Introductory - Global Sikh Studies

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Jats in loyalty to the guru and in courage. But, this would be a wrong
inference. The behaviour of an individual did not flow from his caste
origin, it arose from the quality and the depth of the revolutionary
spirit imbibed by him. The hard core of the Sikh movement consisted
of men who had been drawn to it by its revolutionary appeal. No
doubt, the movement had a greater appeal to the lower castes, including
the Jats, than to the higher castes, because it expoused the cause of
the downgraded people. But men were not drawn to it because of
caste considerations. In fact, one of the vows on being baptized into
the Khalsa brotherhood was to shed off all caste consciousness.
After the Guru period, one of the most, if not the most, revered
Sikh in the Panth was Bhai Mani Singh. He was the custodian of the
Hari Mandir at Amritsar. When the Khalsa Dal was reorganized, it
was done under his leadership and patronage. While the Sikhs were
being persecuted, he was arrested by the Mughals and ordered to be
cut to pieces, joint by joint. This torture to death he accepted stoically. 7a
This is a classic example of the spirit that inspired the Sikhs. Bhai
Mani Singh’s martyrdom is recounted to this day at the time of every
Sikh Ardas, (supplication to God). Bhai Mani Singh belonged to a
family of Labanas, who ‘appear to be by origin closely allied with, if
not actually belonging to, the vagrant and possibly aboriginal tribes.’ 8
This illustrates that there was no prejudice or inhibition whatsoever
that would prevent people drawn from the so-called low castes from
occupying the most preeminent position in the Panth.
At one of those periods, when it was thought that the Singhs
had been completely annihilated, some people saw one Bhai Bota Singh
loitering about. They were surprised how this Singh had survived. A
spectator remarked, ‘He must be a coward dog who had been hiding
himself.’ 9 This was too much for Bota Singh to swallow; he was stung
to the quick. He thought that he must demonstrate that the Khalsa,
which claimed sovereignty, was alive. In order to invite the attention
of authorities, he and Bhai Jivan Singh Rangreta started levying toll
tax on the then G.T. Road to Lahore near Tarn Taran. 10 The authorities
attacked them and they died fighting just to show that the Sikh
revolution was a living reality. Bhai Sukh Singh was a carpenter. In