Before the adoption of the Anand marriage, the marriage ceremonies were performed by the Brahmins in accordance with the traditional Hindu rituals (mostly innovated by the Brahmins for their own motives to exploit the innocent illiterate villagers). After the conversion of the village Hindus who were mostly Jats, into Sikhism, the Brahmins excommunicated the converted Sikhs because they had accepted the equality of the human race and had done away with the Caste system. This was the time when the Third Guru, Shree Guru Amar Das ji introduced the Langer system (A Community Kitchen) where everybody sat together to cat, 2 symbolic expression of the equality of the Human Beings during this period, a Jat Sikh of Randhawa clan approached the Brahmin Pura hits to perform the marriage ceremony of his daughter. The Brahmins refused to perform the marriage because the Jat had become a Sikh and therefore rejected the belief in the caste system. The jat approached shree Guru Amar Das ji and narrated the episode about the refusal of the Brahmins to solemnize the marriage of his daughter according to the customary and meaningless rituals. Shree Guru Amar Das ji then asked his son in law Shree Guru Ram Das Ji to write the Lavans (Hyms to solemnize the marriage in the presence of God). IT was Guru Ram Das ji who then wrote the four Lavans (Four sacred vows). The Anad Karajas the marriage ceremony was sanctified at the marriage of Bibi Viro, the daughter of the Sixth Guru Shree Guru Hargobind ji at Village Chabhal in Amritsar District. Anand Karaj became a new refreshing tradition for the Sikhs and all the marriages in the Sikh Community were performed as prescribed by the Fourth Guru Shree Guru Ram das ji, The Tat Khalsa in the Lauer part of nineteenth century reiterated the Anand marriage for the Sikhs.
Later it suddenly dawned on the Reformers that this mode of marriage had no customary or legal recognition. In the absence of such sanction civil counts could reject any marriage contracted by Anand rites. Problems such as the status of children, inheritance and distribution of wealth could arise.
The Arya Samajists began to ridicule the Sikhs marrying by Anand rites, The Sana than Sikhs (Sikhs professing old beliefs) were also opposed to tempering with the customary marriage rituals.
Tikka Ripudaman Singh a Sikh Prince of Nabha state and a former pupil of Bhai Kahn Singh (Author of Hum Hindu nahin) introduced the Anand Marriage Bill in the Imperial Legislative Council on October 30,1908, The Arya Samajists were keen on denying the Sikhs a separate religious identity and were adopting all means to forcefully reject this character. Reacting to the malicious campaign of the Arya Samajists the Tat Khalsa launched a massive campaign in support of the Bill. Leading Newspapers of, the time like the Khalsa Samachar and Khalsa Advocate were packed with aniclesin support of the Bill The Sikhsorganizedover300mass, meetings all over Punjab demanding the passage of the Bill. Over “700,000 Sikhs petitioned the Imperial Administration in favour of the proposed enactment of the Anand Marriage Bill . The British Administration was impressed and con October 22,1909, the Bill became an act of Law.
Dr. H.S. Bal Professor, Iowa State
University, Ames, Iowa
Reference: Oberoi, Harjot. S. 1988. From ritual to counter ritual thinking the Hindu Sikh question, 1884-1915. In Sikh history and religion in the twentieth century. P.p.136158. University of Toronto, Center fox South Asian studies.
Article extracted from this publication >> February 28, 1992
