Baba Dyal Singh

Who was Baba Dyal Singh?

Baba Dayal Das was a Sahajdhari Sikh whose main mission was to bring Sikhs back to the Adi Granth and simran. His successor Baba Darbara Singh established many centres beyond Rawalpindi and wrote about the essential teachings of Baba Dayal. The sect had grown considerably and the third successor, Sahib Rattaji kept the Nirankaris in order via strict adherence to their rahit. At this time they numbered in the thousands and some had taken interest in the Singh Sabha movements, under the fourth successor Baba Gurdit Singh. The Nirankaris helped to bring the Anand Marriage Bill in 1908-9 to the attention of the Sikh populace. Their fifth Guru Sahib Hara Singh started to reorganise the sangat and was succeeded by his eldest son Baba Gurbakhsh Singh. However because their emphasis was largely upon Guru Nanak's message, and the times were dominated by Singh Sabha Sikhs emphasising Guru Gobind Singh's Khalsa, their voices went unheard. This was exacerbated by the shift from Sahajdhari to Keshdhari Sikhs. Finally with their inability to keep in step with the tumultuous social changes of the British Raj they were soon marginalised.