Sikhism and caste
[3] Whilst caste is commonly framed as being a negative phenomenon, it is also a positive marker of an in-group, which allows for the conceptualization of one's own community and group.
Therefore, wherever they could mobilize resources, the Sikh Dalits of Punjab have tried to construct their own gurdwara and other local level institutions in order to attain a certain degree of cultural autonomy.
[12] Other castes (over 1,000 members) include the Arain, Bhatra, Bairagi, Bania, Basith, Bawaria, Bazigar, Bhabra, Chamar, Chhimba (cotton farmers), Darzi, Dhobi, Gujar, Jhinwar, Kahar, Kalal, Kumhar, Lohar, Mahtam, Megh, Mirasi, Mochi, Nai, Ramgharia, Sansi, Sudh, Tarkhan, and Kashyap.
[citation needed] Karnail Singh Panjoli, member of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, says that there are several communities within the term Nanakpanthis too.
[1][2] The Sikh gurus and scriptures speak against caste-based hierarchies and advocated for caste and gender equality in the real-world through both religious belief and practice.
God’s is the one light that pervades all creation.Another verse of Guru Nanak in the Guru Granth Sahib states:[2] Recognise the jot [light] within all and inquire not the caste, as there is no caste in the next world.The Sikh gurus focused on worldliness in their efforts to promote caste-equality rather than promoting beliefs about caste-equality in the afterlife, such as the Beghampura (“the land without sorrow”) espoused by Bhagat Ravidas.
[1] Whilst varna classifications and concept of untouchability are found within the caste system are sanctified in Brahminical Hinduism, they cannot be relegated as not being unrelated to Sikhism as these influences continue to impact Sikhs.
[1] Whilst Sikhism as a religion advocates for caste-equality, the success of achieving such a state has been contested by some Sikhs, especially those who now increasingly self-identity as being Ravidassia, Valmiki, or Ambedkarite.
Furthermore, sustaining one's family-honour (izzat) is tied together with caste-identity, especially when considering marriage, as marrying within your caste is viewed as preserving your familial-honour, with this deriving from Punjabi culture and being followed by Punjabi-Sikhs.
[1][22] The OBC category was reframed by the Indian government in 1990 and includes a diversity of caste-groupings, such as the Ramgarhias (formally listed as Tarkhans and Lohars), Labanas, Kambojs, Jhinwars, and Gujjars.
[1] Sikhism today is characterized by Jat-Sikh hegemony over Sikh religious and political affairs (such as in both the SGPC and SAD organizations), and they hold sway in rural areas due to them being the largest group of landowners.
[1] By the 1st or 2nd century CE, the Manusmiriti (attributed to Manu) codefied the Hindu populace into four or five varnas, which were broad social-classification categorizations that were ranked according to a hierarchal-nature.
[2] Guru Nanak, who preferred to associate himself with the lower-castes,[1] also established the langar and pangat practices in Sikhism, which broke-down caste-barriers by making them eat together as one.
[1][2] Nanak stressed upon living the life of a householder and mingling with lower-castes, not practicing ascetism and escaping into the wilderness, as asceticism did not solve the root issue of casteism but rather avoided it.
[2] Whilst the bhagats had explained the equality of castes in reaching the afterlife, Guru Nanak practiced caste-equality in the real-world, such as by publicly interacting with lower-castes directly.
[2] Some scholars, such as Banerjee, have argued that such a feat would have been impossible as the caste-system had formed the basis of Hindu society for centuries but rather "... orthodoxy could hardly resist a breach in the citadel".
Stripped of its religious content it can retain the status of a harmless social convention… … A reasonable conclusion appears to be that whereas they [Sikh gurus] were vigorously opposed to the vertical distinction of caste they were content to accept it in terms of its horizontal linkagesThe natural and evolution of caste amongst Sikhs during the British period were influenced by administrative policy and also by religious reform movements.
... Our brahmins did not as a rule even have the role of teachers, because until the British opened regular schools, teaching was done by Muslim mullahs in the mosques or by Sikh granthis … in the Gurudwaras.
Our brahmins were rarely erudite; in fact, many of them were barely literate, possessing only a perfunctory knowledge of rituals and knowing just the necessary mantras by heartThe introduction of census enumeration in Punjab by the British led to the association of the strength of a particular community to its population, with it being tied to government employment and political representation.
[1] Moneylenders and merchants were usually Hindus from Bania, Mahajan, Khatri, and Arora caste-backgrounds whilst the cultivators who borrowed from them were predominantly Jats (from all three of the main religious groups).
The onset of British-rule in Punjab is tied with the rise of the Ad-Dharmi movement, as the military cantonment established by the British in Jalandhar required leather boots.
[1] Eventually, the Chamar leatherworkers were able to expand their business operations in Punjabi towns and cities but also outside of Punjab to regions like Bengal (in Calcutta) where they worked in leather-tanneries, and even overseas to North America.
[1] Mangoo Ram worked abroad in the US for several years and returned to Punjab, where he led a movement against the hierarchal caste-system, which he believed was rooted in Hinduism.
[3] Patel stated the following on the matter:[3]The Sikhs themselves have thought that certain classes of people amongst them, who have been recent converts, and who were originally Scheduled Caste Hindus, are suffering from the fault of the Hindu community.
[1] During heavy-drinking sessions, such as during Holi or Lohri celebrations, caste-barriers in the rural village evaporated and untouchables drank together with touchables, with the Mazhabis traditionally being the ones who brewed alcohol.
[1] The rise of the Bhangra genre of Punjabi music has reinforced the connection of Jat-Sikhs to rural Punjab and ancestal villages (pinds) through the creation of a sense of nostalgia, this is despite the fact that many Jats today are urbanized.
[2] A recent-trend is that places of worship of the Ravidassia and Valmiki communities are referred to as Sabhas and Bhawans instead of gurdwaras, which is a recent move toward separating from mainstream Sikhism.
[24][25][26] Thus, Jacob Copeman argues that the adoption of Singh as a title by the Sikhs does not mark a move solely toward castelessness but rather it was more aptly an action toward Rajputization.
[28] According to Gian Singh Sandhu, a naming convention that was adopted by Sikhs during the colonial-period was the introduction of surnames based upon one's caste or clan, which Jacob Copeman describes as being a bureaucratic and institutional-motivated process.
People generally knew the sub-caste of members of their community as this was used to determine feasible marriage partners, one's lineage, religion, occupation, place of origin, social status, and caste (zaat).
