Ravidassia

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Ravidassia
ਰਬਿਦਾਸੀ
Sri Guru Ravidass Dham, Bootamandi Jallandhar.jpg
Sri Guru Ravidass Dham in Bootan Mandi, Jalandhar
Classification Indian religion
Scripture Amritbani Guru Ravidass Ji
Theology Monotheism
Region Indian subcontinent
Language Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu
Origin
Punjab
Separated from Sikhism
Logo HarrNishaan.png Nishaan

Ravidassia or the Ravidas Panth [1] is a religion based on the teachings of Guru Ravidas. It was considered a sect within Sikhism until 2009. [2] [3] [4] [1] The new religion was officially announced on 29 January 2010 by the Dera Sachkhand Ballan. [5] Its scripture is the Amritbani Satguru Ravidas Maharaj Ji. [5] However, some Ravidassias continue to maintain mainstream Sikh religious practices, including the reverence of the Guru Granth Sahib as their focal religious text, wearing Sikh articles of faith (5Ks), and appending Singh or Kaur to their names. [6]

Contents

Historically, Ravidassia represented a range of beliefs in the Indian subcontinent, with some devotees of Ravidass counting themselves as Ravidassia, but first formed in the early 20th century in colonial British India. [3] The Ravidassia tradition began to take on more cohesion following 1947, and the establishment of successful Ravidassia tradition in the diaspora. [7] Estimates range between two and five million for the total number of Ravidassias. [8] [9]

Ravidassias Sikhs believe that Ravidas is their Guru (saint) whereas the Khalsa Sikhs have traditionally regard him as one of many bhagats (holy persons), a position considered lower than that of a Guru in Sikhism. [10] Furthermore, Ravidassias Sikhs accept living sants of Ravidass deras as Guru. [11] The Ravidassia religion was significantly emerged as a distinct faith following the 2009 assassination attack on their visiting living Guru Niranjan Dass and his deputy Ramanand Dass in Vienna by Sikh militants. [1] [12] Ramanand Dass died from the attack, Niranjan Dass survived his injuries, while over a dozen attendees at the temple were also injured. [12] This triggered a decisive break of the Ravidassia group from the orthodox Sikh structure. [11] [1]

Prior to their break from Khalsa Sikhism, the Dera Bhallan revered and recited the Guru Granth Sahib of Sikhism in Dera Bhallan. [13] However, following their schism from mainstream Sikhism, the Dera Bhallan compiled their own holy book based exclusively on Ravidas's teachings, the Amritbani Guru Ravidass Ji , and Dera Bhallan Ravidassia temples now use this book in place of the Guru Granth Sahib. [13] [4] [14]

History

Basis

Idol of Ravidas from the sanctum of the Guru Ravidas Temple, Raj Ghat, Varanasi Sanctum of Guru Ravidas Temple, Raj Ghat, Varanasi.jpg
Idol of Ravidas from the sanctum of the Guru Ravidas Temple, Raj Ghat, Varanasi

Ravidas was born on 15 January 1377 CE (Indian calendar Sunday Sukhal Falgin Parvithta 1433) to the Chamar community. [15] [16] His birthplace was a locality known as Seer Govardhan in the city of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh state, India. The birthplace is now marked by the Shri Guru Ravidass Janam Asthan (Begampura), and is a major place of pilgrimage for the followers of Guru Ravidas today. Ravidassias Sikhs believe that Ravidas died in Benares at the age of 151. [17] [18] [19]

Precursory movements

There existed a diversity of Ravidasi-affiliated panths and deras that were loosely affiliated with one another, headed by sants who had Chamar-origins, such as the Satnamis (Sadh and Satnampanth) that had been established by Bir Bhan (in 1657 in eastern Punjab), Jagjivan Das (in the 18th century in Barabanki district, near Lucknow), and Ghasidas (in 1820 in Chhattisgarh). [20] [21] These early movements had connections with Kabir Panth. [21]

In 1920–25, the Ad-Dharmi movement arose, which consolidated a separate religious identity centered on Ravidas. [20] Around the same time, the Singh Sabha movement of Sikhism was well-underway, which also was consolidating for a separate, Sikh identity apart from Hinduism. [20] Prominent leaders and thinkers of both movements had been educated in Arya Samajist institutions, thus they both adopted an Arya Samaj-approach to push for their separate identities, combined with a Judeo-Christian understanding of religion due to Christian missionary and British colonial influence (i.e., a central scripture to base their religion around). [20] Both the Ravidas-aligned movements and Singh Sabhaists revered the Guru Granth Sahib, the primary scripture of Sikhism. [20] However, the Ravidasis celebrated the scripture primarily due to it containing the most notable and earliest-recorded compositions linked to Ravidas. [20] Thus, Ravidasis placed their prime figure's bani on a higher level of importance than the bani found in the scripture authored by others. [20] The Ad-Dharmis compiled a holy-book known as the Ad Prakash ("original light"), where-in they elevated the historical Ravidas as their central figure, thereby giving a traditional/spiritual basis to their modern religious movement, with Ravidas being imagined as a main "guru" and his poetry forming the basis of their beliefs. [20] Despite this, the Sikh scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, continued to be used by them in their sacred spaces. [20] In 1946, the Ad-Dharmis took-on the new name: Ravi Dass Mandal. [20] In 2003, there arose a caste-based conflict in Talhan village of Punjab over the management of a local shrine which involved Ad-Dharmis. [20]

Amongst the Ravidasi-affiliated deras, the Dera Sachkhand Ballan (D.S.B.) played a prominent missionary role, spreading the religious beliefs, including in the diaspora through the Mission Begumpura. [20] Mission Begumpura aimed to consolidate a central location of pilgrimage and worship for the religious community at Seer Gobardhanpur. [20] The dera's second guru, Sant Sarwan Dass, had sponsored a mission to Varanasi to locate and establish a location to serve as the focal point of the Ravidassia community, to realize Begumpura , with construction of a temple there beginning on 14 June 1965. [20] Dalits had longed been excluded from Hindu temples and Sikh gurdwaras by higher castes, thus being shut-out from sacred spaces. [20] Thus, the decision to build their own, central shrine was a mark of independence and upward-mobility, a place where Begumpura paradise could be realize, where-in all are accepted and none are excluded. [20] In 2000, a special, annual, religious pilgrimage train called the Begumpura Express was inaugurated, which would take pilgrims from Jalandhar Cantonment to Varanasi on the occasion of Ravidas' birthday, which furthered promoted the conceptualization of Varanasi as being the central pilgrimage location of the religious movement, akin to Mecca for Muslims and Amritsar for Sikhs. [20] There were calls for gilding of their central temple in Varanasi, a Golden Temple for them, just like how the Sikhs had their own, with the first phase of adding gold-plates to the shrine beginning in 2008. [20]

Foundation of a separate religious identity and split from mainstream Sikhism

Before the 2009 armed attack on Guru Ravidass Temple in Vienna, the majority of Ravidassias were followers of Sikhism. Mainstream Sikhs had long objected to the Ravidasi practice of maintaining the Guru Granth Sahib beside idols/images of Ravidas, alongside a living-guru (dehdari), with all three being placed on an equal-height platform. [20] Normative Sikhs felt this was a violation of Sikh maryada by the heterodoxical Ravidassia, since the Guru Granth Sahib was viewed by orthodox Sikhs as the embodiment of their guru, thus were offended when persons bowed to an idol or living-guru in the scripture's presence. [20] Furthermore, the dera was not in-line with the move toward a streamlined Sikh identity embodied by the Khalsa Panth. [20] There were also other deras which had offended mainstream Sikh sensibilities due to alleged blasphemy and misconduct centred on issues and disagreements related to iconography, scripture, and ritual, such as Dera Sacha Sauda and Dera Bhaniarawala. [20] In 2001, Dera Bhaniarawala attempted to compile their own granth, with mainstream Sikhs feeling as it attempted to emulate the Guru Granth Sahib. [20] Furthermore, the dera-leader rode a horse in a similar manner that Guru Gobind Singh is portrayed as, which further fuelled tensions between the two groups. [20] In 2007, the Dera Sacha Sauda leader, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, offended Sikhs by dressing-up in a costume emulating that of Guru Gobind Singh and introducing a baptismal ceremony known as Jām-e-Insān, which copied the Sikh practice of Amrit Sanchar . [20] These controversies led to protests against and deaths between Sikhs and followers of the deras. [20]

On May 24, 2009, six Khalistani militants attacked Sant Ramanand and Sant Niranjan Das in the mentioned shrine. All six attackers were asylum seekers living in Austria and have been identified as Satwinder Singh (28), Jaspal Singh (34), Tasum Singh (45), and Sukhwinder Singh (28). The other two attackers, Hardeep Singh (33) and Charnjit Singh (24), entered Austria illegally. [22] In this terrorist attack, Sant Ramanand, 57, was shot dead and more than a dozen others wounded, including another preacher. This attack led to violent protests in the state of Punjab in India and peaceful protest in London. [23] [24] Later, the Austrian court sentenced Jaspal Singh, 35, to life in prison for murder, and the other four terrorists received 17 to 18 year prison sentences. The sixth terrorist got six months in prison for attempted coercion. [25] [26] The funeral of Ramanand was held in June 2009 and attended by many prominent politicians from across Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. [20] In the aftermath of the attack, the Chamar/Ravidassia community protested both in India and abroad. [20] While protests abroad were peaceful, in Jalandhar and other parts of Punjab they became violent, with vandalism occurring, involving clashes with police. [20] Four protests were killed, who would later be memorialized as martyrs ( shahadat , known as Ravidassia Qaum da Shaheed) of the Ravidassia movement. [20] The deaths of the four protesters and of Ramanand was commemorated on 13 June 2009, in an event known as Shradhanjali Samagam by the Dera Sachkhand Ballan. [20]

Procession of Ravidassias in Bedford RavidasiBedford1.JPG
Procession of Ravidassias in Bedford

On the occasion of the 633rd birth anniversary of Ravidass in 2010, Dera Sachkahnd Ballan announced a new religion called Ravidassia. Dera also announced that the community would have its own separate religious book called Amritbani Satguru Ravidas Maharaj Ji , a separate symbol 'Har' and a separate motto, 'Jai Gurudev'. The move triggered debate among the religious, social, and political circles of Punjab, and Shiromani Akali Dal and the SGPC tried to convince Dera Ballan Head Sant Niranjan Dass to reverse the decision. Akal Takhat also took an unprecedented step and organised Akand Path in the memory of murdered Sant Ramanand. SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar visited Dera Ballan to meet Sant Niranjan Dass, but he was not allowed to meet him. [27]  

Beliefs

Ravidas taught the following principles: [28]

Places of worship

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in the sanctum of Shri Guru Ravidas Janmsthan Mandir in Varanasi. The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi offering prayers at Shri Guru Ravidas Janmsthan Mandir, Seer Goverdhanpur, in Varanasi on February 22, 2016 (1).jpg
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in the sanctum of Shri Guru Ravidas Janmsthan Mandir in Varanasi.
Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Guru Ravidass Temple, Vancouver Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Guru Ravidass Temple, Vancouver.jpg
Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Guru Ravidass Temple, Vancouver

A Ravidassia place of worship is called a dera , sabha, mandir, gurudwara , or bhawan, sometimes translated as temple. [30] [31]

Outside the sabha there is always a flag upon which is written the Nishaan, and above it the "Harr" symbol which symbolising enlightenment from Guru Ravidas' teachings. But Guru Ravidass Sabhas in Derby, Walsall, Gravesend, Montreal and Papakura are exceptions, as these Sabhas' official title boards display Ek Onkar and Khanda emblems alongside Harr. The title boards of these sabhas clearly mark the buildings as both Sikh Gurdwaras and Ravidass Temples. [32] Moreover, Derby Sabha's display board mentions it as a Sikh temple. [33]

Scriptures

Ravidassia places of worship contain the holy book Amritbani Guru Ravidass Ji which contains all the hymns by Guru Ravidas. This book contains the following hymns: Raga – Siri (1), Gauri (5), Asa (6), Gujari (1), Sorath (7), Dhanasari (3), Jaitsari (1), Suhi (3), Bilaval (2), Gaund (2), Ramkali (1), Maru (2), Kedara (1), Bhairau (1), Basant (1), and Malhar (3). The book contains 140 shabads, 40 pade, and 231 salok. [34] There are 177 pages in all of the book.

A version of the holy book Amrit Bani containing 240 hymns of Guru Ravidas was installed at the Guru Ravidas temple in Jalandhar, Punjab, on 1 February 2012 on the occasion of birth anniversary of Guru Ravidass. The Dera Sach Khand Ballan religious community had announced the formation of the new Ravidassia religion and separation from Sikhism at Varanasi. The split from Sikhism was triggered after the killing of its deputy head Ramanand Dass in May 2009 at a temple in Vienna by some Sikh radicals. President of newly formed Begumpura Lok Party and a supporter of the new religion, Satish Bharti, said that the copies of the new Bani were put on display during the religious processions in order to assert that the community members are firm believers of the new religion. [35] [36]

Ravidassia in the UK census

In the United Kingdom, during the 2011 census, the Office for National Statistics counted Ravidassia as a separate religion from Sikhism. There were 11058 individuals [37] [38] who described themselves as Ravidassia in the census. Data shows that around 10% of members of Ravidassias community cited their religion as ’Ravidassia’ – empathically distinct from Sikhs and Hindus. During the census, not even a single Guru Ravidass Gurdwara came into direct support of this separate identity, and till date, all Guru Ravidass Gurdwaras in Britain are practising Sikhism and they do pray and perform all rituals in the presence of Shri Guru Granth Sahib. [32]

Unlike the UK Office for National Statistics, the Indian government and its census department have not accepted the Ravidassias community as a religion. During the 2011 census, the Ravidassia community was counted alongside other groups such as Ramdasia Sikh and Jatav under the title of Chamar caste. [39] [40]

Mauritian Ravidassias

In Mauritius, for Ravidassias, a different terminology is in use called Ravived. [41] During the initial stage of migration in Mauritius, significant numbers of Chamar people joined the Arya Samaj in the hope that it would help them to be free from the curse of casteism, as it was claimed by the leaders of the Arya Samaj. [42] But later, Upper Caste Arya Samajis started building separate halls for themselves and Chamars for prayer within the same shrine to avoid Arya Samaj being labelled as a Chamar religion, which led to the establishment of Arya Ravived Pracharini Sabha in 1935. [43]

Customs

The Ravidassia employ the greeting "ਜੈ ਗੁਰੂਦੇਵ" (Jai Gurdev, जय गुरुदेव), meaning “hail the god-like teacher”, the motto of the religion. [44]

Symbols

Nishan Sahib Religious flag 1.jpg
Nishan Sahib

The Ravidassia religious symbol is the Khanda, Harr Nishaan and Ik Onkar. The Gurmukhi transliteration of the name Harr is the main symbol of the Ravidassia religion. [13] It is also called as Koumi Nishan. [45]

The religion is also represented by a flag, with the insignia "Har" which, states Ronki Ram, includes: [45]

The insignia Har, states Ram, represents the "very being of Ravidass and his teachings". [45]

Sects of Punjabi Chamar Community

"Ramdasia is a term used in general for Sikhs whose ancestors belonged Chamar caste. Originally they are followers of Guru Ravidass ji who belongs to Chamar community ". [46] Both the words Ramdasia and Ravidasia are also used interchangeably while these also have regional context. In Puadh and Malwa, largely Ramdasia in used while Ravidasia is predominantly used in Doaba. [47]

Ramdasia Sikhs are enlisted as scheduled caste by Department of Social justice, Empowerment and Minorities- Government of Punjab. On Department's list of Scheduled Caste, this caste is listed on serial number 9 along with other Chamar caste synonymous such as Ravidasia, Ramdasia and so on. [48]

Ad-Dharmis of Chamar sect are followers of Guru Ravidas , [49] and incorporate elements of Sikhism [50] as they regard Shri Guru Granth Sahib as their religious text. [51]

Festival

Devotees at 635th Anniversary of Guru Ravidas at Sri Guru Ravidass Janamsthan Gurdwara, Varanasi Devotees at 635th Anniversary of Sri Guru Ravidass ji.jpg
Devotees at 635th Anniversary of Guru Ravidas at Sri Guru Ravidass Janamsthan Gurdwara, Varanasi

The birthday of Ravidas is celebrated every year at the Seer Gowardhanpur village temple in Varanasi the state of Uttar Pradesh in January or February and the government of India has declared it a gazetted holiday. [52] Other important festivals the Ravidasia community celebrates are Bandi Chhor Divas, Guru Gobind Singh's birthday and Guru Nanak's birthday.[ citation needed ]

Ravidasia diaspora

Ravidasia Sikh diaspora emigrated from India and Pakistan is significant. There are Ravidasia Sikh settlers in Europe, as well as a sizable Ravidasia Sikh population in North America, primarily in the United States and Canada. Mahiya Ram Mehmi and Mahey were the very first people who landed in British Columbia in 1906. [53] They were both also involved in the foundation of the first Canadian Gurdwara, the Khalsa Diwan Society, Vancouver. There is a sizeable population of Ravidasia Sikhs in Oceania too. Ravidassias from Doaba established the second gurdwara in the Oceania region in Nasinu on Fiji Island in 1939. [54] A Classical Study by W.H. Briggs in his book Punjabis in New Zealand, Briggs penned down the precise number of Ravidassias in New Zealand during the very first wave of immigration. [55]

Ravidassia community started immigrating from Punjab to Britain in 1950, and according to a book named 'Sikhs in Britain: An Annotated Bibliography' published in 1987, the population of the Ravidassia community in the West Midlands was around 30,000 during that period. [56] As of 2021, it is estimated that the Ravidasia population in Britain is around 70,000. [57]

In the United States, an estimated 20,000 Ravidassia followers live in California. [58]

Gurdwara Guru Ravidass, Nasinu, Fiji Established in 1939 Gurdwara Guru Ravidass, Nasinu, Fiji.jpg
Gurdwara Guru Ravidass, Nasinu, Fiji Established in 1939
Gurdwara Guru Ravidass Bhavan, Birmingham Gurdwara Guru Ravidass Bhavan, Birmingham.jpg
Gurdwara Guru Ravidass Bhavan, Birmingham
Gurdwara Guru Ravidass Sabha, Southall Gurdwara Guru Ravidass Sabha,Southall .jpg
Gurdwara Guru Ravidass Sabha, Southall
Gurdwara Guru Ravidass Temple, Auckland Gurdwara Guru Ravidass Temple, Auckland.jpg
Gurdwara Guru Ravidass Temple, Auckland
Shri Guru Ravidass Temple in the UK Shri Guru Ravidass Temple in the UK.jpg
Shri Guru Ravidass Temple in the UK
Gurdwara Guru Ravidass Temple, Pittsburg, California Gurdwara Guru Ravidass Temple, Pittsburgh.jpg
Gurdwara Guru Ravidass Temple, Pittsburg, California
Gurdwara Guru Ravidass Sabha, Oostende Gurdwara Guru Ravidass Sabha, Oostende.jpg
Gurdwara Guru Ravidass Sabha, Oostende

Demographics

State, U.TPopulationPopulation %Notes
Bihar [59] 4,900,0484.7%Counted along Rabidas, Rohidas, Chamar, Charamakar
Chandigarh [60] 59,9575.68%Counted along with other caste synonyms such as Chamars, Ramdasi, Ravidasi, Raigar and Jatia
Chhattisgarh [61] 2,318,9649.07%Counted as Chamar, Satnami, Ahirwar, Raidas, Rohidas, Jatav, Bhambi and Surjyabanshi
NCT of Delhi [62] 1,075,5696.4 %Counted along with other caste synonyms such as Jatav, Chamars, Ramdasia, Ravidasi, Raigar and Jatia
Gujarat [63] 1,032,1281.7%Counted along with other caste synonyms such as Chamar, Bhambi, Asadaru, Chambhar, Haralaya, Rohidas, Rohit, Samgar
Haryana [64] 2,429,1379.58%Counted along with other caste synonyms such as Jatav, Chamars, Ramdasia, Ravidasi, Raigar and Jatia
Himachal Pradesh [65] 458,8386.68%Counted along with other caste synonyms such as Chamars, Ramdasia, Raigar and Jatia
Jammu and Kashmir [66] 212,0321.72%Counted along with other caste synonyms such as Chamars, Ramdasia, Rohidas
Jharkhand [67] 1,008,5073.05%Counted as Chamar, Mochi
Karnataka [68] 605,4861%Counted as Rohidas, Rohit, Samgar, Haralaya, Chambhar, Chamar, Bhambi
Madhya Pradesh [69] 5,368,2177.39%Counted as Chamar, Jatav, Bairwa, Bhambi, Rohidas, Raidas, Ahirwar,Satnami, Ramnami, Surjyabanshi
Maharashtra [70] 1,411,0721.25%Counted as Rohidas, Chamar, Chambhar, Bhambi, Satnami, Ramnami, Haralaya, Rohit, Samagar, Bhambi
Punjab [71] 3,095,32411.15%During the 2011 census in Punjab, 1017192 people were counted as addharmi in a separate caste cluster, which is another term for Ravidassias. [72] [73]

In the same census, the Ravidassias cluster population was 2078132, and both clusters together made a population of 3095324 in Punjab, which is an 11.15% population of Punjab.

Rajasthan [74] 2,491,5513.63%Counted along with other caste synonyms such as Chamars, Bhambi, Ramdasia, Ravidasi, Raigar, Haralaya, Chambhar and Jatia
Uttarakhand [75] 548,8135.44%Counted as Chamar, Jatava, Dhusia, Jhusia
Uttar Pradesh [76] 22,496,04711.25%Counted as Chamar, Jatava, Dhusia, Jhusia
West Bengal [77] 1,039,5911.13%Counted as Chamar, Rabidas, Charamakar, Rishi

Notable Ravidassia

Religious figures

Politicians

Britain

Punjab State

Art and Literature

Civil Servants

Locations associated with the Ravidassia

See also

References

Footnotes

  1. ↑ A loose translation of "Man changa to kathoti me Ganga" is : If the mind is pure, even a bowl of water is as sacred as the Ganges. It is also sometimes interpreted more broadly as To the pure, everything is pure.

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 Knut A. Jacobsen; Kristina Myrvold (1 November 2011). Sikhs in Europe: Migration, Identities and Representations. Ashgate Publishing. pp. 289–291. ISBN   978-1-4094-2434-5 . Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  2. ↑ Jan Gonda (1970). Visnuism and Sivaism: A Comparison. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN   978-1-4742-8080-8.
  3. 1 2 Paramjit Judge (2014), Mapping Social Exclusion in India: Caste, Religion and Borderlands, Cambridge University Press, ISBN   978-1107056091, pages 179-182
  4. 1 2 "India's 'untouchables' declare own religion". CNN. 2010-02-03.
  5. 1 2 Gurus and Media: Sound, image, machine, text and the digital. UCL Press. Sep 25, 2023. pp. 224–225. ISBN   9781800085541.
  6. ↑ "What California's Ravidassia community believes and why they want caste bias outlawed | CityNews Toronto". toronto.citynews.ca. 29 May 2023. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  7. ↑ Gerald Parsons (1993). The Growth of Religious Diversity: Traditions. Psychology Press. pp. 227–. ISBN   978-0-415-08326-3 . Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  8. ↑ "Census 2021: Two Ravidassia factions want recognition as different religions". The Indian Express. 2020-07-19. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  9. ↑ forefeurope (2019-09-12). "The 'Untouchables' In Europe – 10 Years After the Murder of Their Saint". Foref Europe. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  10. ↑ Ronki Ram. "Ravidass, Dera Sachkhand Ballan and the Question of Dalit Identity in Punjab" (PDF). Panjab University, Chandigarh. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  11. 1 2 Ronki Ram (2009). "Ravidass, Dera Sachkhand Ballan and the Question of Dalit Identity in Punjab" (PDF). Journal of Punjab Studies. 16 (1). Panjab University, Chandigarh. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  12. 1 2 Inflamed passions Archived 2019-12-04 at the Wayback Machine , Ajoy A Mahaprashasta (2009), Frontline (The Hindu), Volume 26, Issue 12, Quote: "The riots were sparked off by an attack on Sant Niranjan Dass, the head of the Jalandhar-based Dera Sachkhand, and his deputy Rama Nand on May 24 at the Shri Guru Ravidass Gurdwara in Vienna where they had gone to attend a religious function. A group of Sikhs militants armed with firearms and swords attacked them at the gurdwara, injuring both; Rama Nand later died. The Austrian police said the attack that left some 15 others injured “had clearly been planned”."
  13. 1 2 3 "Punjab sect declares new religion". The Times of India . 2010-02-01. Archived from the original on 2011-08-11.
  14. ↑ "New Punjab sect lays down code | Original Story | Taaza News". Archived from the original on 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2011-12-03.
  15. ↑ Lochtefeld, James G. (2002). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: N-Z . The Rosen Publishing Group. p.  512. ISBN   9780823931804.
  16. ↑ "Ravidas | Indian mystic and poet". Encyclopedia Britannica. 20 December 2023.
  17. ↑ "Amid tight security, Dera Ballan head, followers head for Varanasi". Indian Express. 2011-02-16. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  18. ↑ "Ravidass followers declare separate religion, release separate granth". SikhNet. 2010-02-01. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  19. ↑ "Ravidassia community part of Sikh faith: SGPC". Zeenews.india.com. 2010-02-04. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Duggal, Koonal (Apr 1, 2025). "Between Blasphemy and Martyrdom: The Formation of the Ravidassia Religion in Punjab". In Rawat, Ramnarayan S.; Satyanarayana, K.; Mohan, P. Sanal (eds.). Dalit Journeys for Dignity: Religion, Freedom, and Caste. State University of New York Press. ISBN   9798855802634.
  21. 1 2 Duignan, Brian; Stefon, Matt; Doniger, Wendy; Lotha, Gloria (Apr 26, 2021). "Satnami sect". Britannica. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
  22. ↑ "Vienna gurdwara attack: Detained suspect released". Agencies. Indian Express. June 6, 2009. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  23. ↑ Marshall, Peter. "Sikhs March in London against Caste Discrimination". Indymedia UK. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  24. ↑ Marshall, Peter. "Ravidassia March in London against Caste Discrimination by Sikhs after assassination of Sant Ramanand at Vienna temple". alamy. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  25. ↑ "Six men jailed over Austrian temple attack". BBC. September 28, 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  26. ↑ "SIX SIKHS SENTENCED TO PRISON IN VIENNA RAMANAND TRIAL". No. September 28, 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  27. ↑ Singh, IP (Feb 1, 2010). "Punjab sect declares new religion". TOI. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  28. ↑ ""मन चंगा तो कठोती में गंगा", जानिए संत रविदास ने क्यों कही ये उक्ति और क्या है इसका वास्तविक मतलब". Jansatta (in Hindi). 2019-04-16. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  29. ↑ Madhopuri, Balbir (8 September 2019). "Building Begumpura". The Indian Express . Retrieved 11 June 2025. ..His people-friendly verses like Man changa to kathoti vich Ganga (If the mind is pure, then Ganga flows in the small earthen pot) is part of lexicon.
  30. ↑ http://www.gururavidas.org.uk/ Archived 2018-03-30 at the Wayback Machine point 15: # To address our place of worship as Ravidassia Temple’ all the time and for all the purposes.
  31. ↑ "List of Ravidassia's temple in the World". www.ravidassguru.com. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  32. 1 2 Singh, P.; Fenech, L.E. (2014). The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford Handbooks in Religion and Theology. OUP Oxford. p. 357. ISBN   978-0-19-969930-8 . Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  33. ↑ Singh, P.; Fenech, L.E. (2014). The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford Handbooks in Religion and Theology. OUP Oxford. p. 358. ISBN   978-0-19-969930-8 . Retrieved 2022-09-13.
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