Wishesh December Magazine 2015

INDIAN DIASPORA
The fearless
Nihang
The Nihang are the
popular armed Sikh order.
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They are even referred to as Akali,
meaning immortals. Nihang’s origin
is believed to be from Fateh Singh,
the youngest of Guru Gobind Singh.
Nihang is even expected to
take its origin from a Persian
word, meaning a mythical sea
creature. The term owes its
origin to Mughal historians, who
compared the Akali’s ferocity
with the crocodiles.
In Raag Aasa, Guru Arjan dev
Ji has described ‘Nihang’ as
those, who lives with no fear.
Nihang’s attire
Nihang’s traditional dress
is called Shiva Swarupa,
meaning “Shiva’s appearance”.
It comprises of superelectric
blue in full attire, iron bracelets,
round the wrists called Jangi
Kara and quoits of steel called
‘Chakram’, blue turbans on
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head, and along with these, a
sword called ‘Kirpan’.
Fully armed attire of
Nihang
Now, coming to the fully
armed attire, a Nihang will
bear one or two swords (be it
the curved one or the straight
khanda) on his right hip and
a katara (dagger) on the left
hip, a buckler made from
buffalo-hide (dhala) on the
back, a large chakram around
the neck, and an iron chain.
During the war, arms worn on
the Nihang would generally
be reserved until the warrior
lost the weapon he held.
‘‘
In Raag Aasa,
Guru Arjan
dev Ji has
described
‘Nihang’ as
those, who
lives with no
fear.
‘‘