Baba Ram Singh dies at Mergui in Burma, still a state prisoner thirteen years after his deportation; the Namdhari tradition holds that he did not die but withdrew, and expects him still, one of the points where the movement's faith and the record part ways, each stated here as its holders state it.
The Event
- Date
- 1885 (exact)
- Era
- Reform and Colonial; Standard periodization of Sikh history
- Location
- Mergui; today Myeik, Myanmar
- Traditions
- Sikhism
- Streams
- Namdhari
- Key figures
- Baba Ram Singh
How the Tradition Tells It
The colonial record reports Baba Ram Singh's death at Mergui in 1885. The Namdhari tradition holds that he did not die but withdrew from view and will return, and many Namdharis await him still; the event states the record, and this note states the tradition, and neither is made to swallow the other.
Primary Sources
- The Burma administration reports
Secondary Sources
- Fenech and McLeod, Historical Dictionary of Sikhism (Rowman and Littlefield, 3rd ed. 2014)
- Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs, vol. 1 (Oxford, 2nd ed. 2004)
Provenance: HIST-0525; confidence 0.95; accessed 2026-10-27.
Related on This Site
- Baba Ram Singh and the Namdhari movement History Event
- Baba Ram Singh exiled to Burma History Event
- The Kuka outbreak and the Malerkotla executions History Event
- Punjabi Language
- Sant Bhasha Language
- Ardas Prayer or Creed
- Nitnem Prayer or Creed
- Sikhism World View