INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

NANAK-PANTHIS AND PUNJABI SINGHS
In the British records of Varanasi district from 1881 to 1901 the population was divided
into two broad religious categories of Hindus and Muslims, whereas Sikhs and
Jains, along with other groups ‒ such as Rajputs, Scheidiks, Lepers, etc. ‒ were arranged
under the miscellaneous heading “others”. In the Census report of 1901,
Commissioner R. Burn gives an explanation as to why Jains and Sikhs were not officially
registered into separate religious categories: “As these two religions are known
to be engaged in no considerable propaganda in these provinces, it was considered
unnecessary to print Table XIII in detail for them.” 107 Since the census commissioner
did not find the Sikhs involved in missionary activities on the Indo Gangetic plains it
was unnecessary to specify them in the general report. A district report from 1897,
however, indicates that the number of Sikhs who lived in Benares district close to the
turn of the century may have embraced approximately four to five hundred individuals.
108 In this report a modest number of 28 Sikhs were registered for Benares
Municipality and 52 Sikhs in the Cantonment area. It is evident from the same record
that many Sikhs resided in rural wards of the district, such as Adampura (12 people)
and Camp (24 people). In the neighborhood Bajardiha 357 individuals were reported
as Sikhs. At the end of nineteenth century this area was located within the Bhelupura
ward and classified as a rural area, but with the rapid expansion of Varanasi came to
be included in the townscape. 109 One can assume that the individuals reported as
Sikhs were related to Gurubagh Gurdwara which belonged to Bhelupura.
During the decades to follow the official records for the province and Varanasi
come to specify the Sikhs under a separate heading. One reason for the detailed reports
was the new method of collecting census data. Prior to the census of 1911 the
colonial rulers introduced a more careful registration system. In the earlier census
reports the officers had themselves ascertained and classified the population by religious
categories. Consequently, those who explicitly stated that they were Sikhs or
appeared to be Sikhs according to the British were reported as Sikhs. Writing on the
Punjab, Oberoi (1995) alleges that the British utilized a mechanical manner of categorizing
people that supported conservative interpretations of a Sikh identity. The officers
made a distinction between followers of Guru Nanak and Khalsa Sikhs of Guru
Gobind Singh. Only those who kept the five symbols and followed the Sikh code of
conduct were classified as “real” Sikhs, whereas others were reported to be Hindus.
As a result, a large number of Sikhs who did not follow the code of conduct were
officially recorded as Hindus. 110 The change of registration method from 1911 implied
107
Census of India, 1901, Vol. XVI. N.-W. Provinces and Oudh Part 1, 1902: 247.
108
According to this census, Benares district signified both urban and rural areas within the
following wards: Baragon, Sikrani, Phulpur Chaubepur, Rohania, Adampura, Chaitganj, Camp,
Bhelupura, Dasasomedh, Kotwali, Kal Bhairon, Cholapur, Mirzamurad, Shakaldiha, Chandauli,
Said Raja, Balua, Alinagar, Ramnagar. Census of India 1897, Banaras District, p. 67.
109
Census of India 1897, Banaras District, pp. 40, 56, 65, 67.
110
Oberoi 1995: 211.
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Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008