Ramgarhia

Not to be confused with Ramgarhia Misl.

The Ramgarhia are a community of Sikhs from the Punjab region of northwestern India, encompassing members of the Lohar (blacksmiths) and Tarkhan (carpenters) subgroups.^[1]

A Tarkhan at work, by Kehar Singh, circa mid-19th century

Etymology

Watchtower of the Ramgarhia Bunga

Originally called Thoka, meaning carpenter,^[2] the Ramgarhia are named after Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, whose birth surname of Thoka became Ramgarhia in the 18th century when he was put in charge of rebuilding what became known as Ramgarhia Bunga, at Ramrauni, near Amritsar.^[3]

Occupation and status

Painting of Jassa Singh Ramgarhia on his deathbed surrounded by family members, circa 20th century

Traditionally, Ramgarhias are mostly carpenters, but included other artisan occupations including blacksmiths.^[3][4] Generally, Sikh carpenters use Ramgarhia as a surname whereas Hindu carpenters use Dhiman.^[4]

Their artisan skills were noted by the British, who encouraged many Ramgarhia to move to colonies in East Africa in the 1890s, where they assisted in the creation of that region's infrastructure and became Africanised.^[3] One significant project in which they and other Punjabi Sikhs were involved was the cion of the railway linking the present-day countries of Kenya and Uganda, which was completed in 1901.^[5]

The British authorities also encouraged Ramgarhias to migrate within India during the first quarter of the 20th century. Their inventiveness and skills at construction, repair and maintenance were of much use at, for example, the tea plantations in Assam.^[6] Now distant from their landlords in Punjab, who were mostly Jat Sikhs, the Ramgarhia diaspora in the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam were able to enhance their social status even higher.^[4][7] The lessons learned in Punjab, where they had established a few gurdwaras to aid community cohesion and had been loyal to the British and generally unwilling to support the Jat-led Akali movement, assisted their improved status in Assam.^[8]

Main entrance of the Ramgarhia Gurdwara in Masons Hill, Woolwich, South East London, U.K, 2016

Despite Sikhism generally rejecting the caste system, it does have its own very similar socio-economic hierarchy, with its constituents often described as castes. In that, according to Peter Childs, the Ramgarhias today rank second only to the Jat Sikhs, thanks to significant economic and social power that elevated this middle class group from its lower caste confines.^[9] However, Joginder Singh says that they still lack influence in the Punjab, which is a region heavily dependent on agriculture and dominated by some influential peasant farmers, mostly Jat but also some from communities such as the Labanas and Sainis. Those people, says Singh, have "captured the control of Sikh socio-religious institutions and political parties." Associations representing the less influential but numerically superior people have formed in reaction to this, including Ramgarhia groups that are running their own educational and socio-religious institutions as well as mobilising their diaspora and any prominent individuals who might assist in enhancing their identity.^[1]

The Ramgarhia caste, which encompasses members of Tarkhan and Lohar, are included in the list of Other Backward Classes (OBC) in Punjab to improve their economic conditions.^[10] Ramgarhias were inducted into the OBC group in Punjab in 2001.^[10]

Notable people

• Jassa Singh Ramgarhia,^[3] prominent Sikh leader during the period of the Sikh Confederacy
• Bhai Lalo,^[11] Sikh religious figure
• Nand Singh,^[12] Sikh saint
• Ram Singh Kuka,^[13] second religious leader of the Namdhari Sikh sect
• Zail Singh,^[14] seventh president of India

References

1. Singh, Joginder (2014). "Sikhs in Independent India". In Singh, Pashaura; Fenech, Louis E. (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-19100-411-7.
2. Chopra, Pran Nath (1982). Religions and Communities of India. East-West Publications (U.K.). p. 184. ISBN 978-0-85692-081-3.
3. Singha, H. S. (2000). The Encyclopedia of Sikhism (over 1000 Entries). Hemkunt Press. p. 111-112. ISBN 978-81-7010-301-1.
4. Judge, Paramjit S. (1996). Strategies of Social Change in India. M. D. Publications. p. 54. ISBN 978-8-17533-006-1.
5. Tatla, Darshan Singh (2014). "The Sikh Diaspora". In Singh, Pashaura; Fenech, Louis E. (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press. p. 497. ISBN 978-0-19100-411-7.
6. Banerjee, Himadri (2013). "The Other Sikhs: Bridging Their Diaspora". In Hawley, Michael (ed.). Sikh Diaspora: Theory, Agency, and Experience. BRILL. pp. 170–171. ISBN 978-9-00425-723-8.
7. Banerjee, Himadri (2013). "The Other Sikhs: Bridging Their Diaspora". In Hawley, Michael (ed.). Sikh Diaspora: Theory, Agency, and Experience. BRILL. pp. 175–176. ISBN 978-9-00425-723-8.
8. Banerjee, Himadri (2014). "Sikhs Living Beyond Punjab in India". In Singh, Pashaura; Fenech, Louis E. (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press. p. 538. ISBN 978-0-19100-411-7.
9. Childs, Peter (2013). Encyclopaedia of Contemporary British Culture. Routledge. p. 270. ISBN 978-1-13475-554-7.
10. "Ramgarhias in OBC list". The Times of India. 31 August 2001. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
11. Singh, Pashaura; Barrier, Norman Gerald (1999). Sikh Identity: Continuity and Change. Manohar. pp. 235, 262. ISBN 978-81-7304-236-2.
12. Fenech, Louis E.; McLeod, W. H. (11 June 2014). Historical Dictionary of Sikhism. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 223. ISBN 978-1-4422-3601-1.
13. Snell, Rupert; Raeside, Ian (1998). Classics of Modern South Asian Literature. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 64. ISBN 978-3-447-04058-7.
14. Singh, Harmeet Shah (18 February 2022). "Understanding the Dalit demography of Punjab, caste by caste". India Today. Retrieved 19 September 2023.