The Nihang (also spelt as Nihung lit. "Crocodiles") or Akali (lit. "Immortals"), also known as Dal Khalsa, is an armed Sikhism warrior order originating in the Indian subcontinent.
Etymology
The word
Nihang may come from the Persian word for a mythical sea creature ().
The term owes its origin to
Mughal Empire historians, who compared the ferocity of the Akāli with that of
. The meaning of Akali in
Sikhism however, is the immortal army of Akāl (God).
According to Harjinder Singh Dilgeer, tracing the term Nihang to the Persian word for a crocodile is a misinterpretation and instead it refers to a "fearless person".
Dilgeer states that the term Nihang is also used in
gurbani, where it refers to someone who is carefree.
The word Akāli means timeless or immortal. Literally, it means one who belongs to Akāl (beyond time). In other words, an Akāli is that person who is subject of none but God only. The term Akāli was first used during the time of Guru Gobind Singh. It became popular in the last decades of the eighteenth century. The term came to be associated with “commitment, fearlessness, boldness, struggle, and justice.”
History
Origins
According to Pashaura Singh and Louis E. Fenech, reiterating the work of Nabha (1999), there exists three main theories regarding the genesis of the
Nihangs. These three theories are summarised below:
-
Began with the son of Guru Gobind Singh, Fateh Singh with his blue clothing and turban with the Guru prescribing this uniform for his warriors.
-
Second hypothesis claims that they originate from the disguise of Guru Gobind Singh when he escaped from Chamkaur in 1704 or 1705.
-
Third theory postulates that they can be traced back to the garb of Akali Naina Singh, who was the leader of the Shaheedan Misl.
Dilgeer on the other hand narrates an entirely different theory of origination apart from the above three theories in his
Sikh Reference Book.
According to Dilgeer, the Nihangs originate from the period of Guru Gobind Singh, when during the Battle of Anandpur Sahib on 2 December 1703, the standard-bearer of the Sikhs, Bhai Man Singh, became injured and the pole of the flag broke, thus Guru Gobind Singh tore a strip of cloth from his blue-coloured under-turban (known as a
Keski) and tied it on the top part of his over-turban, creating what is known as a
farla.
Mimicking him, other Sikhs of the time, such as Uday Singh, Sahib Singh,
Mohkam Singh, and Alam Singh emulated this manner of stylising one's turban with a blue-coloured strip of fabric.
Guru Gobind Singh is then said to have mandated all Sikh leaders to follow this practice, so that the Sikh flag can never be lowered.
Connecting to the theory regarding Fateh Singh, it is then believed Fateh Singh tried to also decorate his turban with a blue
farla in this manner.
This change to the Sikh uniform is said to have led to the arising of the Nihangs.
According to J. S. Grewal, the Nihangs originate from remnants of the Khalsa of the late 18th century who failed or refused to occupy any territory, and were not associated with government or administration.
Pre-colonial period
It is claimed that the Nihangs arose as early as the period of the
Akal Sena of
Guru Hargobind, while other theories trace them to the period of Guru Gobind Singh, yet there are few Nihangs recorded in the history of the 18th and 19th centuries aside from Akali Naina Singh and Akali Phula Singh.
Nihangs claim Baba Deep Singh as being a Nihang and also trace their legacy back to the bifurcation of the Dal Khalsa into to groups, the Buddha Dal and Taruna Dal, by Nawab Kapur Singh in the 18th century.
Nihangs claim that their modern organisations sharing the same name can be traced back to these historical organisations of the Misl-era Sikhs.
Akali Phula Singh was the overseer of the
Akal Takht in
Amritsar during his time and participated in the military conquests of the contemporary
Sikh Empire.
The deras of the Nihangs during Sikh-rule were kept independent from those of other Sikh groups.
According to Dilgeer, the Nihangs reached the zenith of their influence during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
During Sikh-rule, the Nihangs maintained many Sikh places of worship.
With the oncoming of the mantle of leadership of Akali Phula Singh, the Nihangs also became known by a new term,
Akali.
During the Sikh Empire and particularly after the death of Phula Singh, the Nihangs became increasingly addicted to
Bhang and lost their influence.
However, another change marked by the death of Phula Singh is Maharaja
Ranjit Singh made an order of Sikhs, namely the
sarbarahs and
Mahant, the custodians of Sikh shrines, with Nihangs assisting in this management structure.
British rule
British rule, the Nihangs faced a decline, with there being fewer Nihangs, as they had lost the former prestige they held during the pre-colonial period.
The system of managing Sikh shrines through
sarbarahs,
mahants, and Nihangs introduced during the Sikh Empire was continued by the British administeration.
During the Singh Sabha Movement, the Sikh reformers may have adopted the unique markers of Nihangs in order to formulate and promote a separate Sikh identity, encapsulated as the
Tat Khalsa.
Aspects of the Nihang dress was adopted by other Sikhs, as it was seen as being "quintessentially" Sikh, alongside the martial aspects of the Nihangs, which was promoted by the British administrators as being ideal Sikh traits.
The Akalis of the 20th century cannot be traced back to the historical Nihangs.
Since 1920, the term Akali is also used synonymously to refer to members of a Sikh political party called the Shiromani Akali Dal.
Post-independence
After the independence of India, Nihang
deras started thriving.
The Nihangs were renowned for their martial qualities but this popular image was damaged in 1978 and thereafter.
During the Punjab insurgency, the Nihangs tended to not support the Khalistan movement, with there only being a few Nihangs who became
Kharku, such as Avtar Singh Brahma and Pipal Singh (as per Ajit Singh Poohla, former leader of the Taruna Dal), who fought for the movement.
On the contrary, there are claims of fighting between the Khalistanis and Nihangs.
It is alleged that a Nihang dera, the dera of Ajit Singh Phoola, was involved in the murder of the family of a Sikh militant named Joga Singh of the Khalistan Commando Force in Khanpur, Amritsar district.
Similarly, Piara Singh Nihang is suspected of murdering over a dozen family members of the Sikh militant Jagir Singh.
The Nihang leader Santa Singh and Ajit Singh Poohla had ties to the Indian National Congress party.[ Nihangs ‘not to accept’ ban on bhang . The Tribune. March 26, 2001.] Baba Santa Singh was excommunicated for a different issue, and replaced with Balbir Singh, who agreed to shun the consumption of bhang.[ No ‘bhang’ at Hola Mohalla . The Tribune. March 10, 2001.]
Due to their promotion of the Dasam Granth, the Nihangs have succeeded in preventing, or at least slowing, the SGPC from censuring and removing the scripture entirely from the confines of modern Sikh spirituality.
Arms and attire
Traditional Nihang dress is known as
Khalsa Swarupa or
bana. This comprises full attire of
navy blue selected by Guru Gobind Singh after conflicts with Wazir Khan, the
Mughal Empire Nawab of
Sirhind,
several edged bracelets of iron round on each of their wrists (
jangi kara) and quoits of steel (
chakram) tiered in their lofty conical blue turbans, together with the either a
dori kirpan (an open blade kirpan that is worn with a rope attached and was meant to be used as a quick access weapon) or a
Pesh-kabz – a predecessor to the modern
kirpan. When fully armed a Nihang will also bear one or two swords (either the curved
talwar or the straight khanda, or another type of sword like
Arab sword or
sarohi on his right hip), a katar (dagger) on his left hip, a buckler made from buffalo-hide (
dhal) on his back, a large
chakram around his neck, and an iron chain. In times of war, arms worn on the Nihang's person would generally be reserved until the warrior lost the weapon he held, often a bow (
kamaan) or spear (
barcha). Armour consisted of
sanjo or iron
chainmail worn under an iron breastplate (
Mirror armour). Nihang war-shoes (
jangi mozeh) were constructed of iron at the toe, making their pointed toes capable of inflicting cuts and stab wounds. The firearms carried by Nihangs are either a
toradar (matchlock) or a
musket. In modern times nihangs also carry
, semi-automatic pistols, double-barreled shotguns and
Bolt action The Nihangs favour the dark blue colour for their clothing, which they adopted to emulate Guru Gobind Singh's attire when he escaped from Chamkaur through the Machhiwara jungle.
[Hardgrave, R. L. (1996). An Early Portrayal of the Sikhs: Two 18th Century Etchings by Baltazard Solvyns. International Journal of Punjab Studies, 3
]
/ref>
The Nihang were particularly known for their high turbans ( dastar bunga) and their extensive use of the chakram or war-quoit. Their turbans were often pointed at the top and outfitted with a chand torra or trident called astbhuja which could be used for stabbing in close-quarters. Other times, the turbans would be armed with a bagh nakh (iron claw) and one or several chakram to slice at an opponent's eyes. These steel-reinforced turbans, it was said, afforded enough protection so that there was no need for any other form of headgear. Today, Nihang still wear miniature versions of five weapons ( pancha shastra) in their turbans, namely the chakram, the khanda (sword), the karud (dagger), the kirpan, and the tir (arrow).
Organisation and leadership
There are four main factions amongst the Nihangs of the modern-era, them namely being:
-
Budha Dal – Their headquarters are located in Raqba.
-
Taruna Dal
-
Bidhi Chand Dal – Descend from lineage of Bidhi Chand, a contemporary warrior and companion of the Sikh Gurus.
-
Ranghreta Dal – Prominent amongst .
The latter two groups are much less prominent than the former two. Each of the four main faction may have sub-groups representing further divisions.
Use of intoxicants
Some Nihang groups consume cannabis or shaheedi degh (ਭੰਗ), purportedly to help in meditation.[ Hola Mohalla: United colours of celebrations,]
In 2001, Jathedar Santa Singh, the leader of Budha Dal, along with 20 chiefs of Nihang sects, refused to accept the ban on consumption of shaheedi degh by the apex Sikh clergy – in order to preserve traditional Sikh practices.[ Nihangs ‘not to accept’ ban on shaheedi degh. The Tribune. March 26, 2001.] According to a BBC article, "Traditionally they also drank shaheedi degh, an infusion of cannabis, to become closer with God."
Deras and gurdwaras
The Nihangs operate their own deras (also known as chhaunis, meaning "cantonment"), which are similar to and taksals, except that the Nihang deras focus more on martial training and there is a maintenance of warlike qualities.
Nishan Sahib
The Nihangs carry a unique Nishan Sahib, being navy/electric blue, and (sometimes) bright yellow or basanti with a Talwar, dhal and katar. Yellow in Punjabi culture signifies sacrifice, revolt and honour while blue signifies courage, bravery and patriotism. In Punjab, blue is the colour of Khalsa, and yellow the colour of Kshatriyas. Due to various passages from the Dasam Granth, the Nihangs see themselves as , but believe that the varna is not limited to ones heritage.
Scriptures
The Nihang sect equally reveres the Guru Granth Sahib, Dasam Granth, and Sarbloh Granth.
Festivals
]]The Nihangs celebrate Sikh festivals like other Sikhs, with the Dalpanth sub-division (but also other Nihang groups) travelling to Amritsar to celebrate Vaisakhi, Anandpur Sahib for Hola Mohalla, Muktsar for Mela Maghi, and Baba Bakala for Rakharh Punnian.
Nihang women
]]According to a 19th-century account by Giani Gian Singh, a small number of Nihang women also chose to wear turbans.
Dialect
The Nihangs have developed their own coded language, known as Khalsa bole.
Relationship to other Sikhs
Whilst Nihangs have gained a reputation of being brave and fearless fighters, being remembered for their Shahid in the form of martyrdom for the Sikh community ( Quom), they are treated rather indifferently and ambivalently by other Sikhs despite the visible presence (due to their unique clothing and behaviour) and symbolism of the Nihangs.
Thus, Nihangs can be described as being a "neglected" segment of the Sikh community, being subjected to puns, but also being viewed as being particularly orthodox Sikhs.
Nihang beliefs and practices differ from those ordained in the Rehat promulgated by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.
Popular culture
The Nihang is featured as a unique unit for the city-state Lahore in Civilization VI. The city-state and unit were brought into the game during the New Frontier Pass.
In September 2023, a depiction of a Nihang Sikh was painted on the top-right section of an official illustration of the Dallas Cowboys football team as part of the Carpe Omnia ('seize everything') theme for the upcoming sports season.
See also
Notes
Sources
External links
