Nanakpanthi

{{Short description|Religious community in Pakistan and India}} {{Infobox religious group |group = Nanakpanth<br>{{Small|ਨਾਨਕਪੰਥ}} |founder = Guru Nanak |image = Photograph of a ‘Nanukshahe’ (possibly an alt. transliteration of "Nanakshahi", referring to a Nanakpanthi or follower of Guru Nanak), by J.L. Lyell, ca.1860's.jpg |caption = Photograph of a Nanakpanthi by J. L. Lyell, {{circa|1860s}} |population = Unknown |region1 = |pop1 = |ref1 = |region2 = |pop2 = |ref2 = |religions=Sikhism • Hinduism|region3=|region4=|pop4=|pop3=|region5=|pop5=|region6=|pop6=|regions={{flag|India}} • {{flag|Pakistan}} • {{flag|Afghanistan}} • {{flag|Nepal}} • {{flag|Bhutan}} • {{flag|Sri Lanka}}<br>{{Small|Punjab • Sindh}}|scriptures=Guru Granth Sahib • Janamsakhis}} {{Sikhism sidebar}} '''Nanakpanthi'''<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/b2901086x_0003|title=A glossary of the tribes and castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province : based on the census report for the Punjab, 1883 vol 3|last1=Rose|first1=H. A. (Horace Arthur)|last2=Ibbetson|first2=Denzil|last3=Maclagan|first3=Edward|date=1911|publisher=Lahore : Printed by the superintendent, Government printing, Punjab|others=Wellcome Library|pages=[https://archive.org/details/b2901086x_0003/page/152 152]}}</ref> (Gurmukhi: ਨਾਨਕਪੰਥੀ; ''nānakapathī'', "follower of the way of life of Nanak"),<ref name="Singh-2020">{{Cite journal |last=Singh |first=Bhupinder |title=Nanakpanthis |url=https://www.sikhinstitute.org/oct_2020.html |journal=Abstracts of Sikh Studies |publisher=Institute of Sikh Studies |publication-date=October 2020 |volume=XXII |issue=4}}</ref> also known as '''Nanakshahi''',<ref name="Singh-2022">{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Bhupender |title=Baba Nanak Shah Fakir |publisher=Blue Rose Publishers |year=2022 |isbn=9789357046602 |pages=131}}</ref> is a syncretist movement which follows Guru Nanak (1469–1539), the founder of Sikhism, but without necessarily following his successors among the Sikh gurus nor formally identifying as being Sikh in terms of religious affiliation, as is the case with numerous Punjabi Hindus and Sindhi Hindus.<ref name="Singh-2022" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Wagret |first=Paul |title=India, Nepal |publisher=Nagel Publishers |year=1983 |isbn=9782826307297 |series=Nagel's encyclopedia-guide |pages=103 |quote=The most spiritual group, and the one which appears most faithful to the teaching of Guru Nanak, is the Nanakpanthi or Nanakshahi, associated with the "Golden Temple" at Amritsar, which is a place of pilgrimage for all Sikhs.}}</ref> "Nanakpanthi" as a term is often used to refer to non-Khalsa Sikhs, some of whom may belong to Udasi orders but others are affiliated with other heterodoxical, non-Khalsa sects.<ref name="banglapedia">{{Cite Banglapedia|article=Sikhs, The|author=Nasrin Akhter}}</ref> In the broadest sense of the term, it simply refers to a follower of Guru Nanak's teachings and practices.<ref name="banglapedia" />

== History == The term was first used in the Janamsakhis of the Miharvan tradition,<ref name="Mann">{{Cite book |last=Mann |first=Gurinder Singh |title=Guru Nanak's Life and Legacy: An Appraisal |publisher=University of California, Santa Barbara |pages=23 |quote=A final detail revolves around the reference to the early Sikh community as the "Nanak Panth". Although scholars such as McLeod and many others of his generation use this label freely and without question, it must be underscored that this term does not appear in the writings of Guru Nanak, or those of his successors and their followers. It first shows up in the Janam Sakhi attributed to Miharban (d. 1640), a first cousin of the sixth Sikh Guru, Guru Hargobind (b. 1595?, Guru 1606–1644), and even more important for us, the leader of a major Sikh sectarian group of the time (Minhas/Chhota Mel). The Dabistan-i-Mazahib, a mid-seventeenth-century Farsi text, is the first non-Sikh document to use the name the Nanak Panthi along with the Gursikh to refer to the community. Furthermore, it is important to point out that a name such as the Nanak Panth, which evokes the idea of "personal" following of a leader, is criticized in the writings of Bhai Gurdas and is categorically denounced in the poetry created during the period of Guru Gobind Singh (1675-1708). In other words, the name assigned to the early Sikh community in current scholarship is not a self-designation, but a sectarian/external label the nature of which is criticized in the mainstream Sikh literature.}}</ref> and was later mentioned in the mid-17th century ''Dabistan-i-Mazahib''.<ref name="Mann" />

== Description == Nanakpanthi references an early Sikh community which encourages any person, regardless of religious affiliation, to follow Guru Nanak's teachings of universal brotherhood, truth, love, tolerance, and compassion. It emphasises the oneness of Waheguru (the creator of the universe).<ref>{{cite web |title=Guru Nanak Dev: Gurupurab: Guru Nanak Dev's 5 teachings that will change the way you look at life - the Economic Times |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/how-to/gurupurab-guru-nanak-devs-5-teachings-that-will-change-the-way-you-look-at-life/articleshow/87804818.cms}}</ref>

== Distribution ==

=== Punjabi Hindus ===

==== Estimates ==== Today, some Punjabis adhere to elements of Sikhism despite being Hindus.<ref>[https://dailytimes.com.pk/51488/struggling-to-revive-gurmukhi/ Struggling to revive Gurmukhi, Amar Guriro, Express Tribune, OCTOBER 18, 2016]</ref><ref name="Goyal">{{Cite web |date=10 November 2019 |title=Explained: Who are Nanak Naam Lewa, and why Kartarpur Corridor can't be limited to Sikhs |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-who-are-nanak-naam-lewa-and-why-kartarpur-corridor-cant-be-limited-to-sikhs-6100351/lite/}}</ref> They generally do not have beards or wear a turban, unlike Amritdhari Sikhs.<ref>[https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/amritsar/etpb-could-disbar-non-sikh-pilgrims-from-visiting-gurdwaras-in-pakistan/articleshow/63933800.cms ETPB could disbar non-Sikh pilgrims from visiting gurdwaras in Pakistan, Times of India, Apr 27, 2018]</ref>

There is no data about the number of Nanakpanthis; worldwide, there are estimated 25 to 30 million Sikhs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/05/us/religion-what-is-a-sikh/index.html|title=Who are Sikhs and what do they believe?|date=5 August 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-50374567|title = Sikhs in Wolverhampton celebrate 550 years of Guru Nanak|work = BBC News|date = 12 November 2019}}</ref> Millions of others also venerate the 10 Sikh Gurus and follow the teachings of Guru Granth Sahib without adhering to a Sikh religious identity:{{efn-ua|According to Karnail Singh Panjoli of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee}}<ref>{{cite web |last1=Goyal |first1=Divya |title=Explained: Who are Nanak Naam Lewa, and why Kartarpur Corridor can't be limited to Sikhs |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-who-are-nanak-naam-lewa-and-why-kartarpur-corridor-cant-be-limited-to-sikhs-6100351/ |website=The Indian Express |language=en |date=3 November 2019}}</ref> at the time of the 1891 census in British Punjab, out of the estimated 1,8 million Sikhs nearly a third were Hindu Nanakpanthis, but in later British censuses the "Hindu" and "Sikh" identities would become separate and Hindu Nanakpanthis would be classified as Hindus, no more as a Sikh sub-group.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fox |first=Richard Gabriel |title=Lions of the Punjab: culture in the making |date=1985 |publisher=Univ. of California Pr |isbn=978-0-520-05491-2 |edition=1. print |location=Berkeley, Calif. |pages=112–113}}</ref>

A number of ethnic groups and sects in India follow the teachings of Guru Nanak and visit gurudwaras, in addition to worshiping Hindu deities at mandirs. The Indian government considers them Hindus for census purposes.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-who-are-nanak-naam-lewa-and-why-kartarpur-corridor-cant-be-limited-to-sikhs-6100351/ | title=Explained: Who are Nanak Naam Lewa, and why Kartarpur Corridor can't be limited to Sikhs | date=3 November 2019 }}</ref> A number of ethnic Punjabis who are Hindu, especially in Indian and Pakistani Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Chandigarh, Jammu and Uttarakhand, have continued other religious practices in spiritual kinship with Sikhism.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Raj |first1=Dhooleka Sarhadi |title=Where Are You From? Middle-Class Migrants in the Modern World |date=2003 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |isbn=9780520233836 |page=80 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W6YwDwAAQBAJ&dq=punjabi+hindus+syncretic&pg=PA80}}</ref>

==== Perception by Sikhs ==== Nanakpanthi, as a label referring to the selective, personal following of Guru Nanak to the exclusion of his successors, was criticised by mainstream Sikh writers such as Bhai Gurdas.<ref name="Mann" />

=== {{anchor|In Punjab}}Punjabi Muslims ===

Cultural anthropologist Haroon Khalid wrote that after the partition of India, a few Punjabi Muslims regularly visited Guru Nanak's shrine in Kartapur Sahib and made offerings; they continued to do so despite the shrine's dilapidated condition and its harboring of smugglers and drug addicts.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Khalid|first1=Haroon |title=How Nanak's Muslim followers in Pakistan never abandoned Kartarpur Sahib, his final resting place |url=https://scroll.in/article/857302/how-nanaks-muslim-followers-in-pakistan-never-abandoned-kartarpur-sahib-his-final-resting-place |website=scroll.in|language=en |date=10 November 2017}}</ref>

Descendants of Bhai Mardana, a Muslim companion of Guru Nanak, reportedly follow a syncretic tradition of Sikhism and Islam. Mardana's descendants performed kirtans in gurdwaras before the partition.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Khalid |first=Haroon |title=Lost in Partition, the Sikh-Muslim connection comes alive in the tale of Guru Nanak and Bhai Mardana |url=https://scroll.in/article/875462/lost-in-partition-the-sikh-muslim-connection-comes-alive-in-the-tale-of-guru-nanak-and-bhai-mardana |access-date=2023-05-14 |website=Scroll.in |date=13 April 2018 |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== {{anchor|In Sindh}}Sindhi Hindus ===

==== Before partition ==== Sikhism was popularised in Sindh by the missionary work of Udasi saints.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Takhar |first1=Opinderjit Kaur |title=Global Sikhs: Histories, Practices and Identities |last2=Jakobsh |first2=Doris R. |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2023 |isbn=9781000847352 |series=Routledge Critical Sikh Studies |quote=Unlike Sufi shrines, the Sindhi mandir has escaped academic attention in the tracing of pre-partition syncretic traditions partially because of the geographical boundaries of Sikh and Panjab studies. The history of Sikhism in Sindh and the appeal of particular forms of Sikhism among Sindhi mandir can provide a glimpse into the co-existence of Sikh and Hindu practices in the Sindhi mandir. It was Richard F. Burton who, in his book Sindh & the Races that Inhabit the Valley of the Indus (1851), "describes the curious mix of Hindu and Sikh practices among Sindhi Hindus". He observes that "they show a general tendency towards the faith of Nanak Shah, and that many castes have so intermingled the religion of the Sikhs with their original Hinduism, that we can scarcely discern the line of demarcation (1851)." The historical reason for the prevalence of these syncretic practices in Sindh was due to the Sindhis being introduced to Sikhism by the Udasi panth popularized by Guru Nanak's son Sri Chand whose followers are known as Nanakpanthi Sikhs in Sindh. Nanakpanth refers to Sikhs who follow the teachings of Guru Nanak without observing the five Ks prescribed for Khalsa Sikhs and do not find Hinduism as conflictual with Sikhism. Unlike Nanakpanthis who follow the rituals of Hinduism, performed idol worship and are Hindus except that they kept Guru Granth Sahib in their places of worship, new categories of sikhs in Sindh who describe themselves as Gursikhs claim to bow their heads only in front of the Guru Granth Sahib.}}</ref> Nanakpanthi and Udasi are both Sikh sects; a major difference is that Udasis adopt life-long celibacy, whilst Nanakpanthis marry and have children.<ref name="Kalhoro">{{Cite web |last=Kalhoro |first=Zulfiqar Ali |date=26 May 2013 |title=The Sikhs of Sindh |url=https://sikhchic.com/history/the_sikhs_of_sindh |website=Originally published on The Friday Times, republished on SikhChic}}</ref> Sikhs from the Punjab may have settled in Sindh during the 16th century to escape persecution, and they and their descendants gradually formed the basis of the Nanakpanthi community.<ref>Jatt, Zahida. (2018). Devotion Transcending Regional Boundaries: An Exploration of the Origin, Adaption and Development of Udasipanth in Sindh. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322343647_Devotion_Transcending_Regional_Boundaries_An_Exploration_of_the_Origin_Adaption_and_Development_of_Udasipanth_in_Sindh</ref> Guru Nanak reportedly traveled through Sindh, reaching the Shikarpur area and impacting local spirituality.<ref name="Singh-2020" /> In the 1881 and 1891 Indian censuses, the Sindhi Hindu community could not decide to identify as Hindu or Sikh.<ref>{{cite book |first=Alice |last=Albinia |author-link=Alice Albinia |title=Empires of the Indus: The Story of a River |date=21 June 2012 |publisher=John Murray Press |isbn=978-1-84854-786-5}}</ref>{{missing page number|date=December 2023}}

==== India ==== Many Sindhi Nanakpanthis migrated to India during the 1947 partition, and are found in the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Rajasthan.<ref name="Singh-2020" />

==== Pakistan ==== Many Sindhi Hindus in India and Pakistan admire Guru Nanak and regularly visit gurudwaras.<ref>{{cite web |date=13 April 2018 |title=Nanakpanthi Saints of Sindh |url=https://www.thefridaytimes.com/2018/04/13/nanakpanthi-saints-of-sindh/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=17 September 2017 |title='Nanakpanthis' in Sindh face hate campaign |newspaper=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/nanakpanthis-in-sindh-face-hate-campaign/articleshow/60715615.cms}}</ref> A Sindhi temple typically houses the Guru Granth Sahib and images of Hindu deities.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Falzon |first=M. A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mzh7EAAAQBAJ&dq=sindhi+guru+granth+sahib&pg=PT23 |title=Selling Anything Anywhere: Sindhis and Global Trade |date=2022-07-25 |publisher=Penguin Random House India Private Limited |isbn=978-93-5492-578-8 |language=en}}</ref>

== Places of worship == A Nanakpanthi temple is known as a ''tikano'' or ''tikana'' (a term also used for Sewapanthi temples).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=R. N. |title=Historical Development of Sikhism: Religion to Politics |publisher=Commonwealth |year=2003 |isbn=9788171697038 |series=Encyclopaedia of Sikh Heritage |pages=81–82}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Falzon |first=Mark-Anthony |title=Cosmopolitan Connections: The Sindhi Diaspora, 1860-2000 |publisher=Brill |year=2004 |isbn=978-90-04-14008-0 |series=International Comparative Social Studies |volume=9 |location=Leiden |pages=73–74}}</ref><ref name="Kalhoro"/> They are prevalent in Sindh,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ramey |first=Steven W. |title=Hindu, Sufi, or Sikh: Contested Practices and Identifications of Sindhi Hindus in India and Beyond |publisher=Springer |year=2008 |isbn=9780230616226 |edition=1st |pages=180–81}}</ref><ref name="Kalhoro"/> where religious syncretism of Hinduism and Sikhism is observed and religious boundaries become blurry and ill-defined.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Malhi |first=Gobind |title=Sadhu Hiranand: The Man and His Mission |publisher=National Book Trust, India |year=1998 |series=National Biography |pages=5}}</ref><ref name="Falzon-2022">{{Cite book |last=Falzon |first=M. A. |title=Selling Anything Anywhere: Sindhis and Global Trade |publisher=Penguin Random House India Private Limited |year=2022 |isbn=9789354925788 |chapter=Glossary |quote=tikana: a mandir which usually includes both the Sikh Guru Granth Sahib and images of Hindu deities.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kalhoro |first=Zulfiqar Ali |date=25 May 2018 |title=Muslim saints and their Hindu devotees |url=https://www.academia.edu/37860938 |website=Originally published on The Friday Times, republished on Academia.edu}}</ref> A ''tikana'' usually houses a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib alongside images of Hindu deities.<ref name="Falzon-2022" /><ref name="Kalhoro"/>

== Gallery == <gallery mode="packed" heights="200px"> File:Guru Nanak and Bhai Mardana with three devotees.jpg|Guru Nanak and Bhai Mardana with three devotees, from a series of Janamsakhi paintings|alt=Guru Nanak, Bhai Mardana and three devotees, seated outdoors File:‘Nanakpanthi’, a Sikh who follows Guru Nanak.jpg|A Nanakpanthi, {{circa|1825}}|alt=Painting of an older, bearded man holding beads, seated in front of a book File:Sketch of a 'Nanakpanthi' by Sir Thomas Theophilus Metcalfe (1795-1853).jpg|Sketch of a Nanakpanthi|alt=Watercolour sketch of a mustachioed man dressed in red File:Nanakpanthi depiction of Guru Nanak and Bhai Mardana.jpg|18th- or 19th-century Nanakpanthi depiction of Guru Nanak and Bhai Mardana|alt=Watercolour painting of a seated Guru Nanak and Bhai Mardana File:Guru Nanak riding a fish, possible Sindhi depiction.jpg|Guru Nanak riding a fish, 19th-century art, possibly from Sindh|alt=Pen-and-ink drawing of Guru Nanak and two other men standing on a long fish </gallery>

==See also== * Sadh Belo * Sri Chand Darbar * Sindh * Sects of Sikhism

==References== {{reflist|group=upper-alpha}} {{reflist}}

{{Sikhism}}

Category:Sikh groups and sects Category:Hindu denominations Category:Sikhism in Pakistan Category:Hinduism in Pakistan Category:Sant Mat