The bitter dispute in the Namdhari sect, which has left 8 people injured in a violent clash
- August 18, 2024
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
No Comments
The bitter dispute in the Namdhari sect, which has left 8 people injured in a violent clash
Subject: History
Sec: Modern India
Context:
Hundreds of followers of two rival groups of the Namdhari religious sect clashed violently in Rania in Haryana’s Sirsa district at the end of last week, leaving at least eight people injured.
Who are the Namdharis?
- The sect was founded by Satguru Ram Singh on Baisakhi in 1857.
- He challenged the status quo, advocated social reform, and resisted the Raj in various ways. The British inflicted terrible punishments on the Namdharis and deported Ram Singh to Rangoon, from where he never returned.
- The Namdharis believe Ram Singh is still alive, and will return one day. Until then, they mourn his absence by wearing white.
- Namdhari Sikhs consider the Guru Granth Sahib as the Supreme Gurbani, but they also believe in a living human Guru.
- The Namdharis consider the cow to be sacred, they are teetotallers, and avoid even tea and coffee.
Background of the factional feud:
- After Ram Singh went missing, his gaddi (succession) went to his brother Satguru Hari Singh, and thereafter, in 1906, to HariSingh’s eldest son, Satguru Partap Singh. Partap Singh was succeeded by his son Jagjit Singh. The feud began after Jagjit Singh’s demise in 2016.
- Jagjit Singh had a daughter and two nephews — Uday Singh and Dalip Singh, the sons of Jagjit Singh’s brother Maharaja Bir Singh. Both Uday Singh and Dalip Singh had ambitions of succeeding Jagjit Singh. Uday Singh, who was backed by Chand Kaur, the wife of Jagjit Singh, won the war of succession, and was declared Satguru.
- On April 4, 2016, motorcycle-borne assailants gunned down Chand Kaur at the sect’s Bhaini Sahib headquarters. Both brothers had blamed the other for the murder at the time.
Dispute with the Rania land:
- This dispute is about 11 acres of agricultural land at Jeewan Nagar village near Rania, over which factions have laid claims.
The Dalip Singh faction has told Haryana Police that in 2019, a quasi-judicial court of then financial commissioner Anil Kumar (IAS), had passed a verdict on the dispute.