By Karminder Singh Dhillon | The Sikh Bulletin |
No one would deny that the Mughals destroyed Temples during their reign in India, and in many cases constructed Mosques over the same site. This dastardly act was an exercise in naked power in favor of those who subscribed to the religion of the occupier, and a brutal attempt to subjugate those who did not. It was political sadism at its height hidden under the cover of spreading one’s religion – even if by the sword – while suppressing the other’s.
What can be said of the act of reversing such savagery in the form of destroying the same Mosques and re-building Mandirs – now that political power in India has found its way into the hands of people who subscribe to such designs? Nothing other than the fact that it is the same political savagery and religious supremacy hidden under the cover of appeasing one’s God and religion in the name of Hindutva.
It’s the same barbarity, violence, and heartlessness inflicted upon citizens – except that the victims and perpetrators have switched places – even if only in terms of the religion they profess.
What can be said, however, of the zeal and fanaticism of some subscribers of Hindutva that the religious institutions of those who never destroyed a single Mosque or Mandir, but help build and protect both when they did get to rule – be subjugated as well. The Sikhs did rule – under Banda Singh Bahadur first and Maharaja Ranjit Singh subsequently. There is no evidence of any destruction of any place of worship under either. In fact, there are numerous examples of the Maharaja constructing Mosques and Mandirs all over his empire during his reign.
The copper, marble and gold foils that form part of Darbar Sahib came from the coffers of Sikh Raj. Few are aware of the fact that Maharaja Ranjit Singh donated more gold to Hindu Mandirs in Benares than he did towards Darbar Sahib. In 1835, for instance, the Maharaja, at the behest of his wife, Maharani Datar Kaur, donated 1 tonne of gold for plating the dome of Kashi Vishwanath Mandir – a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva and located in Vishwanath Gali, in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
But none of this matters to those intoxicated in Hindutva and RSS ideology. What matters is that the claim be made that the Darbar Sahib is a Mandir devoted to Vishnu, and must revert as such. There was no Vishnu Mandir per se where Darbar Sahib stands today. So the Babri Masjid model will not be wholly applicable. But political sadism and religious savagery does not need to rely on one single model.
THE BABRI MASJID MODEL – DESTROY AND REPLACE
The Ayodhya saga goes back to 1992 when the Mosque was destroyed by a Hindu mob. The demolition sparked violence that killed some 2,000 people and paved the way for the political rise of the Hindu right-wing groups. In September of 2020, a court in India would acquit 32 of the 49 people charged with the destruction of the Masjid – the remaining 17 had died while the case was under way. One-time Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders MM Joshi and Uma Bharti were among those freed of any wrongdoing in the destruction of the historic mosque. The BJP came to power in 2014 promising the construction of Ram Mandir at the site – an undertaking that saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi laying the foundation stone for a Hindu temple at the site in August 2021 which was completed in early 2024. (See also: The Ayodhya Gambit).
Ultimately, the Babri Masjid versus Ram Mandir issue was decided by the Supreme Court of India, which unanimously ruled in August 2019 that the disputed site of Ayodhya where the Babri Masjid stood be given to Hindus who want a temple built there; and the Mosque be rebuilt on a plot of land allocated for such. The deciding factor in the Supreme Court decision was a report by the Archaeological Survey of India which stated that the remains of a building “that was not Islamic” were found beneath the structure of the demolished Babri mosque – laying credence to the claim that a Mandir once stood at the site.
DARBAR SAHIB MODEL – CO-OPT AND CONVERT
How would the case against the Darbar Sahib score, in the event an Indian Court had to decide on a petition filed by any of the Hindu right wing groups – to decide that the Darbar Sahib was indeed a Vishnu Mandir?
The arguments of the other side will most likely rely on two issues: (i) The model of co-option and (ii) Classical Sikh Literature sources that point to the fact that Darbar Sahib was a Mandir in honor of Vishnu.
The Bhakti Bharat website (bhaktibharat.com) for instance – on its page titled “Golden Temple” has the following paragraph: The Harmandar Sahib is also spelled as Harimandar, Harimandir, or Harmandir Sahib. It is also called the Durbār Sahib, which means sacred audience, as well as the Golden Temple for its gold leaf-covered sanctum centre. The word Harmandir is composed of two words: Hari, which scholars translate as Bhagwan Vishnu, and mandir, which means house. The Sikh tradition has several Gurdwaras named Harmandir Sahib, such as those in Kiratpur and Patna. Of these, the one in Amritsar is most revered.
The principle of co-option is at work here. The suggestion is that all Sikh Gurdwaras that have the word “Harmandir” are actually “Mandirs in honor of Bhagwan Vishnu.” And if X number of Gurdwaras are Vishnu Mandirs, then the rest are fair game for co-option too. The accounts pertaining to Darbar Sahib contained within the pages of Classical Sikh Literature would be the equivalent of the Archaeological Survey of India Report in the Babri Masjid case. These accounts could well be the deciding factor as was the Survey report in the Masjid case.
The oldest and root source of Sikh Classical Literature is the Gurbilas Patshahi 6. This book is authored by Gyani Joginder Singh Vedanti, who was a Granthi at Darbar Sahib and later the Jathedar of Akal Takhat. It is co-authored by Dr. Amarjit Singh, the principal of Shaheed Sikh Missionary College, Amritsar. It is published by the Dharam Parchar Committee of the Shromani Gurdwara Parbandak Committee (SGPC).
There are 14 forwards praising the book “sky high”. The forwards are written by the “who’s who” of the Sikh religious leadership – personalities like Prof Manjit Singh Jathedar, Ranjit Singh Jathedar, Jathedar Gurcharan Singh Tohrra of SGPC, Gyani Sant Singh Maskeen, Gyani Jaswant Singh Parvana, Gyani Joginder Singh Talwarra etc. The account of the construction of Darbar Sahib is contained from page 122 onwards – of this book as follows:
ਦੋਹਰਾ। ਕਾਰ ਕਢਾਵਤ ਭਏ ਥੇ ਕਛੁਕ ਿਦਵਸ ਿਤਹ ਵਾਰ। ਮਹਾ ਿਬਸਨ ਭਗਵੰਤ ਜੋ ਮਨ ਮੈ ਕੀਨੁ ਵੀਚਾਰ। ੩੧। ਮਹਾ ਮਾਏ ਜੋ ਲਛਮੀ ਤਾ ਸੋ ਕਹਾ ਸੁਨਾਇ। ਰਾਮਦਾਸ ਗੁਰੂ ਰੂਪ ਮਮ ਯ ਮੈ ਭੇਦ ਨਾ ਪਾਇ।੩੨। ਚੈਪਈ। ਿਤਹ ਸੁਤ ਗੁਰ ਅਰਜਨ ਸੁਖਕਾਰੀ। ਮਮ ਸਰੂਪ ਸੋ ਪਗਟ ਿਨਹਾਰੀ। ਬਨਾਵਨ ਮਮ ਮੰਦਰ ਹੈ ਲਾਗਾ। ਸੁਧ ਸਰੋਵਰ ਰਿਚ ਵਢਭਾਗਾ। ੩੩। ਚਲੋ ਤਹਾਂ ਹਮ ਜਾਇ ਿਨਹਾਰੈ। ਕੈਸੋ ਕਿਰ ਹੈ ਪਰਉਪਕਾਰੈ। ਲਛਮੀ ਯੁਤ ਆਏ ਭਗਵੰਤਾ। ਗਾਵਤ ਜਸੁ ਿਜਹ ਬੇਦ ਅਨੰਤਾ। ੩੪।
Translation: Whence the work had gone on for some days and weeks, the great Lord Vishnu contemplated. He informed the great goddess Lakshmi of his contemplation. That Guru Ramdas was my form, there being no distinction between us both. His son, Guru Arjun, was the manifestation of my form. He has begun to construct my Mandir. And is constructing a blessed pool. Let’s go and bless the construction. And contribute our part. Lakshmi thus came with the lord. Singing the praises of the bountiful Vedas.
The narrative in Gurbilas continues; the gist of which is that Vishnu and his consort had come in the form of disguise as Sikhs to help in the construction of Darbar Sahib. Upon completion, both had revealed their true identities to Guru Arjun, who in recognition of their service named the place Hari Mandar meaning Vishnu’s Temple. It was named Harimandar, a Mandir of Hari; Hari being another name of Vishnu.
GURBILAS PATSHAHI 6 – THE EQUIVALENT OF THE ARCHEOLOGICAL REPORT OF BABRI MASJID
The Gurbilas Patshahi 6 is a gold mine of evidence for the Hindutva groups. It provides an open and shut case for any number of judges who may hear a case brought by any right wing Hindu groups before their courts. After all it is a book of classical Sikh literature that was first published in the 1800s. It is republished by none other than the highest religious body of the Sikhs, namely the SGPC. Its authors are renowned religionists who occupy the highest seats: Vedanti was a granthi at Darbar Sahib and later Jathedar of Akal Takhat. The co-writer is the head of the Sikh Missionary college. The language of the text is clear, direct and concise in favor of the structure being a Vishnu Mandir.
The finest evidence in any court case is always that which is presented in one’s favor by the opposing side. After all, the best evidence a prosecutor in a murder case can have is where the person who is charged provides proof that he committed the murder.
THE TRUTH OF GURBILAS PATSHAHI 6
The Gurbilas Patshahi 6 is a wholly blasphemous book about the first 6 Gurus that was written anonymously in the 1800s and subsequently attributed to one Kavi Sohan. There is no such person as “Kavi Sohan” in Indian or Sikh literature. Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha and Historian Dr Dilgeer exposed us to the fact that the real writers were Nirmlas Gurmukh Singh and Darbara Singh. It was written during the period of 1830 – 1840. The Nirmlas originated from Benares and were part of the larger designs to co-opt the Sikhi of Guru Nanak into Brahmanism. For all intent and purposes then, Nirmlas Gurmukh Singh and Darbara Singh were part of the conspiracy to Hijack Sikhi. (See also: How Nirmlas derailed Sikhi – Part 1).
The narrative on page 122 is of course fake. Coming from the Nirmlas as the hijackers of Sikhi, it is meant to suggest that Sikhi and everything connected to Sikhi (including the Darbar Sahib) has its roots in Snatan or Hindu beliefs.
Guru Arjun named the place “Darbar Sahib” meaning a court of learning. The Udasis renamed it Harimandir, and the Nirmlas popularized it as Harmandar Sahib. The British coined the term Golden Temple and the Indian media calls it “Swaran Mandir.” The original name Darbar Sahib has been virtually obliterated.
The history and background of the blasphemous book Gurbilas Patshahi 6 is provided in my book The Hijacking of Sikhi. This blasphemous text was banned by the Akal Takhat in the 1970s. But the deras and taksals defied the banning and continued to use it as a standard text for their discourses. It was then re-published by Joginder Singh Vedanti and Principal Dr Amarjit Singh in 1998.
When the Nirmlas controlled Darbar Sahib – they had installed statues of Vishnu and his 24 Avtars (reincarnations) in the parkarma of the pool. The narrative that the Nirmlas created was that these statues had “appeared mystically on their own,” and were thus a sign of “divine intervention.” The statues remained there for decades until Prof Gurmukh Singh and Gyani Ditt Singh of the Singh Sabha movement single handedly removed and delivered them to nearby Hindu Mandirs.
Despite it’ banning, Gurbilas Patshahi 6 was re-published by Joginder Singh Vedanti, Principal Dr Amarjit Singh and the SGPC. Gyani Gurbaksh Singh Kala Afgana wrote a para by para rebuttal to expose the blasphemy of Gurbilas Patshahi 6. By the time Afgana’s book got published, Vedanti became Jathedar of Akal Takht – so he used his position to ex-communicate Afghana. SGPC then banned the book a second time. Today, Gurbilas Patshahi 6 is used as a standard text book in deras, taksals and sampardas to train granthis, parcharaks and katha vachaks.
WHEN OUR LIES BECOME THE TRUTHS OF OTHERS
The Gurbilas Patshahi 6 is a complete lie. But it is our lie. We Sikhs consider it a “classical historical text” and a “source of classical Sikh literature.”
The January 2022 Edition of the Sikh Bulletin carried an editorial titled “When Our Lies Become the Truth of Others. The crux of the editorial was that our granths are full of distortions and lies, and they are powerful weapons in the hands of the enemies.
Here are some excerpts from the editorial. “The first thing our own lies did was to destruct our own truths….” “The second thing our own lies do is that they become the truths of others. In the hands of “others” who view Sikhs and Sikhi through the lens of antagonism – such “truths” come back to haunt us badly. The solution is to sieve out our lies, discard our falsehoods, and disown the untruths that fill our so called classical literature and pollute our psyches. These are the lies that fill the pages of our Janm Sakhis. These are the falsehoods that blacken the pages of Sooraj Parkash, Bhagat Maal, Gurbilas Patshahi 6, Bachitar Natak (Dasam Granth), Sarab Loh, some 35 other primary classical texts and hundreds more derivative ones.”
The subject matter of these problematic texts continue to create issues that are equally problematic. The issue in 2023 was that the word “Vaheguru” has its origins in Hindu deities. In 2022 the issue was that “Guru Gobind Singh ji sent 5 pyare to Benares to study the Snatan Dharma.” In 2021 it was that “Guru Gobind Singh wrote one version of the Ramayan.” The issue now is that “Harmandar Sahib was originally a Vishnu Mandir.”
The irrefutable “evidence” of all the above and many more lies is found in our so called classical literature.
The issues will keep changing. Fighting them will be like fighting bush fires endlessly. What needs to be done is a clean out of our so called “classical texts” and expunge the narratives that provide the basis and support for such lies. Which body, institution can or will do that is the question.
Sikh thinker, writer and parcharak Karminder Singh Dhillon, PhD (Boston), is a retired Malaysian civil servant. He is the editor-in-chief of The Sikh Bulletin and author of The Hijacking of Sikhi. This article appeared in the The Sikh Bulletin – 2024 Issue 1 (January-March 2024). Click here to retrieve archived copies of the bulletin. The author can be contacted at dhillon99@gmail.com.
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