The Udćsīs in the Colonial Punjab 1849
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THE UDÃSÎS IN THE COLONIAL PUNJAB 1849 A.D - 1947 A.D A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE FACULTY OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES SUPERVISOR: SUBMITTED BY: Dr. SULAKHAN SINGH KIRANJEET SANDHU Professor Associate Professor Department of History P. G. Department of History Guru Nanak Dev University D.A.V College Amritsar. Jalandhar. DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY GURU NANAK DEV UNIVERSITY AMRITSAR 2011 CERTIFICATE The work included in the thesis entitled The Udãsîs in the Colonial Punjab 1849 A.D. - 1947 A.D. submitted to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences , Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, was carried out by Kiranjeet Sandhu at the Department of History, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, under my supervision. This is an original work and has not been submitted in part or full for any other degree/diploma at this or any other University/Institute. This thesis is fit to be considered for the award of degree for Ph.D. Dated :- Supervisor Dr. Sulakhan Singh Professor Deptt. of History, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. CERTIFICATE It is certified that the thesis entitled The Udãsîs in the Colonial Punjab 1849 A.D. - 1947 A.D. is entirely my own work and all the ideas and references have been duly acknowledged. Dr. Sulakhan Singh Professor Deptt. Of History, Kiranjeet Sandhu Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. CONTENTS PAGES PERFACE I-IV CHAPTER I: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 1-22 CHAPTER II: UDÃSÎ ESTABLISHMENTS 23-54 CHAPTER III: STATE PATRONAGE 55-79 CHAPTER IV: ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE 80-122 CHAPTER V: BELIEFS AND PRACTICES 123-144 CHAPTER VI: HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF UDÃSÎ LITERATURE 145-202 CHAPTER VII: THE GURDWARA REFORM MOVEMENT AND THE UDÃSÎ MAHANTS 203-231 CHAPTER VIII: CONCLUSION 232-242 GLOSSARY APPENDICES BIBLIOGRAPHY PREFACE Sikhism had never been monolithic in its history of over five hundred years. It witnessed the emergence of various sectarian developments, whose roots may be traced as far back as the 16 th and the 17 th centuries. The most notable dissidents, who staked their claims for the gaddi of Guru Nanak at different times, were significantly the direct descendants of the Sikh Gurus. They included Baba Sri Chand, eldest of the two sons of Guru Nanak, whose followers were called the Udãsîs ; Datu and Dasu, the sons of Guru Angad Dev; Mohan and Mohri, the sons of Guru Amar Das; Prithi Chand, eldest son of Guru Ram Das, whose followers were called the Minas ; Dhir Mal, eldest son of Baba Gurditta (eldest son of Guru Hargobind), whose followers were called the Dhirmalias ; and Ram Rai, eldest son of Guru Har Rai, whose followers were called the Ram Rayias . Significantly, among all the dissenting individuals and religious Orders, the Udãsîs alone survived as an important religious force to be reckoned with in Sikh history and religion. The Minas , the Dhirmalias and the Ram Rayias were excommunicated by Guru Gobind Singh, who ordered the Khalsa Sikhs not to have any kind of social relations with them. As is the case of the Udãsîs , their pro-establishment stance as well as their being non-baptized not only perhaps enabled them to continue their missionary work as custodians of the historic Sikh shrines but also helped them escape the state persecution during the 18 th century . This probably fetched them more extensive revenue-free land grants ( dharmarths ) from the Sikh ruling classes, Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his successors, which partially continued to the British times. Moreover, the Udãsî attempts to affiliate themselves with the early Sikh tradition also made them more popular and tolerable to the Sikhs. But during the Singh Sabha days, the Udãsîs were targeted by the Tat Khalsa, as they were very close to Hinduism. The Akali reformers launched their struggle against the Udãsî Mahants for reforms in the Sikh Shrines. In the early 20 th century, the Akali-Udãsî conflict, the Gurdwara litigation and legislation, the Udãsîs’s attempts to stake their non-Sikh identity, and lastly, the continuous resumption of their dharmarth lands by the new rulers, gradually led to their weakening position. In all respects, thus, the Udãsîs were virtually on the verge of decline. i I For the completion of this work, very wide variety of the published and unpublished British records available in the National Archives of India, New Delhi; the Punjab State Archives, Patiala; the Financial Commissioner’s Revenue Records at Chandigarh; Records in the Deputy Commissioner’s library at Amritsar and Jalandhar, available in the form of Foreign/Political Proceedings, Home/Political files, Settlement Reports, Census Reports , District Gazetteers ; All India Reporter ; Judicial Decisions of Lahore High Courts; and the Judgments of the Privy Councils, have been used critically and judiciously. The Udãsî and non-Udãsî literature and the Panda-Vahi records available at Haridwar, too, have been used objectively and corroborated with the contemporary official sources. II The first chapter deals with the early history of the Udãsîs . It contains the history of the Udãsîs from Baba Sri Chand to the annexation of the Punjab by the British. Among the non-Sikh literary sources, the Persian chronicles contain little information for constructing historical biography of Baba Sri Chand. These accounts, however, provide scattered information on the Udãsîs , especially Baba Sri Chand, who lived the life of an ascetic. In the second chapter, the Udãsî Establishments in relation to their numbers, distribution and relative significance have been studied. It brings together the existence, growth and fall in the number of Udãsî establishments . The third chapter deals with the aspect of State Patronage to Udãsî individuals and institutions and the British rulers’s policy regarding the Udãsîs and the extensive revenue-free land grants enjoyed by them during the period of Sikh rule. In the fourth chapter, the administrative structure of the Udãsî institutions has been studied. The fifth chapter explains beliefs and practices of the Udãsîs and their changing attitudes in the colonial period. The sixth chapter covers the literary works on and by the Udãsîs compiled from the 17 th to the 20 th century. It also highlights their historical value for understanding different aspects of Udãsî history in particular and the history of the Punjab in general. In the seventh chapter the Gurdwara Reform Movement and the position of the Udãsî Mahants has been studied in detail. The aspect of the Akali-Udãsî conflict, the Gurdwara litigation and legislation, and the ii Udãsîs’s attempts to stake their non-Sikh identity, too, have been discussed. It may be added here that all the non-English words have been italicized and the diacritical marks on them have been avoided, except the word Udãsîs, being the main subject of this work. III For the present work, I am indebted not only to my supervisor, Dr. Sulakhan Singh, for his constant guidance and valuable suggestions, enabling me to work to the best of my abilities and capabilities, but also to his family, who always provided me a warm atmosphere during all stages of my work. He guided me in the organization and utilization of the sources in right perspective in an objective manner. I am also grateful to Dr. Harinder Singh Chopra, Chief Librarian, Bhai Gurdas Library, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, for providing me the opportunity to consult the rare source material relating to my work. My thanks are due to the library staff of the Department of History, Guru Nanak Dev University; Sikh Reference Library, Golden Temple; Sikh History Research Department, Khalsa College, Amritsar; Deputy Commissioner’s Libraries at Amritsar and Jalandhar; the Punjab State archives, Patiala; librarian of the main library of the Punjabi University, Patiala; Library staff of several other Public Institutions, such as the Punjab Civil Secretariat Library and Financial Commissioner’s Record Office, at Chandigarh; Punjab University Library, Chandigarh; the National Archives of India and Nehru Memorial Museum Library, Teen Murti House, New Delhi. Also, I am very much indebted to Dr. K. L. Sachdeva, who inspired me to undertake this challenging work. I will be failing in my duty if I do not thank my husband, Sardar Dilbag Singh Randhawa, District Commandant, for his constant encouragement and support during the entire period. Unconditional love of my daughters Sargam, Taranum and son Danish always made me comfortable at difficult moments and for which they deserve my heartfelt gratitude and lots of love. iii CHAPTER- I HISTORICAL BACKGROUND In Sikh history, the term Udãsî firstly refers to the travels or missionary tours of Guru Nanak (1469-1539) and secondly, it signifies an Order of ascetics founded by Baba Sri Chand (1494-?), the elder son of Guru Nanak. 1 Originally, it is derived from the Sanskrit word Udãs or Udãsîn, i.e., one, who is indifferent to or disregardful of worldly attachments, or is stoic or a mendicant. 2 Udãsî, literally means sorrow, sadness, disappointed ones, dejected, withdrawn from worldly concerns. W.H. Mcleod writes that the Janamsakhis, the hagiographical literature of the Sikhs, refer to the word Udãsî denoting the missionary tours of Guru Nanak, possibly because these trends were understood as withdrawal from worldly activities. 3 In modern Sikh usage, the term designates an Order of ascetics who revere the Guru Granth Sahib and claim Sri Chand as their founder. 4 The followers of Sri Chand gradually came to be known as the Udãsîs. They revered Guru Nanak, preached his message, and recited the bani of the Sikh Gurus, yet retained their separate identity. C.H. Payne writes that though for many years, Nanak led life of an ascetic, he did not advocate this practice to others.