The Ad-Dharmi is a
Dalit
Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...
religion in the state of
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...
in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
Ad-Dharmis are 11.48% of the total of lower status communities in Punjab.
Origin
The Ad-Dharm movement was started in 1920s, for the purpose of getting a distinct religious identity same as
Adi Dravida
Adi Dravida (or Adi Dravidar) is a term that has been used since 1914 by the state of Tamil Nadu in India to denote Paraiyars. At the time of the 2011 Census of India, they made up about half of Tamil Nadu's Scheduled Caste population.
Origin ...
movement of Tamil Nadu. The founder of the Ad-Dharm Movement was
Mangu Ram Mugowalia (founding member of
Ghadar Party), Master Gurbanta Singh (senior
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
leader) B. L. Gherra and also Pandit Hari Ram (Pandori Bibi) who was the secretary of the organization.
The movement projected
Guru Ravidas
Ravidas or Raidas, was an Indian mystic poet-saint of the bhakti movement during the 15th to 16th century CE. Venerated as a '' guru'' (teacher) in the modern regions of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh ...
, the 14th century
Bhakti Movement saint as their spiritual guru and a sacred book ''Ad Parkash'' for separate ritual traditions. The Ad-Dharmi Dalits came together as a faith was in 1925 when the British ruled India.
In the 1931 census, more than 450,000 registered themselves as members of the new indigenous faith called ''Ad Dharam'' (or ''Original Religion'').
But this faith and movement vanished after India's independence because of major concentration of its leader into state politics and government's reservation policy only for low-caste from
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
,
Sikh and
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
communities.
Religion
Although the Ad-Dharmi are followers of Guru
Ravidas (''now
Ravidassia religion''),
and incorporate elements of
Sikhism
Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...
as they regard Shri
Guru Granth Sahib as their
religious text
Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...
.
But after killing of
Ramananda Dass on Vienaa triggered them a lot and they formed separate Amritbani and customs.
Each of their settlement contains a
gurdwaras and Ravidas Bhawans, which are both a centre of worship and as well as a focus of the community.
Notable people
*
Mangu Ram Mugowalia, founding member of
Ghadar Movement and
Ad Dharm movement in Punjab
See also
*
Chamar
Chamar is a Dalit community classified as a Scheduled Caste under modern India's system of affirmative action. Historically subject to untouchability, they were traditionally outside the Hindu ritual ranking system of castes known as varna ...
*
Ramdasia
The Ramdasia were historically a Sikh Hindu sub-group that originated from the caste of leather tanners and shoemakers known as Chamar
Terminology
Ramdasia is a term used in general for Sikhs whose ancestors belonged to Chamar caste. Origina ...
*
Ravidassia religion
References
{{Ethnic and social groups of the Punjab , state=expanded
Hindu new religious movements
Hindu denominations
Ravidassia
Vaishnavism
Social groups of Punjab, India
Punjabi tribes
Dalit communities