The traditional Nihang dress, also known as Khalsa Swaroop, consists of blue robes, full-size swords, iron bracelets and saffron turbans.
A 35-year-old man, Lakhbir Singh, was found hanging with a severed left hand at an inverted police barricade on the Haryana-Delhi Singhu border outside Delhi on Friday morning. This incident shook the entire country. Hours later, Nihang Sikhs claimed responsibility for the attack, which sparked discussion on the group again.
The United Kisan Morcha (SKM) then distanced itself from the Nihangs. A statement issued by the SKM said: “A Nihang group on the spot has claimed responsibility, stating that the incident was due to the victim’s attempt to sabotage the Sarbaloh scripture. It is reported that He was living together. Same group of Nihangs for some time.”
So, who are the Nihangs?
Here is a brief history of the group in five points.
- The Nihangs are an order of the Sikhs, and their lineage can be traced back to the creation of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699.
- The traditional Nihang dress, also known as the Khalsa form, consists of blue robes, full-size swords, iron bracelets and saffron turbans.
- The Nihangs fought Mughal incursions into the Sikh and Hindu communities in the 18th century.
- Many people believe that Nihangs consume marijuana or cannabis to help them focus better during meditation. However, it is banned by the Sikh community.
- Nihangs follow a cenobitic lifestyle. They live in communes, sometimes called cantons or cantonments.
Not the first time in ‘Spotlight’
Lakhbir Singh is not the first victim. In April last year, Nihangs chopped off the hand of an officer and injured three other Punjab policemen after they were stopped from violating the COVID-19 lockdown in Patiala district. This launched a police operation in which shots were fired and 11 people were arrested in a gurdwara.
Assistant sub-inspector Harjeet Singh got his hand amputated with a sword and three other policemen were injured in an attack by a group riding in an SUV outside the wholesale vegetable market in Sanaur town.
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