Sanatan Sikh artwork of the Sikh Gurus with Indic deities, ca.1800–1850
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| Regions with significant populations | |
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| Punjab | |
| Religions | |
| Sikhism | |
| Languages | |
| Punjabi |
Sanatan Sikh (IAST:sanātana sikkha, Punjabi pronunciation: [sə.näː.t̪ənᵊ sɪkkʰᵊ]), a neologism and hypothesis formulated by Harjot Oberoi in 1987,[1][2][3] to refer to Sikhs who formed the Amritsar Singh Sabha faction during the broader Singh Sabha Movement in 1873.[4] While W. H. McLeod considers the dominance of the Khalsa identity to last well into the 19th century, Harjot Oberoi sees the emergence of a "Sanatan Sikh tradition" that displaced the eighteenth-century "Khalsa episteme."[3]
The faction was led by Khem Singh Bedi, Avtar Singh Vahiria and others of the landed aristocracy. Theirs was an interpretation that accepted a wide range of beliefs drawn from Hinduism and Islam,[4] including belief in the Vedas, idols, Hindu epics, and Sufi pirs.[4][5][6] According to Oberoi, the interpretation "deeply transformed Sikh thinking and practices."[7] Under its auspices, Hindu priests publicly worshipped idols and images in the Golden Temple precincts, and it was considered legitimate to worship living Gurus, descendants of Sikh gurus and other prominent ancestries who had "inherited their charisma."[5] In addition to himself, Khem Singh claimed special reverence for all members of clans to which the Gurus had belonged.[8] For these groups the principle of authority of Sikh tradition was invested in living gurus (as Khem Singh Bedi, their leader, liked to be regarded) rather than the principle of shabad-guru, or the Guru Granth Sahib as the Guru, which was upheld by the dominant Khalsa tradition.[9][5][10] Amid factional rivalry, the influence of the dominant Tat Khalsa ("true Khalsa"),[11] due to the support of the Sikh masses, resulted in the decline of this socioreligious faction.[4][5][12]
McLeod has thus come round to accept Harjot Oberoi's hypothesis of 'Sanatan' Sikhism.
Oberoi's view of Sikh tradition in the early nineteenth century is radically different. He refers to it as 'Sanatan' Sikh tradition and believes that it displaced the eighteenth century Khalsa tradition. This new tradition had begun to emerge in the late eighteenth century, and remained dominant in the nineteenth century.
While McLeod continues to see the dominance of the Khalsa identity well into the nineteenth century, Oberoi sees the emergence of a 'Sanatan Sikh tradition' that displaced the eighteenth-century 'Khalsa episteme' (Oberoi 1994: 92).
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