Sikhs. Members of the Sikh community. The Sikh community originated with the teachings of Nanak (1469-1539) and in the group of disciples whom he attracted. Nanak was a Punjabi, and it was in the Punjab that his followers, known thereafter as Sikhs (“learners, disciples”),gathered. The message that he preached was the doctrine of freedom from transmigration by means of nam simran (mediation on the divine name of God). Mistakenly regarded as a syncretic mixture of Hindu and Muslim ideals, the teachings of Nanak are more accurately associated with the devotional Sant tradition of northern India. Like the other Sants (such as Kabir and Namdev), Nanak put forth his message in simple hymns of great beauty.
Nanak was known to his followers as guru (“preceptor”), and the successors who formed his spiritual lineage received the same title. The lineage comprised ten gurus, extending over two centuries and concluding with the death of Guru Gobind Singh in 1708. During the period of the third guru, Amar Das, the expanding Sikh community, known as the Panth, was organized more effectively with the introduction of a system of overseeing the community’s religious and social life. The fourth guru, Ram Das, established the holy city of Amritsar, in which his son Guru Arjan compiled the sacred scripture known as the Adi Granth. This substantial collection includes the compositions of the first five gurus supplemented by the works of Kabir and other Sants. The temple erected to house the new scripture was the Harimandir Sahib, eventually to become known simply s the Harimandir, the celebrated Golden Temple.
The period of Guru Arjan’s leadership was particularly important for several reasons. The office of guru, now established within the family of the fourth guru, was disputed by rival claimants.
From outside the community, the growing Panth was attracting unsympathetic attention from the Mughal authorities in Lahore. Guru Arjan died in Mughal custody and mutual hostility thereafter became endemic. The sixth guru, Hargobind, is traditionally believed to have armed his Sikhs and to have built the majestic Akal Takht (adjacent to the Harimandir Sahib) as a symbol of the Panth’s involvement in worldly affairs. The lengthy incumbency of the seventh guru was peaceful, but Mughal hostility revived under Aurangzeb and eventually led to the execution of the eighth guru, Tegh Bahadur, in 1675.
This execution significantly strengthened the tradition of martyrdom within the Panth and contributed directly to the climactic event in Sikh history, the founding of the Khalsa order in 1699, a decision by Guru Gobind Singh that conferred on the Panth a clear identity and a specific discipline. All who accepted initiation into the Khalsa vowed to observe thereafter a pattern of belief and conduct that combined traditional piety with loyalty to a militant ideal. Sikhs of the Khalsa were to adopt distinctive emblems (the “five ks,” including uncut hair, a comb, a steel bangle, a sword or dagger, and military style breeches). They were to be unshakable in their loyalty to the guru and resolute int he defense of righteousness. The numerous regulations that together make up their Khalsa duty are known as the Rahit, subsequently recorded in documents called Rahitnamas.
Fierce conflict between the Sikhs and the Mughals followed soon after the founding of the Khalsa, initiating a pattern which was to characterize much of the eighteenth century. The enemy was to change, with Afghan succeeding Mughal as chief opponent, and later still the Sikhs were to engage in internecine warfare as the various chieftains sought to establish their authority in the Punjab. It was, however, a consistent pattern in that it involved a frequent recourse to arms and progressively strengthened the martial traditions of the Panth. The eighteenth century has ever since been perceived as a time of struggle, heroism, martyrdom, and ultimately triumph. The tradition is conspicuously expressed in popular views of Baba Dip Singh, slain in an attempt to evict Muslim invaders from the Harimandir Sahib.
Meanwhile other important developments had been taking place within the Panth. With the death of Guru Gobind Singh, the line of personal gurus came to an end. The guru’s authority passed thereafter to the sacred scripture (the Guru Granth) and to the corporate community (the Guru Panth). The words recorded in the Adi Granth have ever since been accorded the full weight of that authority andas such are binding to all Sikhs. Corporate decisions have proved virtually impossible to secure under modern conditions, but during the struggles of the eighteenth century, formal resolutions of the Khalsa Panth carried the sanction of the guru’s authority.
From the struggles of the eighteenth century there eventually emerged an acknowledged victor. This was Ranjit Singh, ruler of the Punjab from the turn of the century until his death in 1839. Traditionally, viewed as a supreme exemplar of the Khalsa ideal, Ranjit Singh remains a particularly popular folk hero. His death, however, was followed by a rapid decline into chaos, by two wars against the British, and by the British annexation of the Punjab in 1849. To the new rulers, it seemed that the Khalsa tradition was undergoing rapid decay and that the Panth soon had to “merge back into Hinduism.”
Any such process was arrested and reversed during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The British themselves contributed to the change by enlisting Sikhs and favoring Khalsa observance in the Indian Army. Much more influential, however, was the Singh Sabha movement. Led by intellectuals and supported by some prominent members of the Sikh aristocracy, this movement summoned Sikhs to a renewed loyalty. Through literature, journalism, education, and preaching, its exponents stressed loyalty to the gurus and to the Rahit, emphasizing the unique nature of Sikhism and the distinct identity of its adherents.
From World War I onward the elitist Singh Sabha was progressively overtaken by political activists, known as the Akali movement, and by advocates of armed insurrection, known as the Ghadr Party. Proponents of the Akali movement set their sights on securing control of the Punjab’s principal gurdwaras (Sikh temples). Initially, the British authorities upheld the claims of the hereditary incumbents who had controlled the gurdwaras for several generations, but these claims soon gave way. In 1925, the gurdwaras, with their substantial assets and patronage, were entrusted to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). Elected at regular intervals by registered adult Sikhs, this body still retains its authority and as such exercises a major influence in Sikh affairs.
Indian politics have continued to play a primary role in Sikh affairs to the present day, the principal contenders being the Akali Party (almost exclusively Sikh) and the Congress Party. Neither can be clearly or consistently defined in terms of its policies toward Sikh affairs, although the latter has obviously been constrained by larger all-India interests. Questions of Sikh identity have continued to jostle with economic concerns. The boundary between the two major parties has normally been blurred, with abundant scope for movement across party lines. In the recent past, however, the division has become much more distinct, leading eventually to open conflict and to the Indian Army’s assault on the Golden Temple complex in June 1984.
A recurrent issue raised by these troubles is the question of precisely who is a Sikh. A strict view includes only those men and women who undergo Khalsa initiation (amrit sanskar) and obey the precepts of the Rahit. A more relaxed view extends the Panth’s boundaries to embrace the so-called Sahaj-dhari Sikhs (those who affirm reverence for the gurus but who neither enter the Khalsa nor observe the Rahit in its full rigor). Amrit-dhari and Sahaj-dhari unite in their devout reverence for the gurus, for the sacred scripture, and for the gurdwara. Although gurdwaras have been extensively used for political activity they retain their sanctity as repositories of the sacred scripture and as visible expressions of the Sikh ideal of service.
One feature of the Panth that sometimes attracts comment is the persistence of caste within it. Although the gurus denounced caste distinctions, the institution is still generally observed by their followers. It is, however, observed in a significantly diminished form. A majority of Sikhs belong to the rural Jat caste.
The numerical dominance of Jats within the Panth helps to explain other features of the contemporary community. Jats have been conspicuous participants in agrarian development and contribute significantly to the Sikhs’ reputation for economic enterprise. Their commitment to the martial traditions of the Panth also serves to nourish and sustain this feature of the Sikh inheritance. Although the total Sikh population is impossible to compute accurately it is probably close to fifteen million worldwide. A substantial majority of Sikhs still live in the Punjab, where they constitute over fifty percent of the area’s total population. Significant numbers have migrated to other countries, particularly to England and North America.
This execution significantly strengthened the tradition of martyrdom within the Panth and contributed directly to the climactic event in Sikh history, the founding of the Khalsa order in 1699, a decision by Guru Gobind Singh that conferred on the Panth a clear identity and a specific discipline. All who accepted initiation into the Khalsa vowed to observe thereafter a pattern of belief and conduct that combined traditional piety with loyalty to a militant ideal. Sikhs of the Khalsa were to adopt distinctive emblems (the “five ks,” including uncut hair, a comb, a steel bangle, a sword or dagger, and military style breeches). They were to be unshakable in their loyalty to the guru and resolute int he defense of righteousness. The numerous regulations that together make up their Khalsa duty are known as the Rahit, subsequently recorded in documents called Rahitnamas.
Fierce conflict between the Sikhs and the Mughals followed soon after the founding of the Khalsa, initiating a pattern which was to characterize much of the eighteenth century. The enemy was to change, with Afghan succeeding Mughal as chief opponent, and later still the Sikhs were to engage in internecine warfare as the various chieftains sought to establish their authority in the Punjab. It was, however, a consistent pattern in that it involved a frequent recourse to arms and progressively strengthened the martial traditions of the Panth. The eighteenth century has ever since been perceived as a time of struggle, heroism, martyrdom, and ultimately triumph. The tradition is conspicuously expressed in popular views of Baba Dip Singh, slain in an attempt to evict Muslim invaders from the Harimandir Sahib.
Meanwhile other important developments had been taking place within the Panth. With the death of Guru Gobind Singh, the line of personal gurus came to an end. The guru’s authority passed thereafter to the sacred scripture (the Guru Granth) and to the corporate community (the Guru Panth). The words recorded in the Adi Granth have ever since been accorded the full weight of that authority andas such are binding to all Sikhs. Corporate decisions have proved virtually impossible to secure under modern conditions, but during the struggles of the eighteenth century, formal resolutions of the Khalsa Panth carried the sanction of the guru’s authority.
From the struggles of the eighteenth century there eventually emerged an acknowledged victor. This was Ranjit Singh, ruler of the Punjab from the turn of the century until his death in 1839. Traditionally, viewed as a supreme exemplar of the Khalsa ideal, Ranjit Singh remains a particularly popular folk hero. His death, however, was followed by a rapid decline into chaos, by two wars against the British, and by the British annexation of the Punjab in 1849. To the new rulers, it seemed that the Khalsa tradition was undergoing rapid decay and that the Panth soon had to “merge back into Hinduism.”
Any such process was arrested and reversed during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The British themselves contributed to the change by enlisting Sikhs and favoring Khalsa observance in the Indian Army. Much more influential, however, was the Singh Sabha movement. Led by intellectuals and supported by some prominent members of the Sikh aristocracy, this movement summoned Sikhs to a renewed loyalty. Through literature, journalism, education, and preaching, its exponents stressed loyalty to the gurus and to the Rahit, emphasizing the unique nature of Sikhism and the distinct identity of its adherents.
From World War I onward the elitist Singh Sabha was progressively overtaken by political activists, known as the Akali movement, and by advocates of armed insurrection, known as the Ghadr Party. Proponents of the Akali movement set their sights on securing control of the Punjab’s principal gurdwaras (Sikh temples). Initially, the British authorities upheld the claims of the hereditary incumbents who had controlled the gurdwaras for several generations, but these claims soon gave way. In 1925, the gurdwaras, with their substantial assets and patronage, were entrusted to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). Elected at regular intervals by registered adult Sikhs, this body still retains its authority and as such exercises a major influence in Sikh affairs.
Indian politics have continued to play a primary role in Sikh affairs to the present day, the principal contenders being the Akali Party (almost exclusively Sikh) and the Congress Party. Neither can be clearly or consistently defined in terms of its policies toward Sikh affairs, although the latter has obviously been constrained by larger all-India interests. Questions of Sikh identity have continued to jostle with economic concerns. The boundary between the two major parties has normally been blurred, with abundant scope for movement across party lines. In the recent past, however, the division has become much more distinct, leading eventually to open conflict and to the Indian Army’s assault on the Golden Temple complex in June 1984.
A recurrent issue raised by these troubles is the question of precisely who is a Sikh. A strict view includes only those men and women who undergo Khalsa initiation (amrit sanskar) and obey the precepts of the Rahit. A more relaxed view extends the Panth’s boundaries to embrace the so-called Sahaj-dhari Sikhs (those who affirm reverence for the gurus but who neither enter the Khalsa nor observe the Rahit in its full rigor). Amrit-dhari and Sahaj-dhari unite in their devout reverence for the gurus, for the sacred scripture, and for the gurdwara. Although gurdwaras have been extensively used for political activity they retain their sanctity as repositories of the sacred scripture and as visible expressions of the Sikh ideal of service.
One feature of the Panth that sometimes attracts comment is the persistence of caste within it. Although the gurus denounced caste distinctions, the institution is still generally observed by their followers. It is, however, observed in a significantly diminished form. A majority of Sikhs belong to the rural Jat caste.
The numerical dominance of Jats within the Panth helps to explain other features of the contemporary community. Jats have been conspicuous participants in agrarian development and contribute significantly to the Sikhs’ reputation for economic enterprise. Their commitment to the martial traditions of the Panth also serves to nourish and sustain this feature of the Sikh inheritance. Although the total Sikh population is impossible to compute accurately it is probably close to fifteen million worldwide. A substantial majority of Sikhs still live in the Punjab, where they constitute over fifty percent of the area’s total population. Significant numbers have migrated to other countries, particularly to England and North America.
Silva Cunha, Gaspar de
Silva Cunha, Gaspar de (Gaspar de Silva Cunha). A Brazilian black slave leader in the unsuccessful Hausa slave revolt in Bahia in 1835.
Gaspar de Silva Cunha see Silva Cunha, Gaspar de
Silva Cunha, Gaspar de (Gaspar de Silva Cunha). A Brazilian black slave leader in the unsuccessful Hausa slave revolt in Bahia in 1835.
Gaspar de Silva Cunha see Silva Cunha, Gaspar de
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