Baba Bhaniara is the founder of a religious sect that attracted mostly the marginalized Mazhabi Sikhs.

In summer 2000, a local gurudwara disallowed one of Bhaniara's followers from carrying the Sikh religious holy book Guru Granth Sahib.

In response, Bhaniara's followers decided to create a new holy book (granth), which would not be controlled by the dominant section of the society.

This 2,704-page copy was big and heavy: it was written on large sheets of paper with an expensive binding, and had several photographs of politicians who visited Bhaniara.

[1] The text was photocopied and distributed among Bhaniara's followers, who started holding religious ceremonies with the book at the centre.

The police arrested and presented before media some young men, who stated that they had burned Guru Granth Sahib at the instance of Bhaniara.