The Multifarious Faces of Sikhism
throughout Sikh History
Page 2 of 4
Jat
Sikhs cont'd
Hence, the ancient Jats have a very powerful
and illustrious history coupled with a rich
martial heritage. It was this martial heritage
that would help assist the Sikhs in the 17th
century. According to ideal caste-negating Tat
Khalsa Singh Sabhia philosophy, the acknowledgement
of caste is by nature anti-Sikh. Within Sanatan
Sikhism however, caste was not accepted nor
acknowledged at a spiritual level, but, at a
sociopolitical level, it was fully practiced.
Cunningham writes:
‘It may nevertheless
be justly observed that Gobind abolished
caste rather by implication than by direct
enactment, and it may be justly objected
that the Sikhs still uphold the principal
distinctions at least of race. Thus
the Gurus nowhere say that Brahmans and
Sudars are to inter-marry, or that they
are daily to partake together of the same
food: but they laid a good foundation for
the practical obliteration’s of all
differences ------.’ ‘History
Of Sikhs’, by J. D. Cunningham, 1849,
Pa. 313
Akali Nihang Guru Gobind Singh Ji
A Pahari painting of the tenth Sikh Guru (second
from left) greeting a Sufi saint, circa early
18th century
Of all modern Sikhs, the Jats are today most
meticulous in not marrying outside their clans.
Many Jats today, irrespective of the ideals
demanded by Tat Khalsa Singh Sabhia Sikhism,
hypocritically cling onto many remnants of their
past religious traditions.
Jat Women
Jat women in Punjab wearing in their traditional
dress, circa late 19th century
The Jat faith of old was a simplistic faith
of ancestor worship. Amongst the ‘Chahal’
clan of Jats, there is even a ‘Jat’
version of Akali Nihang Baba Deep Singh
story. One must appreciate Akali Nihang Baba
Deep Singh is famous in Sikhism for his reputed
ability to fight on even, though he was ‘beheaded’.
Modern fundamentalist Sikhs attribute Baba Deep
Singh’s ability to fight whilst carrying
his own head to the divine power of ‘Naam’
(the contemplation of Sikh sacred mantra ‘Va
eh-Guru’). Yet, long before Baba
Deep Singh, there lived the 'super' Chahal
Jat known as Joga Pir,
who preformed the same feat. Punjabi folk historian
Sohinder Singh Bedi writes:
‘In the region of
Moga in Kuli Chahal a festival is held at
the memorial of Joga Pir at time of fourth
Norata, in it Jats of the Chahal clan from
afar come and participate. Joga Pir was
some ancestor of the Chahal Jats who became
a martyr fighting the Moghals. Tradition
holds even after his head was separated
from his body Joga holding his head in one
hand and in the other the Tulwar and kept
on slaughtering the Moghals.’
‘Punjab Dee Lokh Dhara’, by
S.S. Bedi, 1973, Pa. 136
Akali Nihang Baba Deep Singh Shaheed
An example of a modern contemporary painting
found at the Baba Deep Singh
Shaheed Bunga (tower) at batinda, that romanticizes
and perpetuates the myth that Akali Nihang
Baba Deep Singh was 'beheaded' and yet continued
to fight while carrying his severed head on
his hand
