Guru Ram Singh Kuka (3 February 1816 – 29 November 1885) was the second guru (religious leader) of the

Namdhari The Namdharis (Gurmukhi: ਨਾਮਧਾਰੀ; ''nāmadhārī'', meaning "bearers of the name"), also known as Kuka (Gurmukhi: ਕੂਕਾ; ''kūkā'' g ਕੂਕੇ; ''kūkē'' l from Punjabi ''kuk'', “scream” or “cry”), are a Sik ...

sect of

Sikhism Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...

. He is credited as being the first British Indian to use non-cooperation and boycott of British goods and services as a political tool. He was exiled to

Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

Burma (Myanmar) Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

by the British colonial government of India on 18 January 1872.

Biography

Ram Singh was born in a small-farming

Tarkhan Tarkhan ( otk, 𐱃𐰺𐰴𐰣, Tarqan, mn, or ; fa, ترخان; ; ar , طرخان; alternative spellings ''Tarkan'', ''Tarkhaan'', ''Tarqan'', ''Tarchan'', ''Turxan'', ''Tarcan'', ''Turgan, Tárkány, Tarján'') is an ancient Central Asia ...

family to mother Sada Kaur and father Jassa Singh. He lived in the village of Raiyan, near Sri Bhaini Sahib,

Ludhiana Ludhiana ( ) is the most populous and the largest Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. The city has an estimated population of 1,618,879 2011 Indian census, 2011 census and distributed over , making Ludhiana the ...

. Like many other great souls and Saints, Guru Ram Singh had a pious mother who reared him up by Singing to him the verses from the Holy Granth Sahib ji, and by narrating to him the lives and adventures of the Gurus and other Epic heroes. He learnt Gurmukhi from his mother and he memorized many parts of the 'Bani'. His father taught him how to became a carpenter but Guru Ram Singh was more interested in Naam Simran. At the Age of 9, while the other boys sang the village folks, he always sang versus from the Bani. The other felt amused and joined him in his holy versus. His father sent him to the army of the

Sikh Empire The Sikh Empire was a state originating in the Indian subcontinent, formed under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who established an empire based in the Punjab. The empire existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahor ...

at age 20 under

Sher Singh Sher Singh (4 December 1807 – 15 September 1843) was the fourth Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. Elder of the twins of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire and Maharani Mehtab Kaur. His reign began on 18 January 1840 following his ...

. As the empire fell apart after the death of Maharaja

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He s ...

, concerns over British power and Sikh decline led him to galvanize his followers (of mostly humble origin) to proclaim a new "Kuka Khalsa" to restore Sikh prestige. Ram Singh Kuka was a member of a unit of Prince Naunial Singh's platoon, the Baghel Regiment. His regiment was sent to

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

to bring the royal coffers. On its way back, the unit rested at Hazro Fort, now in Pakistan. It is said that Ram Singh and some soldiers of his regiment went to meet

Balak Singh Balak Singh (1784/1785/1797–1862), was an Indian Sikh religious leader who founded the Namdhari (Kuka) sect. He was a Batra Arora, who invoked the authority of Sikh scriptures and emphasized the importance of the name (''nam'') for salvation. ...

of the

s. Balak Singh was overjoyed to see Ram Singh and according to folklore told him: "I had been waiting for you." He told Ram Singh Kuka that he was the next in line to Balak Singh. Balak Singh gave him "Patasha" (sugar bubbles), a coconut, five paise coins and took five rounds around him in reverence and bowed before him,Tara Singh Anjan - Ram Singh and Kuka Movement, p. 14 making him his successor.

References

{{Reflist 1816 births Year of death missing 19th-century Indian philosophers Sikh gurus