Document #1328797
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
Information on the Nirankaris is scarce
among the sources consulted by the DIRB.
Sikhism believes in ten historical gurus,
and upon the death of the tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh, "the
authority of the guru went to two directions. On one hand, it went
to the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book, so the word itself became
the authority of guru. And the other part of it went to Guru Panth
which means the whole Sikh community" (Mahmood 28 June 1995, 14).
The Nirankari sect broke away from Sikhism because of its belief in
a living guru and was labelled heretical in 1973 by the priests of
the Golden Temple in Amritsar (Mulgrew 1988, 38, 60; Mahmood 28
June 1995, 14). Although Nirankari men, like Sikh men, wear
turbans, wear their beards and hair unshorn and adopt the name
"Singh" (lion), the Nirankaris are vegetarians and wear white (UPI
27 Mar. 1993).
According to Mulgrew, the militant Sikh
leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale "virulently attacked the
Nirankaris" (1988, 60). Some orthodox Sikhs claim the Nirankaris
were "agents of the Indian government, that they were put there to
destabilize Sikhs" (Mahmood 28 June 1995, 14).
A 1978 clash between the Sikhs and
Nirankaris resulted in 13 Sikh deaths and 2 Nirankari fatalities.
Approximately 62 Nirankaris were charged but acquitted by a Haryana
court, a decision that angered orthodox Sikhs (ibid.; Dharam 1984,
96; MRG Sept. 1984, 11).
In 1980 Baba Gurbachan Singh, the Sant
Nirankari living guru, was killed by some orthodox Sikhs (Dharam
1984, 97; Mahmood 28 June 1995, 17; MRG Sept. 1984, 11).
Bhindranwale was "widely believed to be implicated" in the murder
(ibid.). On 27 March 1993 Bhai Ranjeet Singh, the head priest of
the Akal Takht, Sikhism's "supreme temporal and political seat" in
the Golden Temple, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the
Gurbachan Singh assassination (UPI 27 Mar. 1993; BBC Summary 29
Mar. 1993).
Sikh militants killed a Nirankari from
Mudsabab village east of Amritsar on 27 April 1988 (UPI 27 Apr.
1988) and nine Nirankaris on 6 May 1988 (ibid. 6 May 1988).
The Singh attachment provides information
on the historical development of the Nirankaris.
Additional information on the Nirankaris
can be found in the attachment from Contemporary Religions
and in Response to Information Request IND11717 of 23 September
1992, which describes the differences between Sikhism and the
Nirankaris, and IND4739 of 29 March 1990, which briefly refers to
the 1978 clash between the Nirankaris and the orthodox Sikhs. Both
Responses are available at Regional Documentation Centres.
Information on the current situation of the
Nirankaris could not be found among the sources consulted by the
DIRB.
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of
additional sources consulted in researching this Information
Request.
References
BBC Summary. 29 March 1993. "Life
Imprisonment for Sikh Head Priest." (NEXIS)
Dharam, Santokh Singh. 1984. The
Only Option for Sikhs. Vancouver: S.S. Dharam.
(self-published)
Mahmood, Cynthia. 28 June 1995.
Transcript of a presentation on the Sikhs (given to the Immigration
and Refugee Board in Toronto) (Dr. Mahmood is a specialist on
militant Sikhs)
Minority Rights Group. September 1984.
No. 65. Dr. Christopher Shackle. The Sikhs. London:
Minority Rights Group.
Mulgrew, Ian. 1988. Unholy Terror:
The Sikhs and International Terrorism. Toronto: Key Porter
Books.
The United Press International (UPI). 27
March 1993. BC Cycle. "Sikh Head Priest Sentenced to Life
Imprisonment for Murdering Guru." (NEXIS)
_____. 6 May 1988. BC Cycle. Surinder
Khullar. "Sikh Militants Kill 12 in Punjab." (NEXIS)
_____. 27 April 1988. BC Cycle. Ravi
Sharma. "Sikh Militants Kill Five in Punjab." (NEXIS)
Attachments
Contemporary Religions: A World
Guide. 1992. Edited by Ian Harris et al. The High, Harlow,
Essex: Longman Group UK, p. 256.
Dharam, Santokh Singh. 1984. The
Only Option for Sikhs. Vancouver: S.S. Dharam, pp. 93-98.
The Economist [London]. 11
November 1978. "India; Trouble in Turbans." (NEXIS)
Mulgrew, Ian. 1988. Unholy Terror:
The Sikhs and International Terrorism. Toronto: Key Porter
Books, p. 38.
Singh, Khushwant. 1966. A History of
the Sikhs, Vol. 2: 1839-1964. Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press, 123-25.
United Press International (UPI). 27
March 1993. BC Cycle. "Sikh Head Priest Sentenced to Life
Imprisonment For Murdering Guru." (NEXIS)
Additional Sources Consulted
Encyclopedia of Religion.
Various dates.
L'État des religions dans le
monde. 1987. Michel Cléverot (ed.).
The Far East and Australasia
1996. 1996.
FBIS Internet search.
Internet search.
IRBDC. April 1990.
India: Country Profile.
_____. April 1990.Punjab: Issue Paper.
_____. January 1989.Information Package on India.
Mahmood, Cynthia Keppley. n.d. "Why
Sikhs Fight," Anthropological Contributions to Conflict
Resolution.
Minority Rights Group. 1977.
World Minorities.
_____. 1980. World
Minorities in the Eighties.
Minority Rights Group International. 1990.
World Directory of Minorities.
The New Encyclopaedia
Britannica. Various dates.
New Religious Movements and Rapid
Social Change. 1986. James A. Beckford (ed.)
Office fédéral des
réfugiés. August 1988. Inde.
Revolutionary and Dissident
Movements of the World: An International Guide. 1991.
ShareNet database.
Singh, Principal Teja. n.d.
An Outline of Sikh Doctrines.
World Sikh Organization. n.d.Introduction to Sikhism.
On-line search of media sources.