Namdhari sect

About Namdhari sect:

• The sect was founded by Satguru Ram Singh on 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”.
• Satguru Ram Singh asked his followers to boycott everything which bore the stamp of the British Government.
• In course of time, Baba Ram Singh became a secular chief of Kukas.
  • He appointed Governors and Deputy Governors to organize Kukas in different districts of Punjab. He also inspired young men by giving them military training.
  • The British inflicted terrible punishments on the Namdharis and deported Ram Singh to Rangoon, from where he never returned.
  • 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. The sect has its deras across Punjab and Haryana, and has a presence in a few other countries, too.