The Multifarious Faces of Sikhism
throughout Sikh History
Page 1 of 15
Namdharis/Kookeh
Time of origin: early 1800s
This famous Sikh movement was started by Baba
Balak Singh (1799-1862) in the early
1800s. In accordance with Sanatan Sikh Shastar
Vidiya Gurdev Akali Nihang Baba Mohinder Singh’s
view, Baba Balak was initiated into the Sikh
faith by a ‘Sehajdhari’
Udasi Sikh named Bhagat Jwahar Mal of
Rawalpindi. Dr Gopal Singh in his ‘History
of the Sikhs’ also mentions Balak
Singh as being a follower of Jwahar Mal.
Baba Balak Singh
A contemporary painting by Hari Singh Bansal,
depicting the Baba Balak Singh as a child, circa
1962
Nihang Niddar Singh recently verified Balak
Singh’s Udasis connection with a Namdhari
Sikh named Kuldeep Singh, the
present secretary of Namdhari Gurdwara in Birmingham.
Kuldeep Singh stated that he heard the same
fact from elderly Namdharis. A British text
written early last century also claims Balak
Singh was an Udasi:
‘Kuka, a fanatical
sect of Sikhs. To the peaceful order
of the Udhasis belonged one Balak Singh,
an Arora by caste of ‘Hazro’
in Attock, who about 1846 inaugurated among
the Sikhs a movement which, was directed
against, the participation of Brahmins in
weddings and, generally, against their influence
over the community. He formed adherents
in the Sikh garrison of the fort, and they
became known as Sagrasi or Habiasi.
On Balak Singhs death in 1863 his nephew
Kahn Singh succeeded him, retaining
in the locality a certain number of followers,
whose doctrines are never divulged. Balak
Singhs teaching was, however, taken up by
Ram Singh, a carpenter of Bhaini Ala in
Ludihana---.’
‘A Glossary Of The Tribes And Castes
Of The Punjab And North-West Frontier Province,
Vol. II, by Horace A. Rose, 1911, Pa. 560
This adopting of non-Khalsa Udasis, Sevapanthi
or Nirmala spiritual guides termed as ‘Guru’
(said in context of teacher) by Khalsa Sikhs
such as Balak Singh in the Sanatan Sikh world
was and still is quite common.
Baba Sri Chand Ji Maharaj
An idol of Baba Sri Chand, the eldest son of
Akali Guru Nanak Dev Ji, and founder of the
Udasi order
