Ravidassians March in London against Discrimination

Several thousand Sikhs from the Ravidassia Community around the UK (and a group from France) marched through central London today to the Indian High Commission, calling for an end to all caste-based discrimination.

The Sikh religion holds as one of its central tenets that all human beings are equal, made by God from the same clay, and rejects all discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, or gender. One of the earliest expressions of this came from Shri Guru Ravidas Ji, one of a number of holy men whose thoughts were incorporated into the Sikh Holy scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, along with the writings of seven of the ten Sikh living Gurus. The rejection of caste was emphasized in the formation of the Khalsa, where three of the five Panj Piyare came from the so-called 'lower castes'.

Despite the teaching of the Guru Ganth Sahib, caste-awareness has remained strong among Sikhs - with those claiming to be higher caste discriminating against the lower castes. It remains powerful despite being illegal in modern India, where the former 'lower castes' generally refer to themselves as 'Dalit' but are officially known as 'Scheduled Caste.'

This discrimination within Sikhism meant that many Sikhs were barred from the running of Gurdwara and were not encouraged to adopt Sikh names or follow some of the Sikh practices. Instead some founded separate Ravidassian Gurdwaras (sometimes called Bhawan) and in many cities in the UK you can find both Singh Sabha and Shri Guru Ravidass Gurdwaras. Ravidassia is often considered as a separate - if strongly related - Sikh sect. There are thought to be around 175,000 Ravidassians in the UK.

For some fundamentalist high-caste Sikhs, followers of the Ravidassian tradition are seen as heretics who commit sacrilege against the Guru Granth Sahib. On Sunday 24 May, a small group of Sikh men went to the Sri Guru Ravidass Temple in Vienna, Austria and attacked the two preachers who were visiting from India, Sant Nirajnan Das, and Sant Ramanand and the other Sikhs in the congregation who leapt to their defence with knives and a gun. There were a number of gun shots, wounding both of the preachers, and Sant Ramanand, the deputy head of the Guru Ravidass Singh Sabha, died a few hours later.

The killing led to violent protests in India, particularly around Jalandhar, where many Dalit Sikhs live, in which a number of people were killed and injured in battles between protesters and police.

In Britain the march in London was a peaceful one, but there was no mistaking the anger that was felt by many at both the killing and the continuing discrimination. Placards carried by the marchers called for Human Rights, Freedom of Speech and Justice, as well as condemning the assassination of Sant Ramanand, calling for the murderers to be hanged and demanding equal rights to worship. Other marchers carried small black pennants in mourning and people signed petitions.

The police stopped traffic for the march and encouraged them to keep moving. One man who was handing out leaflets to marchers was led away for questioning at the roadside and I think searched.

On the Ravidassia UK web site it says "Sat Guru has chosen our generation to bear this burden of freeing our people, so let’s hold our shoulders high and March, in peace but also in protest at this unjustified attack."

Several thousand Sikhs from the Ravidassia Community around the UK (and a group from France) marched through central London today to the Indian High Commission, calling for an end to all caste-based discrimination.

The Sikh religion holds as one of its central tenets that all human beings are equal, made by God from the same clay, and rejects all discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, or gender. One of the earliest expressions of this came from Shri Guru Ravidas Ji, one of a number of holy men whose thoughts were incorporated into the Sikh Holy scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, along with the writings of seven of the ten Sikh living Gurus. The rejection of caste was emphasized in the formation of the Khalsa, where three of the five Panj Piyare came from the so-called 'lower castes'.

Despite the teaching of the Guru Ganth Sahib, caste-awareness has remained strong among Sikhs - with those claiming to be higher caste discriminating against the lower castes. It remains powerful despite being illegal in modern India, where the former 'lower castes' generally refer to themselves as 'Dalit' but are officially known as 'Scheduled Caste.'

This discrimination within Sikhism meant that many Sikhs were barred from the running of Gurdwara and were not encouraged to adopt Sikh names or follow some of the Sikh practices. Instead some founded separate Ravidassian Gurdwaras (sometimes called Bhawan) and in many cities in the UK you can find both Singh Sabha and Shri Guru Ravidass Gurdwaras. Ravidassia is often considered as a separate - if strongly related - Sikh sect. There are thought to be around 175,000 Ravidassians in the UK.

For some fundamentalist high-caste Sikhs, followers of the Ravidassian tradition are seen as heretics who commit sacrilege against the Guru Granth Sahib. On Sunday 24 May, a small group of Sikh men went to the Sri Guru Ravidass Temple in Vienna, Austria and attacked the two preachers who were visiting from India, Sant Nirajnan Das, and Sant Ramanand and the other Sikhs in the congregation who leapt to their defence with knives and a gun. There were a number of gun shots, wounding both of the preachers, and Sant Ramanand, the deputy head of the Guru Ravidass Singh Sabha, died a few hours later.

The killing led to violent protests in India, particularly around Jalandhar, where many Dalit Sikhs live, in which a number of people were killed and injured in battles between protesters and police.

In Britain the march in London was a peaceful one, but there was no mistaking the anger that was felt by many at both the killing and the continuing discrimination. Placards carried by the marchers called for Human Rights, Freedom of Speech and Justice, as well as condemning the assassination of Sant Ramanand, calling for the murderers to be hanged and demanding equal rights to worship. Other marchers carried small black pennants in mourning and people signed petitions.

The police stopped traffic for the march and encouraged them to keep moving. One man who was handing out leaflets to marchers was led away for questioning at the roadside and I think searched.

On the Ravidassia UK web site it says "Sat Guru has chosen our generation to bear this burden of freeing our people, so let’s hold our shoulders high and March, in peace but also in protest at this unjustified attack."

Several thousand Sikhs from the Ravidassia Community around the UK (and a group from France) marched through central London today to the Indian High Commission, calling for an end to all caste-based discrimination.

The Sikh religion holds as one of its central tenets that all human beings are equal, made by God from the same clay, and rejects all discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, or gender. One of the earliest expressions of this came from Shri Guru Ravidas Ji, one of a number of holy men whose thoughts were incorporated into the Sikh Holy scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, along with the writings of seven of the ten Sikh living Gurus. The rejection of caste was emphasized in the formation of the Khalsa, where three of the five Panj Piyare came from the so-called 'lower castes'.

Despite the teaching of the Guru Ganth Sahib, caste-awareness has remained strong among Sikhs - with those claiming to be higher caste discriminating against the lower castes. It remains powerful despite being illegal in modern India, where the former 'lower castes' generally refer to themselves as 'Dalit' but are officially known as 'Scheduled Caste.'

This discrimination within Sikhism meant that many Sikhs were barred from the running of Gurdwara and were not encouraged to adopt Sikh names or follow some of the Sikh practices. Instead some founded separate Ravidassian Gurdwaras (sometimes called Bhawan) and in many cities in the UK you can find both Singh Sabha and Shri Guru Ravidass Gurdwaras. Ravidassia is often considered as a separate - if strongly related - Sikh sect. There are thought to be around 175,000 Ravidassians in the UK.

For some fundamentalist high-caste Sikhs, followers of the Ravidassian tradition are seen as heretics who commit sacrilege against the Guru Granth Sahib. On Sunday 24 May, a small group of Sikh men went to the Sri Guru Ravidass Temple in Vienna, Austria and attacked the two preachers who were visiting from India, Sant Nirajnan Das, and Sant Ramanand and the other Sikhs in the congregation who leapt to their defence with knives and a gun. There were a number of gun shots, wounding both of the preachers, and Sant Ramanand, the deputy head of the Guru Ravidass Singh Sabha, died a few hours later.

The killing led to violent protests in India, particularly around Jalandhar, where many Dalit Sikhs live, in which a number of people were killed and injured in battles between protesters and police.

In Britain the march in London was a peaceful one, but there was no mistaking the anger that was felt by many at both the killing and the continuing discrimination. Placards carried by the marchers called for Human Rights, Freedom of Speech and Justice, as well as condemning the assassination of Sant Ramanand, calling for the murderers to be hanged and demanding equal rights to worship. Other marchers carried small black pennants in mourning and people signed petitions.

The police stopped traffic for the march and encouraged them to keep moving. One man who was handing out leaflets to marchers was led away for questioning at the roadside and I think searched.

On the Ravidassia UK web site it says "Sat Guru has chosen our generation to bear this burden of freeing our people, so let’s hold our shoulders high and March, in peace but also in protest at this unjustified attack."

Several thousand Sikhs from the Ravidassia Community around the UK (and a group from France) marched through central London today to the Indian High Commission, calling for an end to all caste-based discrimination.

The Sikh religion holds as one of its central tenets that all human beings are equal, made by God from the same clay, and rejects all discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, or gender. One of the earliest expressions of this came from Shri Guru Ravidas Ji, one of a number of holy men whose thoughts were incorporated into the Sikh Holy scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, along with the writings of seven of the ten Sikh living Gurus. The rejection of caste was emphasized in the formation of the Khalsa, where three of the five Panj Piyare came from the so-called 'lower castes'.

Despite the teaching of the Guru Ganth Sahib, caste-awareness has remained strong among Sikhs - with those claiming to be higher caste discriminating against the lower castes. It remains powerful despite being illegal in modern India, where the former 'lower castes' generally refer to themselves as 'Dalit' but are officially known as 'Scheduled Caste.'

This discrimination within Sikhism meant that many Sikhs were barred from the running of Gurdwara and were not encouraged to adopt Sikh names or follow some of the Sikh practices. Instead some founded separate Ravidassian Gurdwaras (sometimes called Bhawan) and in many cities in the UK you can find both Singh Sabha and Shri Guru Ravidass Gurdwaras. Ravidassia is often considered as a separate - if strongly related - Sikh sect. There are thought to be around 175,000 Ravidassians in the UK.

For some fundamentalist high-caste Sikhs, followers of the Ravidassian tradition are seen as heretics who commit sacrilege against the Guru Granth Sahib. On Sunday 24 May, a small group of Sikh men went to the Sri Guru Ravidass Temple in Vienna, Austria and attacked the two preachers who were visiting from India, Sant Nirajnan Das, and Sant Ramanand and the other Sikhs in the congregation who leapt to their defence with knives and a gun. There were a number of gun shots, wounding both of the preachers, and Sant Ramanand, the deputy head of the Guru Ravidass Singh Sabha, died a few hours later.

The killing led to violent protests in India, particularly around Jalandhar, where many Dalit Sikhs live, in which a number of people were killed and injured in battles between protesters and police.

In Britain the march in London was a peaceful one, but there was no mistaking the anger that was felt by many at both the killing and the continuing discrimination. Placards carried by the marchers called for Human Rights, Freedom of Speech and Justice, as well as condemning the assassination of Sant Ramanand, calling for the murderers to be hanged and demanding equal rights to worship. Other marchers carried small black pennants in mourning and people signed petitions.

The police stopped traffic for the march and encouraged them to keep moving. One man who was handing out leaflets to marchers was led away for questioning at the roadside and I think searched.

On the Ravidassia UK web site it says "Sat Guru has chosen our generation to bear this burden of freeing our people, so let’s hold our shoulders high and March, in peace but also in protest at this unjustified attack."

Several thousand Sikhs from the Ravidassia Community around the UK (and a group from France) marched through central London today to the Indian High Commission, calling for an end to all caste-based discrimination.

The Sikh religion holds as one of its central tenets that all human beings are equal, made by God from the same clay, and rejects all discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, or gender. One of the earliest expressions of this came from Shri Guru Ravidas Ji, one of a number of holy men whose thoughts were incorporated into the Sikh Holy scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, along with the writings of seven of the ten Sikh living Gurus. The rejection of caste was emphasized in the formation of the Khalsa, where three of the five Panj Piyare came from the so-called 'lower castes'.

Despite the teaching of the Guru Ganth Sahib, caste-awareness has remained strong among Sikhs - with those claiming to be higher caste discriminating against the lower castes. It remains powerful despite being illegal in modern India, where the former 'lower castes' generally refer to themselves as 'Dalit' but are officially known as 'Scheduled Caste.'

This discrimination within Sikhism meant that many Sikhs were barred from the running of Gurdwara and were not encouraged to adopt Sikh names or follow some of the Sikh practices. Instead some founded separate Ravidassian Gurdwaras (sometimes called Bhawan) and in many cities in the UK you can find both Singh Sabha and Shri Guru Ravidass Gurdwaras. Ravidassia is often considered as a separate - if strongly related - Sikh sect. There are thought to be around 175,000 Ravidassians in the UK.

For some fundamentalist high-caste Sikhs, followers of the Ravidassian tradition are seen as heretics who commit sacrilege against the Guru Granth Sahib. On Sunday 24 May, a small group of Sikh men went to the Sri Guru Ravidass Temple in Vienna, Austria and attacked the two preachers who were visiting from India, Sant Nirajnan Das, and Sant Ramanand and the other Sikhs in the congregation who leapt to their defence with knives and a gun. There were a number of gun shots, wounding both of the preachers, and Sant Ramanand, the deputy head of the Guru Ravidass Singh Sabha, died a few hours later.

The killing led to violent protests in India, particularly around Jalandhar, where many Dalit Sikhs live, in which a number of people were killed and injured in battles between protesters and police.

In Britain the march in London was a peaceful one, but there was no mistaking the anger that was felt by many at both the killing and the continuing discrimination. Placards carried by the marchers called for Human Rights, Freedom of Speech and Justice, as well as condemning the assassination of Sant Ramanand, calling for the murderers to be hanged and demanding equal rights to worship. Other marchers carried small black pennants in mourning and people signed petitions.

The police stopped traffic for the march and encouraged them to keep moving. One man who was handing out leaflets to marchers was led away for questioning at the roadside and I think searched.

On the Ravidassia UK web site it says "Sat Guru has chosen our generation to bear this burden of freeing our people, so let’s hold our shoulders high and March, in peace but also in protest at this unjustified attack."

Several thousand Sikhs from the Ravidassia Community around the UK (and a group from France) marched through central London today to the Indian High Commission, calling for an end to all caste-based discrimination.

The Sikh religion holds as one of its central tenets that all human beings are equal, made by God from the same clay, and rejects all discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, or gender. One of the earliest expressions of this came from Shri Guru Ravidas Ji, one of a number of holy men whose thoughts were incorporated into the Sikh Holy scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, along with the writings of seven of the ten Sikh living Gurus. The rejection of caste was emphasized in the formation of the Khalsa, where three of the five Panj Piyare came from the so-called 'lower castes'.

Despite the teaching of the Guru Ganth Sahib, caste-awareness has remained strong among Sikhs - with those claiming to be higher caste discriminating against the lower castes. It remains powerful despite being illegal in modern India, where the former 'lower castes' generally refer to themselves as 'Dalit' but are officially known as 'Scheduled Caste.'

This discrimination within Sikhism meant that many Sikhs were barred from the running of Gurdwara and were not encouraged to adopt Sikh names or follow some of the Sikh practices. Instead some founded separate Ravidassian Gurdwaras (sometimes called Bhawan) and in many cities in the UK you can find both Singh Sabha and Shri Guru Ravidass Gurdwaras. Ravidassia is often considered as a separate - if strongly related - Sikh sect. There are thought to be around 175,000 Ravidassians in the UK.

For some fundamentalist high-caste Sikhs, followers of the Ravidassian tradition are seen as heretics who commit sacrilege against the Guru Granth Sahib. On Sunday 24 May, a small group of Sikh men went to the Sri Guru Ravidass Temple in Vienna, Austria and attacked the two preachers who were visiting from India, Sant Nirajnan Das, and Sant Ramanand and the other Sikhs in the congregation who leapt to their defence with knives and a gun. There were a number of gun shots, wounding both of the preachers, and Sant Ramanand, the deputy head of the Guru Ravidass Singh Sabha, died a few hours later.

The killing led to violent protests in India, particularly around Jalandhar, where many Dalit Sikhs live, in which a number of people were killed and injured in battles between protesters and police.

In Britain the march in London was a peaceful one, but there was no mistaking the anger that was felt by many at both the killing and the continuing discrimination. Placards carried by the marchers called for Human Rights, Freedom of Speech and Justice, as well as condemning the assassination of Sant Ramanand, calling for the murderers to be hanged and demanding equal rights to worship. Other marchers carried small black pennants in mourning and people signed petitions.

The police stopped traffic for the march and encouraged them to keep moving. One man who was handing out leaflets to marchers was led away for questioning at the roadside and I think searched.

On the Ravidassia UK web site it says "Sat Guru has chosen our generation to bear this burden of freeing our people, so let’s hold our shoulders high and March, in peace but also in protest at this unjustified attack."

Several thousand Sikhs from the Ravidassia Community around the UK (and a group from France) marched through central London today to the Indian High Commission, calling for an end to all caste-based discrimination.

The Sikh religion holds as one of its central tenets that all human beings are equal, made by God from the same clay, and rejects all discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, or gender. One of the earliest expressions of this came from Shri Guru Ravidas Ji, one of a number of holy men whose thoughts were incorporated into the Sikh Holy scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, along with the writings of seven of the ten Sikh living Gurus. The rejection of caste was emphasized in the formation of the Khalsa, where three of the five Panj Piyare came from the so-called 'lower castes'.

Despite the teaching of the Guru Ganth Sahib, caste-awareness has remained strong among Sikhs - with those claiming to be higher caste discriminating against the lower castes. It remains powerful despite being illegal in modern India, where the former 'lower castes' generally refer to themselves as 'Dalit' but are officially known as 'Scheduled Caste.'

This discrimination within Sikhism meant that many Sikhs were barred from the running of Gurdwara and were not encouraged to adopt Sikh names or follow some of the Sikh practices. Instead some founded separate Ravidassian Gurdwaras (sometimes called Bhawan) and in many cities in the UK you can find both Singh Sabha and Shri Guru Ravidass Gurdwaras. Ravidassia is often considered as a separate - if strongly related - Sikh sect. There are thought to be around 175,000 Ravidassians in the UK.

For some fundamentalist high-caste Sikhs, followers of the Ravidassian tradition are seen as heretics who commit sacrilege against the Guru Granth Sahib. On Sunday 24 May, a small group of Sikh men went to the Sri Guru Ravidass Temple in Vienna, Austria and attacked the two preachers who were visiting from India, Sant Nirajnan Das, and Sant Ramanand and the other Sikhs in the congregation who leapt to their defence with knives and a gun. There were a number of gun shots, wounding both of the preachers, and Sant Ramanand, the deputy head of the Guru Ravidass Singh Sabha, died a few hours later.

The killing led to violent protests in India, particularly around Jalandhar, where many Dalit Sikhs live, in which a number of people were killed and injured in battles between protesters and police.

In Britain the march in London was a peaceful one, but there was no mistaking the anger that was felt by many at both the killing and the continuing discrimination. Placards carried by the marchers called for Human Rights, Freedom of Speech and Justice, as well as condemning the assassination of Sant Ramanand, calling for the murderers to be hanged and demanding equal rights to worship. Other marchers carried small black pennants in mourning and people signed petitions.

The police stopped traffic for the march and encouraged them to keep moving. One man who was handing out leaflets to marchers was led away for questioning at the roadside and I think searched.

On the Ravidassia UK web site it says "Sat Guru has chosen our generation to bear this burden of freeing our people, so let’s hold our shoulders high and March, in peace but also in protest at this unjustified attack."

Several thousand Sikhs from the Ravidassia Community around the UK (and a group from France) marched through central London today to the Indian High Commission, calling for an end to all caste-based discrimination.

The Sikh religion holds as one of its central tenets that all human beings are equal, made by God from the same clay, and rejects all discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, or gender. One of the earliest expressions of this came from Shri Guru Ravidas Ji, one of a number of holy men whose thoughts were incorporated into the Sikh Holy scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, along with the writings of seven of the ten Sikh living Gurus. The rejection of caste was emphasized in the formation of the Khalsa, where three of the five Panj Piyare came from the so-called 'lower castes'.

Despite the teaching of the Guru Ganth Sahib, caste-awareness has remained strong among Sikhs - with those claiming to be higher caste discriminating against the lower castes. It remains powerful despite being illegal in modern India, where the former 'lower castes' generally refer to themselves as 'Dalit' but are officially known as 'Scheduled Caste.'

This discrimination within Sikhism meant that many Sikhs were barred from the running of Gurdwara and were not encouraged to adopt Sikh names or follow some of the Sikh practices. Instead some founded separate Ravidassian Gurdwaras (sometimes called Bhawan) and in many cities in the UK you can find both Singh Sabha and Shri Guru Ravidass Gurdwaras. Ravidassia is often considered as a separate - if strongly related - Sikh sect. There are thought to be around 175,000 Ravidassians in the UK.

For some fundamentalist high-caste Sikhs, followers of the Ravidassian tradition are seen as heretics who commit sacrilege against the Guru Granth Sahib. On Sunday 24 May, a small group of Sikh men went to the Sri Guru Ravidass Temple in Vienna, Austria and attacked the two preachers who were visiting from India, Sant Nirajnan Das, and Sant Ramanand and the other Sikhs in the congregation who leapt to their defence with knives and a gun. There were a number of gun shots, wounding both of the preachers, and Sant Ramanand, the deputy head of the Guru Ravidass Singh Sabha, died a few hours later.

The killing led to violent protests in India, particularly around Jalandhar, where many Dalit Sikhs live, in which a number of people were killed and injured in battles between protesters and police.

In Britain the march in London was a peaceful one, but there was no mistaking the anger that was felt by many at both the killing and the continuing discrimination. Placards carried by the marchers called for Human Rights, Freedom of Speech and Justice, as well as condemning the assassination of Sant Ramanand, calling for the murderers to be hanged and demanding equal rights to worship. Other marchers carried small black pennants in mourning and people signed petitions.

The police stopped traffic for the march and encouraged them to keep moving. One man who was handing out leaflets to marchers was led away for questioning at the roadside and I think searched.

On the Ravidassia UK web site it says "Sat Guru has chosen our generation to bear this burden of freeing our people, so let’s hold our shoulders high and March, in peace but also in protest at this unjustified attack."