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57-470: Historically, Ravidassia represented a range of beliefs in the Indian subcontinent , with some devotees of Ravidass counting themselves as Ravidassia, but first formed in the early 20th-century in colonial British India . The Ravidassia tradition began to take on more cohesion following 1947, and the establishment of successful Ravidassia tradition in the diaspora. Estimates range between two and five million for

114-442: A Sikh , Hindu sub-group that originated from the caste of leather tanners and shoemakers known as Chamar . Ramdasia is a term used in general for Sikhs whose ancestors belonged to Chamar caste. Originally they are followers of Guru Ravidass who belongs to Chamar community. Both the words Ramdasia and Ravidasia are also used inter changeably while these also have regional context. In Puadh and Malwa , largely Ramdasia

171-711: A "single class" regiment in the parlance adopted from the British Raj era. This means that it recruits only from one demographic, which in this instance means the Ramdasia Sikhs and Mazhabi Sikhs. Indeed, the SLI was initially called the Mazhabi & Ramdasia Sikh Regiment. Despite unwillingness among some policy makers, the British had to abandon their traditional distinction between martial and non-martial races during

228-524: A Chamar religion, which led to the establishment of Arya Ravived Pracharini Sabha in 1935. The Ravidassia employ the greeting "ਜੈ ਗੁਰੂਦੇਵ" ( Jai Gurdev, जय गुरुदेव ), meaning “hail the god-like teacher”, the motto of the religion. The Ravidassia religious symbol is the Khanda , Harr Nishaan and Ik Onkar . The Gurmukhi transliteration of the name Harr is the main symbol of the Ravidassia religion. It

285-469: A Sikh temple. Ravidassia places of worship contain the holy book Amritbani Guru Ravidass Ji which contains all the hymns by Guru Ravidas. This book contains the following hymns: Raga – Siri (1), Gauri (5), Asa (6), Gujari (1), Sorath (7), Dhanasari (3), Jaitsari (1), Suhi (3), Bilaval (2), Gaund (2), Ramkali (1), Maru (2), Kedara (1), Bhairau (1), Basant (1), and Malhar (3). The book contains 140 shabads, 40 pade, and 231 salok. There are 177 pages in all of

342-424: A cricket context, these countries are often referred to simply as the subcontinent around the world e.g. " Australia's tour of the subcontinent". The word is also sometimes used as an adjective in this context e.g. "subcontinental conditions". The Indian subcontinent was formerly part of Gondwana , a supercontinent formed during the late Neoproterozoic and early Paleozoic . Gondwana began to break up during

399-593: A distinct political entity that eventually became a nation-state (today the Republic of India). According to the Oxford English Dictionary , the term subcontinent signifies a "subdivision of a continent which has a distinct geographical, political, or cultural identity" and also a "large land mass somewhat smaller than a continent". Its use to signify the Indian subcontinent is evidenced from

456-645: A region or a 'realm' by itself than the Indian subcontinent." This natural physical landmass in South Asia is the dry-land portion of the Indian Plate , which has been relatively isolated from the rest of Eurasia. The Himalayas (from Brahmaputra River in the east to Indus River in the west), Karakoram (from Indus River in the east to Yarkand River in the west) and the Hindu Kush mountains (from Yarkand River westwards) form its northern boundary. In

513-727: A sizable Ravidasia Sikh population in North America, primarily in the United States and Canada. Mahiya Ram Mehmi and Mahey were the very first people who landed in British Columbia in 1906. They were both also involved in the foundation of the first Canadian Gurdwara, the Khalsa Diwan Society, Vancouver. There is a sizeable population of Ravidasia Sikhs in Oceania too. Ravidassias from Doaba established

570-482: A small archipelago southwest of the peninsula, while largely considered a part of the Indian subcontinent, sometimes is mentioned by sources, including the International Monetary Fund , as a group of islands away from the Indian subcontinent in a south-western direction. The population of Indian subcontinent is about 1.912 billion which makes it the most populated region in the world. It

627-482: A term closely linked to the region's colonial heritage, as a cover term, the latter is still widely used in typological studies. Since the Partition of India , citizens of Pakistan (which became independent of British India in 1947) and Bangladesh (which became independent of Pakistan in 1971) often perceive the use of the Indian subcontinent as offensive and suspicious because of the dominant placement of India in

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684-822: Is a peninsular region in South Asia delineated by the Himalayas in the north, the Hindu Kush in the west, and the Arakanese in the east. It extends southward into the Indian Ocean with the Arabian Sea to the southwest and the Bay of Bengal to the southeast. Most of this region rests on the Indian Plate and is isolated from the rest of Asia by large mountain barriers. Laccadive Islands , Maldives and

741-588: Is a physiographical region in Southern Asia , mostly situated on the Indian Plate , projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas . Geographically, it spans the countries of Bangladesh , Bhutan , the British Indian Ocean Territory (United Kingdom), India , Maldives , Nepal , Pakistan , and Sri Lanka . Although the terms "Indian subcontinent" and "South Asia" are often used interchangeably to denote

798-412: Is also called as Koumi Nishan . The religion is also represented by a flag, with the insignia "Har" which, states Ronki Ram, includes: The insignia Har, states Ram, represents the "very being of Ravidass and his teachings". "Ramdasia is a term used in general for Sikhs whose ancestors belonged Chamar caste. Originally they are followers of Guru Ravidass ji who belongs to Chamar community ". Both

855-594: Is always a flag upon which is written the Nishaan , and above it the "Harr" symbol which symbolising enlightenment from Guru Ravidas' teachings. But Guru Ravidass Sabhas in Derby, Walsall, Gravesend, Montreal and Papakura are exceptions, as these Sabhas' official title boards display Ek Onkar and Khanda emblems alongside Harr. The title boards of these sabhas clearly mark the buildings as both Sikh Gurdwaras and Ravidass Temples. Moreover, Derby Sabha's display board mentions it as

912-691: Is celebrated every year at the Seer Gowardhanpur village temple in Varanasi the state of Uttar Pradesh in January or February and the government of India has declared it a gazetted holiday. Other important festivals the Ravidasia community celebrates are Bandi Chhor Divas , Guru Gobind Singh 's birthday and Guru Nanak 's birthday. Before the 2009 armed attack on Guru Ravidass Temple in Vienna,

969-608: Is in use called Ravived . During the initial stage of migration in Mauritius, significant numbers of Chamar people joined the Arya Samaj in the hope that it would help them to be free from the curse of casteism, as it was claimed by the leaders of the Arya Samaj. But later, Upper Caste Arya Samajis started building separate halls for themselves and Chamars for prayer within the same shrine to avoid Arya Samaj being labelled as

1026-653: Is socially very mixed, consisting of many language groups and religions, and social practices in one region that are vastly different from those in another. [REDACTED] Media related to Indian subcontinent at Wikimedia Commons [REDACTED] Africa [REDACTED] Antarctica [REDACTED] Asia [REDACTED] Australia [REDACTED] Europe [REDACTED] North America [REDACTED] South America [REDACTED] Afro-Eurasia [REDACTED] Americas [REDACTED] Eurasia [REDACTED] Oceania Ramdasia The Ramdasia were historically

1083-428: Is somewhat contested as there is no globally accepted definition on which countries are a part of South Asia or the Indian subcontinent. Whether called the Indian subcontinent or South Asia, the definition of the geographical extent of this region varies. Afghanistan , despite often considered as a part of South Asia, is usually not included in the Indian subcontinent. Maldives, an island country consisting of

1140-458: Is used while Ravidasia is predominantly used in Doaba . Ramdasia Sikhs are enlisted as scheduled caste by Department of Social justice, Empowerment and Minorities- Government of Punjab. On Department's list of Scheduled Caste, this caste is listed on serial number 9 along with other Chamar caste synonymous such as Ravidasia, Jatav and so on. During World War I the single-battalion regiments of

1197-658: The Amritbani Guru Ravidass Ji , and these Dera Bhallan Ravidassia temples now use this book in place of the Guru Granth Sahib . Guru Ravidas was born on 15 January 1377 CE ( Indian calendar Sunday Sukhal Falgin Parvithta 1433) to the Chamar community. His birthplace was a locality known as Seer Govardhan in the city of Varanasi , Uttar Pradesh state, India. The birthplace is now marked by

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1254-590: The 26 atolls of the Maldives lie entirely within the Southern Hemisphere. Historically, the region surrounding and southeast of the Indus River was often simply referred to as "India" in many historical sources. Even today, historians use this term to denote the entire Indian subcontinent when discussing history up until the era of the British Raj. Over time, however, "India" evolved to refer to

1311-660: The Chagos Archipelago are three series of coral atolls , cays and Faroes on the Indian Plate along with the Chagos–Laccadive Ridge , a submarine ridge that was generated by the northern drift of the Indian Plate over the Réunion hotspot during the Cretaceous and early Cenozoic times. The Maldives archipelago rises from a basement of volcanic basalt outpourings from a depth of about 2000 m forming

1368-660: The Jammu and Kashmir , Himachal Pradesh and Haryana . As of 2011 , there were 212,032 Ramdasia in Jammu and Kashmir, comprising 209,512 Hindus, 2,486 Sikhs and 34 Buddhists, 2,429,137 lived in Haryana (2,390,403 Hindu, 37,191 Sikh and 1,543 Buddhists) and 458,838 resided in Himachal Pradesh (453,871 Hindu, 4,887 Sikh and 80 Buddhists) Ramdasia Sikh diaspora alongside Ravidassia from doaba emigrated from India and Pakistan

1425-768: The Mesozoic , with Insular India separating from Antarctica 130-120 million years ago and Madagascar around 90 million years ago, during the Cretaceous . Insular India subsequently drifted northeastwards, colliding with the Eurasian Plate nearly 55 million years ago, during the Eocene , forming the Indian subcontinent. The zone where the Eurasian and Indian subcontinent plates meet remains geologically active, prone to major earthquakes. Physiographically , it

1482-547: The Shri Guru Ravidass Janam Asthan ( Begampura ), and is a major place of pilgrimage for the followers of Guru Ravidas today. Ravidassias Sikhs believe that Ravidas died in Benares at the age of 151. Ravidas taught the following principles: A Ravidassia place of worship is called a dera , sabha , mandir , gurudwara , or bhawan , sometimes translated as temple . Outside the sabha there

1539-679: The 2011 census, the Office for National Statistics counted Ravidassia as a separate religion from Sikhism. There were 11058 individuals who described themselves as Ravidassia in the census. Data shows that around 10% of members of Ravidassias community cited their religion as ’Ravidassia’ – empathically distinct from Sikhs and Hindus. During the census, not even a single Guru Ravidass Gurdwara came into direct support of this separate identity, and till date, all Guru Ravidass Gurdwaras in Britain are practising Sikhism and they do pray and perform all rituals in

1596-468: The Indian coast through the maritime routes on the Arabian Sea. In terms of modern geopolitical boundaries, the subcontinent constitutes Bangladesh , Bhutan , India, Nepal , and Pakistan , besides, by convention, the island country of Sri Lanka and other nearby island nations of the Indian Ocean, such as Maldives and the British Indian Ocean Territory . Unlike "South Asia", sometimes

1653-555: The Indian state of Punjab, of whom 1,017,192 declared themselves as Ad-Dharmi Chamar and 2,078,132 declared themselves as Ramdasia/Ravidasia Chamar. According to this Census, during the same year the population of Sikh Ramdasia/Ravidasia and Hindu Ramdasia/Ravidasia in Punjab was 1,443,079 and 629,157 respectively. Most of the Hindu Ramdasias (Counted along with other Chamar Caste Synonyms such as Ravidasia and Jatav) living in

1710-406: The Indian subcontinent has come to be known as South Asia "in more recent and neutral parlance". Indologist Ronald B. Inden argues that the usage of the term South Asia is becoming more widespread since it clearly distinguishes the region from East Asia. While South Asia , a more accurate term that reflects the region's contemporary political demarcations, is replacing the Indian subcontinent ,

1767-656: The Mazhabi and Ramdasia Sikh Pioneers – the 23rd , 32nd and 34th Pioneer Regiments – were expanded to comprise three battalions each. These units served in Egypt, Europe, Mesopotamia and Palestine and performed well. The 1/34th Sikh Pioneers were awarded the title of "Royal". The Ramdasia Sikhs, together with the Majhabi Sikhs, were recruited to the Sikh Light Infantry regiment (SLI) after its formation in 1941. The Sikh Light Infantry has always been

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1824-558: The SGPC tried to convince Dera Ballan Head Sant Niranjan Dass to reverse the decision. Akal Takhat also took an unprecedented step and organized Akand Path in the memory of murdered Sant Ramanand. SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar visited Dera Ballan to meet Sant Niranjan Dass, but he was not allowed to meet him.   Ravidasia Sikh diaspora emigrated from India and Pakistan is significant. There are Ravidasia Sikh settlers in Europe, as well as

1881-1720: The SLI in the new army. The SLI has served in almost all of the post-1947 conflicts involving India, including the wars with Pakistan in 1947 , 1965 and 1971 , the Hyderabad Police Action of 1948 and the Chinese aggression in 1962 . It has also served in Sri Lanka , where the 1st, 7th, 13th and 14th Battalions have contributed towards peace-keeping. This sect of Ramdasia having faith in Hinduism and they mostly residing in Pathankot , Jammu , Himachal Pradesh and Jalandhar . Hindu Ramdasia migrated from Pakistan and back in Sialkot , these Ramdasia were involved in Leather/Sports Goods Business. After migrating in Jalandhar they established their own Tanneries and Sports Goods manufacturing Units. For This purpose Government of Punjab, India helped them by providing liberal loans and allotting sites for their Factories Hindu Ramdasia's are staunch follower of Guru Ravidass and they follow Dera Swami Gurdeep Giri ji, Pathankot. According to Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India Ramdasias are listed as Chamar Caste on serial number 4 and 14 for Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh respectively. As of 2011 Census, there were 3,095,324 Chamars in

1938-544: The Second World War. This was necessitated by the need for more recruits than could be supplied by those communities upon which they usually relied, such as the Jat Sikhs, Dogras and Punjabi Musalmans . In addition, indiscipline among Jat Sikhs caused by their concerns regarding a post-war division of India was another reason to prefer recruitment of new classes. While recruitment from the pre-war martial classes

1995-538: The attack, Niranjan Dass survived his injuries, while over a dozen attendees at the temple were also injured. This triggered a decisive break of the Ravidassia group from the orthodox Sikh structure. Prior to their break from Khalsa Sikhism, the Dera Bhallan revered and recited the Guru Granth Sahib of Sikhism in Dera Bhallan. However, following their split from mainstream Sikhism, the Dera Bhallan compiled their own holy book based exclusively on Ravidas's teachings,

2052-534: The book. A version of the holy book Amrit Bani containing 240 hymns of Guru Ravidas was installed at the Guru Ravidas temple in Jalandhar , Punjab, on 1 February 2012 on the occasion of birth anniversary of Guru Ravidass. The Dera Sach Khand Ballan religious community had announced the formation of the new Ravidassia religion and separation from Sikhism at Varanasi. The split from Sikhism was triggered after

2109-482: The central part of the ridge between Laccadives and the Great Chagos Bank . According to anthropologist Patrap C. Dutta, "the Indian subcontinent occupies the major landmass of South Asia." According to historian B. N. Mukherjee , "The subcontinent is an indivisible geographical entity." According to geographer Dudley Stamp , "There is perhaps no mainland part of the world better marked off by nature as

2166-578: The early twentieth century when most of the territory was either part of the British Empire or allied with them. It was a convenient term to refer to the region comprising both British India and the princely states . The term has been particularly common in the British Empire and its successors, while the term South Asia is the more common usage in Europe and North America. According to historians Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal ,

2223-481: The east, it is bounded by Patkai , Naga , Lushai and Chin hills. The Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea form the boundary of the Indian subcontinent in the south, south-east and south-west. Given the difficulty of passage through the Himalayas, the sociocultural, religious and political interaction of the Indian subcontinent has largely been through the valleys of Afghanistan in its northwest,

2280-444: The expression "Indian subcontinent" may exclude the islands of Maldives and Sri Lanka. According to Pawan Budhwar, Arup Varma, and Manjusha Hirekhan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan constitute the Indian subcontinent. Budhwar, Varma, and Hirekhan also maintain that with Afghanistan and Maldives included the region is referred to as South Asia. The periphery of the subcontinent, including Bangladesh, Pakistan, and

2337-417: The island chains of Maldives, features large Muslim populations, while the heartland, including most of India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, are overwhelmingly Hindu or Buddhist. Since most of these countries are located on the Indian Plate, a continuous landmass , the borders between countries are often either a river or a no man's land . The precise definition of an "Indian subcontinent" in a geopolitical context

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2394-576: The killing of its deputy head Ramanand Dass in May 2009 at a temple in Vienna by some Sikh radicals. President of newly formed Begumpura Lok Party and a supporter of the new religion, Satish Bharti, said that the copies of the new Bani were put on display during the religious processions in order to assert that the community members are firm believers of the new religion. In the United Kingdom, during

2451-628: The landmass of Eurasia nearly 55 million years ago, forming the Himalayas. It is one of the most populated regions in the world, holding roughly 20–25 percent of the global population. Geographically, the peninsular region in Southern Asia is located below the Third Pole , delineated by the Himalayas in the north, the Hindu Kush in the west, and the Indo-Burman Ranges in the east. The neighboring geographical regions around

2508-534: The majority of Ravidassias were followers of Sikhism. On May 24, 2009, six Khalistani militants attacked Sant Ramanand and Sant Niranjan Das in the mentioned shrine. All six attackers were asylum seekers living in Austria and have been identified as Satwinder Singh (28), Jaspal Singh (34), Tasum Singh (45), and Sukhwinder Singh (28). The other two attackers, Hardeep Singh (33) and Charnjit Singh (24), entered Austria illegally. In this terrorist attack, Sant Ramanand, 57,

2565-405: The occasion of the 633rd birth anniversary of Ravidass in 2010, Dera Sachkahnd Ballan announced a new religion called Ravidassia.Dera also announced that the community would have its own separate religious book called Amritbani, a separate symbol 'Har' and a separate motto, 'Jai Gurudev. The move triggered debate among the religious, social, and political circles of Punjab, and Shiromani Akali Dal and

2622-549: The population of the Ravidassia community in the West Midlands was around 30,000 during that period. As of 2021, it is estimated that the Ravidasia population in Britain is around 70,000. In the same census, the Ravidassias cluster population was 2078132, and both clusters together made a population of 3095324 in Punjab, which is an 11.15% population of Punjab. Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent

2679-463: The presence of Shri Guru Granth Sahib. Unlike the UK Office for National Statistics, the Indian government and its census department have not accepted the Ravidassias community as a religion. During the 2011 census, the Ravidassia community was counted alongside other groups such as Ramdasia Sikh and Jatav under the title of Chamar caste. In Mauritius, for Ravidassias, a different terminology

2736-431: The region, the geopolitical term of South Asia frequently includes Afghanistan , which is not considered a part of the subcontinent, while excluding the British Indian Ocean Territory which is geologically associated with the subcontinent. Geologically, the subcontinent originates from Insular India , an isolated landmass that rifted from the supercontinent of Gondwana during the Cretaceous and merged with

2793-426: The second gurdwara in the Oceania region in Nasinu on Fiji Island in 1939. A Classical Study by W.H. Briggs in his book Punjabis in New Zealand, Briggs penned down the precise number of Ravidassias in New Zealand during the very first wave of immigration. Ravidassia community started immigrating from Punjab to Britain in 1950, and according to a book named 'Sikhs in Britain: An Annotated Bibliography' published in 1987,

2850-429: The subcontinent include the Tibetan Plateau to the north, the Indochinese Peninsula to the east, the Iranian Plateau to the west, and the Indian Ocean to the south. Apart from Maritime Southeast Asia (the Malay Archipelago ), the maritime region of the subcontinent ( littoral South Asia ) is the only subregion of Asia that lies partly within the Southern Hemisphere : the British Indian Ocean Territory two of

2907-483: The term. As such it is being increasingly less used in those countries. Meanwhile, many Indian analysts prefer to use the term because of the socio-cultural commonalities of the region. The region has also been called the "Asian subcontinent", the "South Asian subcontinent", as well as "India" or " Greater India " in the classical and pre-modern sense. The sport of cricket is notably popular in India , Pakistan , Sri Lanka , Nepal and Bangladesh . Within

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2964-523: The total number of Ravidassias. Ravidassias Sikhs believe that Ravidas is their Guru (saint) whereas the Khalsa Sikhs have traditionally considered him one of many bhagats (holy person), a lower position to Guru in Sikhism . Further, Ravidassias Sikhs accept living sants of Ravidass Deras as Guru. A new Ravidassia religion was launched following an assassination attack on their visiting living Guru Niranjan Dass and his deputy Ramanand Dass in 2009 in Vienna by Sikh militants. Ramanand Dass died from

3021-402: The valleys of Manipur in its east, and by maritime routes . More difficult but historically important interaction has also occurred through passages pioneered by the Tibetans . These routes and interactions have led to the spread of Buddhism out of the subcontinent into other parts of Asia. The Islamic expansion arrived into the subcontinent in two ways: through Afghanistan on land, and to

3078-401: The west it is bounded by parts of the mountain ranges of Hindu Kush , Spīn Ghar (Safed Koh), Sulaiman Mountains , Kirthar Mountains , Brahui range, and Pab range among others, with the Western Fold Belt along the border (between the Sulaiman Range and the Chaman Fault) is the western boundary of the Indian Plate, where, along the Eastern Hindu Kush, lies the Afghanistan–Pakistan border. In

3135-702: The words Ramdasia and Ravidasia are also used inter changeably while these also have regional context. In Puadh and Malwa , largely Ramdasia in used while Ravidasia is predominantly used in Doaba . Ramdasia Sikhs are enlisted as scheduled caste by Department of Social justice, Empowerment and Minorities- Government of Punjab. On Department's list of Scheduled Caste, this caste is listed on serial number 9 along with other Chamar caste synonymous such as Ravidasia , Ramdasia and so on. Ad-Dharmis of Chamar sect are followers of Guru Ravidas , and incorporate elements of Sikhism as they regard Shri Guru Granth Sahib as their religious text . The birthday of Ravidas

3192-408: Was shot dead and more than a dozen others wounded, including another preacher. This attack led to violent protests in the state of Punjab in India and peaceful protest in London. Later, the Austrian court sentenced Jaspal Singh, 35, to life in prison for murder, and the other four terrorists received 17 to 18 year prison sentences. The sixth terrorist got six months in prison for attempted coercion. On

3249-439: Was still pre-eminent, that from newly recognised classes such as the Ramdasias and Mazhabis became significant. When India became independent in 1947, the British Indian Army became the Indian Army. This, like its predecessor, relies on the martial race theory for much of its recruitment and thus there is a grossly disproportionate number of Sikhs within its ranks. The Ramdasias Sikhs and Mazhabi Sikhs continued their service with

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