Satnamis

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Satnamis

Col Dr Dalvinder Singh

1925, Basant Avenue, Ludhiana​

Satnamis now considered as a scheduled tribe are primarily Chandel Jats of Southern Haryana and North Rajasthan where there Gotra people still live in 22 villages. Satnamis are now settled mainly in the states of Chhatisgarh and adjoining areas of Jharkhand and West Bengal in India. Their population is estimated to be around 1 crore. They are now considered low caste Hindus who have been following Saint Ghasi Ram’s teachings. They are primarily poor, backward, remotely settled and mostly uneducated though a few out of them like Former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi have improved their lot through education. Under British influence some got converted to Christianity too.

From the areas of Southern Haryana and North Rajasthan they were hounded out by the Army of King Aurangzeb in 1673 AD and followed the teachings of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the Ninth Guru of Sikhs. They came under the influence of the Guru when Guru Tegh Bahadur established a religious centre in their area at Dhamdhan (Haryana).

They had taken on Emperor Aurangzeb at the behest of Guru Tegh Bahadur against his decision to charge jeziya and destruction of temples and teaching centers of Hindus and Sikhs. Rebelling against Aurangzeb, for a considerable time, they had in their possession the whole areas of Southern Haryana and North Rajasthan. These Sikhs associated themselves with Sikhism during the visit of Guru Nanak. They recited Satnam and have kept themselves associated with Satnam till date.

In 1667, Aurangzeb declared that all Hindus would pay five percent jeziya tax. On April 9, 1669 he passed orders that all Hindu temples, and educational institutions should be destroyed and their religious activities be banned. This decision was implemented ruthlessly[1]. On hearing these orders, Guru Tegh Bahadur started from Assam towards Punjab in December 1671 and reached Delhi in January 1672.[2] In Delhi he gave the call "bhai kahu ko det nahi, na bhai manat aan" (Neither I cause fear to anyone nor I accept fear). These Satnamis were the persons who implemented this call of the Guru in true spirit.

When Guruji was in Delhi, Satnamis under their leader Jagjiwan Dass Chandel came to pay obeisance and described the details of atrocities leashed on Hindus. Guruji understood that the time had come to face the tyranny, and that by waiting in fear, Mughals would only be more ruthless. This was the main reason he called upon every Sikh to be fearless.

On receiving the call, Satnamis congregated and decided that they being followers of Guru Nanak would not pay anything to anyone except the Guru. When government officials came to their houses to collect taxes they declined. The soldiers tried to force; but were beaten back. The ruler of the area attacked them; they retaliated. The Mughal forces fled from the area of Narnaul. Rumour spread in the area that the Satnamis were blessed by the Guru, hence they cannot be defeated by anyone.

A fear spread in the royal circles by realizing the fact that Satnamis could not be defeated and this would result in rebellion in other parts as well. The situation would then go out of control in the entire country. Aurangzeb lost his sleep over this. He was already worried due to the rebellions in Afghanistan and Peshawar. Afghanistan had already seceded after a rebellion. Rebellion in Narnaul being so near his capital could cause serious repercussions, possibly resulting in loss of power also.

The Satnamis were not sitting complacent either. They had fortified themselves under the leadership of Jagjiwan Dass Chandel and were prepared for any eventuality. The entire information was constantly relayed to Aurangzeb. He had the task in hand to break the fortifications of Satnamis and to break the myth of their being invincible.

Understanding the need of the hour, Aurangzeb decided to tackle this rebellion on a large scale. He prepared a contingent of forces under his General Salar Sayyad Ahmed Khan. He wrote with his own hands, the ayats of Quran on the army flags so that they may diminish the fear that Satnamis were blessed and could not be defeated. He propagated widely the power in the ayats of Quran to thwart any magic. Addressing the forces he said, "The ayats on your flags will keep you safe and nobody will be able to defeat you because you are going to annihilate the Kaafirs." [3]

Armed with guns and weaponry, these forces reached Narnaul and encircled the few Satnamis. How could these unarmed Satnamis take on the heavily armed enemy for long? None of the Satnamis surrendered. They fought till dusk and left when night descended. They reached Madhya Pardesh eventually, closely followed by the Mughal forces. Along with their families they scattered themselves in the forests of what is now known as Chhatisgarh. Meanwhile the following Aurangzeb’s army was recalled as they were required elsewhere.

Since then, the Satnamis remained in these forests. Worst has happened since then as they were oppressed a lot by the rich and strong sections of the local population. Satnamis lived in their huts reciting Naam and remained aloof from the rituals of Pandits. Later Saint Ghasi Ram re-united them, thwarting the oppression of Pandits and spreading education among them. When the British came, they converted some of them to Christianity. Former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi’s family is one of those Satnamis, who became Christians.

A few years ago, the house of a Satnami, near Dhamtari, caught fire. Everything in his house was destroyed except for a wooden box which contained an old manuscript of Sri Guru Granth Sahib. The news spread far and wide. The Script of the Granth could not be understood by the educated local. Few Punjabis also lived in the area. One of them visited the site and found that this was an ancient ‘birh’ of Guru Granth Sahib which was brought by these Satnamis from their ancestor land when the Aurangzeb’s Army followed them. The housekeeper informed that his ancestors used to read and worship the Granth.[4] This confirmed their further link to Sikhism.

When people of Dhamatri came to know of this, they expressed a wish to build a Gurdwara there. The housekeeper gifted the land for the Gurdwara and realising that his ancestors were Sikhs, partook amrit himself. From then on, many of the Satnamis got baptised as Sikhs. Now this onus has been taken by the Satnam Foundation of Raipur, assisted by Scottish Sikh Council, along with other associations, which continues even now.
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[1] Masir-e-Jahangiri 1947, P.51-55, Sarkar, History of Aurangzeb Part 3, P. 265.
[2] Punjab Past and Present, April 1975, P.234.
[3] Kahn Singh Nabha, Mahan Kosh, p. 147.
[4] Dainik Bhaskar, Raipur Edition, November 8, 2003.