Naming an airport after Sant Ravidas is not just about a name, it shows that Dalit communities want respect, equal treatment, and freedom from unfair caste rules in religion and society.
Key Points
- Sant Ravidas, revered by millions, has long been central to Dalit spiritual identity, especially among the Chamar community.
- Historical timelines of Sant Ravidas remain debated, but his influence across Hindu and Sikh traditions is undisputed.
- Ravidassias were once part of Sikhism but faced tensions over caste, authority, and religious practice.
- The renaming of Adampur airport after Sant Ravidas signals political recognition of Dalit assertion.
Sant Ravidas and the Question of History
Every year, on the auspicious day of Margh Purnima (which falls in February or March of the Gregorian calendar), millions of people celebrate the day as Guru Ravidas Jayanti, marking the birth anniversary of one of the most important figures in the pantheon of Hindu and Sikh gurus and sants.
This year was ever more special because Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose to pay obeisance to Sant Ravidas and rename Adampur airport, located near both Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur in Punjab, as the Sri Guru Ravidas Maharajji Airport on Sunday, February 1, on the occasion of his 649th birth anniversary.
As per popular culture, and which the Government of India seems to have accepted without debate, Sant Ravidas was born in 1377 in Varanasi.
Popular belief is that he lived till the age of 151 years and passed away in Varanasi.
However, scholars tend to place his birth date about a century or so later, especially since the renowned Bhakti poet and sant, Mirabai, is recorded, in her own words, as being his disciple. Mirabai lived in the early 16th century.
From Bhagat to Guru: A Shift in Authority
Sant Ravidas is revered by millions of Indians, particularly by those hailing from the so-called lower castes, across northern India.
He belonged to the Chamar community, and if one were to visit any corner stall that has a cobbler repairing shoes, one is likely to find his picture.
Sant Ravidas is known by different names, including Raidas, Ramdas and Rohidas. His followers in turn are called Ravidassia (Ravidas Panth) or Ramdassia.
Till a couple of decades ago, Ravidassias identified themselves as a sect within Sikhism, and Sant Ravidas was considered a bhagat (holy man), not a guru, a title which is reserved for the 10 Sikh Gurus.
Sant Ravidas' followers, organised around the Ravidas Panth with a living guru, tended to revere Ravidas as a guru rather than just another holy leader, a practise that offended more orthodox Sikhs.
Here was a clash not just between orthodoxy and parvenu but also between entrenched castes and rising castes.
Caste, Control, and Religious Separation
In the 1920s, there arose the Ad-Dharma movement, which centred around the teachings of Sant Ravidas.
At this point, Ravidassias still revered the Guru Granth Sahib, which contained some of Sant Ravidas' earliest poems and teachings.
However, there was also a parallel movement among the Ravidassias, primarily due to the caste restrictions imposed upon the so-called lower castes by orthodox Hindus and Sikhs.
Thus, the Ravidassias compiled their own book Ad Prakash, and which they treated with greater reverence.
The Ravidassias also built a temple at the birthplace of Guru Ravidas, near Varanasi, that was completed in 1965.
One factor here was to ensure that Sant Ravidas followers were free to enter and pray without reference to their caste. The chasm was widening.
Vienna Attack and the Final Break
Orthodox Sikhs were angered by some of the practices followed by the Ravidassias, especially the portraiture of Sant Ravidas who was shown like Guru Gobind Singh.
In January 2009, the leader of the Ravidassias, Niranjan Dass, and his deputy, Ramanand Dass, were attacked in Vienna.
The following year, the Ravidassias declared themselves as a separate religion, distinct from Sikhism, and with a separate holy book, Amritbani Guru Ravidass Ji, which was a compilation of Sant Ravidas' poems and teachings.
This decision drew mixed reaction from the Sikh community, with many Sikh leaders trying hard to convince the Ravidassias not to break away into a separate religion, but in vain.
As of date, the Ravidas Panth is probably the youngest religion in India!
Echoes of Ambedkar's Choice
In many ways, the breaking away of the Ravidassias, most of whom hail from the Chamar community, is echoes the step taken by Dr B R Ambedkar, when he led Dalits from Maharashtra (mostly from the Mahar caste) into Buddhism, as a final break from the unacceptable Hindu practice of untouchability.
Here, it might be interesting to recall that when Dr Ambedkar was considering embracing a new religion, Sikh leaders had tried to woo him.
In the aftermath of Partition, the Sikh leadership realised that there was strength in numbers and that the Sikhs simply lacked the numerical strength to make a difference.
As was his wont, Dr Ambedkar did examine the proposal, especially given the historical connection between Maharashtra and Punjab.
One of the holiest Sikh shrines, where Guru Gobind Singh was martyred, is in Nanded in south-central Maharashtra, while one of the great sants of Maharashtra, Sant Namdeo, lived for years in the Punjab [circa the 13th century] and his devotional songs are a part of the Guru Granth Sahib.
Faith as a Tool of Self-Respect
Nevertheless, Dr Ambedkar decided not to embrace Sikhism. While no specific reasons were given, it is likely because Sikhism was controlled by the Jat caste, with the Dalit Sikhs (called the Mazhabi Sikhs) having little say in both spiritual and temporal matters.
It is also likely that Dr Ambedkar simply preferred Buddhism, which, in India at least, was not under the overlordship of any single caste or group.
Critics may dismiss the naming of an airport after Sant Ravidas as a political gesture by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which perhaps it is. But it also reflects the growing assertion of members of the Dalit community, both in politics and religion, and their unwillingness to accept inequity.
Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party are too shrewd to miss this new found confidence by a sizeable section of society.
As the recent controversy over the UGC Act 2026 (now in abeyance due to a Supreme Court order) shows, the battle for dignity within India's multiple castes is still not over.
Embracing or creating a new religion is a way of ensuring self-respect, and it is likely more may follow this path in the coming decades.
Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff
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