SikhKosh

While there are differing measures of the gold on these arrows, historical accounts and physical inspections confirm that each arrow had at least 10 grams of gold. M.A. Macauliffe puts the value of the gold on these arrows at sixteen rupees each. Akaal Sahai.

While a lot has been written about Sikligars, Satnamis and other 'lost' tribes of Sikhi, little is known about the Vanjaras. We know some historically important Vanjara Sikhs like Bhai Lakhi Shah and his family, but others than that very little is known about them. Most NGOs have also focused on Sikligars mostly. Very little efforts have been made to reconnent with Vanjaras. While talking to sevadaars on field, they have told me that while Vanjaras are not in saroop anymore (usually don't have uncut hair or a turban) as compared to the Sikligars, they can be considered Nanakpanthis and have many ceremonies which are Sikh influenced (such as some tribes singing the name of Guru Nanak during their weddings). They are huge in numbers, were historically Sikh (or Nanakpanthis) but have been heavily targeted by RSS, Christians and Muslims. Good to see some of them returning to their faith in Telangana but we have to make more efforts to reach them. Dhan Sikhi.

A major reason Muslims stood up for kisans was not out of their love for Sikhs but their hate for Modi. A small reason was because they saw this as an opportunity to pay Sikhs back for saving them many times during the past few years from right wing Hindus. Eh baaj ikala hai, magar ne bahut shikaari In the end we are all alone, and we should not depend on anyone. The sooner we realise the better.

Always fun to see Dally get schooled by Proactive. But kuttey di poosh kadi sidhi ni hundi.

We need to put pressure on the next government in Punjab, no matter what party, to create laws that prohibit strangers from buying (agricultural) land and settling down in Punjab just like the neighbouring states like Himachal. That is a priority.

Be easy on the girl guys. We all started our journey somewhere, it seems she is genuinely trying to learn. Some amritdharis believe in keeping bibek, i.e., only eating food prepared by other amritdharis. Mostly AKJ, Nihangs and some Taksalis. Altough I've personally seen other Gursikhs, non Jatha aligned, also practise it. One example I've seen is Jathedar Ranjit Singh. These people do thus not eat out because you can not be sure who cooked the food and under what circumstances. This practise can seem harsh and discriminatory to some. It seems that historically the amritdhari-sahajdhari divide was not as problematic prior to the Singh Sabha movement. Some congregations were led by Sahajdharis even after the 'creation' of the Khalsa [refer to Guru Gobind Singhs Hukamnamas to one head of a congregation in the early 1700s who was Sahajdhari], so it is only natural to assume that Sahajdharis used to cook langar as well, food which was partaken by the Khalsa and non Khalsa alike. Other Singhs go even further and keep 'sarbloh' bibek, which means only cooking and eating in sarbloh (all iron) utensils. While I feel there may be some benefits to eating in these (like wearing a sarbloh kara vs steel kara), it would be narrow minded to limit Sikhi to eating in sarbloh utensils or not. Some of these people even refuse to partake in langar if it is not served in sarbloh utensils. Bhai Kahan Singh Nabha criticized this practise in his book Gurmat Martand and he said this is a practise which has crept into Sikhi from Vaishno Matt. Historically, Rahitnamas (most of whom are unauthentic, tampered with or written many decades after the Guru by the way) do mention that Sikhs should only eat food cooked by other Sikhs though. They also put an emphasis on never leaving food unattended (so it would not be poisoned by enemies etc). Not eating jootha and so on. But as I always say, we should only take the things from Rahitnamas which concords with Gurbani and bibek buddh (as in 'discerning intellect'). There are more good things than bad things in this practise, but it becomes problematic when it creates division and hierarchy in an already divided nation.

How Christianity is growing among Mazhabi Sikhs & Valmiki Hindus in Punjab’s villages Christianity is growing in Punjab, mirroring what states like Tamil Nadu experienced in the 1980s and 1990s. Small churches are springing up on the rooftops of many villages. SHUBHANGI MISRA 2 December, 2021 10:44 am IST A Catholic church in Fatehgarh Churian, Gurdaspur | Shubhangi Misra | ThePrint Text Size: A- A+ Amritsar/Gurdaspur: Atop a roof in an obscure gully in Fatehgarh Churian, a Pentecostal church is in full swing. “Rabba rabba rabba rabba, pita parmeshwar teri aatma rahe… rabba rabba rabba rabba rabba…” a young boy raps into the mic, boosted to its maximum volume, adding to the trippy and eerie mood. The pastor places his hand on the heads of disciples as they shake violently. Some faint, others cry. But all are waiting for a miracle. Christianity is growing in Punjab, mirroring what states like Tamil Nadu experienced in the 1980s and 1990s. Small churches are springing up on the rooftops of many villages in Gurdaspur. Tired of centuries of casteism and systemic oppression, many Dalits, belonging to the Mazhabi Sikh and Valmiki Hindu communities living in Punjab’s border belt, have started looking to Christianity in the hope of a dignified life and access to better education. Kamal Bakshi is the state president of the United Christian Front, a group that has committees in 8,000 of Punjab’s 12,000 villages. According to him, there are 600-700 churches in Amritsar and Gurdaspur districts that belong to four Christian denominations. He says 60-70 per cent of these have sprung up in the past five years. The Christian faith has co-opted many of the cultural markers of Punjab, from turbans to tappe. On YouTube, one can find Christian giddas (a folk dance), tappe (a musical form) and boliyan (sung couplets), and songs in praise of Jesus in Punjabi. The visuals show men and women singing these songs in a rural Punjabi setup. With 14 million views, one song goes, ‘Har mushkil de wich, mera Yeeshu mere naal naal hai. Baap wangu karda fikar, te maa wangu rakhda khyaal hai’ (Jesus is with me through all my problems. He worries for me like a father and cares for me like my mother). Some converts from Sikhism don’t discard their turbans. “Clothes don’t determine anyone’s religion. I have been wearing a turban since I was a young boy. Why should I take it off now that I am a Christian? It’s a part of my identity,” a devotee who does not wish to be named tells ThePrint. Devotees also enter churches after covering their heads, as is the practice in gurdwaras, although this mandate seems to apply only to women. A woman prays at a church in Fatehgarh Churian, Gurdaspur | Shubhangi Misra | ThePrint Names are a similar case. While most Christians in the state use the surname ‘Massih’ to indicate their allegiance to the Church, many don’t change their previous names. For them, there’s a reason not to change their names: To take advantage of reservation for Dalits, which isn’t available if they convert. This is also cited as the reason census figures invariably miss much of the Christian population in Punjab, which then leads to negligent representation of the demographic in state politics. It has also led to a debate on reservation in the state — are converted Dalits no longer marginalised? The current demand of Christian bodies in Punjab is 2 per cent reservation in government jobs and the setting up of a state minorities commission. Also read: Punjab’s Dalits are shifting state politics, flocking churches, singing Chamar pride Conversion in border villages, Sikh authorities irked Sixty-year-old Sukhwant Kaur has no one but Jesus. A resident of Dujowal village in Amritsar district, she lives in a one-room house made of bricks, with no stove to cook on and no family to cook for. The only adornments in her house are posters of Jesus. “The Christian faith has given me a sense of community, Jesus has got rid of negative energy from my life,” she says. Formerly a Mazhabi Sikh, she converted to Christianity because she liked going to church. Like Sukhwant, many Valmikis and Mazhabis living in Punjab’s border belt, in Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Ferozepur districts, have embraced the Christian faith. Sukhwant Kaur at her house in Dujowal village, Amritsar district | Shubhangi Misra | ThePrint ThePrint visited Dujowal, a village 2 kilometres from the Pakistan border, where about 30 per cent of the voters are Christian, according to sarpanch Samuel Massih. There are two gurdwaras in the village — along with two churches and a temple. Awan, another border village, is the largest in the Ajnala assembly constituency in Amritsar district, with a population of 10,000. It’s home to four churches of different denominations — Roman Catholic, and Protestant denominations including Pentecostals and the Salvation Army. This conversion to Christianity has irked the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, the organisation responsible for managing gurdwaras across Punjab and several other states. The committee has launched initiatives to ‘counter’ Christian conversion. One such effort is the ‘Ghar Ghar Andar Dharamsaal’ campaign, where volunteers go door-to-door to spread the word of Sikhism. Recently, Giani Harpreet Singh, jathedar of the Akal Takht — the highest seat of earthly authority for Sikhs — alleged that Christians were converting Sikhs in border villages through force and by luring them with money. Also read: Not royalty nor father figure — Why Punjab’s 1st Dalit CM Channi is a ‘refreshing change’ No reservation, ‘missing’ from census Even though there is a growing Christian electorate in the state, the community has negligible representation in state politics. There hasn’t been a single Christian MLA elected to the Punjab Legislative Assembly since independence. This lack of representation affects Christians even at the panchayat level. Sukhwinder Massih, 25, a resident of Awan village, tells ThePrint, “In our village, the Christian vote is more than the Jatt (Sikh) vote. And yet, they don’t let us Christians or Mazhabis become members of the panchayat.” He adds, “Even if our candidate wins in the reserved seat, they don’t grant their tenure any legitimacy. If the Akalis win, there’s a Jatt sarpanch. If the Congress wins, then again a Jatt sarpanch. Nobody listens to us, they all try to oppress us.” According to the 2011 census, Christians make up a little over 2 per cent of the population of Amritsar district, and 7.68 per cent in Gurdaspur, the district where they are most concentrated. News reports peg the Christian vote share in Gurdaspur district at 17 to 20 per cent. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Christian candidate in the Gurdaspur constituency, Peter Massih, was defeated, coming in third after the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Sunny Deol and the Congress’s Sunil Jakhar. Sonu Jaffer, an AAP leader and president of the Christian Samaj Front, which has 1 lakh members in Punjab, says, “If any Christian ever gets a ticket, it’s only from Gurdaspur. This time, I’m demanding a ticket from Ajnala constituency in Amritsar district. There are about 43,000 Christian voters here.” Gurdaspur District Congress President Roshan Joseph praying at Sunday mass, attended by approximately 1,000 people | Shubhangi Misra | ThePrint Kamal Bakshi says there is gross undercounting of Christians in the census. “Even if a person embraces Christianity, they don’t change their names in official documents so they can take advantage of reservation benefits. Because of this, the Christian population is grossly undercounted. At least 23 per cent of Gurdaspur is Christian, and the figures must be similar in Amritsar too,” he claims. Many Christians feel ostracised because they aren’t entitled to reservation benefits, even though their socio-economic profile is similar to Mazhabis and Valmikis. Thirty-eight-year-old Monica from Fatehgarh Churian says she doesn’t understand why this is happening to her community. “Christians have to work harder for everything. Our community is among the poorest of the poor, and yet we don’t get any reservations. Why is it nobody wants to lend us an ear? You’re the first one who has ever come here and asked us what we want,” she tells ThePrint. According to Bakshi, 95 per cent of Christians in Punjab are converts, and an overwhelming majority come from Dalit backgrounds. Thus, the lack of reservation feels discriminatory. Other grassroots leaders share this sentiment. Roshan Massih, the Congress’s Gurdaspur district president, says, “Once a Dalit chooses to be a Christian, they stop getting any reservation benefits and face social ostracisation. So, people try to hide their identity, which is why government figures don’t reflect the correct number of Christians in the state. It’s discriminatory not to extend benefits reserved for the SC Sikh and Hindu community to Christians, who need it just as much.” Also read: Low enrolment & farmers ‘unpaid’ in Punjab’s ‘Pani Bachao, Paise Kamao’ scheme, but power saved Reasons for conversion A grandiose ‘Jatt’ gurdwara towering over a dilapidated ‘Dalit’ gurdwara is a common sight in Punjab’s villages. There are often two or three gurdwaras belonging to different castes, symptomatic of the deep-rooted nature of caste in the region. This can feel alienating, and the Church gives a sense of community. Daniel B. Das, director, socio-economic issues, Church of North India, tells ThePrint that “95 per cent of Christians in Punjab belong to the same class and the same previous caste, so there’s absolutely no space for discrimination here, as happens sometimes in South India. Dalits look to Christianity for the security and equality it offers them”. Bakshi adds, “They say we allure people with money, when all people look for in the Church is equality. It’s the limitations of other religions, like the propagation of untouchability, that they don’t want to address.” Access to good education is another reason people embrace Christianity. The staff of St Francis Convent School, Fatehgarh Churian, inform ThePrint that the organisation spends Rs. 90 lakh per year on providing children with free or subsidised education. Out of the school’s 3,500 pupils, 400 pay almost nothing. The staff say buses get students to the school from five-six villages within a 20-kilometre radius of Fatehgarh Churian free of cost. “My kids study here for a paltry sum of Rs. 200-300 and are doing well in life. I owe a lot of gratitude to the Church, they really help people out. Fathers and Sisters always help a pucca Catholic out,” says Soniya Massih from Nawa Pind. A pastor blesses women at a Pentecostal church opened in a house in Fatehgarh Churian, Gurdaspur | Shubhangi Misra | ThePrint The diocese of Amritsar, under Bishop Pradeep Kumar Sumantaroy, has emphasised the importance of imparting education, says Daniel B. Das. He adds that Roman Catholics have opened five-six schools in Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts, as well as 40 after-school classes attended by 880 children. “He (the bishop) has given strict instructions to heads of institutes that no child is to be denied admission in schools just because their parents can’t pay for education, regardless of the faith the kid belongs to,” Das says. But even with the focus on education, Christian leaders stress the lack of it in their community. AAP leader and Christian Front president Jaffer says, “The biggest problem facing Christians is lack of education. The quality of education is very poor, and as most Christians in Punjab come from mazdoor (labourer) backgrounds and poor families, they’re not politically aware, and the community suffers from a lack of representation.” However, Sukhwant Kaur says religion isn’t a factor for her when it comes to voting. “You build a house for me, give me rations and I’ll vote for you,” she says. And when asked about getting money for converting, she laughs it off. “The pastors are as poor as I am. They have nothing to offer but peace,” she adds. (Edited by Rohan Manoj) https://theprint.in/india/how-christianity-is-growing-among-mazhabi-sikhs-valmiki-hindus-in-punjabs-villages/775047/

Bagri Hindus started becoming Sikhs in Pakistan since decades, its not a recent phenomena. The Nanakpanthi Sindhis and Christians coming en masse to Sikhi (saroop wise for Sindhis) has been more of a recent thing (lets say posts 2000s). We should not forget that a majority of Pak Christians are Dalits as well and conversion to Christianity did not help them uplift their status in society, while they're seeing multiple benefits of becoming Sikhs. Therefore proper initiatives would be good to give out tailor made parchar (it has to be slightly different per target group, just like the Gurus using different metaphors to explain Sikhi when talking to a farmer, priest or trader in Gurbani). You'd be surprised to know that many Sikhs who stayed back in Pak adopted Christianity instead of becoming Muslims. I've met many such Pak Christians with Sikh ancestry.

Yes, not getting it up should have been a pretty unforgettable moment for them.

Others do it because for them the food is intended for kafirs anyway. I've heard of many Muslims working in take aways or restaurants doing it in western countries, one such case was with a Bangladeshi spitting on dishes with pork because he knew it was not intended for Muslims.

Gujjars are known to spit in milk that they deliver (in Punjab and elsewhere) as well. Some people in my extended family have seen these Gujjars spit when they pass in front of Gurdwareh as well. These Gujjars are physically stronger than the Bangladeshi or UP Muslim migrants and thus need to be kept in check in Punjab. The guy in the video could be from Hyderabad though.

Once they've dealt with Muslims and Christians they will definitely come after the Sikhs, but thats not why we should be siding with Muslims right now. We should stand on the sideline without getting involved while at the same increase our numbers, sidak, awareness and be physically prepared for the dark times ahead.

Hindus are getting more and more radical by the day. We need to stay actively out of the Hindu Muslim matters because things are looking very grim in India. Sikhs need to out of third party mess and stay tyar bar tyar (strapped) in Punjab and surrounding areas. Sant Bhindranwales encouragement of every Sikh youth keeping one motorcyle and weapon is as valid today as it was 4 decades ago. I hope Sikhs don't go around setting up relief funds and langars once shiet hits the fan in UP and other parts of India (impending civil war between Hindus and Muslims).

Muslim women are apt at manipulation and they tend to coerce or get their way when they marry non Muslim men. The men either end up converting or the children are raised as Muslims. One of the rioters Mohammed Shahrukh in the recent Delhi riots - famously captured aiming a gun at the police - had a Sikh father and Muslim women. Guess what? The father converted and the child was raised a Muslim.

There are women dating ugly or broke men all the time, they're attracted to their confidence. Money helps but is not the key to attract women (unless you want shallow relationships or flings), ambition or drive are.

A lot of Sikh girls do and I can understand why. But sometimes its problematic because it is these very girls that lead gullible Sikh girls into dating their Muslims relatives or friends.

Yes, we've overall become more panthic over the past few years. Our community was a lost cause in the 2000s. The divide between pappu Sikhs and panthic Sikhs will become wider in the coming years. People used to criticize me for speaking out against Ravi Singh Khalsa Aid helping mostly non Sikhs saying we're all about sarbat da bhala, but today many are doing it. More and more Sikhs are aware during the Christmas period about the Chotay Sahibzaday and so on. The Dhadli thing is true but then again for every one Dhadli you have a thousand hoes on insta, tiktok and snapchat so things need to be adressed from within our homes. Sikh parents need to start focusing more on anakh, honor and a panthic mindset than just getting a western education and 'sarbat da bhala'. Also an emphasis on Sikhs marrying only Sikhs.

The sense of honor and self-respect should come from within and her family, not the 'back lash' she will face from (Sikh) society. But yes overall liberal attitude of Sikhs is to blame. Anyways, when is the last time a Sikh girl left her flourishing career in the entertainment to pursue Sikhi? There are many examples of Muslims doing that. In Sikhs you will find the opposite examples. Dhadis who become pop singers (Jenny Johal). So it seems to be a generally lax attitude towards religion from within ourselves as well.

If you're fit, have confidence and ambition you should not have any trouble finding a (life) partner. But most of our Singhs are the opposite, unfit (karah parshad bellies) and always feeling sorry for themselves, insecure.

But we've got one example right there who did not despite being on an international platform. I know that many Muslim girls like to take it up somewhere else to remain virgins or get it restitched. The issue here is not to discuss their weakness but to point out that despite having a flawed faith they can produce such people, why can't we having the perfect Nirmal Panth ? Why couldn't a Sikh girl have the decency to not expose, if she was so hell bent on winning this title. In fact, most Sikh girls in media are the biggest exposers nowadays. Anyhow, Harnaaz is not pretty or attractive, does definitely not deserve the title.

Atleast she is not showing her body off in a bikini. I am not saying she stayed true to her deen or Islamic values because she is not even allowed to show her face or curvatures to strangers according to Sharia. BUT being from a Muslim background, she still had some decency and guts to withstand the pressure of having to wear a bikini just to win some title. Our Harnaaz and even most Sikh participants in Hindi TV shows end up being pressurised and fall to peer pressure. I remember years ago a Sikh girl participating in a Hindi singing show cut her hair after being pressurized. Sikh girls who go to Mumbai start dating Hindus (Shehnaz and so on). They have no standards and even the likes of Neeru Bajwa played small sl#tty roles in Bollywood movies. Very few girls from a Sikh background have shown high moral ground in this industry, unlike Muslim women. Not all but quite a few have stood their ground and withstood the pressure. How often would you hear a Sikh girl leaving her flourishing career in Bollywood to pursue Sikhi? We've got Muslim examples right there like Sana Khan and Zaira Wasim.

Dhadris katha on this subject was cringeworthy. Look at how this Muslim participant at the same event did not bow down to wear a bikini while our Sikh girl was showing off her body on a stage knowing her Sardar father and family would be seeing the visuals. Sharam dharam ke deyra door, Nanak koorh reha bharpoor.

So you agree that kesh is not the problem; personality, your physical traits (well trained body vs dad bod) and the way you carry yourself are. Anyhow, more turbaned celebrities normalized wearing a turban for many women. A lot of my cousins have dated Hindus and Muslim women who were avid Punjabi song fans and dreamed of being with Punjabi Sardars. I don't remember such things happening two decades back. In fact most people would cut their hair before going into the entertainment industry.

Don't you refer to the areas of Ganganagar, Hanumangarh and so on as Jangal Desh, the way they've been historically referred to ? Is yours another Jangal Des or part of the Ganganagar one ?