Mazhabi Sikh

Mazhabi Sikh (also known as Mazbhabi, Mazbhi, Majhabhi or Majabhi) is a community from Northern India, especially Punjab region, who follow Sikhism. The word Mazhabi is derived from the Arabic term mazhab (Mazhab means religion or sect), and can be translated as the faithful. They live mainly in Indian Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana. When Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh guru, was martyred by the Mughals in Delhi, Rangreta community member recovered his dismembered body from a Muslim crowd and brought it back to his son, Guru Gobind Singh. His name was Bhai Jaita Ji. In recognition of their act, he admitted the untouchables into the Khalsa (the Sikh faith), giving them the name Mazhabi ("faithful"). Within the present-day Mazhabi community, one group calls itself the Ranghreta and claims a higher status on the grounds that one of their ancestors was Bhai Jaita Ranghreta, who carried the head of Tegh Bahadur from Delhi to Guru Gobind Singh in Anandpur Sahib On seeing this act of bravery and self renunciation Guru Gobind Singh uttered "Ranghreta Guru ka beta", which means Ranghreta is son of Guru. The definition of Mazhabi today is somewhat blurred because of the influence of Valmikism. While Sikhism is in theory an egalitarian faith that takes no notice of caste, gender and other social demarcations, Fenech and Singh note that "there is often a level of hypocrisy between what is taught and what is actually put into practice." Mazhabis are discriminated against by Sikhs whose origins lie with higher-ranked castes and many Chuhras have turned to Valmikism but are still referred to as Mazhabi. While young Valmikis, who accept Valmiki as their guru, increasingly object to being labelled as Sikh, their elders are less concerned. At least one of their organisations, the Valmiki-Mazhabi Sikh Morcha, conflates the terms. Mazhabis who converted from Sikhism to Christianity under the influence of Christian missionaries in the later years of the British Raj are sometimes referred to as Christian Mazhabi Sikhs.