Keshdhari Hindus (Punjabi: ਕੇਸ਼ਧਾਰੀ ਹਿੰਦੂ (Gurmukhi)) means "Hindus with long hairs". It is a term used and promoted by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Vishva Hindu Parishad, and other Sangh Parivar organizations for Sikhs to describe them as the sword arm of Hindus and, hence, staunch Indian nationalists.[1][2][3]

Usage

Many Hindus and Hindutva groups regard Sikhs as "turbaned Hindus", a label which Sikhs reject.[4] The former mentioned groups also seek to co-opt Sikhs as part of their anti-Islam and anti-Christian agenda, both of which are labelled as foreign religions.[4][1] Hindutva groups also push the idea of Sikhs being the "sword arm of Hinduism".[3] The RSS chief has used the term to describe Sikhs.[5] The term is also used for people who are from Hindu backgrounds originally but on the border of established Sikh and Hindu beliefs and practices, possibly identifying with both faiths simultaneously or converting from Hinduism to Sikhism.[6]

Reaction

The Sikh leadership rejects the categorization of Sikhs as Keshdhari Hindus and claims that Sikhism is a unique religion with a unique message.[2][7]

Sikh leader, Harchand Singh Longowal, made the following comment in-response to Khushwant Singh claiming that Sikhs are "bearded Hindus":[7]

"How can you say that Sikhs and Hindus are the same people? You say Sikhs are Keshdhari (sporting long hair) Hindus. Why don't you call the Muslims Sunnatdhari (circumcised) Hindus? After all, at some point of time, in history they must have been Hindus."

— Harchand Singh Longowal

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Cole, Owen (2010). Sikhism - An Introduction: Teach Yourself. John Murray Press. ISBN 9781444131017. In 1991 the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won many seats in India's general election. These were gained by a clear religious appeal to Hindus to make India a Hindu nation. This has often been accompanied by criticisms of Christians and Muslims for being aliens, not true Indians. Sikhs are fearful of the rise of Hindu militancy for two reasons. If the Hindus tell them that they are really Hindus (as the Vishnu Hindu Parishad, a Hindu religious and political group, suggests, calling them 'Keshdhari Hindus') their distinctive identity is threatened. If churches and mosques are attacked they fear that gurdwaras will be the next chosen targets. Some Sikhs have moved to the Punjab from other parts of India, anxious to avoid this danger. Occasional Sikh attacks on Hindus in Punjab should be seen in the context of creating an exclusively Sikh state de facto by forcing Hindus to flee, if the Hindu government, as they see it, will not grant them one de jure. This is a form of ethnic cleansing. In every respect it goes against the teachings of the Gurus.
  2. 1 2 Darshan Tatla (2005). Paul R. Spickard (ed.). Race and Nation: Ethnic Systems in the Modern World. Psychology Press. pp. 312–313. ISBN 978-0-415-95003-9.
  3. 1 2 Singh, Gurharpal (2017). Rex, John (ed.). Governance in Multicultural Societies. Research in Migration and Ethnic Relations Series. Routledge. ISBN 9781351932561. Thus the Indian national identity is neither ethnically neutral nor multi-ethnic, but derived from the Hindu world serving the language of universalism. The Sikhs' popular image fluctuates widely. Among the Rashtriya Sewak Sangh (RSS), Sikhs are being propagated as keshdhari (turbaned) Hindus, as the 'sword arm of Hinduism' and as staunch Indian nationalists. The other image is of a prosperous but disloyal community bent on destroying India's unity with an ultimate ambition of an independent Sikh state in the Punjab.
  4. 1 2 Sherma, Rita; Sharma, Arvind. Hermeneutics and Hindu Thought: Toward a Fusion of Horizons. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 234. ISBN 9781402081927. To understand this rare assertion of Sikh exclusiveness it is necessary to remember the historical and social circumstances. There was still a need to emphasis Sikh distinctiveness. "We are not Hindus" was a statement not universally appreciated. Many Hindus claimed that Sikhs were just turbaned Hindus, and do even to this day. The conservative, right-wing Hindutva movement seeks to win them to join in a common cause against such non-Indian religions, such as Islam and Christianity.
  5. ↑ Engineer, Asghar Ali (1997). Communal Riots in Post-independence India (2nd ed.). Hyderabad, India: Sangam Books. p. 46. ISBN 9788173701023. Nobody has ever taken exception to the Sikhs trying to maintain a separate religious identity even when the identification marks are so prominently displayed. Even the RSS chief prefers to call them keshdhari Hindus than asking them, as he would of the Muslims, to bring their appearance and habits into closer conformity with the national ethos.
  6. ↑ Contributions to Indian Sociology. Vol. 25. Ecole pratique des hautes études (France). Section des sciences économiques et sociales, University of Oxford. Institute of Social Anthropology, Research Centre on Social and Economic Development in Asia. Mouton. 1991.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. 1 2 Arora, Subhash Chander (1990). Turmoil in Punjab Politics. Mittal Publications. p. 188. ISBN 9788170992516.
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