Two things, arguably, need be kept in mind. I. AA. Sikhism was initiated by Guru Nanak and it was a part of the (broad) Bhakti (and Sufi) traditions. It preached universal love and Nanak made deliberate attempt to coalesce elements of what's referred to as Hinduism and Islam.
There's a story common to both Nanak and Kabir - another leading exponent of the Bhakti (and Sufi) traditions. When the Master died, the disciples - Hindus and Muslims, kicked up a fight as they both wanted to cremate the departed as per their own traditions. In the process, someone suddenly removed the sheet covering the dead; and lo and behold: there was no body - only flowers. The flowers were divided between the two feuding camps. BB. It's in response to bloody and brutal persecutions carried out by the ruler of the day - Aurangzeb, Guru Gobind Singh completely overhauled Sikhism and turned it into a militarised religion - every male carrying arms and ready to fight. It's also said that the eldest son from the Hindu families would be baptised as a Sikh. In course of time, it acquired its very own distinctive identity. II. Which would come to be known as "Hinduism" - using a convenient tag provided by incoming outsiders from across the Sindhu river, was, and to an extent still is, a broad basket of loosely connected divergent traditions. In a way, all Indic traditions were parts of this broad basket. But, things evolved over time - both spontaneously and by design. Many coalesced closer and a few acquired distinct independent identity. ### Such a nuanced and objective view would, for good reasons, be despised by communalists - of all hues, and, also, the "secularists" - at least, too many of them. "History" is all too often looked upon as a weapon in the fight for the present and not a field for dispassionate objective study. < https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/amritsar/sgpc-blames-up-govt-for-distortion-of-sikh-history-demands-ban-on-booklet-modi-vishwanath-dham-booklet-7677229/ > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/greenyouth/CACEsOZgzeqzQnNexR6pc4j3TUrDNGGAw9Dh6f-aeQD%3D-AFHZXQ%40mail.gmail.com.
