Sikh Rajputs
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There are many Rajput Sikhs (followers of Sikhism), who call themselves "Sikh Rajputs". Sikh Rajput are one such group, in that sense the phrase "Sikh Rajput" means, Sikh = religion, Rajput = social group.
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[edit] Contextual Definition
Sikhism teaches the importance of having respect for ones and others personal & family histories, this includes tribal and national heritages. However, it is with the condition it should not be based negative prejudices(??????). Many Sikhs of many backgrounds hold this religious interpretation and value their tribal, national & family histories. Sikh Rajput are one such group, in that sense the phrase "Sikh Rajput" means, Sikh = religion, Rajput = social group. Dictionary meaning of the phrase would be - the community of Sikhs, whose ancestors were Rajputs (literally - Sons of Kings) before they converted to Sikhism. This meaning is implied in the remaining text of this article.
[edit] Sikhism and Punjabi Rajputs
Punjabi Hindus hold Sikhism in high regard(????citation needed), many Punjabi Hindus not only in India but worldwide today visit their local Gurdwaras regularly and adhere to the preachings of the Guru Granth Sahib(???? citation needed). Sikhism is traditionally seen as a religion of warriors who were protectors of Dharma against marauding Islamic invaders who sought to convert Hindus to Islam by lethal force and against oppressive Mughal government and religious extremism of Mughal Emperors and specially that of Aurangzeb.
There has been a long standing practice in Punjab which does not continue where Hindu families give their first born son to the Guru to be baptized as a Khalsa Sikh and join the Guru’s army of protectors. This practice started when Guru Gobind Singh in 1699 asked the Hindu families to give him their eldest sons to help raise the new Khalsa Army to protect Dharma and all against Mughal tyranny and forced conversions to Islam.[citation needed] As it is the Hindu religious duty of every Kshatriya including every Rajput to bear arms and protect society and the Dharma, local Punjabi Hindu Kshtriya families including Rajputs living in Punjab keenly supported the Guru and offered him their eldest sons all too willingly[citation needed]and the tradition continued hence many Punjabi Rajput families too have been giving their eldest sons to be enrolled in the Guru’s Army and baptized as Khalsa Sikhs. Thus there are many Hindu, Punjabi Hindu Rajput and Punjabi Hindu Mair Rajput families whose kin are proud followers of Sikhism today with their eldest sons as baptized Khalsa Sikhs. Thus there are many Sikhs who call themselves "Sikh Rajputs"(on seeing the jatt sikhs???) today and still use Rajput family names.
Sikh Rajputs have a long standing tradition in Punjab and in Sikh history. During the Mughal era when many Punjabi families followed the teachings of the Guru and were baptized as Khalsa and joined the Guru’s order of followers. Many Punjabi Rajput families also enrolled in the Guru’s Army or Khalsa panth and baptized as Khalsa Sikhs. Thus there are many Sikh Rajput personalities in the history of Sikhism,Baba Banda Bahadur,[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Baba Nidhan Singh of Hazoor Sahib and numerous families whose kin are proud followers of Sikhism today. Thus there are many Sikh Rajputs today with common Rajput family names.
Many Rajput villages in the Punjab Region converted, wholly or partially, to Sikhism. The extent of conversion depended on the influence of Sikhism in that region. Majority of these villages are located in central Punjab districts of Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib, Patiala, Faridkot, Moga, Nawanshahr, Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur. Yet, others have migrated from West Punjab districts of Sargodha, Toba tek singh, Faisalabad, Montgomery, Lahore etc. after Partition of India. However, there are some Sikh Rajput villages in Ambala and Nalagarh districts of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, as well. Therefore, there are Sikh Rajputs with common Rajput surnames such as Bhatti, Chauhan, Parmar, Parhar, Rathore,Khurmi,Minhas, Manj, Doad, Saroya, Toor, Janjua, Jaswal, Luddu, Rana etc. spread across villages in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
The medieval forts of Saroya Sikh Rajput Chiefs in the Punjab villages of Chukhiara, Bhungarni, Dihana and Bohan are reminiscent of their past glory. While others, such as the ancestral fort of Minhas Sikh Rajputs of Daroli, were destroyed by conquering powers, British in this case.
[edit] See also
- Sikhism
- Sikhs
- Hinduism and Sikh Panth
- Hinduism
- Rajputs
- Muslim League Attack on Sikhs and Hindus in the Punjab 1947
[edit] Further reading
- Talib, Gurbachan (1950). Muslim League Attack on Sikhs and Hindus in the Punjab 1947. India: Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee.Online 1 Online 2 Online 3 (A free copy of this book can be read from any 3 of the included "Online Sources" of this free “Online Book”)
[edit] Reference
- ^ Ganda, Singh [1935] (1990). Life of Banda Singh Bahadur : based on contemporary and original records. Punjabi University/Khalsa College, 1. OCLC 25748134. “His father Ram Dev was an ordinary ploughman Rajput.”
- ^ Sambhi, Piara Singh; W Owen Cole (1990). A popular dictionary of Sikhism. Curzon, 49. ISBN 978-0913215517. OCLC 59977906. “Born a Rajput, he was a Bairagi yogi until his conversion”
- ^ Seetal, Sohan Singh (1968). Prophet of man, Guru Gobind Singh. Lyall Book Depot, 366. OCLC 115772. “And he is commonly known as Banda Bahadur. Banda Singh was, by his birth, a master of the Rajput tradition and a dauntless temperament”
- ^ Chib, Sukhdev Singh (1977). Punjab. Light & Life Publishers, 15. OCLC 3768858. “"Originally a Dogra Rajput named Lachhman Das, Banda Bahadur was born in a farmer family at Rajouri."”
- ^ Singh, Khazan [1914] (1970). History of the Sikh Religion. Dept. of Languages, Punjab/Newal Kishore, Lahore, 211. OCLC 162514106. “He was the son of Ramdev, a Rajput.”
- ^ Duggal, Kartar Singh (2001). Maharaja Ranjit Singh: The Last to Lay Arms. Abhinav Publications, 40. ISBN 978-8170174103. OCLC 48811299. “A Rajput of the Dogra tribe, his real name was Lachhman Dev.”
- ^ Malik, Arjan Dass (1975). An Indian guerilla war : the Sikh peoples war, 1699-1768. New York: Wiley, 27. ISBN 978-0470565766. OCLC 1339733. “"Banda Bahadur was a Rajput of Jammu province who had become a monk. He came in contact with Guru Gobind Singh in the south and embraced Sikhism."”
- ^ Deol, Gurdev Singh (1972). Banda Bahadur. New Academic Pub. Co., 14. OCLC 730641. “Banda Bahadur was a Rajput and was a man of limited means.”
- ^ Mahajan, Vidya Dhar (1964). India since 1526. S. Chand, 205. OCLC 3975743. “Banda Bahadur was a Dogra Rajput. He was born in 1670. His original name was Lachhman Dass and he was very fond of hunting. Later on he became a Bairagi and went awayto Deccan.”
- ^ Madhok, Balraj (1985). Punjab Problem, the Muslim Connection. Vision Books, 25. OCLC 12361473. “Banda Bahadur was the seion of a Rajput family of Poonch area, now in Jammu and Kashmir State.”
- ^ Singh, Mian Goverdhan [1932] (1982). History of Himachal Pradesh. Yugbodh Pub. House, 141. OCLC 9063139. “"He was a Dogra Rajput who was born at Rajouri in Kashmir."”
[edit] External links
- Rajputs Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition; 2005
- Rajput Encyclopedia Britannica; 1911
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