INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

The historical presence of Punjabi traders in the city and the close relationship
between Sikh and Hindu Khatris is today palpably manifested in the ritual space of
the so-called Punjabi Chabutra or Khatri Chabutra ‒ a platform for cremations at the
outdoor burning ground of Manikarnika Ghat beside the river Ganga. Admittance to
the platform is reserved only for dead bodies of Punjabi and Khatri origin and is thus
shared by Sikhs and Hindus. Even deceased Sikhs not born into the Khatri zat but of
lower castes, as well as Sindhis with affiliation to Sikhism may be cremated on the
upraised area, almost as if they assumed Khatri status at the time of death. The history
of Punjab Chabutra is rendered in at least two different versions. When Parry
(1994) did fieldwork among Hindu funeral priests at Manikarnika Ghat he recorded a
story about the wealthy Punjabi trader Lala Kashmiri Mal who purchased the platform
in the eighteenth century. When funeral attendants at Harishchandra Ghat, the
other cremation ground in Varanasi, demanded an exorbitant amount of money for
cremating his dead mother, he bought the land at Manikarnika Ghat by covering a
part of the river bank with gold coins. 143
The other version I was told by the Sikhs attribute Punjabi Chabutra to Maharaja
Ranjit Singh of Punjab. On a visit in Varanasi in the beginning of the nineteenth century
Ranjit Singh found that Brahman funeral priests refused Sikh soldiers cremations
at Manikarnika Ghat. After bargaining with the priests the Maharaja purchased a
cremation place by laying out a grid of gold coins, which was later replaced by a
platform. For Sikhs the story generates meaning of being represented within a ritual
space that remains subject to domination of Hindu funeral priests ‒ a space which
they share with Hindu Khatris and Sindhis. The Punjabi Chabutra is today under control
of the local caste association Khatri Samaj. The association has a small office at
Manikarnika Ghat and cooperates with the Sikh community by lending keys to the
otherwise locked in platform before cremation ceremonies.
The Khatris often assert they are warrior descendents of Kshattriyas in the
Hindu system and mytho-genealogical legends will tell how they originated from this
caste. Since all the Sikh Gurus were born into Khatri families the caste group occupies
an elevated status in the Punjabi society, especially those who belong to the same got
as the Gurus (i.e. Bedi, Trehan, Bhalla and Sodhi). Traditionally Khatris have been
urban-based and distinguished themselves in trade, money lending, and later industry
and governmental services. The internal organization of the Khatri zat is divided
into several clans and sub-clans. The caste group is generally branched into four high
status clans, each of which have traditionally observed exdogamy and is teamed with
the number of subgroups or “houses” (ghar) according to hierarchical order. A group
of twelve Khatri houses constitute a separated grouping of intermediate status, followed
by another fifty-two “houses” and sub-groups. 144 The Sikh Khatris share their
143
Parry 1994: 44 ‒ 45. Apparently this story alludes to the famous Lala Kashmiri Mal who in the
eighteenth century established a leading banking house in the city and became treasurer for the
Raja of Benares (Mishra 1975: 171 ‒ 172).
144
K. S. Singh 2003.
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Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008