later text allow

31.

V,

sec.

incongruous, for

time of

Guru Gobind

fact its date

it

its

I'he Prasan-uttar oi

composition. This

is

p. 56.

Lai

not prima

does not purport to ha\e been recorded near the

Singh’s death, nor does

it

refer to the Khalsa. If in

could be shown to be authentic the rahit-nama would assume

substantial importance as a testimony to a well-developed Rahit existing prior to the inauguration of the Khalsa in S.1756 (a.d. 1699).

130

5.

The

33.

According

HO

to

A SIKH?

IS

manuscript noted

earliest

hath-likhatdn di suchi, 34.

W

in

Shamsher Singh Ashok, Panjabi

S.1882 (a.d. 1825).

is

Jodh Singh there

is

reference to the hive

a

Prahilad Singh {Guramati niranay, Ludhiana: Lahaur 303).

It is

Piara Singh

36.

The

t\\

Padam,

p. 55.

TSSS,

o couplets reemerge

in

n.d., p.

Singh Padam version.

not, however, in the Piara

35.

Buk Shap,

Ks

p. 78.

and amended form

in a conflated

the nineteenth centurv. Gian Singh reproduced

them

as follows in his

late in

Panth

Prakds agia bhal akal kl tab! chalaio panth,

sabh sikhan ko

guru granth

jl

jan ka hirada

hukam

hai

guru manio garanth.

manio pragat guran

sudh

hai khoj sabad

ki dehi;

main

lehi.

bv Kapur Singh, Parasharprasna or the Baisakhi of Guru Gobind Singh, 24()n. I'his is the form in which they are recited immediately after the

(2ited p.

conclusion of Ardas or the Sikh Praver (ibid., pp. 449-50). Harbans Singh, Berkeley Lectures on Sikhism, p. 61. 37.

According to the Sikh Gurdwaras Act of 1925

a

Sikh

defined as

is

follows:

“Sikh” means

a

person

of a deceased person,

during his lifetime.

to be a Sikh

any to

who professes the who professed the

living person

be or to be not

If

Sikh religion or,

in the case

Sikh religion or was

any question

not a Sikh, he shall be

arises as to

deemed

known

whether

is

or

a

Sikh according as he makes or refuses to make

is

such manner as the Provincial Government

may

respectively in

prescribe the follow-

ing declaration:1

solemnlv affirm that

Sahib, that

I

I

am

a Sikh, that

1

believe in the

believe in the fen Gurus, and that

1

Guru

(iranth

have no other

re-

ligion.

.Most Sahaj-dharis

excluded by the phrase “and that

felt

religion,” believing themselves to be 38.

Gobinder Singh,

39.

Sikh Rahit

Religion

Maryada

and

Hindu

i

have no other

as well as Sikh.

Politics in the

Punjab, p. 80.

(see n.l), p. 27. I'SSS, p. 85.

The testimony

the Adi Granth to nasd (intoxication) arouses considerable controversy.

quotation such as the follou ing

duramati

ram

madu

is

a

case in point:

jo pTvate bikhalipati

rasaini jo rate

nanak sach amall.

131

kamalT;

of

5.

U7/0

('rhev

who

d'hev

Guru

consume the

v\’h()

liquor of evil are like a Shudra’s wife;

have drunk Ram’s draught are intoxicated with truth.)

Arjan, Asa 114, Adi Ciranth, p. 399. Texts of this kind can be con-

mean

strued to

either that they

comparing

are

A SIKH?

IS

(the truth of

Ram

smoking and the offense of

GNSR,

CSR-n,

meat

is

“Ram’s draught”

normally referred to as kuththd. Sikh

same sources

for the

ban on

hair-cutting.

The Singh Sabha

pp. 224-25.

did not invent the term. See

secs. 53, 54, 287. 6.

ESC, ch.

42.

Gurus

or Akal Furakh).

Rahit Maryddd, p. 26. TSSS, p. 85. See the

41.

as such, or that the

to the results of the infinitely superior

it

In Sikh sources haldl

40.

oppose drinking

Examples of caste-based conventions include the custom

5.

of having onlv the eldest son baptized as a Khalsa Sikh, the other children to

remain

as

Hindus. This

be found only

in families

and .\hluwalias, and

is

3.

ESC, pp. 60-62.

4.

Ibid., pp.

5.

Ibid., pp.

p.

A

Critical Study of

Adi Granth; ESC, ch.

4;

74-79. 70-73. EST, pp. 286-88. Charlotte Vaudev

Clarendon Press,

5,

Literature of the Sikhs

29-30.

TSSS,

pp.

normally to

7.

2.

lord:

is

thus confined to only a small minority of the Panth.

is

Surindar Singh Kohli,

EST, app.

It

belonging to the caste group of Khatris, Aroras,

The 1.

not a widespread custom.

1974), 1:58.

Schomer and McLeod,

ille,

Kabir {Ox-

eds.. The Sants,

337.

An

Introduction to the Sacred Language of the Sikhs, p.

6.

C. Shackle,

7.

C. Shackle, “The Sahaskriti Poetic Idiom in the Adi Granth," Bul-

letin

ii.

of the School of Oriental and African Studies (1978), 41(2):313. Professor

Shackle’s analysis covers a series of three

tw o are

“

‘South-

W estern’

(1977), 40(1): 36-50;

Elements

and “Approaches

BSOAS

articles.

The remaining

Language of the Adi Granth" Persian Loans in the Adi Granth"

in the

to

(1978), 41(0:73-96. 8.

See chapter

2.

For Sant Bhasa or Sadhukari see EST, pp. 49-51. The whole of the Granth is written in Gurmukhi, the script used for modern Punjabi.

9.

.\di

Gurmukhi, which

is

akin to Deva-nagari,

132

was evidently developed

as a traders’

THE LITER AT I RE OE THE SIKHS

6.

script within the Khatri caste to

all

belonged. 1 radition

Guru Angad. 1 his mav be correct to the he may have been the first Guru to apply it to the recording

regards that

which the Ciurus

it

an invention of

as

votional compositions. Because of ture, the

Gurmukhi

its

extent

of de-

close association with the sacred scrip-

script has acquired sacred connotations.

amalgam oi sahaskrt a- with samskrta-, in other words a ‘grandified speech’ which recalls Sanskrit w ithout attempting to identifv itself with most of its difficulties.” BSOAS (1978), 10.

Professor Shackle defines Sahaskriti as “an

41(2):31(). 1

1.

d his range of differing approaches

merous

is

extensivelv described, with nu-

bv Surjit Singh Hans, “Historical Analysis of Sikh 1500-1850” (Ph.D. dissertation. Guru Nanak Dev Uni-

illustrations,

literature, A. I).

versity, Amritsar, 12.

There

glish.

Of the

1980), chs.

1-5,

8.

no adequate translation of the Adi (iranth available

is

know n

three versions the best

is

Sahib, published in four volumes, .\rguablv,

English of

Manmohan

Gopal Singh,

is

Singh, Sri Guru Granth Sahib

no pretense

at

En-

Guru-Granth

however, the much inferior vols.,

(8

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, 1962-69), cause there

Sri

in

is

more

Amritsar: useful be-

beautv to distract the reader, and the author’s

system of cross-referencing indiyidual words from the Adi Granth to the Punjabi and English translations

fails

in

forbidding one.

The

often helpful.

third translation,

posthumous effort (Patiala: Punjabi Uniyersity, the same way as Gopal Singh. The task is, howexer, a

Gurbachan Singh 1984-),

is

Talib’s

English

If

is

not the mother-tongue of the translator there

hope of success, and even if it is, there is not much more. The poetry of the .\di Ciranth depends upon its sound as well as on its meaning, a requisite which makes the work of a translator truly daunting. The best is

little

Khushwant Singh, notably in his Hymns of Guru Nanak (New Delhi: Orient Longmans, 1969) and his Jupji: The Sikh Prayer (Lr)ndon: Royal India, Pakistan, and Ceylon Society, n.d.). Khushwant Singh needs to be read with care, howeyer, for when there is a conflict between the Gurmukhi original and the English translation, the latter sometimes of the translators

w'ins. Selections trs.,

is

from

the Sacred Writings of the Sikhs,

(London: George Allen and Unwin, 1960),

but only for readers several decades ago.

Trilochan Singh

is

et ah,

generally satisfactory,

w hich went out of fashion Eranslations from the Adi Granth are also to be found

w ho

like a style

of writing

TSSS, pp. 38-55, 86-93, 96-103, 105-21. 13. Eor the earlier descriptions and discussions, see ESG, pp. 60-61 and 75-79.

in

133

THE LITERA TURE OE THE SIKHS

6.

Nirbhai Singh claims that photocopies

Ibid., p. 61.

14.

lection of the

I

I\mns of the

(ttiru (inuith" in

is,

these photocopies are of the original pothJs,

hich

of 400 years

ESCf

15.

/W/W?

Fhe work has yet

atjo.

hov\ ever,

may be

no guarantee that old but not those

to be done.

The Chiefs ami Eamilies of Slot e

p. 62. (i. L. Cdiopra, ed..

in the

(Lahore: Superintendent, (iovernment Printing, Punjab, 1940), 1:167.

made

Reports were

16.

“4 he Col-

The Journal of Sikh Studies (Feb-

riiarv-.\ugust 1981), 8(l-2):2(), n.34. Fhere v\

exist:

possible

w as

of litigation in 1946 and access

w

hile the

Commissioner of emerge from this time was Jodh

possible through the

Fhe principal report

JuIIimdiir Division.

manuscript was the subject

to

Singh’s Sri Karatdrpiiri hJr de darsdti (Patiala: Punjabi Uni\ ersity, 1968). Brief 17.

reports were also published

j. (>.

and Their Book (Lucknow

W esterner

Looks

:

Archer, “4 he Bible of the Sikhs,” The

H. Loehlin, The Sikhs Lucknow Publishing House, 1946), pp. 44 15,

(January 1949), pp.

Reviezi' of Religion

and

by

1

15-25; and

C^.

—

at

the Kartarpur (iranth,” Proceedings of the Punjab

History Conference (Patiala: Punjabi Lniversity, 1966), pp. 93-96. '

18.

ESC\ pp. 77-79. On the paramount importance of kirtan

Mansukhani, Indian 19.

Classical

Matyadd

Sikh Rahit

for Sikh v\’orship, see Ci. S.

Music and Sikh Kirtan, esp. ch.

(see chapter 5, n.26), pp.

10.

13-14, 18-22. TSSS,

pp. 81-82. 20.

Harbans Singh,

21.

Sikh Rahit Maryada, pp.

(slow' reading)

is

Berkeley Lectures on Sikhism, pp. 58-60.

14-15. TSSS, p. 80. 4'he term sahaj path

sometimes used

being that sddhdran (ordinary)

is

in preference to sddhdran path, the reason

held by

some

to

be

a

demeaning term.

22.

John .Malcolm,

23.

For further details see D. P. .\shta. The Poetry of the Dasarn Granth Delhi: .\run Prakashan, 1959); C. H. Loehlin, The Granth of Guru

(New

Gobind Singh and

the

Sketch of the Sikhs {Uon^Xow. 1812), p.

Khalsa Brotherhood,

pp.

20-56; and Gobind Singh

.Mansukhani, Aspects of Sikhism, pp. 105-13. .\lso TSSS, pp. and ESC, pp. 79-81. 25.

Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs, 1:316. Khushwant Singh, pp. 314-17, holds this view

26.

For an exposition of

24.

a

173.

2,

6-7, 55-63;

.

version of this radical view (w ith particular

reference to the Savayye, Bachitar \dtak, and the Zafar-ndmd), see Surjit Singh

Hans, “Historical .Analysis of Sikh Literature,” pp. 364-91. 27.

Ibid., pp. 37 1-82.

28.

Fhe Nihang Sikhs, distinguished by their dark blue garments and

ILL

THE LITERA TI RE OE THE SIKHS

6.

impressive array of tur\’ traditions

Maiyada

30.

Nand 31.

I

ambivalence toward the he term gurhdm can cer-

and anv work attributed

it

identifies the

Sikh Rahit Maryddd, p.

It

Dasam

may

to Ciuru (lobind

nevertheless be signif-

(iranth separately.

I'SSS, p. 80.

13.

For Bhai Gurdas and Bhai

63-70.

Lai, see 'TSS\S\ pp. 2, 7-8, 31,

\

it.

certainlv be regarded as gurhdm.

no reference

icant that

reference to

all

tainlv be construed to include ill

32-33.

1

illustrates the general

(iranth bv omitting

Singh w

to keep alive the eighteenth-cen-

of the Panth. See TSSS, pp.

29. Sikh Rahit

Dasam

weapons, claim

steel

Singh, ed., Kabitt Bhai Gurdas, 3d ed. (Amritsar: Khalsa Sa-

ir

machar, 1966). 32. ritsar:

33.

Hazara Singh and \

ir

(Am-

Singh, eds.. Varan Bhdt Gurdas, 7th ed.

Khalsa Samachar, 1962).

Fhe translations

Ibid., 26:24.

chapter are

mv ow n

and, w

ith

for

all

of the passages quoted in this

the exception of note 44, are taken from

TSSS. 34.

Ibid., 36:14.

35.

Ibid., 26:15.

For further examples from the vdrs of Bhai (iurdas, see

TSSS, pp. 63-69. 36. (ianda Singh, ed., Kulliydt-i-Bhdi Sand Ldl Goya (Malakka: Sant

Sohan Singh, 37.

TSSS,

38.

For

1963). p. 69.

a brief

survev of the janam-sakhis, see ESG, ch.

tended treatment see ESI sakhi see 39.

For an Fnglish translation of

a

complete janam-

BLO J-s.

An example

Nanak’s

.

For an ex-

2.

visit to

of this kind

.Multan

w here

is

supplied by the story concerning Baba

a rose

is

been

said to have

water bv the earlier Sufi visitor ‘Abd al-(^adir

Jilani.

on

laid

GSSR,

p.

a

cup of For

142.

a

discussion of the janam-sakhi debt to the Sufi model see EST, pp. 70-73,

82-83. 40. 41.

I

he various traditions are described

For

a different

approach to the

life

in

of

EST,

Nanak

ch.

see

3.

GSSR,

ch. 4, esp.

pp. 146-47. 42.

Surjit

Singh

1

Ians, “Historical .\nalysis of Sikh literature,” pp. 348,

35 1-52, 505. Sulakhan Singh, “ (Ph.l). dissertation, (iuru

Fhe Ldasis Under Sikh Rule

Nanak Dev

(

1

750- 850)” 1

University, .\mritsar, 1985), p. 101.

Fhe exception

is

the .Miharhdn tradition. In the .Miharbdn Janani-sdkhI

each individuaf item

is

called a gost or “discourse” rather than a sdkhT or

43.

,

rUE Ln'ERATl'RE OE THE SIKHS “anecdote.”

I

he description

generally accurate for the bulk of the Mi-

is

harhan Jauam-sakht comprises discourses, vvith considerable space devoted to

and lengthy commentary.

scriptural cjuotation

44. B4() janam-sakhJ, folios 188b-19()a. .\ly translation a

more

literal

and

collections

corded as the

in A.

in

46.

I).

pp. 200-1.

Fhe anecdote appears

For

other

in

EST, pp. 124-27. The B4() Janam-sdkhJ, re733, draws from a variety of sources and can be regarded analyzed

is 1

J-s,

a free one.

in

most important of the extant janam-sakhis. Fhe janam-sakhis have been extensively used

45.

and

one see B4()

is

gurdwaras

for kathd

purposes

Hans, “d'he

Surjit S.

homes,

in

in schools,

(i.e.,

the delivery of religious homilies).

(itirbilas in

the Farlv Nineteenth Century,”

Journal of Regional History (1981), 2:51-53.

For examples, see TSSS, pp. 58-59, 62-63. 48. Hans, “Historical .Analysis of Sikh Literature,” pp. 37 1-72. 49. Ibid., pp. 429-30, 440 H. For a survey of the early gur-bilas 47.

—

lit-

Fransformation and the Oeative Imagi-

erature, see Surjit Hans, “Social

nation in Sikhism,” in Sudhir CTandra, ed.. Social Transformation and Cre-

(New

ative Imagination

50.

TSSS^.

5

Ibid., pp.

1

.

52.

Delhi: .Allied Publishers, 1984), pp. 99-106.

12.

12-13.

See chapter

3.

For further details concerning the literary aspects of

the Singh Sabha and examples of the

work

actually produced see TSSS, pp.

14-17, 133-47. Strictly speaking “Singh Sabha” should of course read “Tat Khalsa.” 53.

Harbans Singh, The Heritage of

Sikhs in the .Modern

7. 1.

1848-1968

dealing extensively

w

M. de Lepervanche, Doreen \\

.

W orld

Ilistoiy of the Sikhs, vol. 2, ch.

.VI.

them

are

Indians in a

.A.

Parminder Bhachu,

see

is

T. G. Kessinger,

.4

.

Helw eg,

Australia;

Sikhs in England;

Norman

Marie

Buchignani and

Social History of South Asians in

Can-

Tivice Migrants: East African Sikh Settlers in Britain;

H. .Meixod, Punjabis

'The Sikhs of Eiji

W

W hite

Indra, Continuous journey:

1-7,

Books concentrating on the Sikhs or

esp. pp. 89-94. ith

—

17.

Particularly useful for explaining Sikh migration

Vilayatpur

ada;

252-54.

For an account of the disorders and migrations of 1946

Khushwant Singh, A 2.

the Sikhs, pp. 226, 228,

in

Seiv Zealand; and a booklet by Gajraj Singh,

(Suva: South Pacific Social Sciences .Association, n.d. but

136

,

SIKHS IS THE

7.

1976 or 1977). As this titles

list

MODERN WORLD

indicates the subject

is

deserving notice are two books bv K. L.

and The

Eiji Indians; Kernail

Cambridge University

The United

cent book Lisefullv

Lumpur: Oxford University

an important gap. d his

fills

of Northern California

(New

Migrants

Malaya (Cambridge:

in

aw aits coverage of the entire

still

Other

and Sinnappah Arasaratnam, Indians

Press, 1969);

States

(iillion, Ei/iS Indian

Singh Sandhu, Indians

Malaysia and Singapore, rev. ed. (Kuala 1979).

attracting attention.

is

in

Press,

area, but a re-

Bruce LaBrack, The Sikhs

^ Ork: .\.\1S Press, 1987).

See also Emily Brow

n,

“Students, Sikhs, and Swamis: l^unjabis in the United States, 1899-1914,”

Harbans Singh and N. (L Barrier, eds., Punjab Past and Present, pp. 322-3 1; and Harold S. Jacoby, “Some Demographic and Social .\spects of Early East Indian Life in the United States,” in Mark juergensmever and N. Cierald Barrier, eds., Sikh Studies, pp. 159-71. A good overview of the

in

present situation

The Sikh Diaspora

1

3.

PNZ,

4.

Eor

is

provided bv N.

(New

Barrier and \

(i.

.

A. Dusenberv, eds..

Delhi: .Manohar, forthcoming).

p. 23.

izzat,

see Joyce

Pettigrew

,

58-59; and

Robber Noblemen, pp.

lelweg, pp. 11-33 pass. 5.

I

he three tahsils are Phillaur and Nawanshahr (Jullundur District),

and Garhshankar (Hoshiarpur 6.

District).

Doaba prominence in the area,

added

is

The

problem, see PNZ, pp. 19-30.

f or a discussion of the

eastern

evidently partially related to the falling water table

to the

diminished landholdings of the Doabi

Jats.

pp. 92-93.

7.

Kessinger, Vilayatpur 1848-1968

8.

.Marie de Lepervanche, Indians in a White Australia, pp. 12-14.

9.

PNZ,

pp. 34-35.

10.

Gillion, The Eiji Indians, pp. 116-17.

11.

Buchignani

and

Indra,

Continuous Journey,

Johnston, The Voyage of the Komagata Maru, 12. Buchignani and Indra, p. 7. 13.

p.

pp.

5-6,

14.

Hugh

139.

Ibid., p. 23.

Johnston, The Voyage of the Komagata Maru. 4 he Komagata .Maru w as Japanese vessel specially chartered to carry migrants direct from (Calcutta 14.

a

to \ ancouver,

passengers

who

thereby getting round the new’ policy. However, only the could prove their Canadian domicile were permitted to

ashore. In spite of vigorous protests, the rest

v\

ere prevented

and the ship was held under armed guard. 4'wo months to return across the Pacific. 15.

Buchignani and Indra,

p. 66.

137

later

come

from landing it

was forced

SIKfIS I\

7.

THE MODERS W ORLD

Ikucc LaBrack, “Occupational Specialization

16.

nia Sikhs,” Awerasia (1982), 9(2);4.>

—

1^6,

Among

Rural (Califor-

48.

17.

Parmindcr Bhachu, Tie ice Migrants,

18.

Manjit S. Sidhu, “Sikh Immigration to Kenya” (.\hmadu Bello Uni-

p. 21.

Department of (leographv Seminar paper, 1983), p. 4. ESC, pp. 102-3; and “.Miliiw alias and Ramgarhias: 4 wo Sikh Castes,” South Asia

versity,

(October 1974), no.

pp. 78-90.

4,

l^arminder Bhachu, pp. 13-14. Bhachu’s book

19.

is

concerned w

ith this

community.

Malcolm Darling, while traveling through Moga tahsil in 1931, encountered a Jat w ho had been in Sumatra and sex eral w ho had returned from (China; see his W isdom and Waste in the Punjab Village (London: Oxford University Press, 1934), pp. 104-6. .\t least tvxo found their w av to d onga. Sir

20.

PSZ,

l()3n.

p.

Roger Ballard and (Catherine Ballard, “4 he Sikhs:

21.

of South .\sian Settlements in Britain,” in James L.

I

he Development

W atson,

ed., Betieeen

Tivo Cultures: Migrants and Minorities in Britain (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1977), p. 28.

Rashmi Desai, Indian Immigrants in Britain (London: Oxford University Press, 1963), p. 19. Note that this does not include Pakistanis. 22.

Buchignani and Indra, Continuous Journey, pp. 128-30. Ibid., p. 109. Ballard and Ballard, “I he Sikhs,” p. 38. Parminder

23. 24.

Bhachu,

Tivice Migrants, p.

.>1.

4 he same incomprehension has also been w idely evident

25.

members

Dharma

of the Sikh

of the

W estern

Hemisphere

(the

among

W estern

young .\mericans, of the Sikh teacher Harbhajan Singh members typically find Punjabi values associated with izzat very

follow ers, mainly \

()gi).

Its

difficult to

understand or accept,

just as

to live

up

to strict doctrinal standards

\ erne

.\.

Dusenberv,

ica,”

forthcoming

Passions:

Sikh

Dharma

linnells.

p.

Owen Lynch

in

of the

strictly

on the part of many Punjabi Sikhs.

the .Moral Sensibilities of Sikhs in

Emotions and Eeeling

members, 1

“On

they often disapprove of a failure

in

North .\mer-

and Pauline Kolenda, eds.. Consuming

Indian Culture. 4 hose

W estern

w ho belong

Hemisphere are commonly known the movement’s educational branch. See

The Penguin Dictionary of Religions

(I

to the

as “3

HO”

john

R.

larmondsworth: Penguin, 1984),

303. 26.

For

a

survey of the remaining period, see

brief but very useful

(Christopher Shackle,

The Sikhs. 4 he account covers the entire period of

Sikh history, but deals

in rather

more

I

detail

.U

with the modern period.

SIKHS I\ THE

7.

MODERS WORLD

Paul \\ allace, “Religious and Secular Politics in the Punjab,” in

27.

W allace

and Surendra C^hopra, eds..

I^aul

Dynamics of Punjab, p. 5. 28. Patiala and the other princely states of the Punjab were amalgamated

to

form the

this

new

and w

A

Political

and Past Punjab States Union (PKPSU)

Patiala

were

state Sikhs

as accordingly

in a majority.

W ithin

proyed to be

politically unstable

state in 1956.

Khushwant Singh,

It

brought into Punjab

in 1948.

Histo/y of the Sikhs, 2:288.

Para Singh are scattered thickly through the works

References to

29.

w

dealing

ith

the Akali

moyement, both before and

after

independence. Por

brief biographical notes, see Pauja Singh, Eminent Ereedom Eighters of Punjab (Patiala: .4 kali

.

\

Punjabi Uniyersity, 1972), pp. 23 1-33; and Mohinder Singh, The

lovement, p

185.

.

31.

Joyce I^ettigrew, Robber Soblemen, pp. 63ff. Dalip Singh, Dynamics of Punjab Politics, pp. 76-77.

32.

The

30.

.\rya Samaj

strictly a political one.

bership. Por the Jan

was

a religious

d here

Sangh

and cultural body, the Jan Sangh

how eyer, an extensiye oyerlap in memthe Punjab, see Satya M. Rai, “The Strucas,

v\

in

ture of Regional Politics in the Punjab,” in Paul Wallace and Surendra

(diopra, eds., pp. 127-28. 33.

Khushwant Singh, A

Narang, Storm Over

the Sutlej:

History of the Sikhs,

Anup Chand Kapur,

Delhi: S.

Chand,

1985), pp.

The

2,

ch.

18;

A. S.

(New Delhi: Gitanjali, 1983), Punjab Crisis: An Analytical Study (New

The Akali

chs. 5-6;

yol.

Politics

149-79.

34.

Khushwant Singh, 2:299-300.

35.

I

36.

Panjab Uniyersity

larbans Singh, Berkeley Lectures on Sikhism, p. 62.

by Arya Samaj illuminating (yet

in

(Tandigarh

is

commonly

seen to be controlled

“Mahasha U niyersitw” Por an sympathetic) account of the working of Punjabi Uniyer-

interests

and

is

called the

Amrik Singh, Asking for Trouble (New Delhi: \ ikas, 1984). 37. Por a text of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution see Kuldip Nayar and Khushw ant Singh, Tragedy of Punjab, pp. 35-37. Seyeral yersions of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution exist. This represents the 1983 yersion.

sity, see

1

138-39; see also the

38.

Ibid., pp.

39.

Amrik Singh, “.\n Approach to Narang, “The Plectoral Angle,”

A. S.

which appears on pp. 140-41. the Problem,” and D. L. Sheth and

list

in

Amrik Singh,

ed., Punjab in In-

dian Politics, pp. 1-28 (esp. p. 9), 129-30.

“Sant,” see chapter 4, n.6.

40.

Por the

41.

Kuldip Nayar and Khushwant Singh,

title

Jacob, Amritsar, pp. 57-58.

139

p. 31.

Mark d

ully

and Satish

7.

42. “

I

Ibid., pp.

SIKfIS IX

58-59.

On

THE MODERX WORLD Mark Juergensmever, Schomer and McLeod,

the Sant Nirankaris, see

he Radhasoanii Revival of the Sant

I

radition,” in

eds.. The Sants, pp. 329-55.

43.

See above, chapter

3,

n.8.

Ainrik Singh and Pritam Singh in .\mrik Singh, ed., pp. 15, 178. must be admitted, hov\ever, that this was written in 1986 and that a

44. It

representative statement of Sikh opinion a

is

quite impossible to obtain. For

view of one possible outcome, see .\ndrew

J.

Major, “Sikh Ethno-Na-

tionalism, 1967-1984: Implications for the Congress,” South Asia (June,

cember

1985), 8(1-2): 176-78.

l-K)

De-

GLOSSARY

Adi Granth

the

Guru Granth

Sahib, the sacred scripture of the

Sikhs compiled by

AhluwalTa

a

Guru Arjan

in

Sikh caste of the Punjab, by origin

1603-04. distillers

but

successful in acquiring a greatly elevated status,

God.

Akal Purakh

“the Timeless Being,”

amrit (amrta)

“nectar of immortality”; baptismal water used in amrit sanskar (q.v.).

who has “taken amrit," i.e. member of the Khalsa (q.v.).

Amrit-dharl

a

amrit sanskar

the initiation

Anand

Sikh marriage

rite

Sikh

an initiated

ceremony of the Khalsa

(q.v.).

ritual.

Arora

a

Bala

one of the extant collections of janam-sakhi

mercantile caste of the Punjab.

anecdotes, notable for the presence of Bhai Bala as

ban!

Guru Nanak’s

regular companion,

works of the Gurus and other poets included

in the

Sikh sacred scriptures. of respect,

Bhai

“Brother,”

bhakta

devotee; one

bhakti

belief in, adoration of a personal god.

blr

volume, recension.

darsan

audience; appearance before eminent person, sacred

title

who

practices bhakti (q.v.)

object, etc.

Dasam Granth

the scripture

w hose authorship

Gobind Singh

is

attributed to (iuru

or his time,

dharma

dharam

the Punjabi version of

dharam-sala

place of worship for early Sikh Panth (later

gurdwara).

141

(q.v.).

,

(iimSARV dharnia

panthic duty.

Jig-vijava

concpicst of the world in

Fi\

e-Ks

five

items feach beginning with the

which (iranth

four directions,

all

initial

“k”)

Sikh of the Khalsa must wear.

a

[the SacredJ \'olume, the .\di (iranth (q.v.) or Ciuru

(iranth Sahib,

gurdwara.

grant hi

custodian of

gurbanl

vxorks of the (iurus.

gur-bilas

“Pleasure of the (iuru”; hagiographic narrative of

a

the lives of the (iurus (esp. the sixth and the tenth) stressing their role as

gurduara

gurdwara, Sikh temple,

(lurmat

the teachings of the (iurus.

(lursikh

a

guru

a spiritual

Sikh of the (iuru,

a loval

The

ten (iurus (and their dates) are

listed in the notes to

flesh of ritual

hatha-voga

Sikh,

preceptor, either a person or the divine

inner voice.

halal

w arriors,

animal killed

whereby

it

is

in

chapter

3,

n.l5.

accordance with the Muslim

bled to death

(cf.

jhatka).

the yogic discipline practiced bv adherents of the

Nath

(q.v.) tradition,

haumai

self-centered pride,

hukam

order.

izzat

honor, dignity, self-respect,

janam-sakhi

traditional narrative of the life of

Guru Nanak.

Punjabi rural caste, numerically dominant in the Panth. jhatka

flesh of

an animal

approved Khalsa kabitt

a poetic

kachh

a pair

for

killed

with

a single

blow

consumption by members of the

(cf. halal).

meter.

kahgha

w hich must not extend below the knee, worn as one of the Five Ks (q.v.). wooden comb, worn as one of the Five Ks (q.v.).

Kanphat yogi

“split-ear” yogi; follow er of

the

of pants,

Nath

Gorakhnath, adherent of

(q.v.) tradition,

worn

one of the Five Ks

kanl

steel bangle,

karah prasad

sacramental food prepared in {kardhJ).

142

as

a large iron

(q.v.).

dish

GLOSSAR] karam (karma)

the destiny or fate of an individual, generated in

accordance

\\

ith

the deeds performed in his/her

present and past existences,

katha

homily

kes

uncut

Kes-dharl

a

Khalsa

the religious order established

hair,

as

one of the Five Ks

Sikh w ho retains the

Singh

khande di pahul

worn

rite

in

(cpy.).

kes (q.v.).

by Guru (lobind

1699.

of sword-baptism as initiation to the Khalsa

(q.v.).

Khatrl

a

mercantile caste of the Punjab (cognate form of ksatriya, the

warrior varna^ q.v.).

kirtan

sword or dagger, worn singing of hymns.

laiigar

the kitchen attached to every

kirpan

food

is

served to

all,

as

one of the Five Ks

(q.v.).

gurdw ara from w hich

regardless of caste or creed;

the meal served from such a kitchen,

Mahala

a

code-word used to distinguish works by different (iurus in the Adi (iranth (q.v.). first

Ciuru,

is

Guru Nanak,

as

designated “Mahala 1” or simply

“Ml”; the second (iuru, Angad, “Mahala 2” or “M2”; etc.

is

designated

man

heart/mind/soul.

manji

administrative subdivision of the early Panth.

masand MazhabI

administrative deputy acting for the (iuru.

mlri-plri

doctrine

the Sikh section of the (ihuhra or sweeper caste,

w hich maintains

that the (iuru possesses

temporal {mlri) as well as spiritual

(/>/>/)

authority.

Mona nam

a

who cuts his/her hair, divine Name, a summary term

Sikh

the

total

nam nam

being of Akal Purakh

expressing the

(q.v.).

Name,

japan

devoutly repeating the divine

simaran

the devotional practice of meditating on the divine

Name

Nanak-panth

nam (q.v.). the community of Nanak’s followers; the early Sikh community; (later) members of the Sikh community who do not observe the discipline of or

the Khalsa (q.v.).

143

GLOSSA/^y

Nath

tradition

vogic tradition of considerable inlluence in the

Punjab prior

to

and during the time of the early

Sikh (iurus; practitioners of hatha-yoga

Nirahkar

[the

One]

(q.v.)

nirguna

“\\ ithout

Form,”

a

name

(q.v.).

of Akal Purakh

used bv Nanak.

“without qualities,” formless, not incarnated

(cf.

saguna).

nit-nein

the daily rule; set scriptural passages recited each

day.

Ks

pahj kakke/kakkar

the Five

pahj piarc

the “Cdierished Five”; the

(q.v.).

initiated as

Sikhs

in

members of

first five

Sikhs to be

the Khalsa in 1699; five

good standing chosen

to represent a

sangat (q.v.).

panth

“path” or “way,” system of religious belief or practice.

Panth

fhe word preferred usage

when

in

English as well as in Punjabi

referring to the Sikh

community

{panth spelled with a capital “P”). Pat it

an initiated Sikh w ho has committed one of the four gross sins (the char kurahit).

pir

the head of a Sufi (q.v.) order; a Sufi saint,

pothi

tome, volume.

Puratan

one of the extant collections of janarn-sakhi anecdotes.

who

qaum

“a people

Qur’an

the Koran,

raga

metrical mode,

ragi

hvmn-singer.

Rahit

the code of conduct of the Khalsa (q.v.).

rahit-nama

a

recorded version of the Rahit

RamgarhTa

a

Sikh artisan caste, predominantly drawn from the

stand together.”

(q.v.).

I'arkhan or carpenter caste but also including Sikhs from the blacksmith, mason and barber castes.

hymn

sabad (sabda)

Word;

sabha

society, association.

sadhan

means, method

saguna

“with qualities,” possessing form

a

of the .\di Ciranth (q.v.).

[of achieving spiritual liberation],

144

(cf.

nirguna).

GLOSSARY sahaj

the condition of ultimate, inexpressible beatitude;

the condition of ineffable bliss resulting from the practice of fidm simaratj (q.v.).

non-Khalsa Sikh.

Sahaj-dhari

a

Sanatan Sikhs

conservative

sahgat

congregation, group of devotees,

sansar

transmigration.

sant

one

members of

who knows

the Singh Sabha (q.v.).

the truth; a pious person; an

adherent of the Sant (q.v.) tradition,

Sant

one renowned

Sant Bhasa

the language of the Sant poets (also

as a teacher of

Ciurmat

(q.v.).

known

as

Sadhukan). sant-sipahl

one

who combines

pietv

v\

ith

the braverv of the

soldier.

Sant tradition

a

devotional tradition of north India

w hich

stressed

the need for interior religion as opposed to external observance.

Sarbat Khalsa

“the entire Khalsa”; representative assembly of the

Khalsa

(q.v.).

sat

truth.

satinam

Singh Sabha

“The Name is 1 ruth.” service, commonly to a gurdwara. reform movement initiated in 1873.

slok

shalok; a couplet or longer composition, normallv

seva

from

a

vdr (q.v.) in the Adi Granth

(q.v.).

Sufi

a follower of mvstical Islam,

tahsll

sub-district

takhat

“throne”; one of the five centers of temporal authority.

Tat Khalsa

“the true Khalsa”; the radical

Sabha

members

of the Singh

(q.v.).

w

tirath

place of pilgrimage

\'ahiguru

“Praise to the Guru”; the

\’aishnava

a

var

ode; a poetic form.

varna

the four ranks of the classical caste hierarchv.

ith

water.

w orshiper or devotee of

145

modern name

for

God.

\'isnu.

ir

";74 “ .

-

"

...

4

'''''

>

.

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

A jit

Singh Sarhadi. Punjabi Suha: The Story of Kapur, 1970.

Amarjit Singh Sethi. Universal Sikhism. .\mrik Singh, ed. Punjab lAiblications,

in

New

the Struggle.

Delhi:

Delhi: L.

Hemkunt

(>.

Press, 1972.

Indian Politics: Issues and Trends. Delhi: .\janta

1985.

Avtar Singh. Ethics of the Sikhs. Patiala: Punjabi University, 1970. lialdev Raj Navar. .Minority Politics in the Punjab. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1966.

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Nanak Foundation,

(jiiru

Guru Sanak: Banerjce,

.\.

Religion

to

N.

and

Ethics. Patiala:

Guru Gohind

The Khalsa Raj.

New

His Message.

New

Delhi:

Singh.

New

Punjabi University, 1968.

Patiala:

Punjabi University, 1971.

Delhi: Rajesh Publications, 1978.

Delhi: .\bhinav, 1985.

Cierald. The Sikhs

Periodicals,

W as

1983.

C. Guru Sanak and His Times.

Guru Sanak

Barrier,

and

Life

and Their

Literature: /\ Guide to Tracts, Books,

1849-1919. Delhi: .\lanohar, 1970.

Bhagat Singh. Sikh Polity

in the Eighteenth

and Sineteenth

Genturies.

New

Delhi:

Oriental Publishers, 1978. Brass, Paul R. Language, Religion, and Politics in Sorth India. (Cambridge:

(Cambridge University Press, 1974. Buchignani,

Norman and Doreen M.

Indra. Gontinuous Journey:

History of South Asians in Ganada. d'oronto: .McClelland (>)le,

W Ow en. .

The Guru in Sikhism. D)ndon: Darton,

A

Social

and Stewart, 1985.

Dmgman, and

I

cKld,

1982.

Sikhism and

Its

Indian Gontext

,

1469-1708. London: Darton, Longman,

and Fodd, 1984.

Ow’en and Piara Singh Sambhi. The Sikhs: Their and Practices. D)ndon: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1978.

Cole, \\

.

147

Religious Beliefs

.

SlU.ECr BIHLIOGRAPUY

Dalip Singh. Dynamics of Punjab Daljeet Singh. Phe Sikh Ideology.

Sikhism:

Politics.

New

(Comparative Study of

.A

New

Delhi: Macmillan, 1981.

Delhi: Ciiiru

Nanak Foundation,

New

Theology and Mysticism.

Its

1984.

Delhi:

Sterling, 1979.

Darshan Singh. Indian Bhakti

and Sikh Gurus, (diandigarh: Panjab

Tradition

Publishers, 1968.

de Lepervanche, Marie M. Indians

Unwin,

a White Australia. Sydney: .\llen and

in

1984.

The Poetry of the Dasam Granth.

New

Duggal, K. S. The Sikh Gurus: Their Lives and Teachings.

New

Dharam

Ashta.

Pal

Arun

Delhi:

Prakashan, 1959. Delhi: \dkas,

1980.

Fauja Singh. Guru

Fauja Singh

Amur

Das: Life and Teachings.

et al. Sikhism.

Patiala:

New

Delhi: Sterling, 1979.

Punjabi University, 1969.

Fox, Richard G. Lions of the Punjab: Culture

in the

Making. Berkeley and Los

.\ngeles: University of California Press, 1985.

Ganda

A

Singh.

Gurdwara

Brief Account of the Sikhs. Amritsar: Shiromani

Parbandhak Committee, 1966. The Sikhs and Their Religion. Redw(X)d Citv:

Ganda Singh, ies

The

Sikh Foundation, 1974.

ed. Early European Accounts of the Sikhs. Calcutta: Indian Stud-

Past and Present, 1962.

(jillion,

K. L. The

Eiji Indians: Challenges to

European Dominance, 1920-1946.

Canberra: Australian National University Press, 1977. Eiji's

Indian

.Migrants:

A

History

to

the

End

of Indenture

1920.

in

Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1962.

Gobind Singh Mansukhani.

Aspects of Sikhism.

New

Delhi: Punjabi

W riters

Cooperative Industrial Society, 1982.

Guru Ramdas: His

IBH,

Life,

Work, and Philosophy.

New

Oxford and

Delhi:

1979.

Indian Classical Music and Sikh Kirtan.

New

Delhi:

Oxford and IBH,

1982. Life of

Guru Nanak.

Gobinder Singh.

New

Religion

and

Delhi:

Guru Nanak Foundation,

Politics in the

Punjab. Nev\' Delhi:

1974.

Deep and

Deep, 1986^

Gokul Chand Narang. Transformation New Book Society of India, 1960. Gopal Singh.

A

of Sikhism. 5th ed. rev.

History of the Sikh People,

1469-1978

New

New’ Delhi:

Delhi:

World

Sikh University Press, 1979. The Religion of

the Sikhs.

Bombay: Asia Publishing House,

148

1971.

SELECT BIBLIOGRAEHY Gopal Singh,

Gur

4 vols. Delhi; tr.

Grewal,

Guru-Granth Sahib. English translation of the Adi (iranth,

Sri

tr.

Thus Spake

.\mritsar:

the

Tenth Master. Patiala: Punjabi University, 1978.

Xanak

Erotn Guru

S.

J.

Kapur, 1962.

I3as

Guru Nanak Dev

Guru Xanak

to

.Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

2d ed. rev.

University Press, 1982.

(Chandigarh: Panjab University, 1969.

in History.

The Sikhs of the Punjab. (Cambridge: (Cambridge University Press, forth-

coming. (jrev\'al,

J.

and

S.

S.

Bal.

S.

Guru Gobind Singh:

Biographical Study.

Chandigarh: Panjab University, 1978.

Gurbachan Singh Talib. Guru Xanak: His Das Kapur, 1969. (jurbachan Singh Talib,

tr.

Sri

Vision. Delhi:

Gur

Sahib. 2 vols. continuing.

En-

Personality

Guru Granth

and

glish translation of the .\di (iranth. Patiala: Punjabi University,

(iurmukh Nihal Singh,

ed.

Guru Xanak: His

Times,

Life,

and

1984-

.

Teachings. Delhi:

National Publishing House, 1969. 1

lakam Singh. Sikh

A

Classified Bibliography of Printed Books in English.

Punjab Publishing House, 1982.

Patiala; 1

Studies:

larbans Singh. Berkeley Lectures on Sikhism.

New

Delhi: (iuru

Nanak Eoun-

dation, 1983.

New

Bhai Vir Singh.

Guru Gobind

Delhi: Sahitva

New

Singh. 2d ed. rev.

Guru Xanak and

Akademi, 1972. Delhi; Sterling, 1979.

the Origins of the Sikh Eaith.

Bombay:

.\sia

Publishing

House, 1969.

Guru Tegh Bahadur. The Heritage of

New

Delhi: Sterling, 1982.

2d ed. rev.

the Sikhs.

Harbans Singh and N. (ierald in

Hari

Llonour of

Ram

Dr Ganda

Delhi:

.\.

.

the Sikhs.

1976.

New

3d ed. rev. 4 vols.

I'hree

Delhi;

more volumes forthcoming.

Sikhs in England: The Development of a .Migrant

Gxford University

Hershman,

Manohar, 1983.

Singh. Patiala; Punjabi University,

Gupta. History of

W

Delhi:

Barrier, eds. Punjab Past and Present: Essays

Munshiram Manoharlal, 1978-84. Helweg,

New

Community.

Press, 1979.

P. Punjabi Kinship

and .Marriage. Delhi: Hindustan Publishing

Corporation, 1981.

Indubhusan Banerjee. Evolution

of the Khalsa. 2 vols. (Calcutta: University

of (Calcutta and A. Mukherjec, 1936 and 1962 respectively, jagjit

Singh. Perspectives on Sikh Studies.

New

Delhi: (iuru

dation, 198). L'he

Sikh Revolution.

New

Delhi: Bahri, 1981.

149

Nanak Eoun-

SELECT BlliLIOCRAEin W bat's Happening

JetTrev, R.

to

India? London: Macmillan, 1986.

Joilh Singh. Ehe Religions Philosophy of (luru \anak: Special Reference to Siddha

(iosti.

(Comparative Study veitb

Varanasi: Motilal ILmarsidass, 1983.

Jogcndra Singh, comp. Sikh Ceremonies, l^ombav: International Book

1

louse,

1941.

Johnston,

I

The Voyage of the Komagata Maru:

lugh.

(Canada's (Colour liar. Delhi:

M. and N. (L

Jiiergensmever, spectives on a ries,

Oxford University

Changing

The Sikh (Challenge

to

Press, 1979.

Barrier, eds. Sikh Studies: (Comparative Per-

'Tradition.

Berkeley: Berkeley Religious Studies Se-

1979.

Kailash (diander (lulati. The Akalis Past and Present.

New

Delhi: Ashajanak,

1974.

Kapur Singh. Parasharprasna

An

Expo-

juWundur: Hind Publishers, 1959.

sition of Sikhism.

Vilyatpur 1848-1968: Social and Economic (Change in a

Kessinger, d'om (L

\orth Indian

or the Baisakhi of (Curu Cohind Singh:

Berkeley and Los .\ngeles: University of (California

Village.

Press, 1974.

Khushw ant

Singh.

versity Press,

.

\

History of the Sikhs. 2 vols. Princeton: Princeton Uni-

1963-1966.

Kuldip Navar and Khushw ant Singh. Tragedy of Punjab: Operation Bluestar and After. Nev\’ Delhi: \ ision Books, 1984. La Brack, Bruce. The Sikhs of Sorthern

California.

New

^4)rk:

A.MS

Press,

1987.

Loehlin, C. H. The Cranth of Curu Cobind Singh and the Khalsa Brotherhood.

Lucknow

Imcknow Publishing House, 1971. The Sikhs and Their Scriptures. Lucknow Lucknow Publishing House, :

:

1958.

Macauliffe,

Max

Arthur. The Sikh Religion:

Authors. 6 vols. in

McLeod,

\V.

3.

Curus, Sacred Writings, and

Its

Oxford: (Clarendon Press, 1909.

H. Early Sikh

Tradition:

A

Study of the Janam-sakhis

[/A'/’].

Oxford: (Clarendon Press, 1980. The Evolution of the Sikh (Community

[£'6’C].

New

Delhi:

Oxford Uni-

versity Press, 1975; Oxford: (Clarendon Press, 1976.

Curu \anak and Punjabis in Xeiv sity Press,

Who

Me

I

xod,

v\ith

is

\\

the Sikh Religion '/.ealand.

[C\SR]. Oxford: (Clarendon Press, 1968.

[PA'Z]. Amritsar: (lUru

Nanak Dev Univer-

1986.

a Sikh? Oxford: (Clarendon Press, forthcoming. .

H.,

tr.

The B4() Janam-sdkhi [B4()

j-s\.

An

Lnglish translation

introduction and annotation of India Office Library (iurmukhi

ISO

SELECT BIBLIOCRAPIIY a

1733. Amritsar: (iurii

Nanak Dev University

'The

Nanak compiled

janam-sakhi of (luru

manuscript Pauj.BLO,

Press.

in

A.i).

1980.

Dunedin: Universit)’ of Otago Press,

Chaupa Singh Rahit-ndma

1987.

.McLeod,

\\’.

H.,

and ed. Textual

tr.

Sources for the Study of Sikhism [LANS'].

.Manchester: .Manchester University Press, 1984.

Nanak

.Madanjit Kaur. L'he Golden Temple: Past and Present, .\mritsar: (iuru

De\ Universitv Press, 1983. .Manmohan Singh, tr. Sri Guru Granth

and Punjabi

Sahib. Knglish

tion of the .\di (iranth. 2d ed. 8 vols. .\mritsar:

transla-

Shiromani Gurdw ara

Parbandhak (A)mmittee, 1981-83. .Marenco, Kthne k.

'The 'Transformation of

Sikh Society. Portland: flaPi Press,

1974.

.Mohinder Singh.

'The

Akali .Movement. Delhi: .Macmillan, 1978.

Niharranjan Rav.

'The

Sikh Gurus and the Sikh Society:

ysis.

Patiala:

Study

in Social .Anal-

Punjabi Universitv, 1970.

OXionnell, )oseph T. Century.

A

I'oronto:

et al., eds., Sikh History

Ontre

Parminder Bhachu.

'Tvoice

for

South

and Religion

.\sian Studies,

in the 'Tzventieth

1988.

East African Sikh Settlers in Britain.

.Migrants:

London: I'avistock, 1985. lAtti^rew, Jovce. Robber Soblemen: Jats.

Rajiv

/\

Study of the Political System of the Sikh

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Kapur. Sikh Separatism:

.\.

Unwin, Rax inder

'The Politics of Eaith.

London: .Mien and

1986.

(i. B.

Singh. Indian Philosophical Tradition and Guru \anak:

.4

Based on the Conceptual Terminology L'sed in Guru XanakS Bani.

Punjab Publishing House, 1983. Sahib Singh. Guru Xanak Dev and llis

'Teachings.

Study

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Jullundur: Raj Publishers,

1969.

Satva .M. Rai. Punjab Since Partition. Delhi: Durga, 1986.

Schomer, Karine and

\\’.

H. McLeod,

eds. The Sants: Studies in a Devotional

Tradition of India. Berkeley: Berkeley Religious Studies Series, 1987; Delhi: .Motilal Banarsidass,

Shackle, C.

An

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Introduction to the Sacred Language of the Sikhs.

D)ndon:

ScIkk)!

of Oriental and African Studies, 1983. 'The Sikhs.

Rev. ed. D)ndon: .Minority Rights (iroup, 1986.

Surindar Singh Kohli.

W riters’

A

Critical Study of Adi Granth. .

New

Delhi: Punjabi

Cooperative Industrial Society, 1961.

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151

.

SELECT HIBlJOCRAPI/y Singh Ciandhi. History of the Sikh Curus: (iiir Das Kapur, 1978.

Surjit

l

aran Singh, ed. Sikh

Ciiiriis

and

.

\

Comprehensive Study

Delhi:

Punjabi

the Indian Spiritual Thought. Patiala:

Lniversitv, 1981. d'eja Singh. I'he Curdveara Reform

Movement and

the Sikh Avsakening.

2d ed.

Amritsar: Shiromani (iurdvvara Parbandhak (Committee, 1984. Sikhism: Its Ideals and Institutions. Rev. ed.

Bombay: Orient Longmans,

1951. l

eja

Singh and (ianda Singh.

A

Short History of the Sikhs.

Bombay: Orient

Longmans, 1950. d riloehan Singh. Curti Tegh Bahadur: Prophet and Martyr. Delhi:

Gurdw ara

Parbandhak (Committee, 1967. Life of Cjuru

Hari Krishan. Delhi: Delhi Sikh (iurdw ara Management

(k)mmittee, 1981. I

rilochan Singh et

al.,

tr.

The Sacred Writings of the Sikhs. London: Allen

and Unwin, 1960. I

ully, .Mark

and Satish Jacob, Amritsar: .Mrs Gandhi's Last

Battle.

London:

l^m Books, 1985. Wall ace, Paul and Surendra (>hopra, eds. .\mritsar:

Guru Nanak Dev

Political

Dynamics of Punjab.

University Press, 1981.

152

INDEX

Abchalnagar,

‘Ahd al-Qadir Adi (iranth,

Nander

see

Jilani,

2, 4,

Afghans,

1,

125,

19, 20, 29, 57,

131,

132,

141;

based on predecessor, 27, 42, 87; dictated

by

46

Ahluwalia, Ahluw

135

60, 67, 69, 75-76, 78, 82-90,

92, 12

8,

(iiiru Arjan, 27,

alias,

132,

Akdl, timeless, 49 Akalis, Akali

movement,

12-13,

46, 68, 113-16, 130, 139

Akali Dal (Akali Party), 9-11, 56,

no, 113-16

42, 51, 57, 83, 84, 92, 126;

Akali state government, 116

history, 83-84; Islamic loan-

Akal Purakh, 2-3,

words, 27-29; language, 85-87;

141

6, 21, 29-31,

49-50, 52, 60, 61, 75, 141

ritual, 83, 88-89; structure,

Akal Takhat, 58

84-85; textual problems, 83, 84,

Akdl

87-88,

Akband path, unbroken reading, 89

1

34; translations,

133;

versions, 84

Lstat, 90, 91

Alakh, ineffable, 49

Adindth, Frim'al Nath, 25

Alcohol, 76, 77, 132

Adi Sdkhis janarn-sakhi tradition,

Amar

96

Das, third Guru, 27, 41,

42, 83, 87, 92, 126, 129

ISDHX Amin,

Idi,

Bhatra, Bhatras, 108

107

Amrit-dhari (Khalsa) Sikh, 79,

Bihar,

7, 78,

Brahman, Brahmans,

141

52, 53, 54,

24, 67, 74

Braj, 74, 85-86, 90, 92

A/urit siniskdr, Khalsa initiation,

Amritsar,

14

1

British, 8-9, 37, 46-47, 65, 80, 88,

141

Amritsar Singh Sahha,

96, 99, 107-8

116

112,

4, 8, 42, 83,

106, 107, 108

British (>)lumbia,

12

hvmn, 129

Anand marriage ceremonv,

(California,

67,

Anandpiir, 58

(Caste; 24, 26, 38, 39, 40, 56,

Anandpur Resolution

80-81, 109,

(1973), 114,

139

eastes,

Angad, seeond

(iiiru, 3, 41, 87,

1

126; rural

10,

104;

14,

14, 80,

urban eastes,

132

(Charnar, (Chamars, 104

133

Ardas, the Sikh Prayer, 74-75,

(Chandigarh, 13

Chdr kurahit, 78

131

Arjan,

107

(Canada, 106-7, 108.

89, 129, 141

126,

106,

tilth

(Charter of .\kali (irievanees

(iuru, 4, 27, 41, 42,

43, 51, 57, 83-87, 92, 102, 126

(1981), 114

Arora, Aroras, 112, 132, 141

(Chaupa Singh (Chhibbar, 65

Arva Samaj, 111, 139 Assam, 12, 19, 115

(China,

Aurangzel),

4, 38, 44,

(Chinese, 106

90

(Congress eentral government, 12,

Australia, 103, 105-6, 107

Avatar Singh \

ahiria,

14,

67

1,

115

(Congress Party, 10, 12, 110-11, 1

B4() Janam-sdkht, 2

18

97, 123, 124,

Damdarna,

135, 136

Babur, 42

Damdarna

Bachitar Sdtak, 90, 91, 98, 134

Dasam

Baghdad, 19

W ar,

Bdm, gurhdni,

58, bJr,

130

84

(iranth, 82, 83, 89-92, 94,

98, 121, 135, 141

Dava Singh,

Bdld janam-sakhi tradition, 96, 141

Bangladesh

138

105,

Delhi, 37^ 76

12

Desa Singh, 64-65

42, 45, 51, 130,

Deva-nagari seript, 132

135, 141

Dbaram

I3anno, 84

Banno reeension,

61, 66

84, 88

56,

{dharma), panthic duty,

141,

142

Beas River, 105

Dhararn-sala, 42, 57, 126, 141

Bhagats, 85, 86

Dbaram

154

ytuih, religious

war, 56

2

1

Dhir Mai, 84, 88 Diaspora Sikhs, 22, 76, 80-81,

(iuru (iranth, 40-41, 44, 57,

103-10, 119 I)it

62, 75; Khalsa initiation, 7, 44,

Singh, 100, 127

Divan of

Panth and

58, 61-62; (iuru

Nand

52, 71-72; life story, 65, 98-99,

Lai, 94-95

126,

Doaha, 105, 137 Dutch Last Indies, 105

130;

promulgated the

Rahit, 33, 45, 52-53, 62-66, 70; right to

draw the sword,

6-7,

38-39, 56, 117; works, 68, I'^arly

90-91, 98, 135

Sikh Tradition, 19, 20

Last Africa, 107

(ioindval, 42

Last African Railway, 107

(ioindval pothis, 27, 42, 83, 87,

134

Last Asia, 103, 105

Ldw ard

Lmcrgencv

(

(iolden 4'emple,

106

\’1I,

assault

1975-77), 113, 115

Lvil impulses,

11,

57-58;

3,

1

on complex:

58,

16,

1

118

3

The Tvolntion of the Sikh

Community, 40-41, 126

(iorakhnath, 25 (iranthi,

gurdwara custodian,

57-58, 142

(ireen Revolution, 9, 114 Lactionalism, 14, 109, 112-13

Lateh Singh, Liji,

1

(iuramat Sitdhakar, 68

1

Citir-bilds (^hhevin

105, 106, 107

Sohan, 99

Lire-ceremonv marriage, 67, 129

Gur-bilds Dasvin TatasdhJ of

Live Ks, 45, 53, 71-72, 74, 127, 130,

131,

TatasdhJ of

142

Singh, 98 (iur-l)ilas literature, 33-34, 73, 82,

Lundamentalism, 117

98-99, 100, 128, 136, 142 Gur-bilds TdtasdhJ 10 of

(iurdas Bhalla, 82, 83, 84, 88,

115, 118

(iandhi, Rajiv, 12-13 (iandhi, Sanjav, 115

(iarhshankar

tahsil,

(iiani tradition, Ciidn Prabodh,

92-94, 126, 135 (iiirdwara, Sikh temple, 42,

137

56-59, 74, 76, 79, 80, 81,

100

90

(iian Singh, 99

88-89, 92, 108-9, 128, 130, 142 (iiirdwaras, freedom of, 9, 46

(iurmat, 36, 48, 51, 86,

(iobind Singh, tenth (iuru, 4-5, 7,

34, 52, 55, 60, 61, 63, 74,

84, 94, 117;

Koer

Singh, 34, 99

(iandhi, Indira, 10-13, 15, 111, 113,

Sukha

founded the

Khalsa, 4-5, 38-39, 44-45, 52,

127,

16,

142

(iurmat (College,

(iurmukhi

1

1

script, 86,

(iiirmukh Singh, 127

155

1

132-33

125,

1

1

“1 ligh Priests,”

(inr Sohhii of Sainapati, 62, 72,

Hindi,

73-74, 98, 127, 128

(iuru

(ctt'rnal), 6,

Hindus,

3

(iuru (lol)ind Singh Department ot Keligious Studies,

111,

(iuru (iranth Sahib,

see

Hookah,

Adi

l)e\

105

103,

63, 72-73, 77

India, 9,

Nanak Foundation,

10,

Order, 30, 50, 142

command,

102, 115, 117

11,

Armv,

Indian

112

(lunl Siinak and the Sikh Religion,

103, 107,

Indian Constitution,

Indo-Pakistan

18-20, 27

War

(

1

118

116,

1

1965),

10,

HI

Interior devotion, 5-6, 24-25, 26,

(iuru Panth, 40-41, 44, 61, 62,

27, 42

69, 75

Islam, 86

(iiirus (ten), 3-4, 6, 34, 36, 39,

41, 51, 57, 60, 80-81, 86, 131,

119

Lniversity,

1-12

126,

14,

62

(iuru lineage, 23

(iuru

relations,

Hiikani-ndnids, letters of

Nanak

110,

104,

132

Ilukani, divine

iranth

1

131,

Hong Kong,

69, 75, 83, 88, 89-90, 131

102,

9, 36, 37,

Hindu-Sikh

112

(iuru (iranth, 40-41, 57, 61, 62,

1

tradition,

16-17, 24, 67, 86

(iuru (spiritual preceptor),

(iuru

12

10,

Hinduism, Hindu

30, 50, 51, 53;

57, 61, 64, 69, 75

(

57-58

1

16,

Izzat, honor,

133

(i yiin-ratandvalJ,

104,

109,

137,

138,

142

96 Jagjit Singh, 39

Ualdl meat, 72, 77, 132, 142

Janam-sakhis,

llarbans Singh, 17-18

Harbhajan Singh \

()gi,

2,

82, 95-98, 99,

138

19-22, 33,

18,

100,

1

larchand Singh Longowal, 12

Jan Sangh, HI, 139

1

largobind, sixth (iuru, 4, 38, 39,

janta government, 115

49

1

lari,

1

larijan (outcaste),

1

lari

1

larimandir,

1

lari

1

10-1

pp,

see

(iolden Femple

Rai, seventh (iuru, 44,

85

jarnail

Singh Bhindranw

12,

11,

112, 115-18

126

104, 107,

110, 112,

137,

142

1

38,

113,

126,

Jathd, militarv detachment, 56

142 lidavatullah,

14,

ale,

Jat, Jats, 9-10, 40, 43, 46, 72, 80,

Uatimai, self-eenteredness: 30, 50,

1

91

9i),

Jclpiijl,

Krishan, eighth (iuru, 44, 126

135,

142

136,

41, 43, 51, 84, 93, 98-99, 126

123,

M.,

18

Jhatkii meat, 72, 77,

156

142

1

IM)E\ Kab‘ah, 28

instrument of reform, 38-39,

Kabir, 23, 26, 29, 31, 51, 85

66;

Kabitt

poems, 92, 142

43, 98-99, 117; nation, 54-55,

68, 100

1

comb,

Kanphat

45, 142

Khalsa dharam-sastar, 67

Khande

142 25, 50-5

Khara

12,

Khushwant Singh,

84

uncut

hair,

1,

5,

130,

45, 72, 78,

Kirtan,

7,

53, 78, 79-80,

Khalistan (independent 13,

Khalsa,

5,

state),

45,

143

hymn

singing,

3,

30-31,

Koer Singh,

99

34,

Kuka

1-2,

Sikhs,

see

Namdhari Sikhs

118 6-10, 21, 36-37, 45, 46,

51, 52-56, 91, 94, 95, 98,

143;

1,

Komagata Maru, 107, 137

143

11,

32,

42, 50, 57, 89, 134, 143

125, 130, 143

Kes-dhari Sikh,

1

36, 39

Kirpdn, dagger or sword,

115

Kathd, homilv, 57, 136, 143 Kes,

84

village,

133, 143

Kartarpur, 84, 88

Kashmir,

pdhul, sword-baptism,

Khatri, Khatris, 43, 112,

Kartar, “Creator,” 49

bir,

dt

44, 62, 67, 143; see also Pahul

1,

143

Kartarpur

53-54,

61

Karah prasad, sanctified food, 57,

3,

125; ritual,

17,

synonymous with Panth,

vogis, 26, 142

(karam), 2,

1

69, 129, 130; sect, 54;

Kara^ bangle, 45, 142

Karma

draw the sword;

13; right to

6-7, 38-39, 56,

Kalki, 65 Kaiigha,

khdlis, 45, 52; militant

traditions, 5, 6-7, 8, 35-38, 40,

Kacbh, breeches, 45, 130, 142

Kahn Singh Nabha,

from

ban on hair-cutting,

63, 72, 77-80,

1

32;

126, 8, 45,

ban on

tobacco: 8, 63, 72-73, 77-78, 132; carrying a

Lahina, 41

Lahore, 37, 88, 102

Lahore Singh Sabha, 100, 127 Lai

Bahadur

Ldngar,

Shastri,

common

1

1

meal, 109, 126,

143

sword, 72;

codes of conduct, 33, 37, 40,

I^)ndon, 106

44, 45-46, 63-81, 130; definition

Lyallpur, 103

of a Khalsa Sikh, 60-61, 62-81; external identity, 36, 39, 44,

Macauliffe,

M.

A., 20, 34, 96,

100

45, 46-47, 53, 71-72, 79, 127;

founding, 38-39, 44, 61-62, 66,

Mahald, Ciuru’s sign, 125, 143

71, 128; initiation, 44, 52,

Malaysia, 105

53-54, 58, 60, 78, 130, 132;

Malwa

157

region, 74

I

IM)HX Man, heart/mind/spirit, 29-30 system 42

lan/i

.

,

Nanak, (luru,

143

,

2-3, 4, 5-6, 7,

16-31, 23, 32-33, 35, 37, 42,

Martial race, 8

53, 60, 61, 78, 79,

Martyr, 38-39, 42, 102, 116

founder of Sikh tradition,

Masafhi (Ciuru’s deputy),

Muslim accord,

44-45, 52, 143

112;

Hindu/

16-18, 19, 22-24, 31;

42,

5,

102,

21, 28; life

Mazhabi, 143

story, 18-23, 32, 95-97, 123,

Migration, 102-10, 136-37

126,

.

\

liharhdn Janam-sdkhi, 96

Mina .

\

Muslim inOuence on

works, 21, 27-29; reformer,

3 5-36

96

sect,

I in -pin,

1

,

135;

38-39; relationship to Sant

“tern p( )r a -s p r i

1

i

t

ua

tradition, 23-31, 32, 56;

1

authority,” 4, 43, 51-52, 56,

teachings, 18-19, 22-23, 27-31,

143

32,

36,%l-42, 49-51, 61, 71,

Mitkan (America), 105

86-87, 124; works, 19, 20-21,

Moksa, spiritual release, 24-25

27, 31, 32, 85, 12

Mona

Sikh,

Nanak-panth,

79-80, 143

7,

Montgomery,

51, 52, 97-98,

103

Morchd, “facing the enemy,” 56

Sdnak

Mughals,

Nander, 58

4, 7-8, 36, 37, 42-44,

Nand

46, 51

Mujeeb, M., 17-18

102,

143

Lai, 64-66, 74, 82, 92, ,

135

129,

Sand Ldl Rahit-ndmd,

Multani, 86

/ tradition,

10,

104,

110

Nehru, Jawaharlal, Sdni, diyine

Name,

50-51, 94,

1

Sam

Sam

23, 65,

3,

92, 134-35 74,

100

Sirankdr (name of Akal Purakh),

129

Name,”

29,

144

Nirankari Sikhs, 23, 127

“remembering the 30-3

1,

1

16,

Sirgnna, without qualities, 23, 26,

35, 36^ 41,

50-51, 53, 61, 63, 64, 71, 78, 79, 87, 97,

111

Zealand, 106, 107

Nihang Sikhs,

143

simaran,

Name,”

30-31,

10,

Delhi, 11, 12, 110

Niramala tradition,

japan, “repeating the

50, 71,

New New

143

16,

Namdey, 51, 85 Namdhari Sikhs,

3, 6,

123

Nath tradition, 25-27, 124, 144 Nawanshahr tahsil, 137

66-67, 72-73, 86,

8,

65-66, 129

Said, “intoxication,” 131-32

(1857-58), 103

Muslims,

17, 23, 24, 41,

Prakds, 74, 99

94-95

Multan, 135

Mutiny

4,

1

144 Sit-nem, daily rule, 79, 91, 144

North America,

143

158

103,

106-7, 108

,

Oregon, 106

Philippines, 105 Phillaur tahsil, 137

Pahul, initiation ritual,

Prachin Panth Prakds of Ratan

5

Singh Bhangu, 99, 126

Pakistan, 9, 102, 110

Prahilad Singh/Rai, 64, 74-75,

Panja Sahib, 102 University,

l^anjal)

Pafij kakke, Pafij mel,

1

panj kakar,

Spurned

128, 131

39 see Fix e

Ks

Prakin-uttar oi

Punjab, 9-14, 25, 29, 46, 85, 88, 95, 99, 102, 103-5, 110, 113-18,

Panth (the Sikh eommunity), 51,

Punjab Accord, 12-13

authority, 75-78, 114, 130;

founded bv Nanak, 22-23,

Punjabi language,

24,

1

38;

Punjabi Suba, 10-11, 110-12, 113

janam-

Punjabi University, 112-13, 139

19, 21, 95;

literature, 91, 92, 94, 98,

Puranas, 91

112;

meaning of the term, 54-55, 144;

membership,

107,

132; militancy, 36-46, 1

Piirdtan janam-sakhi tradition, 20, 21, 96, 123-4, 144

53, 56, 66,

17-18; place of

Oaiim, people

Adi

(iranth, 82, 83, 88, 89; politics, 11,

110,

113,

1

1

5;

10, 85-86, 88,

92, 100, 110-12, 133

31; history, 4-5, 6-7, 36-46, 52,

61, 67, 73, 103,

139

126,

80, 109, 112, 118-9, 127, 135;

56-57,

128,

Prithi (diand, 41

66, 76, 127

,

Lai, 64,

130

Five, 127

Pafij piare, (dierished Five, 58, 62,

sakhi view

Kmd

55,

synonymous

who

stand together,

144

Qur’an, 28, 144

w ith Akali Dal, 14; synonymous with Khalsa,

Radhasoami Satsang, Beas, 23

53-54, 61

Rdgt, hymn-singer, 57, 88, 144

1

Panth Prakds of (iian Singh, 99

Rahit, (Khalsa discipline), 5-6, 40, 41, 44, 45-46, 52-53, 62-81,

Partition (1947), 9, 10, 102-3,

108-10 Patiala,

Patiala

116, 119, 127, 144; authority,

75-80; development, 70-71, 75

112, 139

and Fast Punjab States

origins, 62-63, 70-73;

Rahit-namas (Rahit manuals),

Union, 139 Patit (“fallen”) Sikh, 78-80,

144

33,

45-46, 62-81, 82-83, 98, 128,

Chaupd Singh Rahit-ndmd,

Patna, 58

144;

Persian invasion, 46

65-61

Persian language, 94

namas, 63-65, 70, 73-75;

72, 74; early rahit-

r

Peshawar, 102

(liiraniat

159

Prakds Bhdg Sanskdr,

Sahaskriti, 86, 133

Rahit-nanias ((Continued) 68, 130; indi\idiial items,

Sainapati, 63, 98

71-73, 74, 77-78; nineteenth

Sanatan Sikhs, 67, 145

century rahit-namas, 65-66, 70;

Saiigat,

Preni Sunidrag (Pa rum Sumdrag),

65; Sau Sdkhi, 65,

57, 58, 62, 76-77, 88,

130;

145

Sansdr, transmigration, 50, 145

129; Sikb

Rahit Maryddd, 60, 69-70, 76, 77, 78-79,

congregation, 42, 45, 52,

Sant,

Singh Sabha

one w ho knows the truth,

55-56, 145

Sant, teacher of (iurmat, 56,

period, 66-69, 71

Rdj karegd khdlsd, 64, 74-75

115-17, 127, 145

Ram, 49

Sant Lhasa, 85-86, 132, 145

Ram

Sant Nirankaris, 116, 140

Das, fourth Ciuru, 41, 42,

87,

126,

Santokh Singh, 74, 99

127

Ramgarhia, Ramgarhias, 107, 144

Sant-sipdbi, sant-soldier, 55-56,

Randhir Singh, 62

116,

Ranjit Singh, Maharaja, 8, 10, 46,

117,

145

Sant tradition, 16-17, 23-31, 51,

54-55, 102

56, 85, 86, 87,

145;

124,

Ratan Singh Bhangu, 99, 126

interior deyotion, 24-25, 26, 27,

Ravidas (Raidas), 23, 85

42;

Muslim intluence, 27-29; Nath intluence, 25-27; social

Rawalpindi, 102

protest, 24, 26

Sabad

(sabdu),

W ord,

3,

Sarab Lob, All-Steel, 52

30, 50, 94,

Sarbat Kbdlsd, Entire Khalsa, 76,

144

Sabad Hazdre, 90

145

Sacred Language of the Sikhs, 85

Sas tar ndm-mdld, 90 Sati-ndm, True Name,

Sddban, spiritual release, 24-25,

Satiyuga, 65

Sacb kband, realm of 4 ruth, 51

144

Satliij

Sddbdran pdtb, ordinary readings, 89,

145

Riyer, 104

Satsang, congregation of true

134

belieyers, 56, 57

Sddb sangat, congregation of the faithful, 45, 56,

Savayye Amrit, 90, 91, 134

130

Sevd, seryice, 58-59, 145

Shackle, Christopher, 27-29, 85-86

Sadhukari, 86, 132 Sagiiua, with qualities, 26,

SabaJ, bliss, 26, 27, 51, 79,

Shaixite tradition, 25

144

Shastras, 28

124,

Shiyalik Hills, 90

145

Sahaj-dhari (non-Khalsa) Sikh, 7, 9,

30, 50,

36, 53, 67, 78-80,

SabaJ pdtby

1

131,

Shiromani Gurdwara Rarbandhak

5,

145

Committee (SCiPC), 68-69, 70, 76, 77,

34

160

1

9, 58, 10,

130

IM)H\ fasman Sea, 106

Shiva, 25

Siddhas, 25-26

Sikh

Dharma

4'at Khalsa, 67-68, 79,

of the

W estern

Tavarikh

Khalsa of (iian

Gtirti

Singh, 99

Hemisphere, 13S Sikh (jurdwaras Act, 1925,

9,

4'egh Bahadur, ninth Guru, 4,

130, 131

38, 44, 84, 85, 87,

126

feja Singh, 100

Sikh identities, 37

4

Sikhism, 16-18, 22 Sikhism: Its Ideals ami I list it iit ions,

105

elia (Australia),

fhailand, 105

longa, 138

100 Sikh Religion, The, of Macaiilifte, 34,

136, 145

I

Fransformation of Sikhism, 35-40,

1(X)

125

Singapore, 103, 105

Singh/Kaur,

orki (Indo-Fersian), 86

78-79

7,

Singh Sabha:

Fransmigration,

2

8-9, 20, 34, 37,

96

46-7, 82, 99-101, 127, 132, 136,

L'dasi sect,

145; historical interpretations,

United Kingdom, 107-8

35, 39, 96,

125; rahit-nama

interpretations, 66-68, 71, 79,

United States, 106, 107, 108

Urdu, 100

129 Sipdhi, soldier,

Smith,

W ilfred

116-17

Vdhigurii, 30, 49,

Cantwell, 16-17,

145

Vaishnava tradition, 24, 25, 27, 145 \ ancouver, 107, 108

41

121, 126, 135, 145

Sodhi family, 41

Vdrs, 92-94,

Sohan, 99

\'edic tradition, 100

Southeast Asia, 103, 105

\ ictoria.

Sri I.anka, 19

\

Sufi, Sufis, 95, 135,

ir

Queen, 106

Singh, 100

145

Sukha Singh, 98

W ashington

Sukhinaiu, 85

Western Hindi, 85-86

Sumatra, 138

Western historiography,

state,

106

33, 35,

40, 70, 100

Suraj Prakds, 74, 99

Woolgoolga, 106 Takhat, throne, 57-58, 130, 145

Tanakhah, penance, 65

Tanakhdh-naina of

Nand

106

I,

II,

105, 107, 108

Lai, 64,

74, 128

4 antric Buddhism, 25-26 fara Singh, 110-12, 139

World War World War

'Aafar-ndind, 90-91,

/ail Singh, 116 VAiidagi-ndind:

161

94

134

V

*

‘

i:

X

•t.

>

§

I

»

I'if

4

V V

'

1

I

(

I

I

sikhshistoryreliOOnncle sikhshistoP/reliOOmcle

m flap)

(Continued ft Of

Sikh culture is believed to have been settled and unchanging from the time of the Gurus onwards. The Sikhs, a major new work by a leading authority, reveals that this is a very misleading view. McLeod

sympathetically and in so doing he estabtreats a variety of questions

new

understanding for students of religion and for all those interested in current events in India. lishes

a

W. H. McLeod

is

Professor of History

University of Otago in Dunedin, Zealand. He has lived for over nine

at the

New

years in India and

is

a

world-renowned

scholar of Sikh studies.

Among

his

seven books on the subject are Guru Ndnak and the Sikh Religion, The Evolution of the Sikh Community, and Early Sikh Tradition, all published by the Clarendon Press in Oxford.

The American Council of Learned Soci-

South San

eties Lectures

on the History of Reli-

gions #14

Francisco Public Library

Charles

Jacket desi2T:

y

Printed in th

^S.A.

Hames

Advance praise The Sikhs

for

"'The Sikh tradition goes back five centuries. That is a short span compared with other major religious traditions, but still amply long enough for a variety of doctrinal interpretations

developed.

No

and institutional precedents to have historian in the Western world is better

equipped to trace these other than Hew McLeod, who does so in a commandingly authoritative way in this book. McLeod takes the reader through a number of issues that have been sharply disputed both within the Sikh community and by outsiders, constantly clarifying what is at stake among alternative accounts of the history of this increasingly important religion. A masterly survey."

— Willard G. Oxtoby

Professor of Religious Studies

University of Toronto

"Hew McLeod

is

the unchallenged expert in Sikhism.

This book is as wise as it is erudite, as insightful as it is thorough. It is a pleasure to read and it is certain to become the classic study of Sikhism." Wendy Doniger OTlaherty University of Chicago

—

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS/NEW YORK

ISBN

D-BBl-Obfim-X