A Lethal Cocktail Of Religion & Politics - Violence Is Just Under The Surface In Punjab Where A Divisive British Legacy Continues To Thrive

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

A lethal cocktail of religion & politics

By Sanjeev Nayyar (a Hindu nationalist - reflected in the tone of his article)

Violence is just under the surface in Punjab where a divisive British legacy continues to thrive

Article from the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, July 27, 2007

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/artMailDi...p=1&pub=264

With the controversy over Dera Sacha Sauda leaders’s apparent imitation of the 10th Sikh Guru having died down it might be useful to know why a prosperous state like Punjab continues to erupt like this. This article recaps history of Punjab from the 1860’s to date, and includes a series of key events that have brought about the current situation.

Guru Gobind Singh started the Khalsa in 1699. According to tradition, its followers had to sport the five Ks i.e. Kesh-long hair, Kangha-comb, Kirpan-sword, Kara-steel bracelet, Kachcha-knickers. Long hair and turbans were supposed to protect faces and heads from sword cuts and lathi blows. The Kada was a reminder that Sikh spirit was strong and unbending. The Kacha was more suitable for fighting the Mughals in than the Dhotis and loose trousers of Muslims. The maximum numbers of Khalsa followers were Jats. Though others considered themselves Sikhs, they held back since they were not followers of the Khalsa.

Having experienced the strength of Sikh opposition during the Anglo-Sikh wars and grateful for the assistance received from Sikh princes during the Mutiny of 1857, the British realized that Sikhs could be an effective buffer between Afghanistan and India .

Therefore, British reduced the number of Bengali soldiers (involved in 1857 Mutiny) to be replaced by loyal Sikhs & Punjabi Muslims. As Veena Talwar wrote: "To prevent the sort of mutiny they experienced from sepoys in 1857, the British organized religiously segregated regimental units from the alleged martial races, Sikhs, Pathans, Rajputs etc. This severely restricted Hindus of other castes particularly Khatris (Punjabi form of Kshatriya), who had served in Maharaja Ranjit Singh's forces. Khatris (all Sikh Gurus were Khatris) were arbitrarily lumped together by the British as trading castes. Many families got around this artificially imposed caste barrier by raising one or more son as Sikhs, chiefly by having them adopt the name Singh and grow hair/beard to match". (Dowry Murder, the Imperial origins of a Cultural Crime).

Thus, the enlistment of Sikhs increased steeply. Joining the army was remunerative. Soldiers were well paid, given agricultural land and pension.

Around this time there was a fall in Sikh morale, stemmed by the Singh Sabha movement. Founded in 1873 it soon split into two. One, were Sanatani Sikhs who regarded the Panth as a special form of Hindu tradition. Two, were Tat (true) Khalsa, who believed that Sikhism was a different religion.

The British supported the Tat Khalsa movement by insisting only Khalsa Sikhs (those who sported the 5 Ks) could join the Army. A move to say Sikhs were not Hindus received an impetus in 1898 with Khan Singh Nabha’s book ‘Ham Hindu Nahin’, the passing of the Anand Marriage Act in 1909 as the only approved order for Sikh marriage and the insistence on the five Ks to distinguish Sikhs from Hindus.

It did not matter to the Tat Khalsa that the real name of Golden Temple is Hari Mandir and, “Of the 15,028 names of Gods that appear in the Adi Granth, Hari occurs over 8,000 times, Ram 2,533 times followed by Prabhu, Gopal, Govind and other Hindu names for the divine. The popular Sikh coinage Wah Guru appears only 16 times”. (Khushwant Singh).

After several decades, the Tat Khalsa emerged victorious. According to W. H. Mcleod, it ensured that “in 1905 idols were removed from the Harimandir”. (Historical Dictionary of Sikhism). Modern day Sikhism is a creation of this movement.

By about 1920, it was overtaken by the Akali Dal, a new political party that gave expression to the revived sense of Sikh identity. The Akalis entered into a dispute with the British for the control of Sikh Gurudwaras. Passing of the Sikh Gurudwaras Act in 1925 signalled their complete victory. The Act’s definition of a Sikh leant strongly towards the exclusivists Khalsa view.

To retain effective control over Punjab , the British drove a wedge between Jat and Khatris. They passed the Punjab Land Alienation Act of 1900, which created a favored, dominant, agriculturalist class and a non-agriculturists class. The former included Hindu & Sikh Jats, Muslim tribes and the latter Hindu Brahmins, Khatris and Banias. The Act made tribe and caste the basis of land ownership. British sought to anchor itself in Punjab by playing the distinctions between Hindu and Muslim while nurturing Muslim and Sikh Jats as loyal subjects.

In this manner, the British supported the Jat Sikhs who were the prime movers behind the Tat Khalsa movement.

The consequences were many. One, the birth of Akali Dal and its control over Gurudwaras heralded the tradition of mixing religion and politics. Control of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee is key to political power in Punjab . Two, it made Jats a powerful community. Three, it started a tradition of Khatris/Aroras making the first son a Sikh. Children of the Sikh son became Sikh and so on. Today, future generations of the same family having similar surnames, say Kohli, are known to the outside world as followers of two religions, Sikhism and Hinduism. Four, it created a divide between Jat and Khatri Sikhs such that the latter are called ‘Bhapa’, a term dismissively used by Jats to describe Khatris and Aroras. Five, “since Jat Sikhs consider themselves superior to others, non Jat Sikhs in the Indian Army never reveal their surnames for the fear of being ridiculed in the Sikh community”. Instead they suffix their first names with ‘Singh’.

Notwithstanding the fact that an Akali leader (1940-1960 period), Master Tara Singh was a co founder of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in 1964, Punjab was quite successfully divided between Sikh and Hindu. During the agitation for Punjab , the divide widened. Those areas (inhabited mostly by Punjabi Hindus) which had a Hindi-speaking majority, were included in the state of Haryana.

Religion and politics got irrevocably intertwined in Punjab . Adept at using religion, the Akalis ensured the Congress was at the receiving end in the 1980s. Indira Gandhi believed, if you-can’t-beat-them-join-them. So the Congress propped up Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale to counter the Akalis, creating a monster in the process. What followed was killing of innocent Hindus and Sikhs.

Just like the Congress party’s propping up of Bhindrawale eventually resulted in Operation Blue Star and Indira Gandhi’s death, so also Pakistan ’s support for terrorism in India and Afghanistan resulted in the attack on Lal Masjid.

Today, the Jat Sikhs are a very powerful community. Such is their clout that the UPA government is yet to implement an August 2004 Supreme Court ruling, which orders the construction of the Punjab portion of the Sutlej Yamuna Canal.

Whenever the supremacy of the Jat Sikhs is threatened, there could be violence. After the latest apex court order, Amarinder Singh said terrorism would return to Punjab if the order was implemented.

Mixing religion with politics was the British strategy. Has anything changed!

[sikh supreme]

Interesting article..

Theres alot of truth in it but it has an obvious hindu nationalist bias to it. He seems to suggest that the sanhatan Sikhs are basically hindus. Yet the founder of our faith quite clearly states and rejects against idol worshipping and questioned many useless hindu rituals he was born into. Also he stated before God there is no hindu or muslim, meaning were all his creation.

As for the british govt back in the days of the raj in punjab propping up tat khalsa, well they know how to use the strategy of divide and rule very well. And when their hosts have served their propose they backstab them, as they did in 1947 splitting the punjab in half and giving it away to islamic and hindu nationalist entities of Pakistan and India.

[hawk13]

This article is full of lies first biggest lie is it was KAIRO who tried to divide the sikhs into jats and nonjats duing PUNJABI SUBA agitation not the british kairo publicaly called khatris as bhappas and akalis as bhappa party. indepedent India tried to divide the sikhs into castes secondly during GURDWARA REFORM MOVEMENT all sikhs took part. It was the only successful movement againist britishers all movements failed miserably like quit india movement remained for 2 weeks only swadesi movement also failed. socalled brave freedom figters spirits were brought down by lathis unlike sikhs who faced death boldly. Second lie was the most of sikhs who joined khalsa were jats in ANANDPUR SHAIB It was tribal sikhs not khatri or jats who joined KHALSA IN 1705 BAISAKHI TWO AND HALF LAC SIKHS JOINED KHALSA FOLD in DAMDAMA SHAIB. i AM againist casteist articles but iam correcting it. Even during wars with pakistan and china these were in fact sikh-pak and sikh china wars. It was again the INDIA who used sikhs recent example is in KARGIL where tiger hill was capured by 8th sikh regiment and awards went to mahasas .If hindus were brave what happened to them at kargil where socalled brave indian army was humbled by para milatary force of pakistan and lost fighter planes indian press is misinterpreting the history.In some of the gun battles in kashmir troops just run away do not be paper tigers.

[wjkk wjkf]

very biased but if i were an average reader i'd probably believe it lol

[Mehtab Singh]

Professor Darshan Singh ji has responded very well to such stupid claims. The word Sikh is mentioned several times in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee, which means that it wasn't the British who came and "created" the Sikhs. Sikhi began long before the British came to India.

[wjkk wjkf]

why do hindu's always use that whole hari comes up so many times in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji...and what? it's just to say that Guru Ji is not just confined to 1 name and that there are many names the fact is there is only one God....Waheguru so ignorant are people

[2desi]

Why does every Indian Article have this bias about Sikhs being "Hindus".

Our Guru Nanak Dev Ji has made it clear who the "Hindus" are and where they're headed (wrong way).

First Mehla:

ihMdU mUly BUly AKutI jWhI ]

hi(n)dhoo moolae bhoolae akhuttee jaa(n)hee ||

The Hindus have forgotten the Primal Lord; they are going the wrong way.

nwrid kihAw is pUj krWhI ] AMDy guMgy AMD AMDwru ]

naaradh kehiaa s pooj karaa(n)hee || a(n)dhhae gu(n)gae a(n)dhh a(n)dhhaar ||

As Naarad instructed them, they are worshipping idols. They are blind and mute, the blindest of the blind.

pwQru ly pUjih mugD gvwr ]

paathhar lae poojehi mugadhh gavaar ||

The ignorant fools pick up stones and worship them.

Eih jw Awip fuby qum khw qrxhwru ]2]

ouhi jaa aap ddubae thum kehaa tharanehaar ||2||

But when those stones themselves sink, who will carry you across? ||2||

This Shabad is by Guru Nanak Dev Ji in Raag Bihaagraa on Pannaa 556.

[skepticSikh]

it is pretty biased, but the important question is that is the other side of the story being presented as well? I haven't seen a single text book tell the complete, objective truth. History of the Sikhs Vol. 1-2 by khushwant singh is perhaps the most detailed one i've read so far, but the layperson knows nothing. And when an article like this comes out in newspapers or online, and then gets printed in textbooks, where does the truth go?