The relationship of Sikhism with the caste system is a complex and controversial topic in the modern-period. Although the discriminatory practices derived from the Indian caste system is repudiated by the religion's tenets, which stresses upon humanity's oneness, castes continue to be recognized and followed by much of the Sikh community, including prejudices and biases resulting from it. However, many Sikhs derive parts of their self-identity from their caste-background, affecting their relationship to the religio-cultural system, being viewed as part of one's inherent identity, social-association, or heritage and thus should be preserved. Sikhs' view of caste is influenced by religious belief, Punjabi culture, and ethnicity, considering that Sikhism is deeply influenced by Punjabi traditions and social-norms. The caste-system is practiced by both Sikhs living in the subcontinent and diasporic Sikhs.
Whilst repudiated officially by the religion, Sikh castes do exist and play a role within the Sikh community. Sikhs castes cannot be separated from Hindu castes, as nearly all caste-groupings contain followers of both religions. The Indian government maintains a system for categorizing castes in the country, which can be used to determine the Sikh castes. Jat Sikhs are the most numerous caste amongst the Sikhs. Whilst caste is commonly framed as being a negative phenomenon, it is also a positive marker of an in-group, which allows for the conceptualization of one's own community and group. A Sikh identifying with a particular caste-background does not necessarily mean someone also discriminates against others based on their caste.
Sikhs have remained a relatively homogeneous ethnic group with exceptions. Caste may still be practiced by some Sikhs, despite Guru Nanak's calls for treating everyone equally in Guru Granth Sahib. Along with Guru Nanak, other Sikh gurus had also denounced the hierarchy of the caste system, however, they all belonged to the same caste, the Khatris.id Most Sikhs belong to the Jat caste, which is traditionally an agriculturist class in occupation. Despite being lesser in numbers, the Khatri and Arora castes wield considerable influence within the Sikh community. Other common Sikh castes include Ahluwalias (brewers), Kambojs or Kambos (rural caste), Ramgarhias (carpenters), Brahmins (priestly-class), Rajputs (kshatriyas – warriors), Sainis, Rai Sikh (ironsmiths), Labanas (merchants), Kumhars (potters), Mazhabi (cleaners), Ramdasia, and Ravidasias (Chamar – tanners).
Some Sikhs, especially those belonging to the landowning dominant castes, have not shed all their prejudices against the Dalits. While Dalits were allowed entry into the village gurdwaras, in some gurdwaras, they were not permitted to cook or serve langar (communal meal). Therefore, wherever they could mobilize resources, the Sikh Dalits of Punjab have tried to construct their own gurdwara and other local level institutions in order to attain a certain degree of cultural autonomy. In 1953, Sikh leader and activist Master Tara Singh succeeded in persuading the Indian government to include Sikh castes of the converted untouchables in the list of scheduled castes.Puri, Harish K. (2003). "The Scheduled Castes in the Sikh Community: A Historical Perspective ". Economic & Political Weekly 38(26):2693–2701. . Republished in Dalits in Regional Context (2004). In the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, 20 of the 140 seats are reserved for low-caste Sikhs.
Other castes with over 1,000 members include the Arain, Bhatra, Bairagi, Bania, Basith, Bawaria, Bazigar, Bhabra, Chamar, Chhimba (cotton farmers), Darzi, Dhobi, Gujar, Jhinwar, Kahar, Kalal, Kumhar, Lohar, Mahtam, Megh, Mirasi, Mochi, Nai, Ramgharia, Sansi, Sudh, Tarkhan, and Kashyap castes. Karnail Singh Panjoli, a member of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, says that there are several communities within the term Nanakpanthis too. Apart from Sindhi Hindus, "There are groups like Sikhligarh, Vanjaarey, Nirmaley, Lubaney, Johri, Satnamiye, Udaasiyas, Punjabi Hindus, etc. who call themselves Nanakpanthis despite being Hindus.
Most writings on Sikh castes tend to centre around the most dominant group: the Jat-Sikhs. The Jat-Sikhs are dominant within Sikh organizations and rural-settings. The mobile Jat-Sikhs have given form to the masculinized image of Sikhs. Punjabi music and popular culture have also been deeply influenced by Jat-Sikhs. Diasporic Jat-Sikh communities in the West have also been documented by scholars, in-addition to their role in the patriarchy by feminist Sikh writers.
Terminology Within the Punjabi context, a caste is known as a zat (related to jati). The term baradari refers to an exended kinship. A sub-caste is known as a got in Punjabi (gotra in Hindi). A got is an exogamous grouping within a particular caste (known as a zat in Punjabi and jati in Hindi). A zat is an endogamous caste grouping, which contains gots under it.
Religious view
Caste-based discrimination is against the egaliterian tenets of the Sikh faith. The Sikh gurus and scriptures speak against caste-based hierarchies and advocated for caste and gender equality in the real-world through both religious belief and practice.Another verse of Guru Nanak in the Guru Granth Sahib states:
The Sikh gurus focused on worldliness in their efforts to promote caste-equality rather than promoting beliefs about caste-equality in the afterlife, such as the Beghampura ("the land without sorrow") espoused by Bhagat Ravidas. Caste-barriers were broken by the langar institution, which violated principles of ritual pollution as it made everyone sit together to eat, including with lower-castes. The Sikh gurus used the vernacular language to reach the common-masses rather than language geared toward a particular elite. Furthermore, karah prashad is distributed equally within gurdwaras and at Sikh events without paying attention to the receiver's caste or social-background. Everyone is welcome at gurdwaras, regardless of their caste. Sikhism lacks a priestly-class comparable to the role Brahmins play in Hinduism.
Thus, Sikh religious leaders have requested Sikhs to cease practicing caste and align their practices with Sikh beliefs regarding caste, which admonishes the caste system. Whilst individual Sikhs may choose to identify with their caste-background, they must regard their fellow Sikhs as equals regardless of their caste. Caste is considered one of the five thugs that inhibit spirituality.
Whilst varna classifications and concept of untouchability are found within the caste system are sanctified in Brahminical Hinduism, they cannot be relegated as not being unrelated to Sikhism as these influences continue to impact Sikhs.
Social practices and discrimination Caste continues to play a role in Sikh marriage, settlement, political, and kinship patterns/practices despite many Sikhs denying the existence of caste within the Sikh community. Thus, the prevalence of caste creates a feeling of "moral guilt" within the psyches of many practicing Sikhs, including Sikh scholars.Furthermore, there exists caste-specific gurdwaras which are dedicated to a particular caste, both in India and the diaspora.
Whilst Sikhism as a religion advocates for caste-equality, the success of achieving such a state has been contested by some Sikhs, especially those who now increasingly self-identity as being Ravidassia, Valmiki, or Ambedkarite. Thus, a focus of criticism has been on hypocrisy between teachings and practice in the lived-experience. Many Sikhs continue to use caste as a cultural-identity marker. Other Sikh judge people based on their caste, making inferences about someone's social-status, ability, or personality based on their caste. There also exist certain stereotypes associated with particular castes.
Sikhs practice the caste-system in a unique manner when compared to other communities of the subcontinent. This is observed as follows:
Many Sikhs identify themselves as being Jat, Ramgharia, Bhatra, Ravidassi, etc. The decision to identify with one's caste does not necessarily mean they practice caste-discrimination. When some castes converted to Sikhism, they became known by new caste-identifying names. For examples, members of low-caste groups such Chuhras and Chamars who adopted Sikhism became known as Rangretias and Mazhabis. The Valmikis also are sourced from the Chuhra caste. Another group which emerged from low-castes are the Ad-Dharms. These new low-caste identifying markers "reify and perpetuate the caste system, albeit in indirect ways".
Sikh castes (including Dalit Sikhs) tend to practice endogamy, that is marrying another member of the same caste, which "[reinforces] a sense of continuity and group". Furthermore, sustaining one's family-honour (izzat) is tied together with caste-identity, especially when considering marriage, as marrying within your caste is viewed as preserving your familial-honour, with this deriving from Punjabi culture and being followed by Punjabi-Sikhs. Low-caste Sikhs may face discrimination when looking for a marriage partner outside of their caste, as others will inquire about their background. Despite this, intercaste marriages are increasing within the Sikh community, especially in the diaspora.
Within the caste system, there are multiple hierarchies interplaying with one another, thus one should caution from oversimplying, as it may not reflect the ground-reality. The issue of untouchability still plagues Sikhs, which has led to the formation of separate Valmiki and Ravidasi identities away from mainstream Sikhism.
Categorization Using the Indian government's scheme for categorizing Indian castes, the Sikh castes can be listed into "classificatory-clusters" using the Punjab government's designations: Forward Castes (FCs; general castes/upper castes): prominent castes of this category include the Jats, Brahmins, Khatris, Aroras, Rajputs, Mahatons, Sainis. These caste-groups were considered to be "privileged". The Khatris and Aroras were mostly urbanized whilst the Jats were usually rural-inhabitants. Other Backward Classes (OBCs; known as "Backward"): there are more than sixty castes or groups included in this category. Around 31% of the population of Punjab are from OBC-backgrounds, with the majority of Punjabi OBCs identifying as Sikhs. The category can be further subdivided into three groups, with prominent examples: Farmers: Kambohs Artisans: Ramgarhias (Tarkhans), Sonars, Nais, Chhimbas Servicemen: watermen caste (Jhinwars) Scheduled Castes (SCs; known as Dalits): there are thirty-nine Sikh SC groups, such as the Mazhabi, Ramdasias, Mahatam (Rai Sikhs), Mochi, Kabirpanthis (Julaha), Sikligars, Balmikis. 32% of the population of Punjab state is from a SC-background, which is twice the national-average. Two-thirds of the SC population of Punjab identify as Sikhs. A substantial proportion of Punjabi SCs who identify formally as Hindus still have affinities to Sikhism. Not all of the scheduled caste Sikh groups were considered untouchables, for example the Rai Sikhs (Mahatams) were not considered untouchables, but rather were historically marginalized but not to the extent of untouchability. Scheduled Tribes (STs): during British-rule in Punjab, the Bazigars, Sansi, and Bouria were categorized as tribes but have since been included into the SCs group.