Often describing the medieval era historians and scholars tend to treat the story of rulers as the focal point. While it enables the chronological understanding of the past in a much more systematic way, it misses out on depicting the influences that have shaped human society in a more impactful manner than any administration. One such influence is that of spirituality. It offers an answer that quenches the human curiosity about the divine, self, and the relation between the two. It will not be an exaggeration to say that masters of the spiritual world have a greater and long-lasting impact than rulers of kingdoms and empires over the culture and people. Medieval Indian history happens to be a prime example of the phenomenon. However, as the age progressed to a modern nation-state framework it became inevitable for spiritual movements to be categorized in a clearer bracket of religion which has very strong boundaries to make it distinct from the other. While leaving very little to no room for spiritual osmosis due to its rigid compartmentalization. On the other hand, historians have presented those streams of spirituality as a revolt against the ancient structures and institutions of society plainly because that makes their narrative simple and work less tedious. Whereas a careful observation reveals to us the story of India’s social and cultural diversity that fosters varied streams of spirituality interconnected with the tradition of the land which has been followed for ages.

Punjab in the 19th century exhibited such a unique character where the practices, beliefs, and identities of people were so diverse and interconnected that it became puzzling for the monochromatic lens of the colonialist British regime. The process of the census was the first step towards the rigid compartmentalization and hence the colonial view of religion was imposed on the natives where there had to be a clear distinction and othering of every aspect of life including social and cultural beliefs and practices as well. However, the British were perplexed when they observed the social realities and intricate interplay of spiritual beliefs and social customs.

Harjot Oberoi writes, “As a conquering power the British entered Punjab with a unidimensional vision of Sikhism, namely a people of the Book, obliged to maintain the five external symbols of a reformatory religion which was anti-caste and anti-ritual. British administrators were bitterly disappointed that the contemporary state of Sikhism did not measure up to their standards. In 1845, Major Leech, a senior official with the political Secretariat of the Government Of India, could hardly contain his disbelief: ‘It will appear extraordinary that the Sikhs, who are forbidden to worship at a Hindoo Mandar [shrine], should frequent Hindoo places of pilgrimage; but such is the case. Sikh pilgrims to the Ganges at Hurdwar have for many years past been increasing, and nothing is more probable than the Sikhs gradually re-adopting many more Hindoo observances.’”^[1]

The resemblance of the social reality of 19th century Punjab and nearby regions to the current day situation in the same regions with regards to beliefs and practices is striking. In today’s time as well one can find a number of people identifying themselves as Sikhs having a reverential behavior towards Hindu deities while on the other hand, a number of Hindus have portraits of Sikh Gurus at their places of worship. Though theologically, the two faiths have several disagreements and among those, the most significant is with regard to murti pooja. While Hinduism majorly centers around the practice of murti pooja, the Sikh faith has clear injunctions against it.

हिंदू मूले भूले अखुटी जांही ॥
नारदि कहिआ सि पूज करांही ॥
अंधे गुंगे अंध अंधारु ॥
पाथरु ले पूजहि मुगध गवार ॥
ओहि जा आपि डुबे तुम कहा तरणहारु ॥
The Hindus have forgotten the Primal Lord; they are going the wrong way.

As Naarad instructed them, they are worshiping idols.

They are blind and mute, the blindest of the blind.

The ignorant fools pick up stones and worship them.

But when those stones themselves sink, who will carry you across?^[2]

– Guru Nanak Dev

दस अठार मै अपर्मपरो चीनै कहै नानकु इव एकु तारै ॥

See the Infinite Lord in the ten directions, and in all the variety of nature. Says Nanak, in this way, the One Lord shall carry you across.^[3]

– Guru Nanak Dev

The omnipresence of Almighty God preached by Guru Nanak Dev is one of the founding pillars of the Sikh belief. The Sikh belief resonates with the Hindu belief of God’s omnipresence; however, in the case of the former, the first Sikh, Guru Nanak Dev criticized the Hindu practice of murti pooja and the restricting of the all-encompassing Almighty God to stone murtis.

Owing to that the institutional view in the religion is that the limitless glory of the “One Universal Creator God” cannot be restricted to a stone murti or even a portrait. Therefore, Sikh art has been described by scholars as aniconic—not displaying images of the Divine. Though scholars of Sikh historians have a slightly different view regarding the pictorial representation of Sikh Gurus as they describe that a robust tradition of depictions of the Sikh Gurus and their lives has emerged over the centuries. Janamsakhis, hagiographic chronicles of Guru Nanak Dev’s life, are credited with giving birth to Sikh art. The oldest known images of the Sikh Gurus are those of Guru Nanak (1469–1539) and Guru Angad (1504–1552); however, these images weren’t produced until 1658 in the Bala janamsakhi, more than a century after both Gurus had lived.^[4] The tradition continued till the 20th century when the Gurudwara reform movement was initiated under the leadership of Tat Khalsa. Over the course of a century, several societal changes were brought in; and ensuring the practice of murti pooja doesn’t seep into the community was a primary concern.

Keeping in line with this belief, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the institution in charge of managing Gurdwaras, has decreed a temporary ban on all films depicting Sikh Gurus and their families. The decision was made during a meeting of the SGPC’s Dharam Prachar Committee (DPC), held in Amritsar under the chairmanship of SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami. At the same time, SGPC has urged the Punjab government to ban the release of the Punjabi film Dastaan-E-Sirhind. The lives of the four Sahibzadas, or sons, of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth and final Sikh Guru, are depicted in this hybrid film, which combines animated and cinematic elements. These recent developments are an extension of the SGPC Resolution 5566, which was adopted by the Dharam Prachar Committee in May 2003 that stated: “Characters of Sikh Gurus, their respected family members, Panj Pyare, cannot be played by real-life actors. Other significant Sikh figures can only be portrayed by baptized Sikhs.” On July 10, 2003, the resolution was adopted and approved by the SGPC executive committee. The same resolution was also approved by the Akal Takht.^[5]

A similar controversy emerged a few years back during the release of a film based on the life of Guru Nanak Dev named Nanak Shah Fakir. After receiving approval from the Akal Takht, the highest temporal body of the Sikh community, Nanak Shah Fakir was first made available in 2015. The producer Harinder Sikka apparently received a letter from the Akal Takht applauding his community service. However, the SGPC intervened and demanded a ban after a few Sikh organizations criticized the film. The Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP government in Punjab as well as the Chandigarh administration accepted the plea, and the movie’s showing was halted. Later Sikka himself withdrew the film and said he will not be releasing the movie in the state given the “sensitivities”. In another instance, in 2014, the creators of the animated Punjabi movie Chaar Sahibzaade—which was likewise based on the lives of Guru Gobind Singh’s four sons—sought approval from SGPC. The then Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP administration in Punjab made the film’s screening tax-free while the SGPC permitted its release as well as the display and sale of associated items. Notably, the SGPC faced backlash over its decision to acquire the rights to the film for Rs 4 crore. In 2016, it allowed the film to be screened on government vans across Punjab as part of the then Akali Dal government’s publicity campaign.^[6]

However, during the opposition of the film, Nanak Shah Fakir, SGPC made their stand clear regarding the portrayal of Sikh Gurus and other revered figures of the faith. The SGPC said that even the current graphic representations of Gurus should never have been permitted, but due to their extensive distribution, it cannot hope to pull those back now. The SGPC has therefore determined that celluloid portrayals are where it will draw the line.^[7]

The path ahead seems quite clear as the divide between the beliefs gets clearer and clearer. The monotheistic ideal is sooner or later going to be implemented as it is the view of the institution which is at the helm of the affairs of the religion and it will be the line of demarcation of the faith from Hinduism.

References:

1.  The Construction of Religious Boundaries by Harjot Oberoi
2. https://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.gurbani?Action=Page&Param=556&hindi=t&id=24590#l24590
3. https://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.gurbani?Action=Page&Param=23&english=t&id=980#l980
4. Sikh Art: From the Kapany Collection (Editors: Paul Michael Taylor & Sonia Dhami)
5. https://theprint.in/india/no-one-above-sentiments-of-sangat-why-sgpc-wants-ban-on-punjabi-film-depicting-sikh-gurus-sons/1243038/
   https://theprint.in/india/after-row-over-punjabi-film-sgpc-announces-blanket-ban-on-portrayal-of-sikh-gurus-their-kin/1264065/
6. https://indianexpress.com/article/research/nanak-shah-fakir-controversy-why-sikhism-prohibits-pictorial-depiction-of-the-gurus-5144997/
7. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/nanak-shah-fakir-released-opposed-cleared-why-film-on-guru-nanak-dev-is-at-centre-of-row-5132226/