'true Khalsa'), also romanised as Tatt Khalsa, known as the Akal Purkhias during the 18th century,[2] was a Sikh faction that arose from the schism following the passing of Guru Gobind Singh in 1708, led by his widow Mata Sundari, opposed to the religious innovations of Banda Singh Bahadur and his followers.
[1] These included requiring his followers to be vegetarian,[3] replacing the traditional Khalsa garment color of blue with red garments, replacing the traditional Khalsa salute of "Waheguru Ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji ki Fateh" with the salute "Fateh Darshan, Fateh Dharam" and most controversial to the Sikhs, allowing his followers to treat him as a guru,[1] in direct contradiction to the precept of Guru Maneyo Granth laid out by Guru Gobind Singh before his passing.
[1] After the assassination of the Mughal emperor Farrukh Siyar in 1719, Sikh persecution lessened enough to allow for occasional general meetings at Amritsar, where the Bandai faction demanded 50% of the income from donations and offerings at the Darbar Sahib, which the Tatt Khalsa refused as baseless.
[1] Mata Sundari, in Delhi upon hearing of the rising tensions, dispatched Bhai Mani Singh with six other Sikhs to manage the Darbar Sahib, with the instruction that the entire income of the gurdwara go to Guru ka Langar.
He contacted Kahn Singh Nabha, a notable scholar, who wrote Mahan Kosh (encyclopedia of Sikhism) and Ham Hindu Nahin (We are not Hindus).