RAMDASIA SIKHS is how Sikh converts from the community working professionally in leather are usually referred to as a class. The term Ramdasias is an adaptation from Ravidasias, as some Chamar castes came to be called. They owed their affiliation to the famous saint, Ravidas, ; pioneer of`Vaisnava revival.

RAMRAIAS, originally a splinter sect of the Sikhs, now comprise an independent group more akin to the Udasis. The sect owes its origin to Baba Ram Rai, whose name it bears. Ram Rai, who was the elder son of Guru Har Rai (1630-61), the seventh Guru, and who had

SANHSIS, also called Sansis, Sainsis and Bhatus, are a nomadic people counted among one of the Scheduled Tribes in the Constitution of India which entitles them to certain special rights and privileges. They claim descent from one of the Aryan tribes entering India centuries ago. Some of the immigrants

BRAHMO SAMAJ. The expression "Brahmo Samaj" (correct transcription, "Brahma Samaja") literally stands for a society of the worshippers of Brahman, the Supreme Reality, according to Hindu philosophy. It is the name of the Theistic Church founded by Raja Rammohun Roy (1772-1833), in Calcutta on 20 August 1828. The history

SATKARTARIAS, a religious sect only remotely related to Sikhism was founded by Sarigat Das, a Julka Khatri, contemporary of Guru Hargobind (1595-1644). The name Satkartaria is derived from .Sangat Das` preceptor, Bhai Sangtia, a Sodhi of Lahore, who was initiated into Sikhism by Guru Arjan in 1593 and who

KABIR PANTHIS, followers of Kabir (1398-1448), a saint and reformer some of whose compositions have been included in Sikh Scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib. Kabir did not found any sect during his own lifetime; it was after his death that a math, called Kabir Chaura, was established by Surat

SATNAMI. The word satnami is derived from satnam, lit. the True Name , a term used in some religious traditions including Sikhism to denote the Supreme Being. Literally, a Satnami is one who believes in and worships only the True Being and as such every Sikh is a Satnami.

KUKAS or NAMDHARIS, the name given to the members of a sectarian group that arose among the Sikhs towards the close of the nineteenth century. Kuk, in Punjabi, means a scream or shout. While chanting the sacred hymns at their religious congregations, the adherents of the new order broke into

SIKLIGAR SIKHS constitute that section of lohars or ironsmiths who once specialized in the craft of making and polishing weapons. Sikligar is derived from Persian saqi, lit. polishing, furnishing, making bright (a sword), the term saqlgar meaning a polisher of swords. In medieval India, Sikligars were in great demand for

MAHIMASHAHIAS, followers of Mohar Singh (AD 1758-1815), a holy Sikh who earned the honoured nickname of Mahima Shah for his constant muttering of a phrase (\'infinite is Thy praise\') in God\'s mahima or adoration. Mahima Shah claimed spiritual descent from Bhai Daya Singh, one of the Panj Piare or

SODHl, a subdivision of Sarin group of, Khatris, has acquired an aura of exceptional! honour among the Sikhs because seven of (lie ten Sikh Gurus from Guru Rain Das onwards were from among them. Guru Ram Das` descendants are reverently called Sodhi Sahibzade. Guru Ram Das appointed his younger

MAI-POTRE, meaning grandsons of an old woman, is the name given to a group of families residing in Goindval. These families were the descendants of a goldsmith couple blessed by Guru Amar Das. It is said that the couple, advancing in years, had no offspring. Despaired of the gift of