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ABSTRACT
The ‘untouchables,’ outside the varna model of the Hindu social order, were regarded as ‘impure’ and ‘polluted.’ The ceremony of Khande-di-pahul was aimed at levelling caste differences. An attempt has been made in this paper to cover the relation of the untouchables to a sacred place and how donning a sacred body (Amritdhari Khalsa) the claim to equality was established, that is, their right to enter the Golden Temple. The event is analysed in detail with reference to a number of reports and newspapers.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 This chapter is a revised version of the chapter of the Ph.D thesis, ‘Caste, Dalits and Sikh Politics in the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Century,’ Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.
2 The description of the event is based on the narrative given in the Khalsa Samachar and accounts of Principal Niranjan Singh, who was present at the time of the event and reported it in the newspaper, ‘Rozana Jathedar,’ No. 2, Aitvar (Sunday), 20 August 1967, quoted in Sohan Singh Josh, op. cited, pp. 64–65.