Sikh contact with these groups began in the period of Guru Nanak.

Vanjaras were traders, who, gypsy-like, moved in caravans. Lobanas were their armed escorts. Sikligers supplied the craftsmen that made the swords, spears, muskets and other arms. They operated mainly in Central India.

Bhai Mansukh, who influenced the ruler of Lanka, Piya Shivnabh to meet Guru Nanak, was a Vanjara. He became a Sikh. During the ten Gurus' lifetimes, these three groups were in touch with the Punjab sangat and came on pilgrimage to pay homage.

Sikligers manufactured arms for the Sikh forces from the Sixth Guru onwards. All three groups naturally joined the Sikh forces. Bhai Makhan Shah, Bhai Lakhi Shah, Bhai Dyala, Bhai Bachittar Singh, Bhai Udai Singh and Bhai Mani Singh are only some of the better known ones.

After the defeat of Banda Singh Bahadur in 1715, these groups retreated to the south to escape persecution, and lost contact with Punjab. The advent of the British with better communication and new manufacturing methods, meant that these Sikhs were pushed out and cut off from the mainstream, economically, socially and culturally.

There are now about ten million Vanjaras/Lobanas and four hundred thousand Sikligers concentrated in backward areas in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. They live in clusters of huts, without any facilities, schools or services, and are shunned by the general population.

Some traditions still survive that show their original faith in the Gurus. They speak a language akin to Punjabi, without a script. They hold Ardas, perform marriages keeping Nitnem Gutkas as a central symbol of the Guru, offer one and a quarter rupee in certain ceremonies, and welcome visiting Gursikhs. Sikligers keep Kesh, but no longer remember the names of all the Gurus, Gurbani, their history and traditions. They are falling prey to Hinduism, with inducements of material gains.

Extracted from the Abstracts of Sikh Studies and the Sikh Review.

 

Posted by Santokh Singh

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