Sikh Bhumihars

Bhumihar conversion to Sikhism

Introduction and the spread of conversions

Interaction between Magadha and Sikhism goes back as far as the birth and earliest days of Sikhism itself. Guru Nanak Dev Ji himself visited Magadha and travelled through its main centres, namely Patna, Gaya, Nalanda, and Rajgir. Later, Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, while passing through Bihar on his way further east, stopped at Patna, where Sikhism's last Guru, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, was born. However, it was not until the 20th century that a few Bhumihars, tired of Hinduism's prevalent dogmas, found a warm refuge in the Guru's words and became Sikhs. Unfortunately, this phenomenon was limited to only a handful of villages in Patna district, just a few kilometres outside the city of Patna.

The Bhumihar conversion to Sikhism was mainly a phenomenon confined to:

• A few villages in the Bikram and Paliganj blocks of Patna district.
• Some cases in the neighbouring district of Arwal as well.

Reasons behind the conversions

Sikhism's martial appeal

Most of the conversions, although very limited in nature, were fuelled by Sikhism's militaristic charm, which caught the attention of some Bhumihar youths grappling with the hardships induced by the raging Naxal movement targeting Bhumihar landlords in Bihar. They were constantly looking to seize any opportunity that came their way and could help them fight the left wing Naxal menace.

These Bhumihars sought motivation from Sikhism's special emphasis on warrior values, martial spirit and abandonment of redundant illogical dogmatic philosophies.

Social and cultural factors

• Bhumihars, already fond of rangbaazi, a local term denoting the habit of making flashy displays of dominance and fearlessness, found a natural home in Sikhism, hoping they had found a religion that prioritized action over ritualistic dogmas and suited the stereotypical natural tendencies of Bhumihars.

• Apathy among the other local Bihari castes towards the targeting of Bhumihars by Left-wing militants also filled Bhumihars with mistrust towards their non-Bhumihar neighbours, laying bare the caste based faultlines within Hindu society and ultimately leaving those Bhumihars unsatisfied and disillusioned with Hinduism.

Attitude towards Hindu orthodoxy

These new converts:

• Scoffed at their neighbouring Hindu Brahmins' smugness and their insistence on fighting the left wing Naxals with Vedic philosophy and Sanskrit mantras.
• Were puzzled by the absolute irrationality of their neighbours, who were convincing them to fight armed to the teeth Naxals by employing Vedic philosophy and shouting Sanskrit in the face of raining bullets.

Sardar Laxman Singh

A Keshdhari Sikh native to the Bikram block of the Patna district of Bihar, Sardar Laxman belonged to the Atharva mool/clan of Babhans and his Gotra was Kaundinya or Kaundilya. At some point he was the right hand man of Shaheed Brahmeshwar Singh, the founder and the chief of Bihar's largest anti Naxal Militia, the Ranvir Sena.

Sardar Laxman was the second in command of the Ranvir Sena and was locally famous for saving the lives of many Bhumihars badly affected by the left wing terrorism in the Naxal hit zones of Patna district.

In 2014, he was finally apprehended by Bihar Police in a case of Ranvir Sena killing 10 alleged Naxals by shooting them from point blank range.

The police had found Ranvir Sena's name written on wall using blood, near the place of the incident.

Sardar Krishna Singh

Sardar Krishna, full name Sardar Krishna Nandan Singh, was a three term Sikh Bhumihar MLA from Arwal who had adopted Sikhism in his early years. Such was his popularity in the South Bihar region that he contested Bihar Legislative Assembly elections as an independent, without being affiliated with any political, not from his native Patna district, but from the neighbouring district of Arwal and still won three terms from there.

He originally belonged to the village of Akhtiyarpur in Paliganj Block, Patna district.

Apart from his political career, he was more widely known for founding the Brahmarshi Sena, an armed outfit that served the interests of Bhumihars, more than a decade before the Ranvir Sena was formed. It was because of him that Bhumihars and other upper castes of the Patna district felt safe for many years and remained comparatively unaffected from the left wing naxal terrorism.

He and his outfit were responsible for thwarting left-wing Naxalite penetration into Patna district for years.

Sardar Raghavendra Dhari Singh

The first among those to adopt Sikhism were Raghavendra Dhari Singh from the Ain Khan village of Dulhinbazar Block of the Patna. He was the son of Jang Dhari Singh, and uncle of Amdrendra Dhari Singh, a Member Of Parliament for more than 6 years.

He was also a patron of the Patna Sahib Gurudwara.