Gulabdasis religion sect and society in colonial Punjab

Abstract

The land of the Punjab has always been fertile with great religious traditions of Hinduism, Budhism, Islam, Bhakti, Sufism, and Sikhism. The varied nature gave space to different religious traditions, cults, and popular faiths. Thus, it produced a lot of literary traditions like Saint literature, Gurmat literature and Sufi literature. After the annexation of Punjab, the Punjabi society was colonized and so were history, memory, tradition, and religiosity. The forms of knowledge, power, religious and cultural transformation changed the public sphere of colonial Punjab. In this transition, a new faith emerged which was established by Saint Gulab Das. Gulab Das gained prominence in the Punjabi public sphere and the intelligentsia of colonial Punjab. The practice of the sect defied the rules of caste and norms of commensality. It is not surprising that the message of Gulab Das appealed to a large section of marginalized men and women of colonial Punjab. The Gulabdasis rejected the patronage of the state and negated the culture of the dominant upper castes and elites. The sect rejected and broke the social barriers and gave space to a low-caste Muslim prostitute named Piro from the brothel of Hira Mandi Lahore who emerged as the first women poet in colonial Punjab. The sect, thus, provided a much-needed solace to the downtrodden and suppressed sections of Punjabi society. Gulabdasi sect also enriched the literary traditions of Punjab through the various writings of the Arif Poets who emerged in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The present research is an attempt to critically examine the contribution of Gulabdasis and their interface with mainstream religions. newline