RATTAN SINGH

The Bedis are a small clan among the Khatris, gaining distinction due to the birth of Guru Nanak into it. Many Bedis trace their descent from Baba Lakhmi Chand, the son of Guru Nanak. The Bedis historically congregated at Dera Baba Nanak but eventually created more centers at Una and Kallar. Their role in Punjabi society was varied, including acting as a theocratic elite and at other times, performing roles suited to the development of their village.

Theocratic elite

As mentioned before, Bedis were considered the descendants of Guru Nanak. As a result, they were treated as a theocratic elite and would receive patronage under various kingdoms due to their wide influence.

Baba Kaladhari

Dera Baba Nanak was founded by Guru Nanak, on the banks of the Ravi, alongside Kartarpur. The Bedis traditionally resided here until Baba Kaladhari, the ninth descendant of Guru Nanak, created further establishments including Una and the village of Bedian near Lahore. The Una establishment was founded by Baba Kaladhari, during the time of the 10th Guru. Nearby, Baba Kaladhari met Guru Gobind Singh at Bathu, where the Gurudwara Sri Gurplaha Sahib stands today. Since Una became a burgeoning pilgrimage centre, the Raja of Jaswan granted Baba Kaladhari several jagirs.

Baba Sahib Singh Bedi

After the death of his father Baba Ajit Singh, Baba Sahib Singh Bedi became the primary jagirdar of Una, gaining immense popularity throughout Doaba. Maharaja Ranjit Singh offered him further jagirs of villages in Gujranwala and Lahore. He is perhaps best known for his coronation of Maharaja Ranjit Singh as the emperor of the Sarkar-i-Khalsa. Satbir Singh Bedi’s pamphlet on Baba Sahib Singh Bedi further describes the event:

1801 ਦੀ ਵੈਸਾਖੀ ਨੂੰ ਸ਼ਾਹੀ ਕਿਲੇ ਵਿਚ ਬਾਬਾ ਜੀ ਨੇ ਆਪ ਅਰਦਾਸ ਕਰਕੇ ਸਿੰਘ ਸਾਹਿਬ, ਮਹਾਰਾਜਾ ਰਣਜੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਆਖ ਕੇ ਵਰ ਦਿਤਾ ਤੇ ਮਥੇ ਉਤੇ ਕੇਸਰ ਦਾ ਤਿਲਕ ਲਗਾਇਆ। ‘ਸਤਿ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਅਕਾਲ’ ਦੇ ਜੈਕਾਰੇ ਛਡੇ ਗਏ। ਬਾਬਾ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਸਿੰਘ ਜੀ ਦਾ ਕਿਤਨਾ ਕੁ ਪ੍ਰਭਾਵ ਮਹਾਰਾਜਾ ਰਣਜੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਉਤੇ ਸੀ ਇਸ ਦਾ ਮੁਖ ਉਦਾਹਰਣ ਨਾਨਕ ਸ਼ਾਹੀ ਸਿੱਕਾ ਹੈ ।

On the Vaisakhi of 1801, Baba Sahib Singh Bedi performed ardas in the royal fort of Lahore, gave him the title of Maharaja and anointed him with a saffron tilak. Rallying cries of ‘Sat Sri Akal’ were heard. Baba Sahib Singh Bedi’s influence on Maharaja is visible from the Nanakshahi coin.

It was only under Maharaja Ranjit Singh that upkeep became prominent as jagirs were granted to influential Bedis such as Baba Sahib Singh Bedi, the grandson of Baba Kaladhari. Under Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Gurudwara Dera Baba Nanak was reconstructed with a marble floor and a guiled throne.

Baba Khem Singh Bedi

Baba Khem Singh was born from the Kallar branch of Bedis. He was given jagirs under the Sikh and British administration both. Under the British, his support was frequently called for due to his influence in Rawalpindi. He contributed to the opening of 50 schools with a specific insistence of progressing female education. Afterwards, he co-founded the Singh Sabha movement, particularly funding a Sanatan strand of Sikhi; a strand that was more liberal on living Gurus and other folk traditions. Many of Khem Singh Bedi’s followers would accept him as a living Guru. Bhagat Lakshman Singh’s autobiography describes Khem Singh Bedi’s appearance when riding to villages:

His figure was small and complexion rather dark. His eyes too were not very particularly bright. But he made up for all this by the costume he wore. He seems to have studied how to look grand and majestic. He rode out daily for Shikar with a hawk perching on his left hand. This position he carefully maintained even when presiding at the daily congregations. And if his idea was to actually look like the illustrious Guru Gobind Singh, it may be safely stated that he succeeded in this endeavor to no small extent. His followers believed him to be an avatar whose mere touch would save them.

Despite his transgressions, he would fulfil his role as a parcharak in the hinterlands of the subcontinent and Punjab. With the growing influence of Bedis, many would become headmasters or teachers, helping to grow education across Punjab and the Khyber.

Folk medicine practitioners

It is already well known that specific castes and tribes played specific roles in Punjabi society historically. Mirasis, Sainis and Bhats were all known for their role as genealogists alongside other roles, dependent on region. Bangalis would act as both snake charmers and herbal practioners, using esoteric medicine like giddar singhi (jackal’s horn) and billi di jer (cat’s placenta).

Since the Bedis were part of a Sikh elite, they were considered a distinguished community in a village setting and weren’t subject to any discrimination unlike the aforementioned groups. One of the less mentioned roles of Bedis was as folk medicine practitioners, able to cure fevers and malaria through various folk remedies. The novelist Dr. Sohinder Singh Wanjara Bedi in his autobiography ‘Adhi Mitti Adha Sona’ describes the potential origin of Bedis in curing intermittent fever in villages:

The first one details that once a patient of intermittent fever came to Guru Nanak when he was resting under a tree in the forest. He asked the patient to fetch gur (jaggery) from somewhere. When that man returned with jaggery, Guru Nanak removed the web of a spider, mixed it up with the jaggery and asked him to eat it. He was at once relieved of the fever. Since then the descendants of Guru Nanak are endowed with that blessing.

An alternate story attributes a Muslim fakir who cured a Bedi through rat excrement and jaggery instead. That fakir visited the Bedi village and was paid deep respects. Since the fakir was impressed, he granted the sarpanch of the Bedi village with the ability to cure malaria. This practice carried on until the early 1900s among the Bedis of Rawalpindi. As modern medicine became available, the role of Bedis as folk medicine practitioners declined. By the late 1940s, the Bedis of Rawalpindi had stopped performing folk medicine. Despite this, a few Bedis would still work as unani hakims (herbal medicine practitioners) in Afghanistan.

Conclusion

Due to the influence of Bedis through jagirs by Sarkar-i-Khalsa and then the British, they were able to act as a noblesse oblige to fund education and create institutions for the Sikh community, similar to the Sayyids among Indian Muslims. Due to the protestant influence among the Lahore Singh Sabha becoming more prominent, the Bedis’ influence slowly waned and other laymen were able to fulfil the role of parcharaks and religious intellectuals. By the end of the Akali movement, Bedis were only influential in select areas and some gurudwaras. With urbanization, Bedis lost their traditional customs including herbal medicine.

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Courtesy: The Khalsa Chronicle (Received by email on Feb 4, 2023)

The post The Bedis in Punjabi Society first appeared on Sindh Courier.

Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro

The opening of the Kartarpur Corridor is a watershed in Indo-Pak history. The Kartarpar Corridor connects the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India’s Punjab with the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan’s Punjab, and it will promote not only Sikh religious tourism but also play a pivotal role in regional peace. The Kartarpur Darbar is believed to be the second holiest site for Sikhs where Baba Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, spent the last 18 years of his life.

Pakistan has a large number of sites belonging to the Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, Christian and Sikh traditions. Like other regions of Pakistan, Potohar in the Punjab is host to a number of religious tourist sites which can be promoted to attract both domestic and international tourists. One such site, which has great potential to attract domestic as well as international tourists, is Kanoha – which is located about 10 km from Kallar Syedan town in Rawalpindi district. Kanoha has historic significance for those Sikhs who left Pakistan to Indian Punjab after the 1947 Partition. For there is located the Gurdwara Tapiana Sahib at Kanoha in Kallar Syedan tehsil, Rawalpindi. It is believed that Sant Attar Singh Ji of Mastuana (1866-1927) mediated in the forest near Kanoha which was called Palahi di Jhangi (the forest of Cassia).

Before becoming a Sant, Attar Singh Ji was a soldier in 54 Sikh Battalion in 1885 which was stationed at Abbottabad.

Before becoming a Sant, he was a soldier in 54 Sikh Battalion in 1885 which was stationed at Abbottabad. Sant Attar Singh Ji used to spend most of his time in prayers and after serving four years in the army, he left it. He started to mediate at many places in Punjab, Muzaffarabad etc.  Many people became his disciples over a period of time. On the request of his devout disciples Bhai Wazir Singh and his wife Bhag Bhari who had wished that Sant Attar Singh Ji undertake Akhand Paath (a three-day uninterrupted rendition of sacred hymns from the Guru Granth Sahib), he went to Thamali village. It is believed that after recitation of Akhand Paath, Sant Attar Singh Ji stayed in the Gurdwara of Thamali for two days and afterwards he went to mediate at Palahi di Jhangi near Kanoha and disappeared for several days. His disciples Bhai Wazir Singh and his wife Bhag Bhari kept searching for him and were very worried. They eventually found him mediating in a jungle near Kahoha. Later on Sant Attar Singh Ji mediated in a Kutiya (hut) which Bhai Wazir Singh had built for him at Kanoha. He also mediated at Luni near Kallar Syedan town, but he spent much time in mediating at Kanoha itself.

Sant Attar Singh Ji undertook a campaign to educate people about the Gurmat (tenets of the Gurus) and a pious way of life. After his death in 1927, his chief disciple Sant Teja Singh Ji (1877-1965) continued to spread his thought and ideology. Sant Teja Singh Ji earned an MA and LLB from the University of the Punjab. Later, he also did an MA from Harvard University. Sant Teja Singh Ji toured the entire Potohar region, collecting donations for the construction of the Gurdwara Tapiana Sahib.

In 1935, the construction of the Gurdwara Tapiana Sahib was started by Sant Teja Singh Ji, on the place where Sant Attar Singh Ji practiced tapas (austerities). The land for the Gurdwara Tapiana Sahib was donated by Bhag Bhari, an ardent follower of Sant Attar Singh Ji.

In 1936, Teja Singh Ji traveled through the entire Potohar area including Kallar, Kanoha, Thamali (now called Dhamali), Beval, Kahuta, Choha Khalsa, Thoha Khalsa, Nara, Mator, Rawalpindi and even further out to Peshawar, Kohat, Nowshera etc. This was done for collecting donations for the construction of the second story of the Gurdwara Tapiana Sahib. The third story of Gurdwara Tapiana Sahib was completed with the donations by Bhai Prem Singh Ji of Kahuta. The dome or canopy over the Gurdwara Tapiana was made with the donations of Sikh sangat (community) of Potohar in 1940.

The Gurdwara Tapiana Sahib is a three-storey structure crowned with canopy, a distinctive feature of the Potohari style of Gurdwaras. The Gurdwara Tapiana Sahib is built in a square plan. It was designed on the pattern of the Gurdwara Tarn Taran Sahib.

Arches have been created on the four sides of the structure, adding beauty to it. It has four entrances from all cardinal directions. However, the western entrance has been closed. There are donor plaques above each of the entrances. These donor plaques in Gurmukhi have a lot of interesting information about the places, people and their contributions in the construction of the Gurdwara Tapiana Sahib at Kanoha. The plaques also tell lot about the major Sikh settlements in Potohar region.

The main entrance of the Gurdwara Tapiana Sahib opens to the south. From this entrance, one enters the main hall of the Gurdwara Tapiana Sahib. The main hall had been divided into small cells which lie east and west of the main hall flanked by deep recessed arches.

A distinctive feature of the main hall is the presence of foliated pillars and inscriptions that are fixed on the eastern wall. Formerly, it was adorned with paintings. Unfortunately, now, the plaster has come off.

There are about 21 donor plaques fixed on the main entrances and the walls of the first, second and third story. Three donor plaques are also found on the canopy. These donor plaques show the names and amount which was contributed. Some plaques show the amount which was donated by donor in the memory of their daughters, fathers and mothers.

In 1965, Teja Singh ji, the ardent disciple of Sant Attar Ji, established the Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib, which is now running 129 English-medium Schools and two universities in northern India – providing a modern scientific education blended with a spiritual ethos.

Given the historical and spiritual importance of the Gurdwara Tapiana Sahib at Kanoha, in Kallar Syedan tehsil, the authorities concerned should restore the Gurdwara Tapiana Sahib and promote it as religious tourism site. The Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) should also chalk out a strategy to provide information and arrange trips for the Sikh pilgrims to the Gurdwara Tapiana Sahib. They would have to highlight the historic and spiritual importance of the place to those Sikh pilgrims who come to celebrate the Baisakhi festival at the Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hassan Abdal.

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Dr. Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro, an anthropologist, has authored 12 books: ‘Symbols in Stone: The Rock Art of Sindh’, ‘Perspectives on the art and architecture of Sindh’, ‘Memorial Stones: Tharparkar’ and ‘Archaeology, Religion and Art in Sindh’. He may be contacted at: zulfi04@hotmail.com

Courtesy: The Friday Times Naya Daur Lahore

The post Beyond Kartarpur first appeared on Sindh Courier.