NIHANGS or Nihang Singhs, originally known as Akalis or Akah Niharigs, are endearingly designated the Guru`s Knights or the Guru`s beloved, for the military ambience they still carry about them and the heroic style they continue to cultivate. They constitute a distinctive order among the Sikhs and are readily recognized by their dark blue loose apparel and their ample, peaked turbans festooned with quoits, insignia of the Khalsa and rosaries, all made of steel. They are always armed, and are usually seen mounted heavily laden with weapons such as swords, daggers, spears, rifles, shotguns and pistols.
NIRANJANIE, also called Handalie, was an heretic cult rounded by Handal (1573-1646) of Jandiala in Amritsar district, a former follower of Sultan SakhT Sarwar, who became a Sikh in the time of GuruAmar Das. He served in the Guru ka Larigar. Pleased with his devotion, the Guru appointed him a preacher in his native Jandiala and the surrounding area. People admired him for his simple ways. Handal attracted many followers. But as time passed, he grew very vain and appropriated unto himself the status of Guru and started calling himself Nirarijania, i.e. one who had overcome his illusion.
NIRANKARIS, a sect of the Sikhs born of a reform movement which arose in northwest Punjab in the middle of the nineteenth century aiming to restore the purity of Sikh belief and custom. Its founder, Baba Dayal (1783-1855), was a contemporary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. A man of humble origin, he cavilled at the shortcomings of the mighty and assailed the rites and observances which had perverted the Sikh way of life. His main target was the worship of images against which he preached vigorously.
Discover how the Radcliffe Award determined the Punjab boundary between India & Pakistan, pivotal in shaping history post British India era.
