What’s Khalsa raj? Does it mean a separate State? No, say experts

So what is Khalsa raj? And does it tie in with the secessionist idea of Khalistan? Experts disagree, saying it is an egalitarian concept that goes beyond the confines of religion or State.

“Khalsa means the pure, it does not denote any religion. And Khalsa raj means reign of the almighty,” said Dr Amarjit Singh, Director, Centre on Guru Granth Sahib Studies, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.

Dr Daljeet Chema, once a minister in the Akali-BJP government, sought to delink the term ‘Khalsa Raj’ from Simranjeet Mann. “He (Mann) has always been seeking Khalistan, but Khalsa raj doesn’t mean a separate state. It means a state without the differences of religion and caste. It’s based on the principle underlying Sikhism that ‘manas ki jaat sabbe eko pehchanbo (mankind is one).’’

Congress leader and former home minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa also said Khalsa raj does not have any religious connotation. “It means rule of the pure.”

Dr Amarjit said Khalsa raj is not the rule of the Sikhs alone, it’s a “saanjha raj”, an egalitarian state where people of every religion, caste and creed have equal rights. “It is almost Utopian in its concept,’’ said Dr Amarjit, while citing a chapter on the features of the Khalsa raj as enumerated in a chapter in Prem Samarg Granth, penned in the early 1700s. “It’s that ideal kingdom where no one is oppressed, where everyone is equal, and where even the king can be taken to task by his subjects.”

Dr Pramod Kumar, a political scientist who runs the Institute for Development Communication, said Khalsa means pure. “Khalsa is not the sardar. And Khalsa raj means a rule based on honesty. The exact line recited at the end of the daily ardas (prayer) is ‘Raj karega Khalsa, aaki rahe na koi’, meaning that the pure will rule, and the sinner will be vanquished,’’ said Kumar, ruing that politicians have often sought to pollute this line.

This term was first mentioned in an 18th Century text called ‘Rehetnama’ by Bhai Nand Lal, a courtier of Guru Gobind Singh, who penned the code of conduct for the Sikhs.

Historians say the term ‘raj (rule)’ predates the formation of the Khalsa and was used by Guru Nanak. Guru Granth Sahib, the compilation of verses by various seers across the country that is considered a living guru by the Sikhs, mentions “Nanak raj çhalaya, sach kot staani neevde (Nanak started a raj whose foundation is based on truth).’’

Dr Hardev Singh from Guru Granth Sahib University, said that the Khalsa raj tried to free itself from two forms of slavery. “One was that of the varna (caste) system in place during those days and the other was the Mughal reign that governed everyone through Sharia and did not consider non-Muslims first-grade citizens. The Khalsa raj sought to break these two forms of slavery, and was founded on the pillars of equality, justice and freedom,’’ he said.

Dr Indu Banga, a leading historian who specialises in the history of Punjab, said all Sikh rulers called their kingdom Khalsa raj, and looked at their rule as the gift of the 10 gurus. They were supposed to be just and righteous in their rule and protect the religion of all their subjects, which they actually did. They patronised everyone.’’

The line ‘raj karega Khalsa, akki rahe na koi’, however, does not form part of the prayer at the sanctum sanctorum at Golden Temple. Harinder Singh, a US-based scholar, traces this convention to the British ban on reciting this line after they annexed the Sikh empire in 1849.

During the Dharam Yudh morcha launched by the Akalis in 1982, the term ‘Khalsa raj’ came to denote more federalism and autonomy for the state of Punjab.

Over the years, ‘raj karega Khalsa’ has inspired many songs, including when Daler Mehndi and Navraj Hans sang it for the movie ‘A Flying Jatt’ in 2016.