Namdhari sect

About Namdhari Sect: 

• It was founded by Satguru Ram Singh of Baisakhi in 1857. He challenged the status quo, advocated social reform, and resisted the Raj in various ways.
• The Namdharis were also known as “Kukas” because of their trademark style of reciting the “Gurbani” (Sayings/Teachings of the Guru).
• This style was in a high-pitched voice called “Kook” in Punjabi. Thus, the Namdharis were also called “Kukas”.
• Namdhari Sikhs consider the Guru Granth Sahib as the Supreme Gurbani, but they also believe in a living human Guru.
• The Namdharis consider the cow to be sacred, they are teetotallers, and avoid even tea and coffee.
• The sect’s headquarters is located in Ludhiana’s Bhaini Sahib near village Raiyaan, where Ram Singh was born. 

History of the Kuka martyrs’ day

• On January 13, 1872, a group of some 200 Namdharis led by Kuka Hira Singh and Lehna Singh reached Malerkotla following an incident of cow slaughter in the town. The Namdharis had long been agitating for a ban on cow slaughter.
• On January 15, the Kukas clashed with government officials. On the very same day, a 150-strong Kuka contingent also attacked the Malaudh Fort in Ludhiana, which was under the jurisdiction of a local ruler who was loyal to the British.
• The British retribution to the Kuka raids was brutal. John Lambert Cowan, the Deputy Commissioner of Ludhiana district, ordered the execution of 49 Kukas on January 17, and another 17 on January 18. 

Q1: What is the Guru Granth Sahib?

It is the primary Holy Book of the Sikhs and is consulted for religious guidance in all aspects of life. It was composed during the period of Sikh Gurus, from 1469 to 1708, It is a voluminous text of 1430 pages that was compiled by the fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjan Dev (1563-1606), from hymns of the previous Sikh Gurus and other great saints of the Hindu and Muslim traditions.

Source: IE