The Democratisation of Sikh Society
Jagpal S. Tiwana
The Punjabi society is comparatively free from the caste biases which are otherwise so widely prevalent in the rest of India. A story Where people vote for charisma not caste in the Indian Express of January 27, 2007 on the eve of Punjab elections reported Punjabi voters paying little attention to the castes of the candidates (1). This transformation can be traced back to Sikh Gurus who put down the caste distinctions in their teachings.
Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh faith, refused to recognize the caste divisions which created such disparities in society. In one of his famous hymns he says:
Fakkar jati fakkar nao
sabhna jia ika chao
“Worthless is caste, and worthless is an exalted name;
For all mankind there is but a single refuge.”
Guru Nanak instituted Sangat, Pangat and Langar (mixed congregations and mixed community dining) so that people of all castes could sit and eat together and forget their high or low status. In this context, Dr. W.H. McLeod remarks “There can be little doubt that the institution (of Langar) was developed as a deliberate attack on caste distinctions.” 2. Guru Nanak started the tradition of addressing his followers as Bhai (brothers) as for example, Bhai Mardana, Bhai Lehna and later Bhai Gurdas.
The third Guru Amar Das was also quite vocal against the caste system. He declared:
car varn akhai sabh kai
Brahm bind te sabh opit hoi
“The Hindu say there are four castes:
But they all spring from One seed.”
The fourth Guru Ram Das exhorted his followers to forget caste and remember that the only true nobility is his holiness:
brahman khatri sud vasi
car varn car asarmah hi
jo har dhavai sa pardhan
There are four castes and four traditional stages in life.
But he who meditates on God he it is who is supreme.”
In Adi Granth, the fifth Guru, gave equal status to the hymns of the low caste Bhagats - Sadhna, a Muslim butcher, Kabir; a weaver; Ravidas, a chamar, and Sain, a barber - along with the hymns of Gurus and other Bhagats. Guru Ji got four doors built to Harimandar Sahib, a symbolic gesture to welcome people of all castes from all directions.
The sixth Guru Hargobind put the Khatris of his own high caste under the authority of the lower caste Jats. The Persian author of Dabistan-i-Mazahib visited Kiratpur in the forties of the 17th century and noted that, although the Gurus had been Khatris “they made the Khatris subservient to the Jatswho are the lowest among Vaishyas. Thus most of the great masands of the Gurus are Jats.” (3)
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Jagpal S. Tiwana
The Punjabi society is comparatively free from the caste biases which are otherwise so widely prevalent in the rest of India. A story Where people vote for charisma not caste in the Indian Express of January 27, 2007 on the eve of Punjab elections reported Punjabi voters paying little attention to the castes of the candidates (1). This transformation can be traced back to Sikh Gurus who put down the caste distinctions in their teachings.
Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh faith, refused to recognize the caste divisions which created such disparities in society. In one of his famous hymns he says:
Fakkar jati fakkar nao
sabhna jia ika chao
“Worthless is caste, and worthless is an exalted name;
For all mankind there is but a single refuge.”
Guru Nanak instituted Sangat, Pangat and Langar (mixed congregations and mixed community dining) so that people of all castes could sit and eat together and forget their high or low status. In this context, Dr. W.H. McLeod remarks “There can be little doubt that the institution (of Langar) was developed as a deliberate attack on caste distinctions.” 2. Guru Nanak started the tradition of addressing his followers as Bhai (brothers) as for example, Bhai Mardana, Bhai Lehna and later Bhai Gurdas.
The third Guru Amar Das was also quite vocal against the caste system. He declared:
car varn akhai sabh kai
Brahm bind te sabh opit hoi
“The Hindu say there are four castes:
But they all spring from One seed.”
The fourth Guru Ram Das exhorted his followers to forget caste and remember that the only true nobility is his holiness:
brahman khatri sud vasi
car varn car asarmah hi
jo har dhavai sa pardhan
There are four castes and four traditional stages in life.
But he who meditates on God he it is who is supreme.”
In Adi Granth, the fifth Guru, gave equal status to the hymns of the low caste Bhagats - Sadhna, a Muslim butcher, Kabir; a weaver; Ravidas, a chamar, and Sain, a barber - along with the hymns of Gurus and other Bhagats. Guru Ji got four doors built to Harimandar Sahib, a symbolic gesture to welcome people of all castes from all directions.
The sixth Guru Hargobind put the Khatris of his own high caste under the authority of the lower caste Jats. The Persian author of Dabistan-i-Mazahib visited Kiratpur in the forties of the 17th century and noted that, although the Gurus had been Khatris “they made the Khatris subservient to the Jatswho are the lowest among Vaishyas. Thus most of the great masands of the Gurus are Jats.” (3)
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