Nihang Sikhs

Nihang, literally, is an alligator, who is all supreme in the waters, just as the lion is the supreme king amongst the fauna of the forest. Nihang is a Persian word meaning crocodile. Nihang, in Sikh terminology, is a synonym of an Akali, Just equivalent to a staunch Sikh. The Nihangs trace their origin form a son of Guru Gobind Singh robed with a blue battle-dress with his own hands and a Nihang is, therefore invariably in blue clothes.

Nihangs were suicide squads of the Mughal army and wore blue uniforms. Nihangs constitute an order of Sikhs who, abandoning the fear of death, are ever ready for martyrdom and remain unsullied by worldly possessions. A Nihang is one who has nothing and is free from anxiety. The order is said to have been founded by Guru Gobind Singh himself as a fighting body of the Khalsa. The Nihangs were also called Akalis (servitors of the Timeless God) which term has now become synonymous with the members of a political party in Punjab. (Most of them wear blue turbans).

Nihangs can be recognized from a distance as they wear dark blue robes with their legs bare below the knees and high blue and yellow turbans laced with steel discs. They usually carry spears, swords, daggers and shields. They use a charming vocabulary of Braggadocio, which has found its way into the Punjabi language.

These Nihangs, and Akalis were identical till the middle of the 19th century when the Sikh political supremacy was extinguished in the Punjab and ever since two bands of Nihangs have continued to exist under license from the Government of the day with the right to roam about in military formations, in free possession of their customary steel weapons of the 19th century, including th4eright to possess and retain a few old cannons, which are more symbolic than battle worthy. These Nihangs have their headquarters at Damdama Sahib, a holy Sikh shrine in the Bathinda district of the present Punjab in India and they claim that they are keeping themselves alert and ready for the day when the Khalsa will regain its political power and glory.

During the last 25 years, in a free India an irate bereaucracy have proceeded to annihilate small bands of Nihangs by mowing them down with rifle and machine gun, at the slightest pretexts, presumably to communicate unmistakably to the Sikhs the omnipotent character of the new power in a free India.