Saint Poet Wazir Singh

Saint Poet Wazir Singh

Raj Kumar Hans

Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@gmail.com

135 Raj Kumar Hans: Sant Poet Wazir Singh

Sant Poet Wazir Singh:
A Window for Reimagining
Nineteenth Century Punjab

Raj Kumar Hans
The MS University of Baroda, Baroda

The dominant historiographical tradition of Punjabi literature has generally neglected
the powerful literary current called ‘sant sahit’ besides ‘sufi’ and ‘gurmat’ literature.
Most of these sant-poets were either part of the established orders or independent
composers, at times leading to tensions between the custodians of established religions
and followers of non-conformist spirituality. The paper focuses on an ‘unknown’ dalit
poet, Wazir Singh, who remained unrecorded and unrecognized in the literary and
historical culture of the Punjab, and places him in the context of the Sant movement. He
becomes important not only for his iconoclastic ideas but also for the space and respect
given to women in the otherwise exclusive male domain. One of his followers, Nurang
Devi, is regarded as the first Punjabi woman poet. Sant Wazir Singh’s life and work
open up possibilities of re-imagining the Indian and regional pasts.

There is much which appears to be known, that is
questionable, or even false. There is much that many believe
to be unknown, or even unknowable, which is actually part of
people's everyday experience.

Jonathan J. Dickau'

The diversity and plurality of religious practices in the nineteenth century
Punjab has been discussed at some length by Harjot Oberoi.” Such diversity
was best manifest in the intellectual expressions of poets, more so of such
poets who either carried the hybrid religious practices during the nineteenth
century in their bones or those who also experimented with new ideas which
would go against the acceptable norms. Moreover, such poets were not
necessarily individualistic, meditating in solitary confines of monasteries but
were active public figures with their followings.

In the dominant tradition of history of Punjabi literature what is less
known and acknowledged is the powerful literary current called ‘sant sahit’
besides ‘sufi’ and ‘gurmat’ literature. Most of these compositions by sadhus
and sants were either part of the established orders like Nath or Kanpata
Yogis, Udasi, Nirmala, Gulabdasi, Sewapanthi, Suthrapanthi, Nirankari,
Namdhari, Radhaswami, Kabirpanthi, Dadupanthi, and Raidaspanthi where
chances of survival of such literature were quite high due to continuity of
succession. On the other hand, in the case of several independent and

Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@gmail.com

JPS: 20: 1&2 136

autonomous sadhus and sants like Saeen Hira Das and Sadhu Wazir Singh, the
access to such literature would require conscious effort on the part of the
interested researchers.’ This sant tradition as part of the popular religion* has
been fairly inclusive and the establishments of the sants (deras) were open to
all the castes and communities. The fact that the study of the Vedas has been
an integral part of much of this tradition has also been overlooked in the wake
of hegemonic tendencies of the established religiosity. This becomes clear
from the tension between their custodians and the followers of non-conformist
spirituality of Sant Gulabdas and others during the nineteenth century. While
this paper focuses on an ‘unknown’ spiritual poet, namely Sant Wazir Singh,
who remained unrecorded and unrecognised in the literary and historical
culture of the Punjab, it attempts to situate his ideas in his larger contemporary
poetic and cultural context. The paper also tries to establish connection
between him and his ideas with those of his contemporary junior and
successful intellectual poet Gulab Das, who was much maligned in the
established orders.

Sant Wazir Singh

Wazir Singh remained unknown in the Punjabi literary and even in the dera
cultures. He has been rescued from obscurity by Shamsher Singh Ashok, a
well-known researcher and scholar of Punjabi literature and history. He had

= size containing 72 works (folios 2- 248

carrying Braj poems in more than 3800 chhands and folios1-105 with Punjabi
poems in 922 chhands) by Wazir Singh that came to be part of the editor’s
personal collection.” The Punjabi University, Patiala decided to publish the
edited volume of select Punjabi poems of Wazir Singh under its scheme of
publishing the manuscripts of Punjabi classics by the Department of Studies of
Punjabi Literature.°

Wazir Singh was born in village Daulatpur near Zira town of Firozepur
district in about 1790 and very early in his adulthood he had started moving in
the company of sadhus from whom he learnt reading and writing Punjabi. He
left his house for good in 1815-16 and after staying in Lahore for some time
settled in Lahuke village in the same district where he died in 1859. His
unorthodox views communicated in a mystical (sufiana) idiom soon attracted
people in large numbers to his dera. He preached life unbridled by orthodox
religiosity and social taboos which won him the devotion, among others, of
five budding poets, including two young widows who became his ardent
disciples, serving him till his death. This was a radical departure from the past
tradition both of the established religions as well as heterodox practices of the
Nath, Sufi and Sant orders at least as far as the Punjab was concerned. His
radicalism appears to have earned him enough enemies who even attacked his
premises as evident from his own writings.

It is intriguing that in Ashok’s monograph Wazir Singh’s caste identity is
suppressed whereas he had already been identified as belonging to an

procured a manuscript of long 12”X6

Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@gmail.com

137 Raj Kumar Hans: Sant Poet Wazir Singh

untouchable (Mazhabi) family in an earlier writing by Ashok himself. Given
the volume of Wazir Singh’s work and the range of topics covered by him
from metaphysical to socio-political he came to be recognised as a great poet
(mahan kavi) of his times.’ After long contemplative sessions and close study
of the ancient texts and discussions on bhakti and sufi thought he appears to
have attained the spiritual height of a gnostic (brahmgyani).® Five of his
identified poet disciples, including two young widows, came from the upper
castes. One of them was Vir Singh Sehgal while another, Nurang Devi, turned
out to be the first Punjabi woman poet groomed under his guidance as a guru.’
While Ashok largely uses the prefix ‘sadhu’ for Wazir Singh in this
monograph I prefer to use the prefix ‘sant’ for him for two reasons. Firstly, the
internal evidence in his poetry, which also includes some compositions by his
followers, explicitly supports my assumption that Wazir Singh should be
unequivocally characterized as a ‘sant’. Secondly, Ashok himself uses the
expression ‘sant poet’ for Wazir Singh at least five times in his introduction.”

In one sense, Wazir Singh is part of the Sant tradition of north India, yet
he seems to be going beyond the set paths. He is radical and iconoclast like
Kabir, but in addition, he brings in the question of gender equality. He is
highly critical of establishments whether social or religious. He lashes out at
Brahmanical structures of inequality manifested in varna-ashram dharma and
jat-pat, and like Sant Ravidas, envisions ‘Beghampura’, a liberated society. In
the backdrop of the Sufis, the Sants and the Sikh movement fracturing and
weakening Brahmanical ideology in the Punjab, space became available to the
Punjabi dalits. They became a respectable part of the Sikh movement and also
got an opportunity to express their creativity in writing. Lest Wazir Singh
should be looked upon as an aberration or an isolated instance, a quick
mention must be made of the three other powerful dalit poets of Punjab who
appeared on the horizon of Indian literary world from the last quarter of the
seventeenth century to the first quarter of the twentieth, that is prior to the rise
of ‘dalit consciousness’ in politics and literature.'!

The dalit literary tradition in Punjabi may be said to begin with Bhai Jaita
alias Jeevan Singh (c.1655-1704), who was very close to the Gurus’ household
as he was the one who had carried the severed head of Guru Tegh Bahadur
from Delhi to Anandpur, and composed a devotional epic ‘Sri Gur Katha’
around Guru Gobind Singh’s life which is placed in 1699-1700.'" Sant Ditta
Ram alias (and more famously) Giani Ditt Singh (1850-1901) emerged as a
poet, polemicist, journalist, teacher, orator and ardent Sikh missionary who left
behind more than 50 books to his credit. [See the next article in this issue:
Editor] The last dalit intellectual poet in this line happens to be Sadhu Daya
Singh Arif (1894-1946) who came to master Gurmukhi, Urdu, Persian, and
Arabic and Sanskrit languages with the help of several non-formal teachers
who were stunned by his sharp intellect. Not only did he read and understand
the Vedas, Puranas, Granth Sahib and the Quran, besides a wide range of
secular literature, he had also reached the spiritual heights of a gnostic, true to
the title of ‘Arif? assumed by him. Chronologically, Wazir Singh, the subject
of this paper, was the second of these sant poets who had prolifically

Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@gmail.com

JPS: 20: 1&2 138

composed philosophical, spiritual and social poetry in the first half of the
nineteenth century.

Philosophy of Wazir Singh

The best way to discuss Wazir Singh’s philosophy may be through his
compositions which are fairly clear in their import and emphasis. Stressing the
importance of unity and non-dualism, he says:

Forsaking all contestations and disputes I have realised myself.
You are there in the day as you are at night, at evenings, all the
times.

Ruler and the ruled, you are the teacher and the taught, who
can distinguish?

Wazir Singh! the Supreme manifests in you in different forms
all around."

He seems to have a materialist approach to God:

Let me speak the truth and understand that He is not far from
anyone.

Learn this primeval thought from the guru to be free from any
illusion.

If you need to loot, you construct god and tell lies and commit
sins.

Wazir Singh says if there is really a god, then I should make
you see and touch with your hands.'*

He reasserts his position by asking his audience:

Tell me where does He live for whom all meditate and pray?
Cannot be at peace when we cannot see but believe what
others say.

This is my question to everyone, let anyone come forward who
knows.

Anyone who answers to Wazir Singh is his fellow learner and
real friend.'°

He celebrates human body and equality among human beings:

Only human body can contemplate, soul and god neither eat

nor reside.

Only the body has ‘five elements’ which could be seen and
described.

No one is born or dies, neither comes and goes, all forget this
truth.

Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@gmail.com

139 Raj Kumar Hans: Sant Poet Wazir Singh

O! Wazir Singh it is your entire embodiment, everyone is alike
and equal.'°

He is equally refreshing in his view of creation:

Tell me what time, day, date and season the universe was
created?
Pundits invented this notion and have been transmitting this
hearsay.
O’ Pande! If you do not know, listen to the sants who talk with
proofs.
Wazir Singh this creation is independent, evolved on its own,
no one has made it.!”

He is wary of the old established religions:

I am contented after realising the self as I do not see the world
is different.

I have no illusion about Hindus and Turks, both consider
better than the other.

Hindus read their granths and pothis as Muslims read the
Quran.

We are beyond all O’ Wazir Singh! as we only subscribe to
science.

At places, Wazir Singh gets aggressive as if he has been confronted by his
orthodox opponents:

We never need the Quran as we also tear the pothis after
seeing their emptiness.

No desire for either Sikh or Muslim prayer as we burn the
temples and mosques.

We have given up Ganges, Gaya and Prayag as we also do not
worship the tombs.

As we have become impartial O’ Wazir Singh! we watch the
games both play.’

He pronounces his liberation thus:

There is no desire to go to heavens as hells do not scare me.

I have no fear of god (khuda) as I have declined Muhammad
and Ram.

I ‘have no respect for religion and faith as I tested the limits of
both.

O’ Wazir Singh! I stand liberated after seeing Him in my
mirror.”

Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@gmail.com

JPS: 20: 1&2 140

He could do so because he claims brahmgyan at several places in his poetry.
He says at one place:

Meditated for long and did not get tired till reached the truth.
By covering the body with ashes, had all the pilgrimage.

A close study exposed all the granths as empty, not leaving
even the secrets of four Vedas.

After realising the self I came to know that the universe exists
in the form of personal self. 7!

He goes on in the same vein:

When the fire of Truth got ignited, the illusion of karma was
burnt.

The ecstasy of realising the self freed me from the question of
life and death.

Found Brahman in everything- in mountains, woods and flora
that removed the illusion of duality.

Wazir Singh attained the brahmgyan that liberated him from
the prison of baran-ashram.”*

Wazir Singhs’s poetry is suffused with the negation of varnashramadharma
(in Punjabi baran-ashram) and untouchability (jaat-paat), the pillars of
Brahmanical Hinduism, which he denounces vehemently. A few samples
would show the depth of his conviction:

Dualism was the source of arrogance and miseries which the
guru has removed.

The guru has cut the chains of casteism, baran-ashram and
three-shames.

While distinguishing the Name, Form and Way the guru has
emphasised the unity of soul.

Understand O’ Wazir Singh! the existence is in your image
after duality is removed.”

Once I realised the self, I threw away the baran-ashram.
Shameless I am after breaking the three-shames and
demolishing the ego.

Freed from caste-differences, I have also risen above Hindu-
Turk differences.

Going beyond all O’ Wazir Singh, I find everyone within
me.

Once you meditate on breath you would get subsumed in

Brahman.
Concentrate and see that there is nothing outside Brahman.

Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@gmail.com

141 Raj Kumar Hans: Sant Poet Wazir Singh

Realise the truth about yourself once you see the unity in soul
and Brahman.

By relinquishing baran-ashram O’ Wazir Singh! you would
sing of your omniscience.”

Ashigs have no doubts as they have gone beyond frames of all
logics.

They have left behind distinctions of castes and baran-ashram,
of Turk-Hindus.

After going through rituals, prayers and knowledge they have
gone beyond.

Realising all in the self O’ Wazir Singh! they stand distinct
from all.”°

We have no shame either of lineage or people, nor do we
recognise Vedas and the Quran.

Neither have we bothered about Muslims or Hindus nor about
baran-ashram.

We have gone beyond this or that world; we also do not
differentiate between jeev and ish.

We relish the state of ecstasy O’ Wazir Singh! beyond the two
there is no profit and loss.””

Appreciate him as brave who has destroyed the illusion of
pride.

Who has crossed the boundaries of baran-ashram and
annoyed others by abandoning three-shames.

Who has gone beyond concerns of five-koshas, three-gunas
and three stages.

Being different from all O’ Wazir Singh! you have passed the
degree of self-realization.”*

Do not get self-conceited, give up your ego and listen to the
guru’s counsel.

Weigh the three-shames and baran-ashram in the scale of
truth and decide.

If you have strong desire to play the love-game, bring your
head in your palm.

Guru sayeth to you O’ Wazir Singh! you are God unto you.”

Look! The enemy parents oppressively detain the child
wanting to be free.

He has been tied in the bonds of three-shames and trapped in
baran-ashram.

His body is trapped in the prison of caste identity.

Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@gmail.com

JPS: 20: 1&2 142

O’ Wazir Singh! the man gets forcefully married at young age
to this social trap.*°

Wazir Singh notices degeneration that was taking place in the Sikh religion
during his time. His could perhaps be the first bold voice in this regard. He
says:

The Guru left the Granth and Panth under the care of sants to
be rated above all.

There are many sects now and the leaders stress their own
codes of conduct.

Bringing back the trap of baran-ashram, they also bind people
with three-shames.

By creating different sikhis, 0’ Wazir Singh, they have created
cults around them.”

They highlight their own sects and do not give clue to the
common thread.

They surround the unattached and trap the free into their
narrow sects.

Gurus are greedy and so are Sikhs, both reciprocating in their
interests.

The Sikhs become angry with their gurus who in turn keep
pleasing their clients.

Both accuse each other in public while people get surprises of
this kind.

O’ Wazir Singh! these gurus and Sikhs have become worldly
to the disenchantment of sants.**

The lions that had eaten together with goats are devouring the
goats and call themselves singhs.

As the lion awakens another lion, O’ Wazir Singh, the Sikhs of
Gurus should not forget their duty to awake others to
fearlessness.**

Turning now to Nurang Devi, the disciple of Wazir Singh, and a poet in her
own right, we find her strengthening Wazir Singh’s observation on this count:

Akalis have made their own Sikhs without any real teaching.
If they are merciful, they would ritualise ‘initiation’ by a few
words.

By preaching they recruit their followers by removing from
their families.

On such occasions sons-daughters and wives cry as do the
parents and kins.

All relatives get together and create ruckus.

Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@gmail.com

143 Raj Kumar Hans: Sant Poet Wazir Singh

Sayeth Nurang Devi! the Jat has been made a Sikh who knows
nothing of true meaning.”

Keeping in mind such a bold denunciation of the established orders and their
current practices, one may expect equally strong reactions from a range of
vested interests. In fact, it is possible to get sufficient leads from Wazir Singh’s
compositions how his radical preaching invoked opposition from several
quarters and even incurred hostilities. He refers to his own establishment:

The sants reside in the tower of Lahuke, they do not hurt
anyone nor do they allow others to hurt them.

Years have passed staying here but they never asked anyone
for a penny.

People wonder from where we eat and how we survive.

Some speculate we have something O’ Wazir Singh, some
think we manufacture.*°

Many crave for audience while others burn in envy at the
sight.

While many come full of love for us, others want to kill us.
Many worship in great devotion while some unnecessarily
annoy.

O’ Wazir Singh! while devotees bow their heads the
opponents seek duels.*°

He provides a graphic picture of one such skirmish in a composition:

If you are really interested in knowing let us enter into
questions-answers.

If you do not want to listen why we should waste our time,
better be silent.

From wherever the truth can be had we should touch the feet
of the source, why fight?

Sayeth Wazir Singh! if interested we meet, else keep distance
and not hurt.*”

They created ruckus and misbehaved with sants.

These fools hurled abuses in hundreds on guru and women
without discrimination.

They got back what they came intended and got thoroughly
beaten.

Wazir Singh got a staff in his hands and gave them five to
seven to get rid of.**

Wazir Singh’s criticality does not stop at the established religious practices but
extends to the caste-communities. He talks of the Khatris, Jatts, Julahas, and

Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@gmail.com

JPS: 20: 1&2 144

the artisan communities as well as the shepherds. He is very critical of the
dominance of the Khatris from amongst whom all the Sikh Gurus came:

Bedis*” are supposed to know the Vedas but today’s Bedis
meaninglessly call them such.

They are greedy and coax others’ women while kill their own
female infants.

Wazir Singh! they claim to be gurus of the world but
shamelessly commit sins.*”

He also talks about the Sodhis*’ who manned religious establishments as their
shops. Khatris generally were business people who would flourish on their
tricks and intelligence.*” He does not spare the Jogis either:

Today’s Jogis do not know the methods of jog and without
that method 0’ people do not recognise them.

They shave their heads and pierce their ears for big
earrings...”

In congregation they drink liquor and eat flesh.

They have all kinds of intoxicants: they eat bhang, post,
charas, and afeem, and smoke tobacco and ganja.

They have tarnished the Jogi image howsoever bravely they
might try to rescue.

O’ Wazir Singh! they have no idea of jog, only in attire do
they appear to be fagirs.“*

Wazir Singh also records his observations about different places he had visited
and the ways of the people he had encountered. He had traveled to different
parts of the Punjab, mountainous areas of Kashmir and present Himachal
Pradesh as also the eastern part of the present day Uttar Pradesh. Given his
ideological position, especially in the spatial context of the Punjab, his
observation about the Ganga- Yamuna plains brings out the subtle differences
between the societies in the two regions:

Eastern land is very ritualistic (karam-kandi), where I endure
sufferings.

One has to cook ones’ food to satisfy the hunger.

Those liberated who go from this side and settle there become
ritualistic as everyone is.

After seeing the eastern des O’ Wazir Singh! we decided to
come west.””

Given the range of his observations from material to spiritual, social to

religious, political to philosophical, it is not difficult to see Wazir Singh, the
sant-philosopher, also in the role of a preceptor, or a guide. Luckily, we have

Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@gmail.com

145 Raj Kumar Hans: Sant Poet Wazir Singh

the compositions of his disciples expressing their gratitude toward their guru.
There is no dearth of internal evidence to suggest that he had reached those
heights to be considered as a spiritual master and guru. Even though Wazir
Singh stresses the importance of the preceptor for paving the way to
enlightenment there is no clue to his personal guru. He himself definitely got
recognised as the guru by his followers and the literal testimony is important in
this respect.

The use of the terms sant and guru needs some clarification in the context
of Indian religions, especially the bhakti traditions. Karine Schomer offers
some clarification about the variety of usages in different traditions:

Derived from Sanskrit sat (‘truth, reality’), its root meaning is
‘one who knows the truth’ or ‘one who has experienced
Ultimate Reality’, i.e. a person who has achieved a state of
spiritual enlightenment or mystical self-realization; by
extension, it is also used to refer to all those who sincerely
seek enlightenment. Thus conceptually as well as
etymologically, it differs considerably from the false cognate
‘saint’ which is often used to translate it. Like ‘saint’, ‘sant’
has taken on the more general ethical meaning of the ‘good
person’ whose life is a spiritual and moral exampler, and is
therefore found attached to a wide variety of gurus, ‘holy men’
and other religious teachers. Historically, however, sant is the
designation given to the poet-saints belonging to two distinct,
though related devotional bhakti traditions.”

While distinguishing the north Indian devotees of a formless God from the
non-sectarian Vaishnava poet-saints of Maharashtra, Schomer is clear that the
north Indian sants defy classification within the usual categories of Hindu
bhakti. Though in the ‘Sikh’ usage the word sant acquires a different and also
an evolving meaning and the term guru carries the hierarchically higher
status,*’ our poet of the paper was more in tune with Schomer’s north Indian
usage. Let us listen to Wazir Singh what he has to say on who is a sant:

The entire world lives in limits, only a sant is limitlessly
shameless.

He abandons parents, siblings and relatives and runs away
from home.

He breaks the trap of baran-ashram and shackles of three-
shames.

He boldly denies and defies caste-differences and
untouchability.

Who have joined the company of truth-seekers do not do
anything else.

O’ Wazir Singh! by getting the human form, you are adoring
everywhere.

Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@gmail.com

JPS: 20: 1&2 146

A sant is full of knowledge, beautiful worth audience,
surrounded by disciples.

Listening to his discourses, people start revering him as Sahib
in bhakti.

Priests get extremely jealous on his being adored and served
by people.

A sant is God (parmeshwar) manifested in him O’ Wazir
Singh.”

A sant is the one who is free of three-shames and Hindu-Turk
difference.

People get furious in vain listening to a sant that baran-
ashram is outdated.

O’ Wazir Singh! a sant is liberated, carefree and listens to his
heart only.*°

Having reached that height of liberation for himself and his followers as the
realised goal Wazir Singh is in a position to call it ‘Beghampura’ as visualized
by Sant Ravidas. This may be a small space, a commune, a liberated zone but
it is of the realised and loved ones. Wazir Singh describes it thus:

Beghampura is our city in which we reside and speak truth.
We give damn to codes of conduct, we live as we desire.
Devotees throng and serve us; they come with offerings but
get fruits in return.

O’ Wazir Singh! here the river of love flows where lovers
come and swim across.

Even though in the Punjab context a guru stands higher to a sant in status
(Sikh Gurus for example), Wazir Singh is also accorded that status by his
disciples. The poetic compositions of Vir Singh Sehgal and Nurang Devi are
full of their adoration for him as their ‘guru’. Let us listen to Vir Singh first:

The guru has awakened vairag in me which has come in full
share to me.

Without my going through meditation the guru has awakened
me in a flash.

He has filled me abundantly and allowed my entry into his
good company.

Wazir Singh has accepted me as his servant O’ Vir Singh! he
has opened my eyes.”

Throwing away the quilt of lineage-shame we accepted the
guru’s words and got rid of our sorrows.

We the ignorant humans came to the guru who filled us with
knowledge.

Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@gmail.com

147 Raj Kumar Hans: Sant Poet Wazir Singh

The guru accepted our devotion and removed the difference of
the jeev and Brahman for us; we got transformed from
cowards to the brave.

Sayeth Vir Singh, the servant of Wazir Singh, he has removed
our faults and made us popular.”*

So much so that Vir Singh could not resist elevating Wazir Singh above the
status of an incarnation (avatar) when he says:

Guru’s charisma is such that I fail to describe.
Four Vedas and ten avrars are no parallel to the guru.’

In her moving poetry Nurang Devi proclaims Wazir Singh as her guru with an
elan:

I had taken this birth to better the life but got trapped in the

family net.

I have met the enlightened guru and has passed the test by

leaving the blind.

O God! Destroy those sinners who prevented me from the

truth.

Nurang Devi beseeches Guru Wazir Singh to keep me at your

feet as servant.”

I have left the shelter of the amateur guru and found the true
guru.

Amateur guru had raw ideas but now I have met the perfect
guru.

As the perfect guru has shown IJ have burnt the heightened ego
and pride.

Nurang Devi has left crafty guru behind while meeting the
excellent guru.°

Historical Context of Wazir Singh’s Ideology

The question arises where and how to place Wazir Singh in the existing
traditions of Sikh religion, bhakti or sant mat. Clearly, he does not belong to
the Sikh tradition even if his upbringing was in a Sikh family and was
surrounded by Sikh ethos. Strong elements of the sant tradition are evident in
him. ‘The ‘tradition of the Sants’ (sant prampara)’, as Charlotte Vaudeville
says, ‘is essentially non-sectarian, though a number of Sant poets have been
considered the founders of sects which bear their name but have developed
after them’.”’ Following Vaudeville, the sant poetry as a whole has strong anti-
Brahmanical overtones as the sants appear to be heterodox and even ‘heretics’.
They reject the authority of ‘books’ whether Vedas or the Quran and also that
of Brahmans and Mullas. To quote Vaudeville at some length:

Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@gmail.com

JPS: 20: 1&2 148

Sant mat has been equated with ‘nirguna bhakti’, a term which
would seem to define bhakti according to its objective: the
non-qualified (nirguna) aspect of the Supreme Brahman, the
One non-personal, all pervading, ineffable Reality which can
only be spoken of in negative terms. This notion of the
Absolute as nirguna coincides with the Upanishadic concept
of the Brahman-Atman and the advaita (monistic)
interpretation of the Vedantic tradition, which denies any real
distinction between the soul and God and urges man to
recognise within himself his true divine nature. The northern
Sants, led by Kabir, mostly seem to adopt this stance, speaking
of merging or re-absorption of the finite soul, the jiva, into the
infinite ineffable reality — or state — which is the ultimate
goal.

Since we find in Wazir Singh all the elements stressed by the sant poets — the
necessity of devotion to and practice of the divine Name (nama), devotion to
the divine Guru (satguru) and the great importance of the company of the sants
(satsang)” — it is not difficult to place him within the sant tradition. His
recognition as the guru also falls within this tradition. Juergensmeyer puts it
aptly: ‘As a manifestation of a higher form of spirituality than most devotees
possess, the guru is both exemplar of behaviour and a revelation of the divine
itself.”

Wazir Singh’s poetry that has survived the vagaries of time suggests that
probably some major churning was taking place in the realm of thought in the
early nineteenth century Punjab. Piara Singh Padam discovered Sadhu Jagan
Singh a contemporary of Wazir Singh, who stresses the exploration of the self
in his poetry. In his Siharfi Yog Gian, Jagan Singh dismisses the differences of
caste and regards different faiths, texts, rituals and worship as useless.°' Quite
interestingly, in his composition Asi Kaun Han, like Bulle Shah in the previous
century, he raises the question of identity as had been done by others:

Neither we are Singh Sardar soldiers, nor do we become
darvesh.
Neither pandit nor mulla kazi, nor are we untouchables or
shaikhs.

Neither we follow six-philosophies or four-sects, nor do we
wear the panthic robes.

We do not subscribe to baran-ashram, caste or lineage, nor do
we identify with territories.”

Another such liberated poet of the first half of the nineteenth century happened
to be Sant Surjan Das Azad from Ajnianwale in Gujranwala.” Readings of his
poetry published by Dharampal Singal and Baldev Singh Baddan suggest that
true to his name Azad was a liberated person, who did not practice any kind of

Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@gmail.com

149 Raj Kumar Hans: Sant Poet Wazir Singh

sectarianism, opposed all kinds of ritualism, had a carefree, independent mind,
and would not hesitate to attack his opponents fiercely. Azad proclaims:

Surjan Das Azad has become without caste,

He has talked straight in a fearless poetry.
Whatever came to my mind, I have uttered,
Without bothering about poetic meters and genres.”

In his Siharfi also he is explicit about his liberated persona:

Once I realised myself, the sectarianism of Hindu-Muslim
vanished.

After breaking the trap of baran-ashram, there was no need to
follow the religious business.

We follow the path of the shameless, the fear of punishment of
the Vedas or the Quran has gone.

Surjan Das says it is the pleasure of the liberated in seeking
joy from anywhere.

Evidently, Wazir Singh was not voicing his radical ideas in isolation. In fact,
his courageous defiance of the established orders and entrenched ideas
emboldened a few other voices. His junior contemporary, Gulab Das (1809-
1873) followed in his footsteps and even went somewhat beyond. Even if
Wazir Singh did not launch a movement and it appears he had no such desire,
Gulab Das succeeded in creating a stable following and a sect came to be
known after his name.

The Gulabdasi sect emerged as an intellectually vibrant movement in the
late nineteenth century Punjab. Gulab Das was born in a Jatt family of Ratola
village near Tarn Taran in Amritsar district. He served as a trooper in
Maharaja Sher Singh’s army and after the Sikhs were defeated by the British,
Gulab Das became a sadhu, studied the Vedas and soon started his own
establishment (dera) at Chathhianwala between Lahore and Kasur. He was an
accomplished poet and a gnostic. He became an atheist and advocated an
epicurean life. Like Wazir Singh, he shunned caste and gender differences and
the discrimination based on these; the untouchables and women thus became
integral part of his creed. His dera became a hub of intellectual activity and
soon there were numerous Gulabdasi deras across the Punjab.°’ An account by
E. D. Maclagan in the Census of 1891 offers interesting details about this
movement:

The Gulabdasis have thrown over asceticism and have
proceeded to the other extreme. They originally held that all
that was visible in the universe was God, and that there was no
other. It is said that Gulab Das declared himself to be Brahm
and many of his disciples believe themselves to be God; and,
properly speaking, their faith is that man is of the same

Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@gmail.com

JPS: 20: 1&2 150

substance as the deity, and will be absorbed in him, but for the
most part they are looked on by their neighbours as denying
the existence of God altogether. They do not believe in a
personal future life, and dispense with the veneration of saints
and with pilgrimages and religious ceremonies of all kinds.
Pleasure alone is their aim; and renouncing all higher objects
they seek only for the gratification of the senses, for costly
dress and tobacco, wine and women, the lust of the eyes, and
the pride of life. They are scrupulously neat in their attire and
engage in all worldly pursuits, some of them being men of
considerable wealth. They are said to have an especial
abhorrence for lying, and there is certainly little or no
hypocrisy in their tenets. In appearance they vary; some
always wear white clothes; others preserve the Udasi dress;
others are clothed like the Nirmalas; and others are
distinguished by being always shaved. They are of course
greatly distrusted and, to some extent, despised by their co-
religionists, and their numbers are said to be on the decrease.”

What was more scandalising about the sect was the presence of a woman at the
sadhu’s dera: Peero Preman (c.1830-1872). She came from a Muslim family,
had a turbulent life of unhappy marriage, forced prostitution and concubinage;
she also emerged as a poet who ultimately became the co-saint of Gulab Das’
establishment.” While giving details from thel1891 Census about the
Gulabdasi sect, a Sanatan Sikh paper, Shuddhi Patra, of 1897 denounced the
sect in its editorial, alleging that Peero was a harlot of Lahore but the
Gulabdasis addressed her as ‘mata’. They used to go to Chathianwala during
Holi celebrations and worshipped both Gulab Das and Peero while the close
disciples waved sacred fly-brush over their heads as the followers do now at
their joint-grave. This paper alleges that the Gulabdasis have been dancing,
wining and dining ever since and they have two kutha (Muslim style) mutton
shops at the dera.”’ In continuation of its attack on the Gulabdasis in its next
issue, the Shuddhi Patra cited some verses from Gulab Chaman, a book of
poetry by Gulab Das, and on the basis of those compositions summed up the
philosophy of the sect. It was asserted that going against all religions the
Gulabdasis subscribe to enjoying life with women, not even discarding the
Muslim women; by following arbitrary system of knowledge they consider
themselves as the Brahman; by discarding all Hindu thought they reject
reincarnation; they dismiss mahatmas and pilgrimage; do not follow any
religious conventions and rituals; and indulge in gratifying the sensual desires
by eating meat of all kinds, drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco and viewing
women’s photos.”!

The intensity of attack against the Gulabdasis was probably a pointer to
their popularity in Punjab in the mid-nineteenth century. Apparently, the
movement was gaining strength, for the contemporary observers note that the
Gulabdasi deras had been established throughout the Punjab. What most of the

Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@gmail.com

151 Raj Kumar Hans: Sant Poet Wazir Singh

critics debunking the sect appear to miss is that its ideas were fairly close to
what can perhaps be regarded as the Punjabi ethos. Mahant Ganesha Singh, a
Nirmala intellectual, admitted that listening to the liberating ideas of Gulab
Das, thousands of people became unattached and free from the dogma of
various kinds; eating meat and drinking liquor, they would move from village
to village; finely dressed with fragrances, they would sing the Mirza and the
Heer; the men and women had thus become shameless. There was uproar in
the country and there also were complaints against them. Maharaja Narendra
Singh of Patiala and other rajas started arresting the Gulabdasis and the British
also followed suit that stemmed the Gulabdasi tide.” Because of its radical and
heretical ideas the sect came to be opposed strongly by the new reformist
orthodoxies such as the Singh Sabhas, Arya Samajes and the Ahmadyas.
Eventually, the Gulabdasi sect came to be banned officially.

Conclusion

The credit for discovering the dalit intellectual poet in Wazir Singh from the
labyrinth of obscurity must be given to the researcher and editor of his poetry,
namely Shamsher Singh Ashok. However, since its publication in 1988, Wazir
Singh’s work has somehow escaped the notice of otherwise liberal Punjabi
literary world. To the best of my knowledge this is the first modest effort to
understand the poetry and the underlying philosophy of this iconoclastic
writer.

Wazir Singh’s life and work open up possibilities of re-engaging with the
Punjab pasts. First of all, there is the possibility of imagining dalits achieving
such creative and spiritual heights in the face of historical disabilities and also
of stretching the limits of spatial and temporal boundaries of ‘dalit literature’.
It has implications thus for looking afresh at the heritage of the sant literature
as a powerful precursor to, or may be part of ‘dalit literature’. Secondly, quite
often the great sant tradition is taken to be confined to the ‘medieval’ times
whereas Wazir Singh’s work shows its continuity into the early nineteenth
century. He becomes important also for the space and respect given to women
in the otherwise exclusive male domain. Allowing women to live in the dera
of a sant is a radical departure for those times. The tradition Wazir Singh laid
down was followed by Gulab Das who accorded equal respect and stature to
Peero, the great woman Punjabi poet after Nurang Devi. For historians, Wazir
Singh’s work may open up the possibility of reimagining Indian and regional
past during the last three hundred years and to locate an intellectual tradition
independent of the dominant traditions.

Notes

1. ‘The Known, the Unknown, and the Unknowable: Are the Boundaries of
Consciousness a Fractal?’ http://jond4u.jonathandickau.com/known.htm.

Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@gmail.com

JPS: 20: 1&2 152

2. Harjot Oberoi, The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity
and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition (New Delhi: Oxford University Press,
1994).

3. Some earlier attempts to compile information about the sant tradition in
Punjabi were Mahant Ganesha Singh’s Bharat Mat Darpan (Amritsar, 1926)
and Sufi Sadhu Singh’s Jag Jeevan (Amritsar, 1954). The latest compilation in
Punjabi by Dharampal Singal and Baldev Singh Baddan, Punjabi de Sant Kavi
(New Delhi: National Book Trust, 2006) lists 67 Punjabi sant poets and offers
samples of their poetry. The Hindi works incorporating Punjabi sadhu and sant
writings are: Pandit Chandrakant Bali, Punjab Prantiya Hindi Sahitya ka Itihas
(New Delhi, 1962); Acharaya Parshuram Chaturvedi, Uttari Bharat ki Sant
Prampara (Prayag, 1964); and Manmohan Sehgal, Sant Kavya ka Darshanik
Vishleshan (Chandigarh, 1965).

4. In the Punjab context see Oberoi’s chapter 3, entitled ‘An Enchanted
Universe: Sikh Participation in Popular Religion’ in his Construction of
Religious Boundaries, pp. 139-203.

5. Shamsher Singh Ashok (ed.), ‘Mudhali Jaan-Pachhaan’, Siharfian Sadhu
Wazir Singh Ji Kian (Punjabi), (henceforth Siharfian Wazir Singh) (Patiala:
Punjabi University, 1988), p. xxviii.

6. Rattan Singh Jaggi, ‘Bhumika’, in ibid., p. vii.

7. See Shamsher Singh Ashok, Mazhbi Sikhan da Itihas (Punjabi), (Amritsar:
Bhai Chattar Singh Jeevan Singh, 2001 [1981]), p. 110.

8. Brahamgyani is the one who has realized and attained knowledge of the
supreme cosmic power, the “Brahman, the one non-personal, all-pervading,
ineffable Reality’. See Charlotte Vaudeville, ‘Sant Mat: Santism as the
Universal Path to Sanctity’, in The Sants: Studies in a Devotional Tradition of
India (hereafter The Sants), ed. Karine Schomer and W.H. McLeod (Delhi:
Motilal Banarsidas, 1987), p. 26.

9. Ashok (ed.), ‘Mudhali Jaann Pachhann’, Siharfian Wazir Singh, p. xiii.

10. Ibid., pp. xi-xxviii.

11. See Laura R. Brueck, ‘ Dalit Chetna in Dalit Literary Criticism’, Seminar,
special issue on Dalit Perspectives, No. 558 (February 2006):
http://www.india-seminar .com/2006/558/558%20laura%20r.%20brueck.

12. This important composition by Bhai Jaita came to light only in the second

half of the 20th century. It was included in Naranjan Arifi’s Ranghrehtian da
Itihas: Adi kal ton 1850 tak (Punjabi), (Amritsar: Literature House, 1993), part

Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@gmail.com

153 Raj Kumar Hans: Sant Poet Wazir Singh

I, pp. 396-424. Then it was published by Gurmukh Singh in Bhai Jaita Ji:
Jiwan te Rachna (Punjabi), (Amritsar: Literature House, 2003), pp. 49-82.
Baldev Singh also gives this poem at the end of his Punjabi novel Panjwan
Sahibzada (Ludhiana: Chetna Prakashan, 2005), pp. 465-501. Also see Giani
Nishan Singh Gandiwind, Shaeed Baba Jiwan Singh: Jeevan, Rachna te
Viakhia (Punjabi), (Amritsar: Bhai Chatar Singh Jeevan Singh, 2008), p. 174.

13. Siharfian Wazir Singh, Siharfi 18, Chhand 28, p. 80.

Alif- apna aap pachhata, chhad sabh jhagde jhere, baad
bakhede.

Aape din aape hai raati, aape saanjh savele, hai har vele.
Aape raja aape parja, aape hai gur chere, kaun nikher.

Wazir Singh tuN ikkar maula, eh sarup haiN tere, disan
chufere.

14. Ibid., Siharfi 19, Chhand 16, p. 83.

Suad- juda hari nahiN kise then, tudh nuN sach sunaiye, beh

samjhaiye.

Eho matt jatharath aadoN, gur then eh matt paaiye, vehem
bhulayiye.

Jhooth paap je kehna hove, taN rabb kite banaiye, te lut
khaiye.

Wazir Singha je rabb sarbtar hoye, taN naineeN tujhe
dikhaiye, hath farhiye.

15. Ibid., Siharfi 21, Chhand 13, p. 91.

Je- jis vaste karn sadhna, so tum kaho bataayee, kithe

rahaaee.

Naikee vekhe jin tript na aave, kanni sune sunayee, shanti na
aayee.

Eh prashan hai sabh par kehya, koyee kaho janayee, jis nuN
aayee.

Wazir Singh jo uttar deve, so hamra gur bhai, saka sakhayee.
16. Ibid., Siharfi 21, Chhand 27, p. 93.

Noon- nakh sikh dehi kiya bibek, keete jeev ishar na khaye,
nahiN thiaye.

Deh andhar bahar panjh tatt hoye, eh nainnee tujhe dikhaye,
je samjhaye.

Na koyee janme na koyee mar hai, na koyee aaye jaaye,
sarabh bhulaye.

Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@gmail.com

JPS: 20: 1&2 154

Wazir Singha hai sarup tumahra, ahe jete roop sabaye,
samayN janaye.

17. Ibid., Siharfi 21, Chhand 28, p. 93.

Wao- waqt rut thitt kaun vaar see, jab eh rachan rachayee,
kaho batayee.

Pandit ukat jugat surtee siyoN, kahee eh sunee sunayee, te mil
bhayee.

Jekar paNde khabar na tainuN, santan aakh sunayee, deh
Janayee.

Wazir Singha eh rachna sutantar, sute upje binsayee, na kise
banayee.

18. Ibid., Siharfi 12, Chhand 15, p. 43.

Suad- sabr aaya vekh aap tari, nahiN japda hor jahan loko.
Hindu Turk da vaad na riha koyee, ehnaN dharm te uhnaN

iman loko.

Hindu parhe graNthaN te pothiaN nuN, Musalman kateb
Kuran loko.

AseeN sarbh thoN pare Wazir Singha, nihcha dharia vich
vigyan loko.

19. Ibid., Siharfi 12, Chhand 22, p. 44.

Qaf- kade Kuran di lor naahi, vekh pothiaN thothiaN paaDde
haN.

Rehras namaz di khahash naahi, dharmsaal maseet nuN
saDde haN.

Gang Gaya Prayag nuN tiyag keeta, gor maDhi niyaz na
chhaDde haN.

Hoye aap nirpakh Wazir Singha, pakhaN dohaN di khed nuN
taDde haN.

20. Ibid., Siharfi 12, Chhand 16, p. 44.

Suad- dozkaN da riha na sog koyee, naata jannataN da diloN
tod baithhe.

Khud aap Khudaye da khauf naahi, Muhammad Ram koloN
mukh moD baithhe.

NahiN dharam imaan di kaan koyee, sharaa dohaN di nuN
neer boD baithhe.

Aap hoye beqaid Wazir Singha, an-al-haqq maeiN aiyena joD
baithhe.

Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@gmail.com

155 Raj Kumar Hans: Sant Poet Wazir Singh

21. Ibid., Siharfi 12, Chhand 3, p. 42.

Te- tak rahe jaan nakk aye, rahe thakk na hakk nitaria si.
Dhooni lae vibhut charae rahe, teerath naeh ke haal gujaria
Si.

Parh pothiaN vekhian thothiaN ni, chare bedan da bhed
vicharia si.

Mithe arifan aye Wazir Singha, sarup apna aap niharia si.

22. Ibid., Siharfi 12, Chhand 4, p. 42.

Se- sach di agg jan mach payee, jal bal gayee granthi karam
di Si.

Jaan apna aap nishang hoye, chhuti kalapna maran te janam
di Si.

Van trin parbat parbrahm jata, kiti dur dwait jo bharam di si.
Ahm brahamgyan Wazir Singha, rahi kaid na baran ashram di
Si.

23. Ibid., Siharfi 2, Chhand 9, p. 6.

Dal- dukh dwait da hungta si, tan hungta nuN guraN pattia je.
Jaat paat te baran-ashram taaeen, teen laaj janjir nuN katia
Je.

Naam rup te bidh nikhed guraN, ik aatma hi sekh rattia je.

So hai tera sarup Wazir Singha, samajh aap dwait nuN sattia

Je.

The term teen laaj (three shames) has been explained by Wazir Singh in a later
composition as lok laaj (social shame), kul laaj (shame of lineage), and Bed
laaj (as shame literally of the Vedas and metaphorically of formal religion):
Ibid., Siharfi 21, Chhand 25, p. 92. In a note, however, Ashok explains the
three shames as: 1. lok laaj, 2. kul di laaj, and 3. Bhaichare di laaj which is not
satisfactory. Ibid., p. 54, n. 2.

24. Ibid., Siharfi, Chhand 15, p. 7.

Suad- soojh payee jabee aatman di, tabhi baran ashram
udayia meiN.

Teen laaj ko todi nirlajj hoye, tann hungta burj nuN dhaiya
meiN.

Jaat paat thin aap achhut gaye, Hindu-Turk da pachh uthaiya
meiN.

Hoye sarb ke pare Wazir Singha, sarb aatma aap kahiya
meiN.

Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@gmail.com

JPS: 20: 1&2 156

25. Ibid., Siharfi 3, Chhand 4, p. 9.

26. Ibid., Siharfi 4, Chhand 12, p. 14.

27. Ibid., Siharfi 5, Chhand 24, p. 20.

28. Ibid., Siharfi 6, Chhand 4, p. 21.

29. Ibid., Siharfi 6, Chhand 25, p. 24.

30. Ibid., Siharfi 14, Chhand 30, p. 54.

31. Ibid., Siharfi 16, Chhand 47, p. 66.

32. Ibid., Siharfi 16, Chhand 48, p. 66.

33. Ibid., Siharfi 21, Chhand 25, p. 93.

34. Ibid., Siharfi 17, Chhand 18, pp. 71-72.

35. Ibid., Siharfi 14, Chhand 10, p. 51.

36. Ibid., Siharfi 14, Chhand 13, p. 52.

37. Ibid., Siharfi 22, Chhand 1, p. 94.

38. Ibid., Siharfi 22, Chhand 2, p. 94.

39. Guru Nanak was from the family of Bedi Khatris.
40. Siharfian Wazir Singh, Siharfi 16, Chhand 4, p. 59.
41. From the fourth Guru onwards all the Sikh Gurus were Sodhi Khatris.
42. Siharfian Wazir Singh, Siharfi 16, Chhands 9, 10, 15 and 16, pp. 60-61.
43. Ibid., Siharfi 16, Chhand 11, p. 60.

44. Ibid., Siharfi 16, Chhand 12, p. 61.

45. Ibid., Siharfi 22, Chhand 23, p. 97.

46. ‘Introduction: The Sant Tradition in Perspective’, in The Sants, ed.
Schomer and McLeod, pp. 2-3.

Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@gmail.com

157 Raj Kumar Hans: Sant Poet Wazir Singh
47. W. H. McLeod points out that in the works of the Gurus, the ‘sikh’ and
‘sant’ are interchangeable while the word ‘gurmukh’ is favoured over both.
See his ‘The Meaning of Sant in Sikh Usage’, in ibid., p. 255.

48. Siharfian Wazir Singh, Siharfi 16, Chhand 54, p. 67.

49. Ibid., Siharfi 19, Chhand 20, p. 83.

50. Ibid., Siharfi 20, Chhand 6, p. 86.

51. Ibid., Siharfi 22, Chhand 30, p. 98.

52. Ibid., Siharfi 5, Chhand 1, p. 17.

53. Ibid., Siharfi 23, Chhand 24, p. 105.

54. Ibid., Siharfi 11, p. 40: In Vir Singh’s words,

Mahima guru ki adhik hai, keti kahuN sunai.
Bed char avtar das, e guru ke sam nahiN.

55. Ibid., Siharfi 7, Chhand 1, p. 25.
56. Ibid., Siharfi 7, Chhand 4, p. 25.

57. ‘Sant Mat: Santism as the Universal path to Sanctity’, in Schomer and
McLeod (ed.), The Sants, p. 21.

58. Ibid. p. 26.
59. Ibid. p. 31.

60. Mark Juergensmeyer, ‘The Radhasoami Revival of the Sant Tradition’ in
ibid., p. 340.

61. Piara Singh Padam, Kalam de Chamatkar (Patiala: Author, 1981), pp. 272-
77

62. Ibid., p. 280.

63. Piara Singh Padam, Punjabi Majhan te Aasawarian (Patiala: Author,
1991), p. 37.

64. Dhrampal Singal and Baldev Singh Baddan, Punjab de Sant Kavi (New
Delhi: National Book Trust, 2006), p. 471.

Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@gmail.com

JPS: 20: 1&2 158
65. Ibid., p. 472.
66. Ibid., p. 475.

67. For details see Gian Inder Singh Sevak, Gulabdasi Sampardaye: Rachna te
Vichar, Ph.D. thesis (Amritsar: Guru Nanak Dev University, 1984); Navratan
Kapoor, Sadhu Gulab Das: Jeevan te Rachna (Patiala: Punjabi University,
1993); Bikram Singh Ghuman, Kishan Singh Arif: Jeevan te Rachna (Patiala:
Punjabi University, 1987), pp. 9-10.

68. H.A. Rose, comp., A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and
North-West Frontier Province (Lahore: Civil and Military Gazette, 1911), vol.
II, p. 319.

69. For details about Peero Preman see, Santokh Singh Shaharyar, ‘Punjabi di
Pahili Shaira: Peero Preman’, Ajoke Shilalekh, Jan 1997, pp. 5-8; Swarajbir,
‘Antika’ (Epilogue) in his Shairee: A Play (Ludhiana, Chetna Prakashan,
2004), pp. 185-97. For a scholarly treatment of Peero and her poetry see Anshu
Malhotra, ‘Telling her tale? Unravelling a life in conflict in Peero’s Jk Sau
Sath Kafian (one hundred and sixty kafis)’, Indian Economic & Social History
Review, vol. 46, no. 4, 2009, pp. 541-78.

70. Shuddhi Patra: Khalsa Dharam Prakashak, 2, 5 (1 September 1897), p. 3.
71. Ibid., 2, 6 (1 October 1897), pp. 1-3. The real purpose of the paper was to
attack Giani Ditt Singh and Jawahar Singh of the Lahore Singh Sabha who had

earlier been Gulabdasis.

72. Mahant Ganesha Singh, Bharat Mat Darpan (Amritsar, 1926).

Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@gmail.com