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Prithi Chand (Gurmukhi: ਪ੍ਰਿਥੀ ਚੰਦ; 1558–April 1618), also spelt as Prithia, was the eldest son of Guru Ram Das – the fourth Guru of Sikhism, and the eldest brother of Guru Arjun – the fifth Guru. Minas, Masands, Dhir Malias, Ram Raiyas, Overview of World Religions, PHILTAR, University of Cumbria (2011) He founded the heretical Mina sect of Sikhism. Prithia based his movement out of Heir village, located in present-day Lahore district in Punjab, Pakistan.
In his antics to have the guruship be inherited by him, Prithia had concealed letters that his brother Arjan Dev had written from Lahore while attending a wedding so that the letters could not reach Guru Ram Das. The Sikh guruship by this point came with not only spiritual authority but also temporal power and wealth, as large tracts of lands were controlled by Guru Ram Das (after Akbar rewarded it to the Sikhs), and distant congregations and large amounts of followers submitted donations to the Sikh guru, thus Prithia coveted these perks. However, Guru Ram Das eventually discovered the plans of Prithia and how he had hid the letters, leading to his banishment.
Chand was an accomplished devotional poet, however, he did not use his talents to good means. He created a parallel scripture which included the hymns of earlier gurus and his own poetry. His spiritual discourses used teachings of Sikh gurus but were aimed to attract his own following and the official support of the Mughal Empire. His followers forcibly and by covert means, gained control of the Sikh holy city of Amritsar and neighboring region, while Guru Hargobind – the sixth Guru of Sikhism, had to relocate his Guruship to the Himalayan Shivalik foothills. Chand and his followers tried to establish his own Guruship opposing Guru Arjan and Guru Hargobind as the official followers of Guru Nanak – the founder of Sikhism. His poetic abilities and use of hymns of Guru Nanak for his ulterior motives is believed to have likely triggered Guru Arjan to compose the official first manuscript of the Adi Granth.
There was a bitter attempt by Prithi Chand and his followers to oppose Guru Arjan for three generations. Prithia is also charged by Sikhs as being involved with the execution of Guru Arjan by the Mughals. He conspired with Chandu Shah, an official from Lahore, against the Guru at the suggestion of his wife, Karmo. In contemporary Sikhism, the followers and movement led by Prithi Chand are considered as "dissenters". In the hagiographies and Sikh history, Chand is accused of attempting to poison Hargobind when he was a young boy. He and his descendants – his son, Manohar Das (Meharban) and Mehrban's son, Harji (Hariji) conspired with the Muslim leaders such as Sulahi Khan to hurt and end the later Sikh Gurus, as well prevent them from entering Amritsar. However, Minas' literature does not support these allegations, on the contrary presenting Chand as a devout supporter of Guru Arjan and suggesting a likely "bias" against Chand.
Prithi Chand and his early Sikh sect claimed to have the Guru Harsahai pothi, the earliest compiled Sikh scripture from the time of Guru Nanak. According to the literature of the Miharvan Sikhs, the pothi was given to Prithi Chand by Guru Arjan and this was in part the reason they claimed authenticity of their hymns and movement.
Meharban had been responsible for instigating the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan against Guru Hargobind, leading to the Early Mughal-Sikh Wars, much like his father before him had instigated emperor Jahangir against Guru Arjan.
The Minas continued to oppose the mainstream Sikh gurus until the guruship of Guru Tegh Bahadur. After the death of Harji, the sect gradually declined and eventially went extinct for the most part.
The samadh of Prithi Chand can still be found at Heir village off of Bedian road in Lahore district. However, it now exists in a decaying and neglected condition, consisting of a pavilion standing in a large plot of land. The Temple tank (sacred pool) of the site has dried-up.
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