The motto Raj Karega Khalsa is part of a composition that early manuscripts label either as Nasihatnamah or Tankhahnamah. Nasihat means advice where Tankhah means salary; Namah is a letter. Essentially, it documents a Sikh code of conduct that cites penalties (salary as it perceived as Guru’s blessing) for transgressions as well as the aspirations of the Panth.
Scholars date it to 1718. However, its religious, social, and political content suggests it was penned between 1699-1708. It opens with Bhai Nand Lal ‘Goya’ (1633-1713) asking the questions, and Guru Gobind Singh Sahib, answering them. The dialogue spans the lifestyle, ethics, and politics of the Khalsa.
The text begins with:
In the poetic genre of Dohra and Chaupai, it continues for fifty-five stanzas which detail the Sikh conduct (stanzas 1-43), the Khalsa (stanzas 44-55), and the Sovereignty (stanzas 56-62). Here’s my understanding of the third part which is most relevant to our exploration:
Nand Lal, listen to this truth:
I will establish the Raj (Sovereignty). (56)
The four categories will become one category,
I will recite Vahiguru (Awe-Wisdom) recitation. (57)
[They will] mount horses and fly hawks,
The Turks (empire) will flee seeing them. (58)
I will make one fight a hundred and twenty-five thousand.
I will free those Singhs (warriors) who ascend (die). (59)
The spears will wave and the elephants will be caparisoned,
The nine-instruments will resound from gate to gate. (60)
When a hundred and twenty-five thousand guns will discharge,
Then the Khalsa will be victorious from wherever the sun shines and sets. (61)
The Khalsa will rule and no one will be a dissenter,
All will unite after exhaustion, those who take refuge will survive. (62)
As per the Bards Satta and Balvand’s record in the Guru Granth Sahib (966), Guru Nanak Sahib established the Raj (governance or rule):
Nanak established the Dominion by raising
the fort of Truth on firm foundations …
With might and bravery of One’s wisdom-sword,
Perfection bestowed the gift of life …
The Light and the method were same,
the Sovereign only changed the body.
Impeccable Divine canopy waves,
the Throne of Guru-ship is occupied.
Raj Karega Khalsa motto carried the Panth triumphantly since Guru Gobind Singh Sahib’s promise of the rule articulated to Bhai Nand Lal ‘Goya,’ especially through the eighteenth century that saw multiple genocidal campaigns and multiple establishments of the Sikh Raj.
The Raj was envisioned and declared, institutions to establish the Raj were developed, and the Sikhs to govern justly were trained by the Ten Nanaks, Guru Nanak-Gobind Singh Sahib. The Sikh doctrine of Miri-Piri, that spirituality and politics are integrated, and consequently, the political dimension is complementary to Sikhs`spiritual activity, legitimizes capturing the political power as a fulcrum for social change.
The following authors have recorded how the Raj or rule was bestowed by Guru Gobind Singh Sahib and the Khalsa asserted the Sikh sovereignty in the Panjab as the divine guarantee. They are as follows:
The Sikh greeting is also a testimony of what Sikhs’ memory has been carrying through centuries. Vahiguru ji ka Khalsa, Vahiguru ji ki Fatih! The Khalsa is of the Vahiguru (Awe-Wisdom), the victory is of the Vahiguru (Awe-Wisdom).
The Khalsa belongs to IkOankar (1Force), the Khalsa is victorious for creating Raj that sees and establishes 1-Ness. There are no “others” in any sense, class or caste, race, or gender. The Khalsa Raj as established under the command of Banda Singh Bahadur (1670-1716) freed all people from the Mughal empire; freedom from forced religion and from no discrimination.
Raj Karega Khalsa was realized for the first time as a republic during 1710-1716. For doing so, the Khalsa became the public enemy #1! As the state continued their campaigns to exterminate all Sikhs, the Khalsa continued their remembrance to establish the Raj. The Sikhs captured Lahore and Delhi, the Mughals and the Afghan were perplexed. The Khalsa remained focused on the Guru’s promise even amid two Ghallugharas (genocides) of the eighteenth century.
Until 1849, in the Sikh homeland in the land of the five rivers, Raj Karega Khalsa was evident to all. There was no confusion, in the letter or spirit. Raj Karega Khalsa was the incessant source of inspiration and strength for all Sikh affairs; it was their ecosystem. There was no debate that Raj Karega Khalsa was about political sovereignty which included the right to self-determination, self-rule, or nation-state.
Dr. Ganda Singh in The True Import of Raj Karega Khalsa, while commenting on the historicity of the motto, concluded it was “a permanent and inseparable part of the Sikh prayer and should be recited as such on all occasions of prayers by all Sikhs and Sikh congregations, where-ever they might be, in all Gurdwaras, historical or other.”
When the British Empire was scheming to annex the kingdom of Panjab, American-born Major-General Sir David Ochterlony was tasked to understand how the Sikhs gained their sovereignty. Charge-De-affairs of the East India Company at Ludhiana in the Panjab was Captain William Murray. His dialogue with Ratan Singh Bhangu, who was actually his instructor to learn about the Sikhs and the Panjab since 1809, recorded the question of the legitimacy of the Sikh Rule in 1841 publication:
There was no question among the Sikhs, the Hindus, the Muslims, and so on, as to what Raj Karega Khalsa meant. The Sikhs sang it, imbibed it, lived it, for it reminded them to perpetually work to realize the freedom, here and now!
The British masterfully dis-established many things after annexation in 1849; they were the first to “ban” the recitation of Raj Karega Khalsa at Sikhs gatherings. That “ban” is still in effect at Sri Harimandar Sahib, Sri Amritsar Jiu. When one loses their homeland, they lose many things, including their reminders on aspirations. Sirdar Kapur Singh in Raj Karega Khalsa elaborates:
Sirdar Kapur Singh wrote The Hour of Sword which was also banned by the British. I have been looking for that work, which I presume speaks to how Raj Karega Khalsa was being re-imagined by the Sikhs during the British occupation of the Panjab. After 1947, many started “questioning” Raj Karega Khalsa. Again, Sirdar Kapur Singh in Raj Karega Khalsa remarks:
The objections to Raj Karega Khalsa motto were amplified on 20 July 1975 at a convention in Patiala focused on planning the tercentenary celebrations of the martyrdom of Guru Teghbahadar Sahib. Bhai Jodh Singh, the former Vice-Chancellor of Punjabi University, remarked as reported by The Tribune: “In celebration of Guru's martyrdom a vigorous campaign should be launched against the wrong belief that State Power was necessary to sustain any religion. Politics, he emphasized, must be insulated from religion."
Sirdar Kapur Singh continues:
The Sikhs who become part of the establishment must refrain from diluting the Sikh doctrine!
As far as the Guru and the state is concerned, the Mughal Aurangzeb offered grants to Guru Teghbahadar Sahib to stop all political activities; the Guru was martyred by public heading in Delhi. The Guru had set up a new state (suba), a new nation was emerging (millat-e-nau). The Guru is “Protector of the Universe” as documented in Sri Gur Sobha by Sainpati. “Protector of Dharam” or “Protector of Hind” reduces the Guru’s domain to only “Dharam” and “India,” especially in contemporary politics; these are too limiting for the Guru Sahib’s universe.
The argument that Sikh must not be political is completely unfounded. It reduces Sikhi to be merely spiritual, and that is not Gurmat or the Guru’s Way. The Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh historical traditions, and the Khalsa lifestyle emphatically demand the Sikhs to be political-spiritual concurrently.
Six out of ten Guru Sahibs were either jailed, had political assassination attempts, or were martyred. How can one claim Sikhi is not political!
The Panjabi and Hindi film and music industry has been producing songs that seem to be going out of tune from the original Raj Karega Khalsa doctrine. Here’s a sample:
The Indian politics and sports are appropriating Raj Karega Khalsa too:
In summary, the Khalsa’s political aspiration is to establish a sovereign rule. Consequently, subservience to any empire or ruler is unacceptable to the Khalsa. The right to bear arms and engage in military warfare are aids to acquire political power. Since the establishment of The Khalsa Raj by Baba Banda Singh Bahadar in 1710, Raj Karega Khalsa remains a constant reminder to the Sikhs about their political aim. And even today it is recited enthusiastically by all Sikhs regardless of their political activism or aspiration.
Raj Karega Khalsa expresses the collective Sikh will of sovereignty and continues to be recited after Ardas (Sikh collective prayer) at all Sikh occasions, from marriage to protest. That means it still lives in the Sikh psyche, even if it is not fully grasped.
Raj Karega Khalsa is a declaration that the Sikh collective will look after its own affairs. It is also a reminder to all that the Sikhs have Guru-Granted right to self-rule and they will confront unjust rule in all lands. This is where the current challenge is: How to assert sovereignty in all nations where Sikhs reside? In an illiberal democracy like India where 4 out of 5 Sikhs live? In liberal democracies like the US, the UK, Canada, and Australia? In Islamic republics like Pakistan, Malaysia, Iran, and UAE?
Guru Arjan Sahib in the Guru Granth Sahib (73) reminds the fellow-travelers about what constitutes the 1Force’s (IkOankar) Raj, where the Sovereign is graceful, the constituency lives without fear, the rule is benevolent:
Now, the command of the Graceful has been issued:
No one causes grief to anyone.
All are living in comfort, this is the humble rule.
On 15 June 1606, Sovereign Timeless Throne (Akal Takht Sahib) was established by Guru Harigobind Sahib to practice Miri-Piri perpetually. After 36 years of the Third Ghallughara, the Sikh collective must revive their allegiance to the Guru to become political-spiritual, to revive Raj Karega Khalsa!
Dr. Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh is a Crawford Professor and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Colby College in the United States. Her interests are centered around poetics and feminist issues.
In the extreme winter month of Poh, Panjab longs for her love. Her lover replies, “She is his heartbeat.”
Farmers in Panjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and throughout India are protesting against new agricultural laws that will reduce their earnings and give corporations more power. When laws are unjust, the citizenry must rise.