Sri Satguru Ram Singhji was a Sikh philosopher, reformer, and freedom fighter. He led the Namdhari sect in the liberation of the country. Namdharis were also referred to as “Kuka” since they recited Gurbani in the same way. Satguru Ram Singhji established the Namdhari Sect and named Suba (Governors) and Naib Suba (Dy. Governors) to mobilise Kukas throughout Punjab. Although Namdharis consider themselves a sect of Sikhism, they maintain that the line of Sikh gurus does not cease with Guru Gobind Singh and is carried on by Namdhari leaders.
(कूका एक सिख संप्रदाय है जिसे नामधारी भी कहते हैं। इस सम्प्रदाय की स्थापना रामसिंह ने की थी। उन दिनों सिख धर्म का जो प्रचलित रूप था वह रामसिंह को मान्य न था। गुरु नानक के समय जो धर्म का स्वरूप था उसे पुनः प्रतिष्ठित करने के निमित्त वे लोकप्रचलित सामाजिक एवं धार्मिक आचार विचार की कटु आलोचना करने लगे।)
About Sri Satguru Ram Singhji
The Union Ministry of Culture, in partnership with Punjab University, Chandigarh, and the Kuka Martyrs Memorial Trust, is hosting an international seminar to commemorate Sri Satguru Ram Singhji’s 200th birthday. The Union Minister of Culture stated that whatever he preached or practiced in the nineteenth century is still valid in the twenty-first century.
Life Events and Contribution of Sri Satguru Ram Singhji
- He organized the Indians for the noble cause of total freedom for the country and mankind. His contribution to the freedom struggle was also commendable, and he undertook the first revolt against the British. He advocated a boycott of British merchandise and services.
- He advocated reverence for the cow, simple wedding ceremonies, widow remarriage, and mass marriages with minimal expenditure, i.e., a rupee and twenty-five paisa only. dowry was totally banned in any shape
- He preached against killing the girl child in infancy and stood firmly against the Sati system.
- To free the country, he founded the Kuka Movement. In Punjab, the Kuka movement was a religious-political movement. Kukas were not a part of the Sikhs’ mainstream Sikhism. They wanted caste abolition, the right to intermarry, widow remarriages, and the prohibition of desi liquor, meat, and drugs.
- Kukas wanted to overthrow British rule and restore Sikh Sovereignty over Punjab.
- Thus, the Kuka movement had elements of “Non-Cooperation” and “civil disobedience” as well.
Namdhari Movement or a Kuka Movement
The Namdhari Movement was founded by Baba Ram Singh (1816-1885) in 1857 after becoming a disciple of Balak Singh of the Kuka movement in 1841. The movement was founded on a set of rituals modeled after Guru Gobind Singh’s founding of the Khalsa, with the requirement of wearing the five symbols but carrying a stick instead of a sword. The followers of the movement were required to abandon their worship of gods, idols, tombs, trees, snakes, and so on, as well as to refrain from drinking, stealing, falsehood, slandering, backbiting, and so on. Furthermore, because cattle protection was important, beef consumption was strictly prohibited.
Current Relevance
Many social reforms in India were inspired by his campaigns and teachings. He believed in women’s emancipation. This included the abolition of social ills like female infanticide and child marriages, as well as raising the minimum marriageable age for girls and encouraging widow remarriage. One of the most significant qualities of an ideal modern-day civilization is the absence of addiction to drugs, alcohol, or any other form of intoxication, which he taught.
Satguru Ji decided that obtaining income through such means was against the welfare of the religion and community, thereby creating a debt-free society, and several hard-working debt-ridden farmers were emancipated from the clutches of high interest and debt. Farmers in India are committing themselves and eluding their plots, as we see in modern society. As a result of his lessons being put into practice, the government has enacted loan waivers to help farmers become debt-free.
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