Introductory - Global Sikh Studies

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(iii)
The news-writer, who reported to the emperor about the
founding of the Khalsa, specifically mentioned Durga as one
of the deities which the Guru forbade the Sikhs from paying
homage.
(iv)
The various forms of Devi are the consorts of Sive; hence
Devi-worship cannot be advocated by one who decries Siva
worship. There are many verses of Guru Gobind Singh to this
effect.
(v)
If the number of important temples built and fairs held in
honour of the various forms of Devi are an indication of the
prevalence of the Devi cult, it should be the least common
among the Jats of the Sikhs region. Because such temple and
fairs are the most common in the hilly tracts of the Himachal.
Next comes Harayana, but in the Sikh Jat tract there is only
one such temple. The Bhaddar Kali temple at Niazbeg is about
7 miles from Lahore and has only a local reputation. The fair
which was held there was attended by people who collected
from Amritsar and Lahore towns and the neighbouring villages.
As this part of Lahore district is not a Sikh majority area (for
that reason it forms a part of Pakistan), it is not unreasonable
to surmise that the number of the Jat Sikhs attending this fair
was never large. As against this, there are many important Devi
temples scattered all over the eastern districts (i.e. Haryana).
Rose who has not omitted to note even petty cultural practice
like those of the Sikh water-carriers worshipping Bhairo, make
no mention that Sikh Jats worship the Devi.
If the cult of Devi had inspired the Jats who visited Anandpur,
how is it that it disappeared altogether from among them afterwards?
If the Sikh water-carriers, who from a microscopic minority among
the Sikh population, could retain Bhairo worship, why could not the
Jats retain Devi worship? Also, if the Rajputs of hilly Punjab, which is
the home of Devi cult, and the Hindu Jats of Haryana, where the
Devi cult is common enough, could not be inspired by it to take up
arms for higher religious or political ends, how is it that it inspired