The Sikh
Empire (also Sikh Khalsa raj ) was a state originating in
the Indian subcontinent,
formed under the leadership of Maharaja
Ranjit Singh, who established a secular empire
based in the Punjab. The empire existed from 1799, when Ranjit
Singh captured Lahore, to 1849 and was forged on the foundations of
the Khalsa from a collection of autonomous Sikh misls. At
its peak in the 19th century, the Empire extended from the Khyber
Pass in the west to western Tibet in
the east, and from Mithankot in
the south to Kashmir in the north. Religiously diverse, with an
estimated population of 3.5 million in 1831 (making it the 19th most populous country at the time), it
was the last major region of the Indian subcontinent to be annexed by the
British.
The
foundations of the Sikh Empire can be traced to as early as 1707, the year
of Aurangzeb's
death and the start of the downfall of the Mughal
Empire. With the Mughals significantly weakened, the Sikh
army, known as the Dal Khalsa, a
rearrangement of the Khalsa inaugurated by Guru
Gobind Singh, led expeditions against them and the Afghans in
the west. This led to a growth of the army which split into
different confederacies or semi-independent misls.
Each of these component armies controlled different areas and cities. However,
in the period from 1762 to 1799, Sikh commanders of the misls appeared
to be coming into their own as independent warlords.
The
formation of the empire began with the capture of Lahore, by Maharaja Ranjit
Singh, from its Afghan ruler, Zaman Shah Durrani, and
the subsequent and progressive expulsion of Afghans from the Punjab, by
defeating them in the Afghan-Sikh
Wars, and the unification of the separate Sikh misls.
Ranjit Singh was proclaimed as Maharaja of the Punjab on 12 April 1801 (to
coincide with Vaisakhi), creating a unified political state. Sahib Singh
Bedi, a descendant of Guru
Nanak, conducted the coronation.[9] Ranjit Singh rose to power in a very short
period, from a leader of a single misl to finally becoming the Maharaja of
Punjab. He began to modernise his army, using the latest training as well as
weapons and artillery.
After the death of Ranjit Singh, the empire was weakened by internal divisions
and political mismanagement. Finally, by 1849 the state was dissolved after
the defeat in the Anglo-Sikh
wars. The Sikh Empire was divided into four
provinces: Lahore, in Punjab, which became the Sikh capital, Multan,
also in Punjab, Peshawar and Kashmir from
1799 to 1849.
Khalsa "to be pure, to be
clear, to be free from") refers to both a community that considers Sikhism as
its faith, as well as a special group of initiated Sikhs. The Khalsa tradition
was initiated in 1699 by the last living Guru of Sikhism, Guru Gobind Singh.
Its formation was a key event in the history of Sikhism. The founding of Khalsa is
celebrated by Sikhs during the festival of Vaisakhi.
Guru Gobind Singh started
the Khalsa tradition after his father Guru Tegh Bahadur had
been beheaded during the Islamic sharia rule
of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Guru
Gobind Singh created and initiated the Khalsa as a warrior with a duty to
protect the innocent from any form of religious persecution. The Khalsa redefined
the Sikh tradition from the start. It formulated an initiation ceremony (amrit
pahul, nectar ceremony) and rules of conduct for the Khalsa warriors.
It created a new institution for the temporal leadership of the Sikhs,
replacing the masand system maintained by the earlier Gurus of
Sikhism. Additionally, the Khalsa provided a political and
religious vision for the Sikh community.
Upon initiation, a Khalsa Sikh
was given the titles of Singh (male)
meaning lion and Kaur (female)
meaning princess. The rules of life, included behavioral code (Rahit,
such as no tobacco, no alcohol, no adultery, no halal meat), and a dress code (Five Ks). In
contrast to the Khalsa Sikh, a Sahajdhari Sikh
is one who reveres the teachings of the Sikh Gurus, but has not undergone the
initiation. Sahajdhari Sikhs do not accept some or all elements of the dress
and behavioral codes of the Khalsa Sikhs.
"Khalsa",
according to McLeod, is derived from the Arabic or Persian word
"Khalisa" which means "to be pure, to be clear, to be free from”
Sikhism emerged in the
northwestern part of Indian subcontinent (now parts of Pakistan and
India). Prior to Guru Gobind Singh, the religious organization was organized
through the masands or agents. The masands would
collect revenue from rural regions for the Sikh cause, much like jagirs would
for the Islamic emperor. The Khalsa, in Sikhism, came to mean
pure loyalty to the Guru, and not to the intermediary masands who
were increasingly becoming corrupt, states Nesbitt.
The Sikhs faced religious
persecution during the Mughal Empire rule. Guru Arjan Dev,
the fifth Guru, was arrested and executed by Mughal Emperor Jahangir in
1606. The following Guru, Guru Hargobind formally
militarised the Sikhs and emphasised the complementary nature of the temporal
power and spiritual power. In 1675, Guru Tegh Bahadur,
the ninth Guru of the Sikhs and the father of Guru Gobind Singh was
executed by the Islamic emperor Aurangzeb for
resisting religious persecution of non-Muslims, and for refusing to convert to
Islam.
In 1699, the tenth Guru of
Sikhism, Guru Gobind Singh asked Sikhs to gather at Anandpur Sahib on
30 March 1699, the day of Vaisakhi (the
annual harvest festival). Guru Gobind Singh addressed the congregation from the
entryway of a tent pitched on a hill (now called Kesgarh Sahib).
He drew his sword, and through a tough ordeal got the Panj Pyare and
the first Khalsa in the Sikh tradition…. founding the khanda ka
paul (baptism ceremony) of a Khalsa – a warrior community. The
Guru also gave them a new surname "Singh" (lion).
After the first five Khalsa had been baptized, the Guru asked the five to
baptize him as a Khalsa. This made the Guru the sixth Khalsa, and his name
changed from Guru Gobind Rai to Guru Gobind Singh.
He introduced ideas that
indirectly challenged the discriminatory taxes imposed by Islamic authorities.
For example, Aurangzeb had imposed taxes on non-Muslims that were collected
from the Sikhs as well, for example the jizya (poll
tax on non-Muslims), pilgrim tax and Bhaddar tax – the last
being a tax to be paid by anyone following the Hindu ritual of shaving the head
after the death of a loved one and cremation. Guru Gobind Singh declared that
Khalsa do not need to continue this practice, because Bhaddar is
not dharam,
but a bharam (illusion). Not shaving the head also meant not
having to pay the taxes by Sikhs who lived in Delhi and other parts of the
Mughal Empire. However, the new code of conduct also led to internal
disagreements between Sikhs in the 18th century, particularly between the
Nanakpanthi and the Khalsa. Guru Gobind Singh had a deep respect for the
Khalsa, and stated that there is no difference between the True Guru and
the Sangat (panth). Before his founding of the Khalsa,
the Sikh movement had used the Sanskrit word Sisya (literally,
disciple or student), but the favored term thereafter became
Khalsa. Additionally, prior to the Khalsa, the Sikh congregations across
India had a system of Masands appointed by the Sikh Gurus.
The Masands led the local Sikh communities, local temples,
collected wealth and donations for the Sikh cause. Guru Gobind Singh
concluded that the Masands system had become corrupt, he
abolished them and introduced a more centralized system with the help of Khalsa
that was under his direct supervision. These developments created two
groups of Sikhs, those who initiated as Khalsa, and others who remained Sikhs
but did not undertake the initiation. The Khalsa Sikhs saw themselves as a
separate religious entity, while the Nanak-panthi Sikhs retained their
different perspective. The Khalsa warrior community tradition started by Guru
Gobind Singh has contributed to modern scholarly debate on pluralism within
Sikhism. His tradition has survived into the modern times, with initiated Sikh
referred to as Khalsa Sikh, while those who do not get baptized referred to as
Sahajdhari Sikhs.
An
inscription naming the five members of the Khalsa Panth,
at Takht Keshgarh Sahib,
the birthplace of Khalsa on Baisakh 1,
1756 Vikram Samvat. Kesh:
uncut hair, Kangha:
a wooden comb, Kara:
an iron or steel bracelet worn on the wrist, Kirpan:
a sword, Kacchera: short breeches.
He also announced a code of
discipline for Khalsa warriors. Tobacco, eating meat slaughtered according to Muslim
ritual and sexual intercourse with any person other than spouse were forbidden.
The Khalsas also agreed to never interact with those who followed rivals or
their successors. The co-initiation of men and women from different castes into
the ranks of Khalsa also institutionalized the principle of equality in Sikhism
regardless of one's caste or gender. he institutionalized the Khalsa, resisted
the ongoing persecution by the Mughal Empire, and continued "the defense
of Sikhism and Hinduism against the Muslim assault of Aurangzeb".[10]
A Khalsa who breaks any code of
conduct is no longer a Khalsa is excommunicated from
the Khalsa Panth and must go and 'pesh' (get baptized again). Guru Gobind Singh
also gave the Khalsa 52 hukams or 52 specific additional
guidelines while living in Nanded in
1708.
One of the duties of the Khalsa is
to practice arms. This has been deemed necessary due to the rising persecution
of the rulers. Before joining the Khalsa, most of the people were from
professions like farming, pottery, masonry, carpenters, Labanas,
etc.
Guru Gobind Singh in Oct 1708
deputed his disciple Banda Singh Bahadur to lead the Khalsa in an
uprising against the Mughals. Banda Singh Bahadur first established a Sikh
kingdom and then brought in the Land reforms in the form of breaking up
large estates and distributing the land to peasants. He and his comrades were
eventually defeated and executed, but he became an icon among the Sikhs. After
a long exile the Khalsa regrouped under Nawab Kapur Singh, who gathered local Khalsa leaders and created Dal Khalsa, a coalition army. The Dal Khalsa
fought against the Mughals and the Afghans, eventually resulting in the
establishment of a number of small republics called misls (autonomous
confederacies) and later in the formation of the Sikh Empire.
After the fall of the Mughal
empire and the later establishment of the Sikh Empire in Punjab, the Khalsa was
converted into a strong, multireligious and multinational fighting force,
modernized according to European principles: the Sikh Khalsa Army which
had a huge role in the expansion of the empire. Led by generals like: Maharaja Ranjit Singh himself, Misr Diwan Chand and Hari Singh Nalwa.
It successfully defeated all its adversaries, including the Afghan tribals and
army, Hill Chiefs, Misldars, Chinese,
Tibetan and Gurkhas.
By the time of death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in
1839, the whole army of Sikh Empire was
assessed at 120,000 men, with 250 artillery pieces. The irregular levies were
included. The official name of the state (Sikh Empire)
of Sikhs was "Sarkar-i-Khalsa": Government of the Khalsa. The
boundaries of this state stretched from Tibet to Afghanistan and
from Kashmir to Sutlej in
the south and included regions of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir, Ladakh,
etc. The "Sarkar-i-Khalsa" was dissolved during two wars fought
against the British between 1846 and 1849.
He has abolished caste and custom,
old rituals, beliefs and superstitions of the Hindus and
bonded them in one single brotherhood. No one will be superior or inferior
to another. Men of all castes have been made to eat out of the single bowl.
Though orthodox men have opposed him, about twenty thousand men and women have
taken baptism of steel at his hand on the first day. The Guru has also told the
gathering: "I'll call myself Gobind Singh only if I can make the meek
sparrows pounce upon the hawks and tear them; only if one combatant of my force
faces a legion of the enemy"
Tensions developed between the
Punjabi Khatri disciples
of the Guru in Delhi, and members of the newly formed Khalsa. A prominent
Khatri disciple was expelled from the place of worship (dharmasala) for
refusing to join the Khalsa. Another disciple was expelled for eating with him,
starting a chain of further expulsions. The expelled disciples convened a
community gathering, at which two wealthy Khatris demanded that the Khalsa
produce a written order from the Guru that a new mandatory code of conduct had
been promulgated. A Khatri family that refused to follow the bhaddar ritual
was boycotted by the Khatri community. The Khatri council (panch)
closed the bazaar to pressure the Khalsa. The Khalsa petitioned the state
officials to intervene, who forced reopening of the shops. Later, peace was
established between the two groups in a sangat (congregation).
However, hostility between some Khatris and the Khalsa persisted in the later
years.
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