FOR PROF JAGMOHAN SINGH JI: Sir, there is an additional story appended below. I only want its headline to appear below the story as a hyperlink, and when someone clicks on that hyperlink, that headline should expand as a story right beneath, instead of taking the reader to another page. Which means the reader will now be able to continue reading the new story and can even scroll upwards and come to the original story. So both stories stay on the same page. If I have been unable to explain, pl call me. Of course there will be visuals also with this story.)
“Have no dealings with the dhirmalias.” Having been brought up in a Sikh family, I had heard these words umpteen times. Soon after I came to Punjab from Delhi, I had this urge to get to know who these dhirmalias are. By the time I had joined The Indian Express, I had won enough confidence of the dhirmalia family head, thanks to a lawyer friend, and he was ready too speak about an issue on which the clan had been silent for decades. Naturally, it triggered a strong reaction from the Sikh clerics as well as many other community leaders.
Ostracised By The Guru
350 Years Earlier,
Now A Sect Wants To Return To Manifold
S P Singh
Kartarpur:
“thou shall not have any social relation with dhirmalias… as such ties render a sikh as tankhahyia.”
-- Words uttered at the baptising ceremony of every Sikh in order to initiate him into the khalsa panth.
Now, about 350 years after their ostracisation from the Sikh panth, the head of the dhirmal sect, descendant of sixth Sikh guru, has for the first time declared that he no more considers himself a ‘guru’ and “only Guru Granth Sahib” is the real guru of Sikhs.
Notional owners of the entire city of Kartarpur in Jalandhar district, thanks to the generosity of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, and custodians of the original copy of Guru Granth Sahib (Adi Granth), hand scripted by Bhai Gurdas under direct supervision of fifth Sikh guru Arjan Dev, the Sodhi-Dhirmals have stayed outside the Sikh mainstream for over three centuries now but have maintained their Sikh identity and managed to stay largely out of any controversy.
The sect is now headed by 49-year-old Karamjit Singh, a bachelor, who says they have assimilated the fact of ostracisation but adds that “it was something that the community did. They expelled us from the Panth. If any overture for weaving us back into the Sikh mainstream is to happen, it has to come from the other side.”
He said his father Amarjit Singh, who headed the Dhirmalia sect till his death on November 4, 1998, tried in the 1960s for such a move but found no response from the community.
But how will they respond to such an overture now? “We’ll cross the bridge when we reach it,” says Karamjit’s younger brother Charanjit Singh but sources in the sect said nothing better can happen than the Akal Takht or the SGPC taking the initiative for such a move.
“We have no interaction with the SGPC. Nor do we have any dispute with them,” says Charanjit. The family is embroiled in a number of court cases related to property running into crores of rupees. The ostracisation also poses a security risk and the members of the family move under private security.
The gaddi of the sect is inherited by the elder son of the incumbent, or if that is not possible, by elder son of the younger brother.
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Sixth Guru Hargobind had five sons. Baba Gurditta, Baba Surajmal, Baba Ani Rai, Baba Atal Rai and (Guru) Tegh Bahadur. Baba Gurditta in turn had two sons – Dhirmal and (Guru) Har Rai. During the 1634 AD battle with Painde Khan, Guru Hargobind was in Kartarpur and so was the Adi Granth which was completed in 1604 AD by Bhai Gurdaas. Dhirmal, under the influence of masands (the professional priestly class) had written to Painde Khan promising help in case of assault. The Guru vanquished Khan but Dhirmal nurtured dream of becoming the Guru himself. He kept custody of the Adi Granth believing that it was the key to Guruship. When Guru Hargobind moved to Kiratpur Sahib, Dhirmal and his mother Ananti chose to remain behind and held on to the Granth. He did not go to the ceremony where in March 1644 Guru Har Rai was consecrated as Guru, seventh in succession to Guru Nanak, and also refused to send the Adi Granth. During the few days of confusion about a successor to eighth guru Harkishan, Dhirmal was also among the 22 masands claiming to be the real guru, and after his uncle Guru Tegh Bahadur’s ascension to the throne, he even sent a masand (priest) Sihan to assault him. Sihan fired at the Guru injuring him. When the Sikhs got to know of it, they assaulted Dhirmal’s dera and not only brought Sihan before the Guru but also the Adi Granth. The Guru, however, directed that Sihan be released and the Adi Granth volume be returned to Dhirmal. Consequently, the Dhirmal’s descendants still have the Adi Granth with them. Even Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale once came with the intention to take away the Granth Sahib but later returned after its darshan when told that the Guru had returned the volume to Dhirmal and it would not be proper to deprive them of the holy book. Charanjit Singh told ENS that earlier they used to arrange for darshan of the Granth on every sangrand and baisakhi but now, since the Granth has become increasingly worn out, it is opened only on Baisakhi. “We had invited a German expert who has carried out a preservation process. The Granth is kept in a 900 kg custom-built safe,” he said.
The Adi Granth volume has been a subject of several
controversies, particularly after Prof G B Singh’s work on
‘Pracheen Birs’ which was questioned by several sikh
intellectuals including Bhai Jodh Singh, the then principal of
Khalsa College, Amritsar. |
The Sikhs’ antipathy towards the sect has to do with the doings of Dhirmal, the only brother of Guru Har Rai, the seventh Guru of the Sikhs who was anointed Guru by his grandfather, sixth Sikh Guru, Guru Hargobind, ignoring the claim of elder brother Dhirmal.
During Guru Hargobind’s battles with the Mughal army, Dhirmal had written a letter to Painde Khan, a Mughal general, promising help in case of an assault. Painde Khan was eventually killed by Guru Hargobind with a scimitar.
The family of Dhirmals, proud custodians of Adi Granth, also has this scimitar, another scimitar belonging to Guru Har Rai Sahib, a ‘gutka’ of Guru Arjun Dev and a number of other relics.
The latest declaration of the Dhirmal sect head about his not being the Guru, and that only Guru Granth Sahib can be the guru, comes close on the heels of a controversy over the Namdharis’ stand vis-a-vis the Sikh holy book.
The namdharis’ considered view is that only an individual can be a Guru and a book can never be the guru, a view that goes against the very fundamental precepts of the Sikh religion. The namdharis do not undergo baptism either.
The Dhirmal sect head comes out as very polite and erudite person even though the The Indian Express team was warned by his younger brother about his being a man of short temper.
“I am not a guru. Guru Granth Sahib is the only guru…One can only be a teacher. My role is that of a teacher. Actual Guru is in your heart, actual guru is God…Every soul is divine. We are basically teachers. The Granth is the way. I can only teach. Not preach. Preaching is the worst sin. Who am I to preach? Those who have attained communion with God, only they have the right to preach,” says Karamjit, referred to as Baba ji by members of his household.
He says he was once “going to commit a sin by preaching as a Guru but then wisdom dawned upon him. “For Sikhs, the Guru is Granth Sahib,” he takes off again, quoting profusely from the hymns. Karamjit is a man of learning and gives examples from the Bible, the Ramayana and several other religious works to buttress his arguments.
“The japuji (composition of Guru Nanak) is the preamble of the whole Guru Granth Sahib. All your interpretations must pass muster it. That is why the Guru kept it as the first bani,” he says.
Asked what he thinks of various Sikh issues, the descendant of the sixth guru replies, “The community is now facing a big question. Where to go from here? I think the best way in such a dilemma is to go in the direction shown by the Gurus -- the sadh-sangat. It will not take a wrong decision.
“Leadership of the Sikhs, and that includes me also, can have some vested interest. But the sadh-sangat cannot have any vested interest.”
The Dhirmal sect head has more advice to offer, and this time a specific one. “There should be bold decisions like maintaining high transparency. All books of accounts of SGPC, gurudwaras, all SGPC forums should be kept open for sadh-sangat. Look at me. All my income is liable to tax. Anyone can check it. I think not more than 10 per cent should be spent on administrative infrastructure. Rest should go towards development. But who listens?”
The Dhirmalias, in contemporary times, have not been accused of any anti-Sikh activity. “We have even stopped the practice of enacting the battle between Painde Khan and Guru Hargobind where the head of the sect used to sit in bir-asan with his knee touching the ground, thus enacting the death of the mughal warrior,” says Charanjit Singh.
They have maintained the Khalsa order’s external identity, by undergoing baptism and supporting the five Ks – Kesh (hair), Kanga (comb), Kara (iron bracelet), Kachha (prescribed shorts) and Kirpan (sword). But the Sikh community has taken little note. The baptism ceremony is incomplete without an instruction to the newly baptised not to maintain any links with the Dhirmalias.
The Dhirmalias meanwhile live on the periphery of the mainstream community but holding one of its most precious treasures, the Adi Granth, kept safe in a 900 kg iron-safe, which is opened only on baisakhi day.
Former Akal Takht heads welcome stance, many react
Chandigarh:
Former Akal Takht jathedar Bhai Ranjit Singh today welcomed the statement of dhirmal sect head Karamjit Singh expressing faith in Guru Granth Sahib but said any decision about taking them back into the panth has to be result of collective panthic deliberations.
“Guru ghar is full of bakhshish (the guru’s abode is merciful.) but since the sect was excommunicated by none other than the gurus themselves, no single individual can take a decision about their return,” Ranjit Singh, who was deposed from the top temporal seat but claims himself to be the legitimate jathedar, told ENS over phone.
Another former jathedar of Akal Takht and president of Akali Dal (Panthic) Jasbir Singh Rode welcomed the statement and appealed to the Akal Takht jathedar and SGPC to initiate steps to resolve the centuries old issue by considering the case of dhirmals.
Sukhdev Singh Bhaur, Senior vice-president of the G S Tohra-led Sarb Hind Akali Dal, welcomed the declaration of the Dhirmalias’ head but said the sect should first apply for re-admission into the panth at the Akal Takht and only then can its case be considered. “However, we welcome their statement about belief in the Guru Granth Sahib and baptism,” he said.
Several other senior leaders of the G S Tohra-led Sarb Hind Akali Dal also welcomed the declaration of dhirmals sect head.
“The Akal Takht jathedar and the SGPC should now take immediate steps to weave the dhirmals back into the Sikh mainstream. The Sikhism is a living religion and the panth must take into account the fact that the dhirmals have undergone their punishment, having stayed on the periphery of the community for over three centuries,” SHAD leaders Jagjit Singh Gaba, Sarabjit Singh Variana and SGPC member of the party Surjit Singh Cheema told ENS here.
They said the dhirmals have refrained from any anti-Sikh activity over the decades and have maintained their Sikh identity despite ostracisation. “It is a good omen for the community and all efforts should be taken to join the sect again with the larger Sikh family,” they added.
Senior leader of the ruling Akali Dal and SGPC member Partap Singh Advocate, welcoming the dhirmalias’ statement, said he would use his good offices to convince SGPC chief Bibi Jagir Kaur and the Akal Takht jathedar about the need to re-admit the sect members into the panthic fold in the light of their latest stance asserting the supremacy of the Guru Granth Sahib and recognising the baptism.
July 9, 2000