Ad-Dharmi

Not to be confused with the Adi Dharm development of Brahmoism.

The Ad-Dharmi (meaning "primal spiritual path") is a sect in the state of Punjab, in India and is an alternative term for the Ravidasia religion.^[1][2][3] The term Ad-Dharm came into popular usage in the early part of the 20th century, when many followers of Ravidas who had converted to Sikhism were severely discriminated against due to their low-caste status, even though the Sikh religion is strictly against the caste system in its theology. Many of these converts stopped attending Sikh gurdwaras controlled by Jat Sikhs and built their own shrines upon arrival in the UK, Canada, and Fiji Island.^[4][5] Ad-Dharmis comprise 11.48% of the total of Scheduled Caste communities in Punjab.^[6][7][8]

History

The Adi-movements were various Dalit religious movements to breakaway from Hinduism that arose in the 1910s and 1920s in India, with the Ad-Dharmis being one of the Adi-movements and the first to develop the concept of "Adi" amongst them.^[9] These movements arose as a reaction to Jyotiba Phule's assertion that the Brahmins were foreign Aryans who came to India and subjugated the indigenous races, such as the Dalits.^[9] The Ad-Dharm movement was started in the 1920s as a Chamar religious movement with the aim of establishing a distinct religious identity, being inspired by the 16th century Bhakti-era saint Ravidas.^[9] The Ad-Dharmi Dalits unified as a faith in 1925 during British rule in India. The founders of the Ad-Dharm Movement were Mangu Ram Mugowalia (a founding member of the Ghadar Party, he became the president of the executive committee of the Ad-Dharmis^[9]), Master Gurbanta Singh (a senior Congress leader), B. L. Gherra, and Pandit Hari Ram (Pandori Bibi), who served as the organization's secretary.^[10]

The movement projected Guru Ravidas, the 14th century Bhakti Movement saint, as their spiritual guru and adopted a sacred book called Ad Parkash for their separate ritual traditions, promoting Ravidas' poetry.^[9] The movement promoted an anti-caste agenda via texts, posters, and pamphlets.^[9] One poster from 1927 stated:^[9]

We are the original people of this country and our religion is Ad Dharma. The Hindu qaum came from outside and enslaved us. When the original counch was sounded, all the brothers came together - chamar, churha, sainsi, bhanrje, bhil, all the untouchables - to make their problems known. Brothers, there are seventy million of us listed as Hindus, separate us and make us free ... There was a time when we ruled India, brothers, and the land belonged to us ... Come together to form a better life.

— Ad-Dharma, 1927 poster (republished in Juergensmeyer 1982, 86)

The Adi-Dharmis of Punjab had communication with the Adi-Hindu movement of Uttar Pradesh, with the leader of the latter movement, Swami Achyutanand, requesting a meeting of the Ad-Dharmis and Adi-Hindus of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi in 1926 to organize a united force.^[9] There were also some tentative calls for an independent state known as Achhutistan ("land for untouchables").^[9]

In the 1931 census, over 450,000 individuals registered themselves as members of the new indigenous faith called Ad Dharam ("Original Religion").^[11]

Decline

However, this faith and movement gradually declined after India gained independence due to the leaders' increasing involvement in state politics and the government's reservation policy, which focused only on providing reservations for low-caste individuals from Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist communities.^[12]

Furthermore, there were contradictions in the Ad-Dharmi movement, as although they created a separate religious identity for Dalits away from Hinduism, in their ideology they considered themselves as the "first" and "true" Hindus, whilst also considering themselves to pre-date Hinduism.^[9] Furthermore, their movement took inspiration from the Bhakti movement, which was a Hindu movement, which contradicted with their attempts at claiming a separate, non-Hindu identity.^[9]

Religion

The movement named the historical saints Valmiki, Ravidas, Kabir, and Namdev, as their religious figures.^[13] Furthermore, they completely rejected the caste-system as they believed the Divine prevailed everywhere in the world, including within lower-castes.^[13] In-order to emphasize their distinct religious identity, the Ad-Dharmis adopted three symbols: wearing red clothing, the phrase soham ("I am it", referring to Vedantic concept of the primacy of the soul), and the salutation Jai Guru Dev ("victory to the great God").^[13]

The Ad-Dharmi follow Guru Ravidas (now associated with the Ravidassia religion),^[14] and incorporate elements of Sikhism^[15] such as regarding the Guru Granth Sahib as their religious text.^[16] A turning point occurred after the killing of Ramananda Dass in Vienna, which deeply affected the community and led to the development of separate scriptures (Amritbani) and distinct religious customs.^[17] Each of their settlements typically contains gurdwaras and Ravidas Bhawans, which serve as centres of worship and as focal points for the local community.

Ad-Dharmi diaspora

Gurdwara Guru Ravidass, Nasinu, Fiji Established in 1939

The Ad-Dharmi Diaspora has flourished on Fiji Island, Canada, and in the United Kingdom since 1905. From 1905, when the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand began a regular service from Calcutta to Fiji, there was a regular flow of Ravidassia people from Punjab to Fiji.^[18] The first Shri Guru Ravidass Gurudwara outside India was established in 1939 in Nasinu on Fiji Island, and this Gurdwara was registered under the banner of the Addharm-Punjab Association.^[19]

Demographics

Ad-Dharmismalong with Ramdasia/Ravidasia (Chamar caste) in Punjab by district (2011)^[20]

Districts	2011 India census
	Ad-Dharmi/Ramdasia/Ravidasia caste population	%
Amritsar	31,774	1.28%
Barnala	90,526	15.18%
Bathinda	108,790	7.83%
Faridkot	26,903	4.35%
Fatehgarh Sahib	115,167	19.2%
Firozpur	31,581	1.56%
Gurdaspur	133,126	5.79%
Hoshiarpur	416,904	26.34%
Jalandhar	467,466	21.43%
Kapurthala	90,287	11.04%
Ludhiana	521,361	14.95%
Mansa	87,078	11.33%
Moga	31,206	3.14%
Sri Muktsar Sahib	50,017	5.54%
Patiala	192,545	10.18%
Rupnagar	115,155	16.85%
Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar	114,837	11.65%
Sangrur	261,317	21.72%
Nawanshahr	214,293	34.88%
Tarn Taran	3,618	0.32%

Notable people

• Seth Kishan Dass—A leather trader, propagator of the Ad-Dharm movement, and a politician.
• Mangu Ram Mugowalia—Founding member of Ghadar Movement and Ad Dharm movement in Punjab^[21]
• Chaudhary Sadhu Ram—Elected Member of Parliament.^[22]
• Master Gurbanta Singh— Dalit leader of Punjab, educator and key person of Ad Dharm movement.